Concord, NC (Sports Network) - Target Chip Ganassi Racing announced Tuesday that Dario Franchitti will replace Dan Wheldon in the team's No.10 car, starting in 2009. Franchitti, the 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner and IndyCar Series champion, will return to the open-wheel ranks after spending less than a year in NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series competition. He plans to make several more Nationwide starts this year.

"Part of the reason that I signed with Ganassi last year was because of how many options that Chip has at his disposal for a driver," Franchitti said. "You can do almost any form of racing that you want."

Franchitti's transition to the big leagues in stock cars was tougher than he thought. His best finish in 10 Sprint Cup starts this season was 22nd in March at Martinsville, VA.

"With unification and the new schedule having more road and street courses, it made me think about this more and more," Franchitti said. "I have really enjoyed this last season in stock cars and have not completely closed that chapter of my professional career, but the opportunity that arose was just something I could not pass up."

Franchitti will be teamed with Scott Dixon, who is currently battling Helio Castroneves for the 2008 IndyCar title. Dixon holds a 30-point lead over Castroneves heading into Sunday's season-finale at the Chicagoland Speedway. Last year, Franchitti and Dixon battled for the championship all the way to the last lap at Chicago with Franchitti winning the race and the title.

In July, Franchitti was out of a Cup ride when Ganassi ceased operation of its No.40 team due to lack of sponsorship. He continued to run in some Nationwide races.

"I have really grown to see more of what he is about this season while he raced in NASCAR," team owner Chip Ganassi said. "When there was a possibility of an opening on our IndyCar team, the only person I thought about was Dario. This is going to be a great move for Dario and for our team."

After terrifying airborne crashes in consecutive weeks at Michigan and Kentucky in 2007, Franchitti and his wife, actress Ashley Judd, were convinced it was time for the Scotsman to leave open-wheel racing. It was one of the major factors that led him to NASCAR.

Franchitti was not hurt last year at Michigan and Kentucky, but he sustained a fractured ankle during a crash in the Nationwide race in April at Talladega.

Wheldon won the 2005 Indianapolis 500 and series championship with Andretti Green Racing. The following year, he joined Ganassi and tied Sam Hornish, Jr. for the series title. However, Wheldon lost the "Championship Cup" based on the first tiebreaker (Hornish's four wins for the season compared to Wheldon's two).

"I will be announcing my plans for next season in the near future," Wheldon said. "In the meantime, I want to focus my efforts on winning the last race of the season."

Wheldon has recorded 15 victories in 96 IndyCar starts.