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 Speaking publicly for the first time since a horrific last-lap
crash at the Houston Grand Prix on Oct. 6 left him with two
spinal fractures, a concussion and a broken ankle, Franchitti said
he tried to negotiate a deal with himself but discovered there was
no deal to be made that would see him return to the cockpit of a
race car.
"I spent two days thinking, "OK how can I get around this because I
have done it before," said Franchitti, during a press briefing at
Chip Ganassi Racing headquarters in Indianapolis. "There have been
quite a few broken body parts over the years and I kept thinking,
there's got to be a way, some kind of negotiation here and there
wasn't."
The October crash ended one of IndyCar racing's great careers.
Along with his three Indy 500 titles, the 40-year-old native of
Scotland claimed the IndyCar series driver's crown on four
occasions, second only to A.J. Foyt. He won 31 Indy Car races from
265 career starts.
"I'm looking forward to the future, and rather than being bummed
about not getting to drive the number 10 Target car again and other
things after that, I'm just very thankful for the career, for the
racing I was able to do," said Franchitti, who hobbled into the
press conference on crutches. "I've had fun doing this, I'm looking
forward to the future now.
"There's been some crap days, there's been some devastating days, but
for the last 30 years I have had a really good time."
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One of those devastating moments came in the October crash
when Franchitti's car made contact with Japanese driver Takuma
Sato's, went airborne and destroyed a portion of the catch fence
before spinning several times while debris was sprayed toward
the grandstands.
He exited with few regrets but admitted that if he could have
one more race it would be back at the famed Brickyard and a shot
at fourth Indy 500 title.
Franchitti, who was married to actress Ashley Judd for more than
decade before they separated this year, won the Indy 500 in
2007, 2010 and 2012. The only drivers to have won more are A.J.
Foyt, Al Unser Sr and Rick Mears, who each won four times.
"If I had to pick one race to do, Le Mans was something I wanted
to do in the future but the allure of going for a fourth (Indy
500 win) would be tough to turn down," said Franchitti.
"That's one of the hard things really...but that's the hand
you're dealt isn't it."
After spending most of his life as a driver, Franchitti said he
is now prepared to shift gears and move into the management side
of the sport. The charismatic Scot also indicated he might even
try his hand at television as a motor racing commentator.
"I'd love to stay involved with IndyCar racing and certainly
with the Target team and that is something we are working on,"
said Franchitti. "Hopefully that will come along soon and I can
start really getting involved and working with the team.
"It's something I really want to do."
(Editing by Gene Cherry)
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