Dario....

Is Dario running the rest of the way for Rusport? filling in that vacant number 10 spot starting at Road America? First off and most importantly, DaMatta is doing better, he’s still confused but is speaking Portuguese and English and is talking racing. Keep it up Cristiano, we want to see YOU drive that number 10 soon.

Dario is good for the series; this will be seen as poaching an IRL driver (married to Ashley Judd) and makes the series look damn good. There is no spinning that. Of the drivers to poach from that series, Dario is in the top 6. Hornish, Andretti or Shamica would be higher (because they are Americans). In terms of legitimate drivers, add Castroneves and Dixon and that’s it, maybe Kanaan. Anybody else from over there coming here does nothing for our series. I remember when Manning left Chip and was hanging around our paddocks. I liked Manning and all that, but knew he would merely be another driver; he would do nothing in the war between the IRL and Champ Car. Dario could potentially be seen as a coup, and that’s good news.

By the way, I like how the two owners of the series wine and dine and talk merger and running races together, while we minions continue to see each other as enemies.

But for Justin Wilson, this is great news. If this rumor pans out, he could hardly have asked for a better teammate as he continues to fight for a championship or, more realistically, race wins and a high finish in the standings. Dario knows the Lola and that track, so his data will be vital to the teams. Also, I see few drivers as being able to take one for the team. Dario is one of them. Whether its giving up a spot or getting in Bourdais’ way or whatever little means to help Jwil. Dario will be able to accomplish that goal and will do it without saying anything. Dario Franchitti is potentially the best driver that Rusport and Jwil could get.

Also, Franchitti is mature and a season veteran. He’s seen all the situations and adds a little class to the series. He’ll be fun during the autograph sessions and I’m sure the guys will welcome him back with open arms. Dario has always been one of the good guys. One of the guys that people liked and respected. This is good for the series, no question about it. At least good for the final 3 races. As for next year, well that’s another story…..