Stremme replacing injured Franchitti at Talladega only

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- It was like old times for David Stremme in the No. 40 Dodge Sunday in the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.

But as comfortable as Stremme said he expected to be in the seat of that car prior to the race -- he had a solid run going along with Juan Montoya until he was involved in a last-lap crash that relegated him to a 28th-place finish (read more) -- Stremme was quick to stress that it was a one-race deal to replace the injured Dario Franchitti, who suffered a broken left ankle during Saturday's Nationwide race at Talladega.

David Stremme

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For one thing, Stremme currently is employed as a test driver for Penske Racing (read more). With the No. 77 Dodge being driven by rookie Sam Hornish Jr. entering Sunday's Sprint Cup Series race 33rd in the point standings -- and the No. 40 owned by Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates sitting in 38th -- there apparently is only so far Roger Penske is willing to go with his generosity.

With Franchitti out for at least the next two races and more likely at least one month, that leaves the Ganassi organization scrambling for a plan to replace the rookie driver beyond Talladega. Among the options reportedly to be discussed: Sterling Marlin, Tony Raines and Dennis Setzer.

"Well, we don't know exactly what we're going to do yet," said Steve Hmiel, director of competition for Ganassi. "We're very, very grateful that we have David for this weekend. After that, it's a matter of getting through [Sunday] and seeing where Dario ends up, and then sitting down as a group and seeing who's the best option for where we're going. Certainly we'd like to have one standout guy like David Stremme to do it all, but he's not available. So we may end up picking and choosing a little bit, based on the fact that we have to qualify this car into the races because we're not in the top 35.

"We have to look at all our options, in terms of getting the car in the race and then in terms of how good we'll do in the race so we can stay in the top 35. We may end up with multiple drivers; we may end up with a single driver. That's all the kind of stuff we'll talk about Monday morning at the shop, certainly with Chip and everyone else involved."

Stremme drove the No. 40 for Ganassi the previous two seasons, finishing 24th in the point standings in 2007. In addition to serving as a test driver for Penske, Stremme also has a full-time ride in the Nationwide Series with owner Rusty Wallace. Stremme finished second in the Aaron's 312 Nationwide event at Talladega on Saturday (watch video).

Dario Franchitti

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"This is just to help them out this week. We've got a lot of things going on with Penske Racing, and then also with Rusty," Stremme said. "Dario is a friend of mine. I've got to meet him since last year. People always think that when I got released and Dario was in the car, that I'd hate him or something. I admire the guy. He's won the Indy 500; he's accomplished a lot of things.

"It's the same way with Chip. He gave me an opportunity to come down here [and race a Cup car], and he's still a friend of mine. There were just some sponsorship stuff that went on toward the end of last year where we couldn't continue the relationship, and we both moved on. It's situations like this where I'm able to step in and help them out for this weekend, where I appreciate them giving me the call -- and we'll see where things end up. But this is just a one-race deal. That's all this is, just to help them out [Sunday]."

Hmiel said he was not only grateful for Stremme being permitted to drive Sunday, but also for the fact that Franchitti wasn't more seriously injured.

Franchitti broke his left ankle and suffered minor contusions during a violent crash on Lap 11 of Saturday's Nationwide race. Franchitti blew a tire, hit the outside wall and slid down the track in Turn 3 into the path of Larry Gunselman, whose No. 91 Ford slammed into the driver's side of Franchitti's car (watch video). Conscious and alert, Franchitti was taken to an ambulance on a stretcher and transported to a local hospital for further evaluation where X-rays confirmed the broken ankle (read more).

"I was surprised to hear he only broke his ankle after I saw the racecar," Hmiel said. "It was an awful hit. The car did a good job. It was just unfortunate that he got hit so hard."

Franchitti was released from the hospital Saturday night and was in his motor home in the Talladega infield during Sunday's Cup race. Hmiel said Franchitti would go to Indianapolis to see Dr. Terry Trammell, the head orthopedic surgeon for the Indy Racing League, for further evaluation this week.

"It seems like they can perform miracles," Hmiel said of Trammell and his orthopedic staff. "Hopefully Dario will be back sooner rather than later."

Hmiel said that because Franchitti is such an experienced driver -- even though he is a NASCAR rookie -- he expects just that to happen. He admitted, however, that it was disappointing to have the injury occur just when Franchitti appeared to be showing progress as a stock-car driver. He had qualified in the 19th position for Sunday's Cup race.

"If you had a young fella who hadn't been through a lot of things before, it would maybe be a really big deal," Hmiel said. "But a guy of Dario's caliber who has seen a lot of things, been through a lot of situations like this, he'll be fine coming back. It's just unfortunate that he was starting to get on a roll.

"It's unfortunate that he got hurt, but it's nice to know we've got a lot of friends out there. We're glad Roger Penske let us have a guy the caliber of David Stremme to drive our racecar. And now we've got to make some decisions as time goes on as to who will drive it next."