Stremme, who drove the car last year but was released in favor of rookie open-wheel star Dario Franchitti for the 2008 season, will replace the injured Franchitti for Sunday's Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway, Stremme confirmed Saturday.
Franchitti broke his left ankle and suffered minor contusions during a violent crash on Lap 11 of Saturday's Aaron's 312 Nationwide Series race. Franchitti blew a tire, hit the outside wall and slid down the track in Turn 3 into the path of Larry Gunselman, whose No. 91 Ford slammed into the driver's side of Franchitti's Dodge. Conscious and alert, Franchitti was taken to an ambulance on a stretcher and transported to a local hospital for further evaluation, and X-rays confirmed the broken ankle.
Soon after the race, Steven Lane, Franchitti's crew chief in the Sprint Cup Series, asked Stremme if he would be available to sub for Franchitti in Sunday's Cup race. Stremme recently signed with Penske Racing as a test driver and received approval from Rusty Wallace Inc., his Nationwide team, and from owner Roger Penske, before agreeing to fill a relief role for Ganassi.
"It was something that Roger approved," Stremme said. "Since I was already with that team, it was easy to help them out. It's pretty cool that Chip would call Roger and ask him for me to drive again. I hate to see Dario get hurt, but we'll go out tomorrow and do the best we can."
Stremme said the agreement was for this weekend only, and he had been given no indication how long Franchitti would be sidelined.
"It's just for this weekend, because I'm here, and I've worked with the team before," Stremme said. "I thank Roger for giving me the opportunity to help Dario and Chip out."
Stremme finished 24th in the championship standings in the No. 40 Dodge last year
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