Born and raised in Scotland, but is of Italian descent. Married to wife Ashley. Has a younger brother, Marino, who is also a racecar driver. Collects Ferraris. A licensed helicopter pilot; he flies a Eurocopter EC-120. Enjoys working out, reading and video games…Counts “Colin McRae Rally” among his favorites. Admires fellow Scotsman Sean Connery and is an avid fan of James Bond movies.

After building an impressive career over the course of six CART seasons, Dario Franchitti's transition to the Indy Racing League (IRL) IndyCar®Series in 2003 was one of the most highly anticipated in the league. But when a back injury sustained in an off-track incident sidelined the Scot for all but three events during the season, the anticipation and excitement surrounding his arrival in the IRL had to be shelved for another year.

In 2004, Franchitti earned his first career IndyCar victories with dominating wins at Pikes Peak and Milwaukee and proved his critics wrong with five Top Five finishes and eight Top 10 results. Franchitti also qualified among the top-four in six races, including his first career IndyCar pole position in Texas and a front row starting berth at the Indianapolis 500.

Returning to the #27 ArcaEx car in 2005, Franchitti is hoping to add a championship-caliber season to an already impressive resume that includes 12 major open-wheel victories, 12 pole positions and a 1999 CART championship bid that saw him fall short by no more than the margin of a rulebook tiebreaker. That season, the likable Scotsman carved out his spot on the international landscape of open-wheel racing when he matched future Formula 1 star Juan Pablo Montoya point-for-point through 20 races in the championship before being awarded second place based on the first tiebreaker (1999 race wins).

Credit: franchitti.com