Despite his Italian sounding name Dario Franchitti is a native of Edinburgh, Scotland. Dario got his start racing karts in 1984 when he took the Scottish Kart Championship. He captured the British Kart Championship in 1985 and 1986, then took the Scottish championship again in 1988. After moving to Formula Vauxhall in 1991, Dario won the championship with four victories. By 1994 he had moved into the British Formula 3 circuit where he took 4th overall, and one win. Dario took a detour from open-wheel cars in 1995 to compete in the FIA International Touring Car Championship finishing 3rd, and 4th in 1996.

Coming to the US in 1997, Dario made his debut in the CART series. By 1999 Dario tied for 1st in points but was given 2nd overall due to tie-breakers. In 2000 Dario suffered a serious crash during practice that left him with a fractured pelvis and brain contusions. After recovering, Dario fought his way back to a fourth place finish in 2002, but then suffered another serious injury in 2003 that caused him to miss most of the season. In 2004 he was back in the cockpit this time in the IRL where he ended up 6th overall.