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Four-time IndyCar champion and three-time Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti is set to make a return to professional racing 13 years after his career-ending crash. The Scottish racer's driving career ended abruptly in 2013 after a horrendous crash at the Grand Prix of Houston.
On the last lap of the penultimate race of the season, Franchitti's No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda made contact with Takuma Sato's car. The nature of the contact sent his No. 10 Honda flying into the catch fence before spinning multiple times and coming to a rest in the middle of the track. The Scot broke his right ankle, two vertebrae, and had a severe concussion. Moreover, debris from his impact with the catch fence flew into the stands, injuring 13 spectators.
Dario Franchitti was forced to retire from professional racing after that dramatic crash. 13 years on, the 52-year-old IndyCar legend will make a return to pro racing at the Michelin 24H Dubai on January 17-18, 2026.
He will drive for Team Parker Racing, piloting the No. 31 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo alongside Rob Huff, Shaun Lynn, and Max Lynn. The car will feature a special livery designed by former F1 and IndyCar driver Stefan Johansson.
Franchitti has experience in endurance racing, having competed eight times in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and also has a handful of appearances at the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Petit Le Mans. In 2008, he took the overall victory at the 24-Hour Daytona race with Chip Ganassi Racing.
Dario Franchitti 'still wanted to race' after Houston IndyCar crash
Dario Franchitti poses with his pole position trophy for the Honda Indy Toronto - Day 1 - Source: GettyDario Franchitti's career-ending Houston crash not only left him with severe injuries but also wiped out his memory of events that had happened in the five weeks leading up to the crash. The doctors who were treating him after the incident advised him to stop racing for good.
The after-effects of the crash lingered for even two months after it. IndyCar champ and Indy 500 winner, Tony Kanaan, who replaced Franchitti at Chip Ganassi Racing in 2014, shared in an interview that symptoms of the Scot's concussion, like improper speech, repetition of questions, and prolonged sleep, worried him.
In 2014, when Dario Franchitti returned to near-normalcy, he explained in an interview with Graham Belsinger how he wanted to continue racing after recovering from the crash.
"I still felt I wanted to race," the IndyCar icon said. "I wanted to see if there was any way I could do it. I said, 'Okay, well, can I do something else?' No. The answer came by the same every time. So that was it."After the crash-induced retirement from racing, Franchitti joined the Formula E team as a co-commentator since the inception of the series in 2014. As of today, he also works with Chip Ganassi Racing, the team he raced for from 2009 to 2013, as a mentor/coach to the team's drivers.
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Edited by Yash Kotak
English (US)