Franchitti expects tough seasonposted in INDY23 | 03 | 2012

BATHGATE'S DARIO FRANCHITTI, the four-times IndyCar champ, heads into this weekend's opening round in Florida expecting the toughest season of his career.

The 38-year-old Scot, who will again drive his Honda-powered Target Ganassi car, believes as many as 10 drivers have a realistic opportunity of wining the title.

"I think there are as many as 15 cars capable of winning races, and eight or 10 legitimate championship contenders," Franchitti, who for the past two years has won a direct head-to-head with Aussie Will Power, said today.

"We've got our work cut out this year, but I can't wait for the season to start." Franchitti will be going for his fifth title in six years, which would inch him closer to A.J. Foyt’s fabled seven championships.

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But the Scot admitted that in spite of his past successes he still seldom looks at the stats sheets as incentive at this point in his career.

“I don’t think about it that way,” Franchitti continued. “We’re going to try to win the first race and — I hate to be boring about it — we’re going to try to win the championship by doing the best job we can.

“That’s the way we go racing. There’s no point getting carried away with the number. It could be the team’s fifth championship in a row. That’s not the way you go racing; not the way you think about it.”

But pressed just a little bit Franchitti admits getting to five championships is a good challenge to have.

“Five would be nice, I would say.”

Dario Franchitti vows to race on

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Jim McGill