Crash injuries force Dario Franchitti to retire

[jacksmar]

Dario Franchitti, the three-time Indianapolis 500 champion who also competed in NASCAR and GRAND-AM Road Racing over the course of a varied career, announced Thursday he would stop driving on the advice of doctors following injuries suffered in an open-wheel crash last month.

Franchitti , 40, suffered two broken back vertebrae, a fractured right ankle and a concussion in a crash where his car went airborne and into the catch fence during a street race in Houston. Thursday, the Chip Ganassi Racing driver released a statement saying doctors have advised him against continuing to compete.

"One month removed from the crash and based upon the expert advice of the doctors who have treated and assessed my spinal injuries post-accident, it is their best medical opinion that I must stop racing," he said. "They have made it very clear that the risks involved in further racing are too great and could be detrimental to my long-term well-being. Based on this medical advice, I have no choice but to stop."

Although Franchitti competed most of his career in open-wheel cars, he made a detour into NASCAR in 2007 and 2008, competing in 18 NASCAR Nationwide Series events, one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race and making 10 starts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Ganassi. The transition proved a rough one -- Franchitti's only top-five in NASCAR was at a Nationwide race at Watkins Glen International, and his best finish at the Sprint Cup level was 22nd at Martinsville.

Franchitti returned to open-wheel cars for the 2009 season. The Scotland native also raced eight times in the Rolex 24 at Daytona event, winning in 2008 as part of a Ganassi effort. He competed twice at the GRAND-AM level this season, finishing 11th at Daytona and third at Laguna Seca. He also has 31 victories in major open-wheel racing.

"Simply put, Dario is a motorsports legend and will be sorely missed on the race track by everyone in the paddock and in the stands," Ganassi said in a statement. "His contributions to the sport of motor racing are too many to list, but I can tell you that they go way beyond what he has done on the track."

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/crash-i...0--nascar.html

[jacksmar]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/460697.stm

Double Jeopardy star Ashley Judd faced real-life danger when a man posing as a police officer illegally entered her Tennessee home.

The 31-year-old actress was unharmed during the ordeal and police have arrested the intruder and charged him.

Police say the man, 32-year-old security guard Guy Dukes, did not touch Judd and left her rural home when asked to go.

Judd's boyfriend, top British racing driver Dario Franchitti, then followed him until police were able to corner Dukes in a car park and arrest him, according to reports.

Dukes, from Kentucky, was charged with criminal trespassing and impersonating a police officer. He is being held in the Williamson County Jail and officials say a court date has not yet been set.

There is speculation that Dukes may have been inspired by Judd's earlier role in the 1997 serial killer thriller, Kiss The Girls.

In the film Judd plays a woman alone in her home who is stalked by a psychotic police officer.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dario pinned Guy's car against a dumpster and police were there in about 45 seconds as Dario was on his cell phone giving police information as to what was going on.

Dario was still pissed off when he showed up in Fontana. He finished 10th and lost championship to Montoya in a tie breaker. He was a little subdued by the death of Greg Moore.

Dario was really cool in Vancouver when he dedicated his win to Greg Moore.

Dario is first class and will be missed.

[jacksmar]

and

http://openwheelamerica.com/2013/11/...-but-not-lost/


Dario Franchitti: A Legend Gone, But Not Lost


When a legend in any sport retires, the initial reaction is to be dejected and think about what could have been. You think about the memories that were made, and you just aren’t ready for it to end. That all applies in Dario Franchitti’s case, as he unexpectedly announced his retirement from racing today. I would like to ask all the Debbie Downers, have you learned nothing?

When Franchitti’s crash happened in Houston on October 6, we were all reminded of that tragic day in Las Vegas, just two years earlier. None of us wanted to say it, but we were all thinking it. You can’t help it, when a car gets into the fence like it did. It’s incredibly obvious that the loss of Dan Wheldon has affected so many lives. When you lose someone of that magnitude, it will do that. I respectfully ask you to take a trip down memory lane.

As tough as it may be, can you recall what you were doing on the day we lost Dan? What did you do in the hours after that event? What were you feeling the next day? The next week? There are still plenty of people that still can’t or won’t talk about it to this day. Now, isn’t it better that we know we won’t have to go through this with Franchitti?