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Chip Ganassi Racing
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Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR, also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams), is an American auto racing organization competing in the NTT IndyCar Series. They have formerly competed in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, Global Rallycross Championship, Extreme E, Rolex Sports Car Series, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship. It was founded in 1990 by businessman and former racecar driver Chip Ganassi from the assets of Patrick Racing to compete in the CART IndyCar World Series.
After winning four consecutive CART championships from 1996 to 1999 with drivers Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi and Juan Pablo Montoya, in 2000 Ganassi became the first CART organization to return to the Indianapolis 500 after the open-wheel "split" between CART and the Indy Racing League in 1996. A dominant victory with Montoya would foresee the team's permanent switch to the IRL (now IndyCar Series), where further championships would be won with Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti and Álex Palou, including another four straight from 2008 to 2011. In 2025, the team fielded the Nos. 8, 9 and 10 Dallara-Hondas for Kyffin Simpson, Dixon, and Palou full-time in the IndyCar Series, and the No. 9 and 10 Dallaras for Jonathan Browne and Niels Koolen in the Indy NXT Series.
In 2001, Ganassi bought a majority stake in Felix Sabates' Team SABCO NASCAR team, which had operated since 1989, marking his entry into that championship as Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates and inheriting that organizations history, while also partnering to compete in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. In 2009, Ganassi partnered with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. owner Teresa Earnhardt to merge their NASCAR operations into Ganassi's shop and run under the banner of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. The NASCAR team dropped the Earnhardt name in 2014, and Ganassi revealed that Teresa was never truly involved with the team. Rob Kauffman, chairman of the Race Team Alliance, purchased a stake in the team in 2015. Sabates retired from his ownership role after the 2020 season. In 2021, Ganassi accepted an unsolicited offer from former CGR Xfinity Series driver Justin Marks to sell the entire NASCAR operation to Marks' Trackhouse Racing Team, with the deal finalized after that season. The NASCAR program fielded full-time entries for notable drivers including Kyle Petty, Joe Nemechek, Sterling Marlin, Jimmy Spencer, Casey Mears, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jamie McMurray, Kyle Larson, Kurt Busch and Ross Chastain
Together, they have won 17 Open Wheel titles (4 in CART, 13 in IndyCar), 5 Grand-Am sports car championships, and wins in the Indianapolis 500 (six times), Daytona 500, Brickyard 400, 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, Petit Le Mans and a 24 Hours of Le Mans class win, and over 200 wins across all categories.
In 1989, Chip Ganassi, who had driven in the IndyCar World Series but had his career cut short due to a career-ending crash at Michigan in 1984, joined Pat Patrick as co-owner for Emerson Fittipaldi's Marlboro IndyCar team. Patrick had announced he was going to retire at the end of the year, and the team would go completely to Ganassi. The team won the Indy 500 and the IndyCar Championship.
By season's end, Patrick had second thoughts. Instead of retracting the sale of the team to Ganassi, he went ahead with the deal as planned and instead restarted his team by taking over the upstart Alfa Romeo IndyCar effort for 1990. Fittipaldi took the Marlboro sponsorship to Team Penske, an arrangement that was also pre-planned (Penske had supplied Patrick with a fleet of Penske chassis for 1989 as part of the deal).
Ganassi officially took over the remaining assets of the team (including the 1989 Penske chassis) and renamed it Chip Ganassi Racing. He signed former Formula One driver Eddie Cheever and raced full-time in the IndyCar World series with Target as the primary sponsor.
In 1992, Ganassi expanded to a two-car effort for the Indy 500, adding Arie Luyendyk for the Indy-only entry. Later Ganassi debuted rookie Robby Gordon in selected events. For 1993, Luyendyk replaced Cheever full-time. Luyendyk won the pole position for the Indy 500 and finished second to Fittipaldi, Ganassi's former driver in his partnership with Patrick. For 1994, Michael Andretti joined the team, immediately after returning from his failed transition to Formula One in 1993. He scored Ganassi's first IndyCar victory at Surfers Paradise.
