Dario Franchitti may never drive again

IT was a horrifying crash that could spell the end of the career of one of Britain's most successful racing drivers.

Dario Franchitti for more surgery

IT was a horrifying crash that could spell the end of the career of one of Britain's most successful racing drivers.

At least Dario Franchitti is alive today to remember the terrifying milliseconds during the Grand Prix of Houston on Sunday when his car took off at 100 mph, spun through the air and smashed into a safety fence, scattering debris into a huge crowd of spectators.

Two years ago, Dan Wheldon, Franchitti's friend and former team-mate, was not so lucky. The timing is as eerie as it is unfortunate. Franchitti, a four-times IndyCar Series champion and three-times Indianapolis 500 winner, was smashing up his car in Houston just ten days before the anniversary of the death of Wheldon in the same race series.

Franchitti was crowned IndyCar champion for the fourth time the day Wheldon died at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the final race of the 2011 season. They were fellow Britons: Franchitti from Bathgate, in Scotland, and Wheldon from Emberton, a village near Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.

Despite the pain of the loss of his friend, Franchitti vowed to carry on; racing drivers, like fighter pilots, refuse to acknowledge danger. Yet Franchitti will be questioning whether it is time to hang up his helmet after an illustrious career that has largely passed by an apathetic British public.

While Franchitti joined the roster of the most celebrated racing drivers in the history of the United States, his profile at home was submerged beneath the welter of publicity garnered by Formula One, the series that spurned his talent.

In the US, he was a talk-show favourite and one half of a glamorous and wealthy celebrity couple after he married Ashley Judd, the Hollywood star. They announced they were splitting up at the start of this year.

Now at 40, Franchitti already had a suspect back after a motorcycle injury a decade ago and has had his share of near-misses on the track. He has amassed a 50 million pound fortune ($85.3m) from racing in the US that makes him one of the wealthiest drivers of his generation and still commands more than 6 million pounds a season before endorsements.

In August, Franchitti told reporters he wanted to stay at the Target Chip Ganassi team that had taken him to three titles but admitted that he needed to be convinced he was motivated and fit. Perhaps this accident will help make up his mind.

Marino Franchitti was at his brother's bedside last night after Dario underwent surgery on a broken ankle. He has also fractured two vertebrae in his back and is recovering from a severe concussion caused by the impact with the wall and fencing that ran alongside the street circuit in Houston.

Franchitti had been racing into the final corner of the grand prix side by side with Takuma Sato, the former Super Aguri driver in F1. They touched and, from then on, Franchitti was a passenger as his car wheeled into the air and then smashed back on to the track. While paramedics dashed to treat 13 spectators hit by flying debris, Franchitti lay still in the cockpit of his wrecked car, his rivals picking their way through the shattered remains.

Celebrations of Will Power's victory were, inevitably, muted and memories of Wheldon and his fateful crash flooded back to the drivers who were in Las Vegas that day and were witnessing yet another devastating accident.

"The smells and the visuals, for me, and even talking to Will, you have the remnants of Vegas popping into your head with you coming around the corner and you can't drive through it because there's a field of debris," Scott Dixon, the new IndyCar championship leader, said.

Power was also shaken, speaking of the memories of Las Vegas. "I just saw Dario's car and him sitting in it with a lot of damage and, yes, that is what it reminded me of," he said. "I hate seeing that."

IndyCar has gone through significant safety changes since Wheldon's accident, principally to prevent cars taking off, as his did, by adding covers to the rear wheels. This time, they did not work because Franchitti's car appeared to touch side on to Sato. IndyCar officials will be studying video of the accident carefully.

One of the best talents of his generation, Franchitti came through the ranks alongside fellow Scots, such as David Coulthard, who went on to drive for McLaren, and Allan McNish, a three-times Le Mans winner. They were among the first to register concern yesterday, while there were dozens of messages of support from friends in F1.

There was also a message from a fellow Scot, Andy Murray, also recovering from back surgery, who tweeted: "Hope you and all the fans injured in the crash are doing good and you make a speedy recovery, Dario."

The Times