Dario Franchitti: "I was ready to retire from open wheel racing."

Comments from former open wheel racers Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish Jr. from NASCAR PreSeason Thunder at Daytona.
- with files from Dodge Motorsports / http://www.dodgemotorsportsmedia.com/ via Clear!Blue

DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 40 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge Charger) ON MOVING TO THE CUP SERIES "It wasn't one thing. It was a combination of factors. I was ready to retire from open wheel racing. I always ask myself the question, 'do I want to do this?' About half way through the IRL season I asked myself that question. And I wasn't sure I wanted to do this in '08.

"I was very interested in coming over to the NASCAR side. Chip and I talked about me doing it. He called me in August about this idea, to come drive for [him] next year. It was just good timing. "

ON HIS 2008 SCHEDULE "I'm going to drive some Nationwide races too, in the Fastenal car. Quite a few of those I think. It is going to be interesting to see how the new regulations work with the COT and the Nationwide car. I'm [also] doing the Rolex 24."


SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge Charger) ON GETTING THE NO. 2'S POINTS "It's kind of a peace of mind going into the first five races knowing that you're going to get to race. It is difficult enough to be in the top 35 but if you miss the first race of the year it really puts you in a [tough spot]. Being able to go out and take it easy through the 150s and not have to put ourselves in too many bad positions. It gives you a little bit of an opportunity to get some race experience with the rest of the Cup drivers."

ON COMING TO NASCAR "It's really about the competition. When I first started talking to Penske back in 2002, one of the side questions was, is there going to be an opportunity to run stock cars? Having the opportunity to run one or the other has always interested me. I've always wanted to come to Daytona and race. I'm a huge race fan. I would watch any type of racing. [Moving to Cup] was the next thing. This is what was going to keep me motivated and push me. I feel that if I hadn't decided to do this, even though I'm only 28 years-old, I don't know how much longer I wanted to race. I needed a new challenge."