TALLADEGA – For David Stremme, Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 turned out to be a blast from the past.A former member of the Ganassi garage who defected to Penske during the offseason, Stremme took over for the injured Dario Franchitti on Sunday, driving his old No. 40 Tums Quik Pack Dodge.
It’s the same car Stremme drove to 17th at last fall’s UAW-Ford 500.
“Certainly, it’s a great opportunity,” he said prior to Sunday’s race. “We could even win today — you never really know what’s going to happen here.
“It’s gonna be fun, and we’re going to do the best we can.”
Franchitti, a former Indy 500 champ who made his Talladega debut at last fall’s ARCA/REMAX 250, wasn’t available to drive on Sunday due to what happened to him Saturday. After blowing a tire on turn 3 during the Nationwide Series Aaron’s 312, Franchitti smacked the outside wall, then went into a soft slide down the track and into the path of the oncoming traffic.
Larry Gunselman’s No. 91 Chevy finally did the damage, T-boning Franchitti on the driver’s side door, the car’s most vulnerable spot.
Franchitti was treated at a hospital and was reportedly at the track on Sunday.
“He’s (Franchitti) actually in his motor home,” said Steve Hmiel, Ganassi, director of competition. “I’m sure he’ll end up going to Indianapolis this week to see Dr. Trammell and his group — probably the best in the business in patching stuff like that up.”
Thus, the lot fell to Stremme, who drove his old car to the 27th position in the 499.
“You don’t like to see anybody get hurt,” Stremme said. “I didn’t know how bad Dario was (at first). There were so many big wrecks yesterday — but it was a misfortune.
“I went to see Dario last night — his ankle was all wrapped up and stuff. We’ll just sit in for him and try to help him out.”
After leaving for Penske during the offseason, Stremme was happy to be back with his old mates, if only for the day.
“I didn’t leave on a bad note or anything,” he said. “I left on good terms, and I have a ton of respect for Dario — he’s a really talented driver.”
The change did cause the 40 to start in a different position. Though Franchitti qualified the car in the top 20, the driver change shuffled Stremme to the back — he started in 4rd.
“NASCAR allowed us to make some changes,” he said. “They let us adjust the seat, the seat belt.
“Otherwise, it’s the same team, same car, same sponsor (Tums Quik Pak).”
Neither Stremme nor Hmiel said that Sunday’s arrangement was anything more than a quick fix.
“It’s just for today,” Stremme said.
In fact, Hmeil said his crew hadn’t decided exactly what the long-term solution would be.
“We don’t know yet,” he said. “We’re very grateful that we have Dario for this weekend. After that, it’s a matter of getting through today and seeing where Dario ends up, and then sitting down as a group and deciding who’s the best option for where we’re going.
“Certainly, we’d like to have one standout guy like David Stremme do it all, but he’s not available. … We have to look at all our options.”
