Dario Franchitti will miss next month's Indianapolis 500, the showpiece event of the IRL Indycar Series.
The Andretti-Green driver will not be fit in time to begin pre-qualifying for the historic event. Franchitti injured himself in a motorcycle while visiting relatives in Scotland prior to the IRL race at Motegi, Japan. The Scotsman's injuries forced him out of the Japanese race and look set to ruin his chances of contesting his second race at the Brickyard.
Inevitably news of Franchitti's expected absence was greeted by a host of rumours concerning the identity of his replacement. Andretti-Green test drive Dan Wheldon is already registered to run with the team as part of a four-car challenge for the Borg-Warner trophy, leaving Franchitti's place up for grabs.
Earlier today rumours suggested defending Winston Cup champion Tony Stewart could make a shock comeback to Indy in place of Franchitti but the possibility was quickly dismissed. Stewart' drives a Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the Winston Cup while Andretti-Green are spearheading Honda's assault on the IRL creating an obvious clash of corporate interests.
Several current and former Champ Car/IRL drivers are expected to be lined up to battle for the vacant seat at a team expected to battle for outright victory. Veteran Jimmy Vasser is likely to be a strong contender as well as the out-of-work Memo Gidley. However it is likely that a non-CART driver will be selected as a result of the Indy 500's month long qualifying format.
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