Franchitti injured in Nationwide crash.

Dario Franchitti will miss Sunday's Aaron's 499 at the Talladega Superspeedway after suffering a fractured ankle in a crash during the early stages of Saturday's Aaron's 312 Nationwide Series race.

The Sprint Cup rookie, who was set to start 43rd in Sunday's Sprint Cup race, suffered the injury after being T-Boned in the drivers-side door by Larry Gunselman on lap eleven of Saturday's race and will be replaced by former #40 Chip Ganassi driver David Stremme on Sunday.

The 2007 Indycar Series champion and Indy 500 winner blew a right rear tyre going into turn three on the 2.66-mile Talladega oval in heavy traffic but despite making light contact with several cars and the outside retaining wall he managed to avoid any major damage as his car slid down onto the apron in turn three.

But just as Franchitti's car slid to a halt it was hit at full tilt by an unsighted Gunselman directly in the drivers side door, leaving the car bent in the shape of a banana and its occupant badly shaken.

Although Franchitti was gingerly able to extract himself he was placed on a stretcher and taken to the awaiting ambulance where doctors at the infield care centre quickly transferred him to a nearby hospital to get treatment on his injured ankle.

The Performance Racing Network radio station later confirmed that Franchitti had suffered a fractured ankle and that David Stremme, the man whom Franchitti replaced in the #40 entry, would replace him for Sunday's race. Luckily Franchitti's injuries appear to be limited to his ankle although there is no word on how many races he will eventually miss.