LOOKING IN ON: MOTOR SPORTS

Thursday, Oct. 11, 2007 | 6:47 a.m.

Las Vegas Sun

By Brian Hilderbrand

Based on his first outing , in last weekend's ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway, Dario Franchitti is adjusting just fine to stock-car racing.

It's stock-car racing that appears to be having trouble adjusting to Franchitti, who will be driving full time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series next year after 11 years in American open-wheel racing.

Before his qualifying run Friday, Franchitti was sitting in his race car when an ARCA official leaned into the driver's window and asked Franchitti, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, whether he spoke English.

Amused, Franchitti informed the official that he did, indeed, speak English. The official then complimented the driver on his command of the language.

The incident might have provided Franchitti the comic relief he needed to ease the stress of competing in his first stock-car race at the high-banked Superspeedway. By all accounts, including that of team owner Chip Ganassi, Franchitti's debut in the lower-level ARCA series was a success.

Franchitti qualified sixth for the 94-lap race but was forced to start at the rear of the field because of an engine change. Franchitti, who won this year's Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series championship, drove his Dodge to a 17th-place finish.

"It was just a case of coming through the field and learning what it was all about," said Franchitti, who is married to actress Ashley Judd and lives near Nashville, Tenn. "Trying to work with drafting partners, making the right moves and not getting into any trouble.

"Sometimes I made good moves and sometimes I made pretty bad moves. All in all, it was a lot of fun and a great experience to get into the stock car for the first time."

Franchitti also got a taste for what he is going to experience when he gets on the track for the first time in a Cup race.

"I'm used to running with the same drivers in IndyCar," he said. "I know exactly how they are going to react to different situations. All of a sudden (at Talladega), I'm at the back of a 30-car pack with a bunch of people I've never raced with before so I don't know how each driver reacts, which ones you can work with, which ones you can't, which ones will cut you off.

"You're out here trying to get through the pack and trying to learn not only about driving a stock car and drafting, but what each driver does. You're running inches apart and sometimes closer than inches apart, so that was a lot to take in. By the end of the race I was starting to feel a bit more comfortable with the whole thing."

Sour grapes

Jeff Gordon reacted as if it were his first NASCAR Nextel Cup Series win - not his 80th - after he pulled into Victory Lane on Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.

Gordon, who took over the points lead with the victory, clearly was excited as he celebrated winning a race he didn't lead until the final third of the last lap. But his excitement wasn't shared by Ryan Newman, who led 10 of the final 38 laps before finishing fifth.

"I think the racing was not very good," Newman said. "I think the racing was disappointing. To see single-file racing and the guy that wins the race is sitting in the back all day just lounging around, that's not racing to me."

Two to go

The field is set for the NHRA's first "Countdown to One" segment of its new elimination-style championship format.

The top four drivers in each of the four professional categories will battle for world championships at the year's final two races - beginning Oct. 26-28 at the ACDelco Las Vegas NHRA Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Larry Dixon, Rod Fuller of Las Vegas, Tony Schumacher and Brandon Bernstein are the qualified drivers in the Top Fuel category; Tony Pedregon, Gary Scelzi, Robert Hight and Ron Capps qualified in Funny Car; Dave Connolly, Greg Anderson, Jeg Coughlin and Allen Johnson will battle for the Pro Stock title ; and Andrew Hines, Matt Smith, Chip Ellis and Peggy Llewellyn are qualified in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

After the Las Vegas race, the NHRA will conclude the season Nov. 1-4 in Pomona, Calif.

Career NASCAR Cup victories for Jeff Gordon in restrictor-plate races.

Races Dario Franchitti won during his 11 years in CART/Champ Car and the IndyCar Series.