DEVELOPING: Dario Is Done, Doctors Say He Can't Race...

The four-time IZOD IndyCar Series champion and three-time Indianapolis 500 winner has been told by doctors that he has to hang up his steering wheel...

The accident he had in Houston, pretty much wrapped it for him...

Here's part of the statement released from his own website:

One month removed from the crash and based upon the expert advice of the doctors who have treated and assessed my head and spinal injuries post accident, it is their best medical opinion that I must stop racing. They have made it very clear that the risks involved in further racing are too great and could be detrimental to my long term well-being. Based on this medical advice, I have no choice but to stop.

Here's the wreck...
((HT: IndyCar/NBCSN))


Team owner Chip Ganassi followed:

His contributions to the sport of motor racing are too many to list but I can tell you that they go way beyond what he has done on the track. What’s both impressive and unique about Dario is that he has always been a student of racing, someone who not only appreciates the actual science of the sport but also the rich heritage of those racers that have gone before him.

Ganassi anticipates the next chapter of Franchitti's life to be in his shop...

Franchitti is also tied with Sebastien Bourdais and Paul Tracy for seventh on the Indy car career victory list with 31.

DEVELOPING: Dario Franchitti's Car Disintegrates In Houston, Fans Injured By Debris (UPDATE)

((HT: NBCSN))

This, really, was not the way that people wanted the race to have any highlights in Houston with the IndyCars...

Two angles... Dario Franchitti and Takuma Sato got mixed up...


And here...


IndyCar reports that Franchitti is alert and being transported to the hospital. Team owner Chip Ganassi is saying that his driver is okay with some soreness, bumps, and bruises... unconfirmed reports have the number of injured spectators at 15...

“I asked how he was doing, and he said, ‘Eh.’ His ankle is sore, and his back is sore, and he will be taken to the hospital. But he’s OK,” Ganassi told NBCSN's Kevin Lee...

More when we know more...

1730 UPDATE: According to the Houston Fire Department, at least 13 people were injured. Two of the 13 spectators injured were sent to local hospitals while the rest were treated at the scene by EMS, according to Senior Captain Ruy Lozano.