Franchitti flies on fast track

Louis Brewster

Sunday, Oct. 31, 1999 | 1:03 a.m.

FONTANA, Calif. - Dario Franchitti is 500 miles from achieving a lifelong dream, on the verge of stamping the phrase champion on his racing resume and collecting a $1 million bonus.

"How important is it to me?" said the 26-year-old native of Edinburgh, Scotland, repeating the question before a pause to choose his words carefully.

A lifetime of memories undoubtedly ran through his head.

"This is one of the major championships to win," said Franchitti as he prepared for Sunday's Marlboro 500 at California Speedway. "When you've put 16 years into something, pretty much every day for that slice of time, it means everything. It means a lot.

"This is very, very important to me."

With a nine-point lead over Juan Montoya, Franchitti can claim the 1999 CART FedEx Championship Series title with a top-three finish.

A six-time winner in the series, Franchitti is just now emerging as a national figure, probably just as much for his relationship with actress Ashley Judd, from whose residence he reportedly chased a stalker last month.

On the track, his rise has been quick. It's taken him just two years to climb to the top of the points standings.

"We never gave up," he said. "We're not doing anything different. There was no pressure. But after two DNFs (did not finish), we felt it was time to get to the finish line."

Two races ago, Montoya was in control. After an eighth-place finish at Laguna Seca where Franchitti was 25th, Montoya had a 28-point lead.

But two unforced errors erased the advantage.

Montoya crashed, on a yellow flag, with Helio Castro-Nieves in Houston and then hit a tire barrier in Surfer's Paradise, Australia, in the last race. Franchitti was second in Houston and won in Australia to take over the points lead.

This is the third-closest finish in CART history since the points system was revised in 1983. Al Unser Sr. had a three-point lead over son Al Jr. in 1984, and Bobby Rahal had a similar edge over Michael Andretti a year later. Both leaders finished with championships.

"He certainly had a good bit of luck earlier this year at certain points," Franchitti said of his closest competitor. "All of a sudden, he's had bad luck. I don't know that anything's changed but at this point, we have our act together.

"Luck has not turned my way so much as it's gone against Montoya. Those things that happened to me before are happening to him now."

Franchitti has been a model of consistency in his third year in the CART series. He's finished in the points 15 of 19 races, including three victories. More importantly, he's been on the podium for a top-three finish 11 times.

If there is a turning point this year, it would be a wreck in Vancouver, B.C. Franchitti, pressing Montoya in the rain from his second-place position, went in too hot on a turn and ended his day, and Montoya extended his points lead.

"I certainly don't lay awake at night thinking about it, but in a season of not making mistakes, that one shines because it was a mistake," Franchitti said. "At Laguna (another crash), I don't think I made a mistake."

The pressure is now on both teams to perform in the season's second 500-mile.

"The trick to being successful when there is pressure to do the same job you always have done," said Franchitti. "I'm confident the team can cope with the pressure. They've been there with Jacques (Villeneuve) in 1995.

"Anything can happen, and so far it has," said Franchitti, who won his first driving title in go-karts in 1984 at the age of 11. "It's not a done deal, it's a long weekend and a long race. You can't take anything for granted. You have to work pretty hard to make sure it happens."