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Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR, also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams), is an American auto racing organization competing in the NTT IndyCar Series. They have formerly competed in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, Global Rallycross Championship, Extreme E, Rolex Sports Car Series, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship. It was founded in 1990 by businessman and former racecar driver Chip Ganassi from the assets of Patrick Racing to compete in the CART IndyCar World Series.
After winning four consecutive CART championships from 1996 to 1999 with drivers Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi and Juan Pablo Montoya, in 2000 Ganassi became the first CART organization to return to the Indianapolis 500 after the open-wheel "split" between CART and the Indy Racing League in 1996. A dominant victory with Montoya would foresee the team's permanent switch to the IRL (now IndyCar Series), where further championships would be won with Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti and Álex Palou, including another four straight from 2008 to 2011. In 2025, the team fielded the Nos. 8, 9 and 10 Dallara-Hondas for Kyffin Simpson, Dixon, and Palou full-time in the IndyCar Series, and the No. 9 and 10 Dallaras for Jonathan Browne and Niels Koolen in the Indy NXT Series.
In 2001, Ganassi bought a majority stake in Felix Sabates' Team SABCO NASCAR team, which had operated since 1989, marking his entry into that championship as Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates and inheriting that organizations history, while also partnering to compete in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. In 2009, Ganassi partnered with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. owner Teresa Earnhardt to merge their NASCAR operations into Ganassi's shop and run under the banner of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. The NASCAR team dropped the Earnhardt name in 2014, and Ganassi revealed that Teresa was never truly involved with the team. Rob Kauffman, chairman of the Race Team Alliance, purchased a stake in the team in 2015. Sabates retired from his ownership role after the 2020 season. In 2021, Ganassi accepted an unsolicited offer from former CGR Xfinity Series driver Justin Marks to sell the entire NASCAR operation to Marks' Trackhouse Racing Team, with the deal finalized after that season. The NASCAR program fielded full-time entries for notable drivers including Kyle Petty, Joe Nemechek, Sterling Marlin, Jimmy Spencer, Casey Mears, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jamie McMurray, Kyle Larson, Kurt Busch and Ross Chastain
Together, they have won 17 Open Wheel titles (4 in CART, 13 in IndyCar), 5 Grand-Am sports car championships, and wins in the Indianapolis 500 (six times), Daytona 500, Brickyard 400, 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, Petit Le Mans and a 24 Hours of Le Mans class win, and over 200 wins across all categories.
In 1989, Chip Ganassi, who had driven in the IndyCar World Series but had his career cut short due to a career-ending crash at Michigan in 1984, joined Pat Patrick as co-owner for Emerson Fittipaldi's Marlboro IndyCar team. Patrick had announced he was going to retire at the end of the year, and the team would go completely to Ganassi. The team won the Indy 500 and the IndyCar Championship.
By season's end, Patrick had second thoughts. Instead of retracting the sale of the team to Ganassi, he went ahead with the deal as planned and instead restarted his team by taking over the upstart Alfa Romeo IndyCar effort for 1990. Fittipaldi took the Marlboro sponsorship to Team Penske, an arrangement that was also pre-planned (Penske had supplied Patrick with a fleet of Penske chassis for 1989 as part of the deal).
Ganassi officially took over the remaining assets of the team (including the 1989 Penske chassis) and renamed it Chip Ganassi Racing. He signed former Formula One driver Eddie Cheever and raced full-time in the IndyCar World series with Target as the primary sponsor.
In 1992, Ganassi expanded to a two-car effort for the Indy 500, adding Arie Luyendyk for the Indy-only entry. Later Ganassi debuted rookie Robby Gordon in selected events. For 1993, Luyendyk replaced Cheever full-time. Luyendyk won the pole position for the Indy 500 and finished second to Fittipaldi, Ganassi's former driver in his partnership with Patrick. For 1994, Michael Andretti joined the team, immediately after returning from his failed transition to Formula One in 1993. He scored Ganassi's first IndyCar victory at Surfers Paradise.