The Indy Racing League season ends next weekend at Chicago but Dario Franchitti's will be extended into November.
SPEED has learned (and reported by Nicole Manske earlier on SPEED Rip) that Franchitti is set to replace the injured Cristiano da Matta in the No. 10 RuSPORT ride for the final three Champ Car races of 2006.
“Our intent is to run the #10 car in the last three races but nothing is done at this time,” responded RuSPORT owner Carl Russo on Thursday when asked if he'd signed Franchitti.
“Obviously, our first concern was Cristiano and he's making great progress. Now we'll focus on trying to help Justin (Wilson) finish first, second or third in the championship and do the best job we can in supporting him.”
Currently wheeling the Jim Beam entry in the IRL, Franchitti's contract with Andretti/Green Racing expires when the checkered flag falls at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 10.
That would make him eligible to run Elklhart Lake (Sept. 24), Surfer's Paradise, Australia (Oct. 22) and Mexico City (Nov. 12). Franchitti scored his initial CART win at Elkhart Lake in 1998 and won from the pole at Australia in 1999.
The 33-year-old Scotsman, currently in England for this weekend's Goodwood Festival, had been rumored to have signed with PKV Racing of Champ Car for 2007 but he denied that last weekend at Sonoma, Calif.
However, the road racing veteran who tied Juan Montoya for the 1999 CART championship and lost on a tie-breaker did not rule out the possibility of returning to the series he started in back in 1997.
“I'm looking at several opportunities and Champ Car is one of them,” said Franchitti, who has four IRL victories during his four seasons but has gone winless in '06.
RuSPORT selected da Matta, recovering from critical head injuries received Aug. 3 during a test at Road America, to replace A.J. Allmendinger after the fourth race of this season.
