Mutoh to replace Franchitti, sign of IRL weakness

UPDATE #2 Mutoh will join Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick at Andretti Green Racing but his recruitment will be seen as a sign that even the strongest IRL teams are now looking for money because clearly Mutoh is getting this ride because he brings sponsorship and is backed by Aguri Suzuki's operations.

10/30/07 Hideki Mutoh, a Japanese driver with only 15 races in the Indy Pro Series, will be officially confirmed Wednesday to the team's No. 27 car. Mutoh, 25, is backed by Aguri Suzuki.

Hideki Mutoh

10/14/07 Robin Miller reported on The SPEED Report Sunday night that Japanese driver Hideki Mutoh is rumored to be replacing Dario Franchitti at Andretti Green Racing with backing from Honda.

Honda is reported to be putting a Japanese driver in a top car to prove that Japanese drivers can win a race. It will be ironic if Mutoh wins before Danica.