Pruett helps get Franchitti in tune with his new ride

Among his many duties for Chip Ganassi Racing, Auburn's Scott Pruett helped get 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner and IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti up to speed on NASCAR Sprint Cup racing.

"He'll do fine," said Pruett, who also helped Juan Pablo Montoya switch last season. "A great race car driver can drive anything, but it takes time."

Another open-wheel convert to NASCAR, Franchitti will race in his first Daytona 500 on Sunday. Last month at Daytona, Franchitti and Montoya, with Mexico's Memo Rojas, were Pruett's co-pilots in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in Ganassi's No. 01 Lexus Daytona Prototype, Pruett's regular ride in the Grand American sports car series. Pruett and his co-pilots won, giving the local driver a record eight wins in the prestigious event.

One of the most versatile racers around, Pruett himself has competed in both open-wheel and NASCAR races. After just a year in NASCAR, Montoya – who jumped from Formula One – had plenty of advice for Franchitti, too.

"Juan is doing very well," Pruett said of the 2007 Cup Rookie of the Year. "He's very excited about this season and about Dario joining the team. He knows firsthand how difficult it can be moving from open-wheel to NASCAR. He's been extremely helpful, pointing out all the things he noticed when he first came over to Cup."

Franchitti, a native of Scotland and the first European driver to compete through a full Cup schedule, won 18 races and 17 poles during his open-wheel career. A fan favorite, Franchitti is married to actress Ashley Judd.

Franchitti is a quick study, Pruett added.

"We're all trying to help him out, getting him comfortable in the car," Pruett said. "We're trying to make it easier. He'll learn from our mistakes. Absolutely, this is a big challenge for him, but I think he'll do a good job."

Pruett likely will race against Montoya and Franchitti later this year. An expert road-course racer, Pruett will drive a Ganassi car in three road-course events in the Nationwide Series: Mexico City, Montreal and Watkins Glen.

However, schedule conflicts with the Rolex Series might keep Pruett out of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 on June 22 at Infineon Raceway. Pruett has a Rolex Series race that same weekend in Ohio.

"I'm definitely in the three Nationwide races, but the Cup race at Sonoma is still up in the air," he said. "We'll see as we get closer."

New driver for McAnally

Escalon's Eric Holmes, the 2006 NASCAR West Series champion, has joined Antelope-based Bill McAnally Racing and will drive McAnally's No. 16 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota in the West Series this season, which kicks off March 29 at Roseville's All American Speedway.

Holmes, 33, drove a partial West Series schedule for Modesto-based Beebe Racing last year. McAnally's NAPA-sponsored car has won three West Series titles.

"Bill is a proven championship car owner," Holmes said in making his announcement. "I've always wanted to drive for him. The NAPA car has won with every driver he's had in it, so I'm walking into a great situation."

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