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QUITE how good Dario Franchitti is on the dance floor I don't know, but this weekend he will be excused if he spends much of the time humming the Seventies disco hit 'The Hustle' as he prepares to make his debut in the Indy Racing League at the 1.5-mile oval at Homestead in Miami.
The 29-year-old from Bathgate, after six seasons battling it out in the CART FedEx Championship, has switched his allegiance - along with his Andretti Green Racing team - to the rival IRL series.
But the Scot, already fancied as one of the favourites to lift the 2003 title, admits he's had to adopt a completely different driving style to ensure he can wrestle his new Honda-powered Dallara chassis round the tight short ovals which make up the 16-race championship.
"The close-season testing has been a huge amount of fun and very, very rewarding," he said. "Short ovals are fun and because of the aerodynamics on the car, it has a huge amount of grip and because of that you really have to hustle the thing.
"The last time I drove a car with big downforce on an oval was in 1997, and I can definitely feel the experience I've gained since then. It was all very new to me at that point. So you have...