September 2, 2008

Franchitti to retirn to IRL; Dixon moves to Panther Racing

Tampa Bay Sports Net

Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Panther Racing announced changes to their driver lineups for the 2009 season. Dan Wheldon, who has driven the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing entry the past two seasons, will move to Panther Racing in 2009. The move creates an opening for 2007 IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti to return to the series with Target Chip Ganassi Racing.

Wheldon made his first two IndyCar Series starts for Panther Racing before moving to Andretti Green Racing from 2003-05. Franchitti competed for AGR from 2003-07.

“It’s hard to describe the level of excitement and emotions all of us at Panther have knowing that Dan has come back to drive for us,” Panther Racing CEO John Barnes said. “I remember watching him drive for the first time in the Indy Lights series years ago, and I knew he was going to be a special talent. Since then he’s become one of the best open-wheel drivers in the world, and for him to make his return to our team at the height of his racing career is a tremendous compliment to our team. I know he’s excited about getting into the No. 4 car for the first time, and we’ve got a tremendous future ahead of us.”

“I have enjoyed these last three seasons with Target Chip Ganassi Racing, but I’m very excited to be joining the entire Panther Racing crew,” Wheldon said. “This is the place where I started my career in 2002 and with the personnel and leadership that John Barnes has put together, I know that we’ll be fighting for outright victories, the Indianapolis 500 title and the league championship.”

Franchitti competed for AGR from 2003-07.

“It is going to be very exciting to have Dario in one of our IndyCar Series cars next year,” Target Chip Ganassi Racing owner Chip Ganassi said. “I have always admired his competitive spirit when he raced against us and have really grown to see more of what he is about this season while he raced in NASCAR. When there was a possibility of an opening on our IndyCar Series team, the only person I thought about was Dario. This is going to be a great move for Dario and for our team.”

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The 2008 IndyCar Series season continues with the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 Sept. 7 at Chicagoland Speedway. The race will be telecast live in High Definition at 3:30 p.m. (EDT) by ABC. The race will air live on the IMS Radio Network. A Spanish-language telecast of the race will be carried by ESPNDeportes. The IMS Radio Network broadcast also is carried on XM Satellite Radio and www.indycar.com.

The 2008 Firestone Indy Lights season concludes Sept. 7 with the SunRichGourmet.com 100 at Chicagoland Speedway. The race will air live at 12:30 p.m. Sept. 7 on ESPN2.