SCOTLAND'S Dario Franchitti has been left without a drive in the Nascar Sprint Cup Series after his Chip Ganassi Racing team decided to scale back their operation.
Team owner Chip Ganassi will run with just two cars at this weekend's race in Daytona, and for the rest of the season, after the plug was pulled on Franchitti's No40 car due to a lack of sponsorship.
A total of 71 team members involved with the
running of Franchitti's car have been laid off. "This is a difficult decision . . . that did not come without its share of anguish," said Ganassi in a statement.
Franchitti, who won last year's IndyCar Series as well as becoming only the second Scot after Jim Clark in 1965 to win the Indianapolis 500, has struggled to get to grips with Nascar since making the switch to the series.
His best finish came with 22nd place at Martinsville, while his rookie season was also disrupted by a fractured ankle suffered at Talladega Superspeedway.
The 35-year-old achieved his best qualifying result in his final race for Ganassi, lining up seventh for last weekend's race in New Hampshire.
Ganassi have indicated they remain committed to Franchitti's stock car career, meaning the experienced driver could find himself competing in the Nationwide Series on a more regular basis.
The full article contains 225 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
