Sam Hornish Jr., another Indy-car racer, has struggled trying to qualify for Cup races this year.
Mario Andretti's success was in Indy-car and Formula One racing, but he also won the 1967 Daytona 500, so he understands the transition to stock cars. Andretti thinks money is the motivating force for Franchitti and the others.
"If, in the next 5 years, at best you can [earn] maybe $5 million or $25 million, where do you go?" Andretti said earlier this week from his Nazareth, Pa., home. "NASCAR, right now, definitely has the upper hand [with] earning power. A driver's career is relatively short. They have to look at every opportunity that works for them."
Also, NASCAR racing is more popular nationally than Indy-car racing.
Franchitti's loss is a huge jolt for the Indy Racing League. Driving for Andretti Green Racing, co-owned by Mario's son, Michael, Franchitti is the reigning series and Indianapolis 500 champion.
Safety is another issue. Franchitti's car flipped a couple of times this season. No racing series is totally safe, but in NASCAR drivers walk away from most bad crashes.
"[The IRL] doesn't belong on some of the ovals [its drivers race on]," Andretti said.
"How many times are you going to be lucky?"
When Franchitti signed with Chip Ganassi Racing to race in NASCAR, he said his wild rides in the IRL were "a small part of the decision."
"I have been really intrigued by the challenge of NASCAR for quite a while," he said. "That was the main reason.
"Winning the Indy 500 and the championship made the decision even easier, because I had achieved what I wanted to achieve. It was time to move on."
Franchitti will be in the Busch Series race at Texas on Saturday. Villeneuve is in the Craftsman Truck Series race, also at Texas, tomorrow night.
Andretti Green Racing is moving on past Franchitti, announcing yesterday that Hideki Mutoh will replace him next season.
