On October 2nd, Dario Franchitti was crowned champion of the 2010 Izod IndyCar Series. In the time since then, I’ve started to realize that we’re seeing something special- greatness is before our eyes. The statistical rundown in and of itself displays greatness (you can look up the stats here). However, accumulating a large number of wins is only a part of what makes a driver great.
The most applicable meaning of the word great is “of exceptional talents or achievements” (Dictionary.com). Quite a few current Izod Indy Car Series drivers have exceptional achievements and talents, but none more so than Dario Franchitti. Here is a list of drivers I have purposely left out and why:
1. Helio Castroneves– He has won three Indy 500’s which is an exceptional achievement. However, prior to his days racing with Penske, he had never won a race. Also, to date, he has not won a championship. His 24 victories are impressive; I won’t say otherwise. However, winning half of your victories with one of the top teams in a spec series weakens the claim a bit.
2. Scott Dixon– Two championships, one Indy 500 victory, and 24 career victories is a stout body of work. Although a very good driver, Dixon has two strikes against him. First, all but one of his victories has been with Ganassi, one of the top teams. Also, he struggled mightily while using Toyota power in IRL. While he had a few redeeming moments then, great drivers are able to create more of them with underpowered equipment.
3. Tony Kanaan– With one championship, 15 victores, and the tenacity that most drivers wish they had, TK displays his quality. The most glaring element of a successful career that keeps TK from being listed among the great drivers is an Indy 500 victory.
4. Dan Wheldon– One championship, one Indy 500 victory… but virtually silent since 2008. He has no wins when driving for lower tier teams. He’s fast, but it seems he only finds this speed on ovals which severely limits what he can do in the series.
Franchitti, on the other hand, has raced well from the outset of his career dating back to his CART years. In his favor, he nearly one the 1999 CART championship (tied Montoya but lost tiebreaker), won one IRL championship, and has won two consecutive championships since unification. Even more incredible, he shows no signs of slowing down as he ages. In fact, the maturity he has gained over the course of his career makes him one of the smartest drivers in the Izod Indy Car series.
Only time will tell if Franchitti will be able to match the greatness of a bygone era. As long as he has the fire to race, he will be winning. If that fire takes him another ten years into the future, you can bet that he will be winning races, and placing himself next to the great drivers of American open wheel racing.
To the Limit 