Breaking news this afternoon out of the Chip Ganassi Racing camp with word that three time Indy 500 winner and four time IndyCar Champion Dario Franchitti has retired from auto racing effectively immediately. As we reported here back in early October, Franchitti suffered a horrible crash in Houston, Texas while competing in an IndyCar event and was in very serious medial distress after the wreck. He has been in the hospital ever since and according to the statement released by Ganassi Racing, the injuries to his spine, neck, and other potentially crippling areas leave him in no position to continue as a racing driver.

Franchitti was quoted in the statement as saying, “Since my racing accident in Houston, I have been in the expert care of some of the leading doctors and nurses, all of whom have made my health, my safety and my recovery their top priority.  I am eternally grateful for the medical care I have received over the last several weeks.  I’d also like to thank my family and friends for their unbelievable support.

One month removed from the crash and based upon the expert advice of the doctors who have treated and assessed my head and spinal injuries post accident, it is their best medical opinion that I must stop racing.  They have made it very clear that the risks involved in further racing are too great and could be detrimental to my long term well-being.  Based on this medical advice, I have no choice but to stop.

Racing has been my life for over 30 years and it’s really tough to think that the driving side is now over.  I was really looking forward to the 2014 season with Target Chip Ganassi Racing, with a goal of winning a fourth Indianapolis 500 and a fifth IndyCar Series championship.

I’d like to thank all my fellow competitors, teammates, crew and sponsors for their incredible support over the course of this amazing ride.  I’d also like to thank Hogan Racing, Team KOOL Green and Andretti Green Racing for the opportunities to compete on the racetrack, and especially Target Chip Ganassi Racing, who have become like a family to me since I joined their team back in 2008.  I would be remiss if I didn’t thank all my fans around the world.  I can’t thank you enough for standing by my side for all these years.

I’ll forever look back on my time racing in CART and the IndyCar Series with fond memories and the relationships I’ve forged in the sport will last a lifetime.

Hopefully in time, I’ll be able to continue in some off-track capacity with the IndyCar Series.  I love open-wheel racing and I want to see it succeed.  I’ll be working with Chip to see how I can stay involved with the team, and with all the amazing friends I’ve made over the years at Target.

As my buddy Greg Moore would say, ‘See you up front'”

Chip Ganassi was effusive in his praise of the longtime fan favorite, “Dario Franchitti has done so much for Target Chip Ganassi Racing so it will be very disappointing to not see him in our cars next season.  But simply put, Dario is a motorsports legend and will be sorely missed on the race track by everyone in the paddock and in the stands.  His contributions to the sport of motor racing are too many to list but I can tell you that they go way beyond what he has done on the track.  What’s both impressive and unique about Dario is that he has always been a student of racing, someone who not only appreciates the actual science of the sport but also the rich heritage of those racers that have gone before him.  This news only serves as the start of next chapter in Dario Franchitti’s racing career – which I expect will be here with Target Chip Ganassi Racing.”

No doubt about it, Franchitti is one of the best known and liked stars in open wheel racing which has been suffering a horrible identity crisis in recent years since there were two competing series that split fans, teams, and sponsor money alike. While there have not been huge strides in recovering lost audience, the Indy 500 is still one of the great spectacles in racing and Franchitti is one of the few men to conquer it three times. We’re sure he’ll no wander far from the sport, but it will be odd not to hear his named called on the grid next season.

HERE’S VIDEO OF THE VIOLENT, NOW CAREER ENDING CRASH FROM HOUSTON –