What Is Dario Franchitti's Net Worth?
Dario Franchitti is a Scottish retired professional race car driver who has a net worth of $50 million. Dario Franchitti is known for winning the IndyCar Series four times, in 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011. He is also a three-time champion in the Indianapolis 500, in 2007, 2010, and 2012, and winner of the 2008 24 Hours of Daytona.
Early Life
George Dario Marino Franchitti was born on May 19, 1973, in Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland. His parents, Marina and George Franchitti, were also born in Scotland, and the family is of Italian heritage. They moved from Bathgate to Whitburn when Dario was eight years old, and later, he attended Stewart's Melville College where he became interested in karting. Franchitti got his start in Great Britain in the early 1990s.
Dario won the Karting Scottish Junior Championship in 1984, the British Junior Championships in 1985 and 1986, and the Scottish senior title in 1988. He climbed to Formula Vauxhall Junior in 1991 and won the championship with four victories. The next year, he moved up to Formula Vauxhall Lotus and joined Paul Steward Racing. He finished fourth in his first year and was named the McLaren Autosport Young Driver of the Year. In 1994, Dario graduated to the British Formula 3 Championship where he won one race and finished fourth in his first year. He was not retained for 1995, his final year for single-seaters in Europe.
Racing Career
Franchitti joined Hogan Racing in 1997, making his United States debut in the CART Championship Series. He lost his close friend, Greg Moore, to a fatal crash in the final race of 1999 at California Speedway, and a big crash in preseason testing in 2000 ruined Dario's season. He only won once in 2001 at Cleveland, and he dedicated his Vancouver Molson Indy win in 2002 to Greg, who was from nearby Maple Ridge, British Columbia.
Franchitti moved to the IndyCar series in 2003 but did not achieve success until 2007. That year, he won the Indianapolis 500 which was shortened by rain, and BBC Scotland named him their Sports Personality of the Year. Dario briefly switched to NASCAR, but things didn't work out, and he returned to IndyCar shortly thereafter. After achieving more success, he was involved in a serious accident in Houston in 2013. Due to the injuries he suffered, Franchitti retired immediately. Over his career, Dario had 31 victories.
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Career Earnings
Dario Franchitti earned his net worth through his years of professional racing and endorsement deals. Between CART and IndyCar, he brought in over $17 million in salary.
With sponsors such as Target, Polaroid, Dodge, Wrigley's Juicy Fruit, and Guitar Hero, Dario earned nearly tens of millions more. Perhaps as much as $100 million.
Personal Life
Dario was married to actress Ashley Judd, but the couple divorced in 2013. Dario then married Englishwoman Eleanor Robb, and together, they have two daughters, Sofia and Valentina.
In 2011, Franchitti joined Ignite Game Technologies to help develop an online auto-racing game. He also appeared in the movie "Turbo" as a Scottish news anchor and has been on television talk shows such as "The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet," "Pardon the Interruption," "Larry King Live," "Live with Regis and Kelly," and "Late Show with David Letterman."
