Dario Franchitti’s much-anticipated move to stock cars will begin Friday with an ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway, the Associated Press has learned. Franchitti has agreed to a multiyear deal to replace David Stremme in the #40 Dodge for NASCAR’s Chip Ganassi Racing, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who requested anonymity because the deal had yet to be announced. An official announcement is expected Wednesday at Ganassi’s race shop in North Carolina. Ganassi said Sunday at Kansas Speedway that he was close to a deal with Franchitti’s open-wheel team, Andretti Green Racing, to get the 34-year-old Scot out of his contract, which ends Dec. 1. An Andretti Green spokesman said the team would have no comment on Franchitti’s move at this time. Franchitti is expected to get some much-needed seat time in stock cars by running a series of races, including ARCA, Busch and Cup, before the end of this season, much as Montoya did in 2006 after leaving Formula One.(Associated Press)(10-2-2007) UPDATE: Introduction of Driver of the 2008 #40 Dodge, Wednesday, October 3 at Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Race Shop.(CGRFS PR) ON TV: SPEED will interrupt regularly scheduled programming at approximately 10:30am/et Wednesday, October 3rd in order to bring viewers a live press conference from the headquarters of Chip Ganassi Racing in Concord, North Carolina. Programming will resume following the press conference.(10-3-2007)
