Chilton has legend in his corner
Rookie appreciates Franchitti’s advice, heeds most of it
“The advice he gives is very hard to argue with. He’s done it so many times — he’s a three-time Indianapolis 500 champion.” Rookie Max Chilton, on Dario Franchitti
Memo to threetime Indianapolis 500 champion Dario Franchitti: Your protégé, Verizon IndyCar Series rookie Max Chilton, does not accept everything you say as gospel.
Chilton’s explanation, delivered with a hearty British smile: “I like being cheeky at times, and if there’s something I don’t agree with, I give it straight back.”
An example came from a Chip Ganassi Racing meeting earlier in the week. Franchitti thought Chilton was too busy fiddling with his tablet to hear what was being said, so he texted Chilton. When no reply came, Franchitti took note of that, too, and he approached the 25-year-old former Formula One driver after the meeting.
It turns out Chilton was looking at an LMP1 sports car steering wheel to see what hand controls might be helpful to have this month at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“It proves I was paying attention because I didn’t see his message until after the meeting,” Chilton said Tuesday. “I said to him, ‘One can listen and type on a computer.’
“Drivers who do the Indy 500 can definitely multitask.”
Chilton was amused by his comeback to an auto racing legend, but his infectious good humor spoke of the goodwill and respect he has for Franchitti. That spirit is what led Marino Franchitti to introduce his big brother to Chilton.
Chilton had turned to U.S. racing last year after losing his ride with Marussia F1. He arrived here first to help Carlin Racing with its Indy Lights team, and he ended up driving most of the season for it. Chilton won the oval race at Iowa Speedway, which turned heads.
Dario Franchitti, who had offered to help Chilton, first took a text from him last fall during a Formula 4 event at Brands Hatch in England, and they sat in the grandstands and discussed Chilton’s chance to join the Ganassi team with which Franchitti won three of his four IndyCar championships and two of his three 500s.
Franchitti has been at Chilton’s side almost every step of the way since, communicating on the team’s radio, offering driving tips, even making suggestions about what not to say to the news media.
All tablet talk aside, Chilton makes it clear his career is better with Franchitti being a part of it.
“The advice he gives is very hard to argue with,” Chilton said. “He’s done it so many times — he’s a three-time Indianapolis 500 champion.”
Franchitti has invested time in Chilton because he thinks Chilton’s approach is right for this series. Franchitti likes that Chilton is unfailingly polite and has a cautious but stand-on-the-gas approach.
Chilton finished his first 500 practice Monday with the 12thfastest lap time — 224.639 mph in the No. 8 Chevrolet — and he was the first of the five rookies to complete the three-phase orientation session. His 66 laps were as incident-free as his entire first IndyCar season.
The only difficult part, he said, was training his left eye to focus on the white line while his right eye surveyed the track speeding toward him. That requires modifying road racing habits, he said.
“I had to practice what to do with my eyes,” he said.
It seems Chilton excels at most of the other aspects of the job, which is why Franchitti predicts Chilton will have a successful first month in Indianapolis.
“He’s very methodical, and he’s got the right mind-set for this track, and that’s going to serve him well here,” Franchitti said. “It’s going to be difficult at first — he’s a rookie and he doesn’t have a lot of experience — but he’ll methodically work his way through it.”
Chilton must learn to let the car do the work, team owner Chip Ganassi said, because when the car is right “it’s a sleigh to drive.”
Franchitti thinks Chilton is listening. In one instance in practice Monday, he came up on a car and timed his pass by creating a gap entering Turn 1, getting a run in Turn 2 and passing it approaching Turn 3, just as Franchitti had advised.
(Franchitti said he was impressed by the execution but playfully emphasized that Chilton didn’t need to hear that so early in the training process.)
“The first time he drove (an Indy car on an oval) was at Fontana, where running alone is not that difficult,” Franchitti said. “It’s when you get in traffic that it’s not (easy), and I was worried that he was going to think it was easier than it was.
“But he got to Phoenix and dealt with it really well.”
Chilton finished seventh in that tricky short-oval race.
The rookie is definitely listening to what Franchitti has to say, even if he scoffs at it occasionally.
“His stuff here is pretty gospel,” Chilton said.