Franchitti was born on 19 May 1973 in Bathgate, Scotland. He began racing as a young boy. In 1996, he ran in the DTM series for Mercedes-Benz. He moved to CART racing in 1997. He drove for Hogan Racing in 1997. Franchitti finished a strong second place in 1999. In 2000, he thought about moving to the Jaguar Formula One team, but stayed in IndyCar racing. At this time he was driving for Andretti Autosport.