ARCA official asks Dario “You speak English?”

Dario Franchitti is a Scot of Italian descent, a former open wheel driver, the defending Indy Racing League and Indianapolis 500 champion. But he also lives in Nashville, is married to a rabid Kentucky Wildcats alum – actress Ashley Judd – and can discern the nuance of several different kinds of barbecue, thanks very much.

His credentials as a cultural Southerner are verifiable despite the brogue. His stock car credentials must soon be the same. He's got about four months before he assumes the wheel of the No. 40 Dodge for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates in the Nextel Cup series.

So there he was on pit road at Talladega Superspeedway on Thursday morning, about to take his first stock car laps in an ARCA series practice. An ARCA official strolled to his car and leaned into the window.

"You speak English?"

Franchitti was flabbergasted, befuddled and amused as his crew howled over the team radio. SPTimes.com