Franchitti Admits Airborne Incident Tests Friendship With Wheldon

SPARTA, Ky. — For some IndyCar Series drivers, they must feel like they are “guilty by association” after Indy Racing League President of Competition Brian Barnhart put every driver on probation prior to Saturday night’s Meijer Indy 300.
Barnhart believed so many drivers were guilty of rough driving at Michigan Int’l Speedway on Aug. 5 that he couldn’t single out a few drivers for unsafe driving tactics.
“It’s happened so often everybody is on probation because of it,” Tony Kanaan said after winning Saturday night’s race. “After Brian Barnhart put everybody on probation, I would say I think we calmed down a little bit.”
In the aftermath of a seven-car crash in the Firestone Indy 400 that featured “Dario Franchitti’s Flying Circus,” several IndyCar drivers said they don’t want to be part of any more thrill shows.
“I’m surprised it took that long to have an accident like that. They were driving like idiots out there,” Scott Dixon said.
When Dan Wheldon and Franchitti crashed at the front of the field on the backstretch of Michigan, it triggered one of the most frightening crashes in recent IndyCar memory. While none of the participants were injured, Franchitti admitted that his friendship with Wheldon has suffered after blaming the driver from England for triggering the crash.
“I was pretty angry when I saw the replay of the crash,” Franchitti said. “He had a full view where my car was and he kept on coming. I think he screwed up.”
Barnhart attempted to engage Wheldon in a conversation about the Michigan incident. Franchitti attempted to get involved in the conversation, but Wheldon walked off.
“We had an attempt, but Dan wasn’t interested in talking at that point,” Franchitti said. “I didn’t really expect that from Dan. He’s been my teammate, and I thought he would react differently. I considered us friends, but right now that has tested our friendship.”