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Franchitti still mastering drafting

Dario Franchitti says he is still getting to grips with drafting as he looks to qualify for his first Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend

The Scot made his stock car debut last year at the 2.6-mile oval in the ARCA RE/MAX Series, and has only raced a few times at a restrictor plate track, counting his Cup debut at Daytona in February where he finished 33rd.

Despite racing and drafting at high speeds at ovals in the past in Champ Car and the IRL IndyCar Series, Franchitti believes there are marked differences between that experience and drafting in stock cars.

"I think the speed difference is obviously quite a lot, but you can get a lot closer with the Sprint Cup car and with the Nationwide car," he said. "We saw last year what happens when you get close in IndyCars, you take off and stuff.

"One of the things I noticed, with IndyCars it's all about who's in front of you, getting the draft from the car in front, whereas when you ran in a stock car of any kind the guy who's behind you is almost as important or in fact more important that who's in front.

"It's taken a little while to get used to the intricacies of drafting and you're out there with these guys who've been doing it for years. I'm learning on the job; every chance I get, I'm learning."

The Ganassi driver, who qualified fourth for Saturday's Nationwide Series race, believes he is also getting up to speed in learning about the side drafting, which he says is key to success in restrictor-plate racing.

"From when I ran in the ARCA race last year, I've definitely got a better feeling for side drafting," Franchitti added. "You can feel when someone's on your left, rear or the right rear coming alongside.

"What I was explaining to some friends of mine back in the IndyCar side of things is with IndyCars it's all about the air going over the car. With these cars it seems it's all about the air going around the side of the cars and you can gain or lose quite a lot with that side draft as well."

Franchitti's best restrictor-plate result has been the tenth place he claimed at Daytona in February in the ARCA RE/MAX season opener.

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