Dario Franchitti has admitted that visiting Sunday's IndyCar Series event at Detroit's Belle Isle Raceway was the final element in his decision to return to open-wheel racing with the Target Chip Ganassi outfit next season.
Until he stood and watched the 25-car field tearing around the picturesque parkland street circuit, the Scot had only Ganassi's overtures, the lure of Indianapolis, an increased number of road courses and the thought of competing against the strongest US open-wheel field for years to entice him. BY the end of the day, he had decided to forsake his brief, but troubled, foray into NASCAR with Ganassi and return to the IRL.
"I went to Detroit over the weekend, talked to Chip about different options and watched my brother in the ALMS race," Franchitti said, all but confirming suggestions that the sportscar series may have been a viable alternative for 2009, "Then Chip put the offer in front of me."
The Scot admitted, as he had to television crews at Belle Isle, that more NASCAR also remained a possibility for next season, but several factors, not least the uncertainty over the financial viability of his Sprint Cup team, helped sway his attention back to the championship he won in 2007.
"Chip and I were talking about the #41 [Cup] car as a possibility, that was something that was part of the discussion," he revealed, insisting that he was unaware of the chain of events that saw Dan Wheldon ousted to make room for him, "But it didn't seem the best of the options. When Chip kind of laid this [IndyCar] option in front of me, and I could see the enthusiasm that he had, coupled with the enthusiasm I felt for the schedule going forward next year - I'd been at Detroit as well, and seeing the IndyCars run there, being reminded of what the cars are capable of - it all went into that decision.
![Dario Franchitti [pic credit: IRL/McQueeney]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/436308.jpg)
