These Are the Daily Drivers of Your Favorite Racers

Four-time IndyCar champion and three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti may not be an active racer anymore, but he’s still firmly embedded in the motorsport world thanks to his role as Formula E commentator and advisor for Chip Ganassi Racing in IndyCar. As you might imagine, he also has one hell of a car collection. When I asked him about his daily driver during the New York City ePrix, his response was, “Daily? Phew. I have a big weakness for cars.”

He told me that he’s usually opting for a BMW M5 when he’s going about his daily business, “But then it could be an Integrale or one of the silly cars. The silly cars aren’t quite easy to park, but I take them on the school run.

“My oldest daughter, Sophia, she’s at an age she’s embarrassed by showing up in something really loud, but we enjoy the drive so much together to school in something fun. The great thing about T.50, it’d be three seats so I can take both girls to school.”

Being dropped off by your race car driver dad in a supercar? Not bad.

This year has marked George Russell’s first at the Mercedes-Benz Formula 1 team, and as with many of the drivers you’ll see on this list, he’s benefitted from a nice company car: a G-Wagen.

“I used to have a Mercedes GTR, a two-door sort of sports car, but I always had the urge of putting my foot down,” he admitted during a conversation with Jalopnik in November. “So I thought, ‘You know what? I need a bit more of a cruiser. I’ll get a G-Wagen.’ Yeah, I love it.”

Alfa Romeo may not actually own its own Formula 1 team, but being the primary sponsor does have its perks for driver Valtteri Bottas, who has been using an Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio as his daily driver of choice.

“It has a nice engine, and actually I can fit my bicycles and everything at the back,” the Finn told Jalopnik. “So, works for me.”

After the glitz and glamour of Formula 1, Marcus Ericsson has transitioned to the slightly more down-to-earth world of IndyCar racing. As a Honda driver, he has a Honda company car, a Pilot, which he says is “very nice, comfortable, and then it gets me from A to B, so it does the job.”

However, Ericsson just so happened to win the Indy 500 this year — and part of the prize package was a brand-new Corvette Z06. When Jalopnik spoke to him, it was just days after the race, so the car hadn’t been delivered just yet, but Ericsson was looking forward to getting his taste of American performance.

Another driver who went from F1 to IndyCar, Romain Grosjean is adapting to American life well with a new pickup truck, the Honda Ridgeline.

“It’s small but super convenient to put my bicycle, my car stuff, in the back and go around,” Grosjean told Jalopnik just after the Indy 500. However, Grosjean and his family have also been enjoying the nomadic life thanks to a new RV.

Three-time W Series Champion Jamie Chadwick should be one of the hottest commodities when it comes to automotive advertising — and while she admits that she’s “sent some stuff,” her daily driver of choice is the humble electric Renault Twizy.

“I live in central London, so I can just slip around in that, which is ideal,” she told Jalopnik. We approve of a fellow proponent of the small car.

Simona de Silvestro has been competing on a partial IndyCar schedule with Paretta Autosport these past few years, leaving plenty of time for her other hobbies: Olympic bobsledding. But the Iron Maiden still aims for speed in her daily life, which is why she drives a Porsche Cayenne.

She also told Jalopnik an incredible story about charging a previous car — a Chevy Volt — from the balcony of her third-floor apartment.

Alright, okay. Beth Paretta isn’t a racing driver, but as the owner of Paretta Autosport, a woman-forward approach to IndyCar racing, I’m including her anyway, because she’s a certified badass. And that’s just backed up by the fact that she drives a BMW M235.

“And a Chevrolet!” she added, a nod to the fact that Paretta Autosport joined up with Chevy-powered Ed Carpenter Racing for 2022. She did mention that she needs to upgrade to something a little bigger, and she’s had her eye on the Cadillac XT6.

Canadian Dalton Kellett has graced the IndyCar grid for the past few years — but unfortunately looks to be sidelined for 2023. Still, we had a chance to catch up during his most recent season with A.J. Foyt Racing, and the Chevrolet-based team afforded the driver a practical daily in the form of a Tahoe.

Oliver Askew has competed in open-wheel racing series around the world, from IndyCar to his most recent stint with Andretti in Formula E — but when Jalopnik asked him about his daily driver, he admitted that he’s not much of a car guy. Since he’s on the road so much, he doesn’t own his own car but instead shares one with the family, but the Askews’ most recent “grocery-getter” is a Volkswagen GTI, which replaced their previous Volvo 240. Despite his ambivalence, Askew also admitted that he loves driving his family’s 1986 Ford F-150.

Askew’s Andretti Formula E teammate Jake Dennis has competed in endurance and sports car racing alongside his open-wheel adventures, so his daily driver is supplied by BMW in the form of an M3.

That said, he mentioned he was quite proud of his first car, a Vauxhall Corsa.

“It was lowered, because I was 17,” he said.

“Because that’s what you have to do when you’re 17,” I said.

Dennis laughed. “Yeah. When I was cool at 17.”

Teenager Chloe Chambers is kind of the coolest person I’ve ever met. She competed alongside Jamie Chadwick in this year’s W Series season, and she’s also set more car-related world records than some of the world’s most accomplished drivers. She recently got her license, and she’s found freedom behind the wheel of a Mazda CX-5. Her first car, though, was a gorgeous 2005 Mini Cooper S.

Justin Marks used to compete in stock car racing, but he’s recently come to the forefront of the NASCAR world thanks to his co-ownership of the instantly successful Trackhouse Cup Series team. When it comes to a practical daily driver, Marks opts for the comfort and class of a Chevrolet Suburban.

But he couldn’t help listing off the other wheels sitting in his driveway: “I just took delivery of a 2022 911 Turbo S Lightweight, which is one of the only in the country, and it’s just ludicrously fast,” he said. “Then, I’ve got a ‘73 911 RS Clone and a ‘53 Chevy pickup.”

No, those aren’t just show cars, either. Marks confirmed to Jalopnik that he drives them all.

Another stock car alum, Sam Hunt is the founder of NASCAR Xfinity Series team Sam Hunt Racing, and he too owns a reasonable daily: A Toyota Tacoma.

“It’s nothing flashy,” Hunt admitted. “It needs to be cleaned out. The oil probably needs to be changed. But yeah, I’ve never owned a fast car, personally.”

As much as Hunt would love a Toyota Supra, he says it’s not really an option: “I’m becoming such an old practical man. Practicality is so much more important than what’s cool or what’s going to be the most fun. We have a dog, and we’re always carrying so much stuff.”