Ashley Judd's Husband Back to IRL

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Dario Franchitti will return to IndyCar in 2009 as the replacement driver for Dan Wheldon at Chip Ganassi Racing.

Franchitti, the 2007 IndyCar Series champion and Indianapolis 500 winner, left open wheel at the end of last season to move into NASCAR driving for Ganassi. But his Sprint Cup team never found sponsorship, and Ganassi shut down the No. 40 car in July.

Franchitti has been lingering in NASCAR since, and Ganassi has entered him in a handful of second-tier Nationwide Series races. He had said at the time his team closed that returning to IndyCar was not an option, but apparently changed his mind when Ganassi decided not to re-sign Wheldon.