At that point the rain started to come down like mad. I could faintly hear Robin just yelling, “Pit, pit, pit!” I came in the back straight and just passed Marino’s car, I think Ben Devlin was driving it, and just as I passed it and there was just this waterfall ahead of me and that was just the rain storming. I managed to get in the pits and we were running round in the wet there, it just became mental, absolutely crazy. Then a bunch of people crashed so the yellow came out and I was doing all I could to keep the car on the track with the yellow, the aquaplaning was so bad with the rivers running across the track there. It was definitely madness. They made the right call to stop it. I think the fastest car on the track was the pace car because none of us could keep up with it!

Dario and Dixie drink champagne in Motegi and hope to do more of the same on Saturday. (LAT)

Once they made that call the rain didn't let up until the time the race would have ended anyway. So it was unfortunate for the fans and for us who wanted to go play but it was absolutely the right call. There wasn’t much to do during the red flag, so I hung out with the boys in the tent a wee bit. I went up to the bus a bit, stood around and chatted with some of the fans that were still there and then I went and saw Marino and his boys, and that was about it. The race was called right after that.

The downer for me was after the race -- I missed seeing my brother on the bloody podium. I was devastated. He has been driving unbelievably well lately and the Dyson boys have obviously dialed the car in. We were sitting at Homestead at lunch time and I was watching the live qualifying and his lap was just spectacular and then just watching him and Butch and Ben and the whole crew just did a job all day even with the gear problem and they had. They made three laps back in an hour through strategy and through sheer speed. I was so proud of him. He's getting the results he's always deserved and I think a big part of that he's with the team he loves to be a part of it and they completely believe in him, so I'm definitely proud.

I did make a stupid move and said, “Hey, if you win this race I’ll buy you one of Scott Dixon’s new limited edition Graham watches.” I've got one and Dixie's wearing one and Marino’s like, “Oh, I like that.” I said, “Hey, if you win this weekend I'll buy you one.”

Now I’ve got to put my hand in my pocket and buy him one.

Dixie might be my teammate and a friend , and there will be a deal on the watch, but I don't expect too much of a deal. Dixie's just a Scotsman from the Southern Hemisphere, after all!

I just read about my mate Gil de Ferran going out in style with his Acura dressed in the old white Chaparral livery. I'm excited to see what it looks like. I was so happy to see Gil come back to driving sportscars. From the first laps he’s been typical Gil, flat out. In one way I’m sad to see him go but he's doing what’s absolutely right for him. He wants to build a team and I think he will be a hell of a team owner. In the years to come he’s going to be one of the guys you’ll really want to drive for.

After Petit we were over to Indy to do some tire testing for Firestone, and racked up 950 miles running in two days. It was mostly coming up with new tires for next year. You could always learn something, but the tire testing is quite interesting because you really have to be on your game, and you've got to feel every little change that's going on. I like doing it because it sharpens you up again. It's hard work.

Now it’s time for the championship decider at Homestead on Saturday. It’s big in terms of how the outcome will determine the series champion, but to be honest, we've all done this before. Dixie and I have been there before and Ryan's won championships before in other formulas. It isn’t a pressure-packed as some make it out to be. You show up and you do your best.

You get up there and you work as hard as you can from the first lap in practice to the last lap of the race and hopefully make the right decisions, have a bit of luck and see how it all plays out, but I’ll be pushing 100%, I can tell you that much.

~Dario

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, SPEED, FOX, or NewsCorp.

2007 Indianapolis 500 winner and IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti returns to open wheel racing alongside new teammate and reigning Indianapolis 500 winner and IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon this season for Target Chip Ganassi Racing.

Franchitti posted four wins, four pole positions in 2007 en route to his first IndyCar Series championship, and 2009 will be his first IndyCar season with Team Target. Franchitti has over 180 starts under his belt between the CART and IndyCar Series resulting in 18 wins, 17 poles and 95 top-10 finishes (1997-present). He is the winningest driver in U.S open-wheel history from Great Britain.

In 2009, the Target IndyCar team will be the first in major auto racing history to pair drivers who have won both its sanctioning body’s Driver Championship (IndyCar Series) and its marquee event (Indianapolis 500) the previous two seasons.

Visit ChipGanassiRacing.com to learn more about the team, and Franchitti.com to learn more about Dario.




The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED