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EspañolCHIP GANASSI RACING
(Redirected from Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates)
'Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates' is an automotive racing organization with teams competing in NASCAR, IRL, and Grand-Am racing. It is owned by businessmen Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates.
The team is based in Concord, North Carolina, which is a suburb of Charlotte.
The NASCAR operation was formed in 1989 by Felix Sabates, a Cuban immigrant who was a self-made millionaire in products such as Teddy Ruxpin. The team was known as 'Team SABCO' or 'SABCO Racing.' In 2001, Ganassi bought 80% of the ownership interest in the team, the same year the team switched from Chevy to Dodge. However, Sabates plans to give his 20% interest back to Ganassi during the 2012 season.
The #39 car was often a R&D car for CGN. It debuted in 2003 at Watkins Glen with Scott Pruett driving, starting 28th and finishing 2nd. Pruett and the car reappeared in 2004 and 2005 at Infineon, where Pruett finished 3rd and 31st, respectively. He also attempted The Glen, but he failed to qualify both years. In 2005, former champion Bill Elliott drove the car with Coors sponsorship at the Bud Shootout when his regular ride was unavailable. David Stremme then drove seven races in preparation for his bid in 2006 for NASCAR Rookie of the Year. Casey Mears was originally going to drive this car full-time in 2006 with sponsorship from Home123, but it was later announced he would drive the #42 car instead. Home123 then terminated its contract with CGN. However, after the surprise announcement of Juan Pablo Montoya coming to NASCAR from Formula 1, the #39 car returned as the #30 sponsored by Havoline. Originally it was thought that the 30 would switch owners points with the 42, but this was later denied. The car debuted at the Ford 400 at the end of the 2006 season. Montoya would make the race but would be involved in a fiery crash late after contact with Ryan Newman. The car has not run since
The #40 car debuted in 1993 as the 2nd car in the SABCO stable. It had sponsorship from Dirt Devil and was piloted by rookie driver Kenny Wallace. After Wallace finished 3rd behind Bobby Labonte and Jeff Gordon in the NASCAR Rookie of the Year standings, he left for other opportunities. Bobby Hamilton drove the car the next season with sponsorship from Kendall, during which the #40 car was bought by Dick Brooks. Hamilton finished 23rd in points that year. The 1995 season saw multiple drivers such as Rich Bickle, Greg Sacks, and Shane Hall pilot the car. But at the end of the year, Brooks closed up shop and sold the team back to Sabates. The team came back in 1996 with First Union sponsoring the car and Greg Sacks driving. Returning full-time the next year with rookie driver Robby Gordon driving and Coors Light paying the bills, things looked promising when Gordon won the pole at the spring Atlanta race. Unfortunately, Gordon, an open-wheel ace, suffered burns during the Indianapolis 500. By the time he came back, the damage was done, and despite picking up a top-5 at Watkins Glen, Gordon was released. Sacks returned to finish out the year.
For 1998, Sabates chose a more experienced driver in 2-time Daytona 500 winner Sterling Marlin. Marlin did not qualify at the spring Atlanta race, one year after the team won the pole position there, marking the first time since 1986 Marlin missed a Winston Cup race. At the end of the year, Marlin had 6 top-10's and was 18th in points. Marlin showed a brief insurgence in 1999 when he won the pole at Pocono, but the mediocrity continued, and it looked like Marlin's best days were behind him. In 2001, the car got a new silver-red paint scheme, a manufacturer switch to Dodge, a new crew chief in Lee McCall, and a new owner in Ganassi. Marlin made an impression by winning his qualifying race for the Daytona 500, but the euphoria soon vaporized. On the last lap of the 500, Marlin's car bumped into Dale Earnhardt, causing the 7-time champion to lose control and crash into the wall, killing him. Out of anger and grief, fans sent hate mail and death threats to Marlin and his wife, claiming him responsible for Earnhardt's death. They only ceased when Earnhardt's drivers, his son Dale Jr. and Michael Waltrip, publicly defended Marlin. Marlin was able to rise above the controversy, and gave Dodge its first win since its return to NASCAR at Michigan, and finished 3rd in points. Marlin led the points standings for most of 2002, but broke his neck at Kansas Speedway, ending his season. Jamie McMurray, scheduled to drive the #42 car the following season, filled in for Marlin. At Lowe's Motor Speedway, McMurray beat out Bobby Labonte to win his first race in just his second Nextel Cup start. The emotional victory was capped off with a phone call from Marlin through the television network congratulating McMurray on his victory. Since then, Marlin has not won a race, and rookie David Stremme replaced Marlin in 2006. This move outraged some fans, since Coors and Ganassi both stated that the decision was partly due to Coors attempting to target the younger demographic. Stremme did not finish higher than 11th and had a 33rd-place finish in the points.
Before the 2007 season started, Lone Star left the 40 team as primary sponsor, leaving only Coors Light. Since the beginning of the season, TUMS has also come on as a sponsor of the 40 team. Thus far into his sophomore season, Stremme has had a much better start to the season, earning his first top ten in the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, posting his best career finish, 8th, two weeks later in the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway, and is currently sitting 25th in the point standings.
For 2008, however, this team does not have a sponsor and may soon have to find a driver. Coors announced its departure from CGRFS, leaving the door open for Stremme to look for another ride. 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti is rumored for the ride. In an irony, Franchitti is contesting the 2007 IndyCar Series title with another Ganassi driver, Scott Dixon.
The #41 car is the original part of Ganassi's NASCAR stable. It debuted in 1989 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, as the #42 PEAK Pontiac driven by Kyle Petty, who finished 4th. The car ran on and off for the rest of the year before moving to full-time status in 1990. Petty won one race and finished 11th in points that year. Petty was running strong in 1991 with new sponsorship from Mello Yello, before he broke his leg in an accident at Talladega Superspeedway. He was replaced by Bobby Hillin, Jr., Tommy Kendall, and Kenny Wallace while he recovered. Petty didn't seem to miss a beat, as he finished 5th in points in both 1992 and 1993.
After that, his career began to run out of steam, as he began to be less consistent and was not able to qualify. He won his final race in 1995 at Dover, the first year the car had Coors Light as a sponsor. In 1996, Petty was temporarily replaced by Jim Sauter to recover from more injuries. After that year, Petty and Sabates split and Coors moved to the #40 car. Joe Nemechek and BellSouth came onboard. The year got off to a rocky start when Nemechek did not qualify for the Daytona 500, but was able to get in on a car bought from Phil Barkdoll. After losing his brother John in an accident at Homestead-Miami Speedway (and missing Darlington to attend his funeral, during which he was replaced by Phil Parsons), Nemechek developed a prowess for qualifying, garnering two pole positions and earning the nickname "Front Row Joe." Nemechek finished a then-career best 26th in points in 1998, before hitting paydirt the following season. Weeks after announcing that they would not race together in 2000, Nemechek won his first Winston Cup race at New Hampshire International Speedway, and won two more pole positions.
In 2000 Kenny Irwin Jr. took over. He was just adjusting to his new team when tragically, he was killed in a practice accident at New Hampshire, the first race since the team won there the previous year. The team took one week off and returned as #01 driven by Ted Musgrave. For 2001, the BellSouth brand Cingular became the sponsor and rookie driver Jason Leffler handling the driving chores. Leffler struggled despite winning a pole at the inaugural race at Kansas Speedway, and he was released at the end of the season. When Cingular moved to the #31 car, Target became the sponsor, the number was changed to #41, and Jimmy Spencer was tabbed to replace Leffler. Spencer did not qualify for the Daytona 500, and was replaced by Scott Pruett at Watkins Glen, then was released. To the surprise of many, Casey Mears, an inexperience and unheralded Busch Series driver was hired to drive the car. After struggling initially, he has come along steadily in Nextel Cup. Reed Sorenson now drives the #41 car full time, and Mears switched to the #42 car. Sorenson had five top-tens and ended the 2006 season 24th in the standings.
What is now the #42 car was the #87 car owned and driven by Joe Nemechek. After he signed with Sabates in 1996, Sabates bought the majority ownership of the team, which debuted at the 1997 Daytona 500 as the #46 First Union Chevy driven by Wally Dallenbach Jr.. After skipping several races, the team moved to full-time racing. Dallenbach competed in 22 races and finished 41st in points. He only raced in four races in 1998 before he was replaced by a rotation of drivers including Jeff Green, Morgan Shepherd, and Tommy Kendall. After First Union stopped their backing at the end of the season, the team was scheduled to close down, but instead it changed its number to #01 and served as the team's research and development car. Green, Steve Grissom, and Ron Hornaday drove the car on a limited schedule in 1999. The team reappeared at Sears Point in 2001 as car #04 when Jason Leffler drove the car while Dorsey Schroeder piloted his regular ride; Leffler did not qualify for the race. The car came back as #42 in 2002 at Watkins Glen when Jimmy Spencer did not qualify while Scott Pruett drove his normal car. The car was scheduled to run seven races with Jamie McMurray driving, but when McMurray filled in for Sterling Marlin, the team didn't run until 2003. When it raced full-time for the first time in 2003, McMurray drove the car with Texaco/Havoline as the sponsor. Despite winning Rookie of the Year honors, McMurray left after the 2005 season to replace Kurt Busch at Roush Racing. Casey Mears moved up to take his place during the 2006 season, but Mears also decided to leave Ganassi, replacing Brian Vickers at Hendrick Motorsports. In July 2006, it was announced that racer Juan Pablo Montoya would replace Mears in the #42. Montoya, a former Formula 1 driver, made his first NASCAR appearance at the end of the 2006 Cup series in the #30 car (see above). He qualified 36th and finished 19th in the 2007 Daytona 500. Juan recorded his first top 5 in his rookie year with a spectacular fifth place finish at Atlanta, in the Kobalt Tools 500. Montoya recently won his first career Nextel Cup race at Infineon Raceway in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 ending a near five year victory drought the Chip Ganassi Racing organization had in the NEXTEL Cup Series.
Target sponsored Ganassi's Champ Car operation. Among its many accomplishments, perhaps the most impressive is Juan Montoya winning the championship in his rookie season in 1999. They won four consecutive series championships, with Jimmy Vasser in 1996, Alex Zanardi the next two seasons and Montoya in 1999. The team ran from 1992 to 2002 before moving into the rival Indy Racing League fulltime. They had run one IRL car for former motocross racer Jeff Ward in 2002, in which Ward won one race at Texas Motor Speedway in one of the closest finishes in IRL history. In its time in CART, driving for Ganassi was viewed as the final proving ground for much of the top talent before moving onto Formula 1.
★ Michael Andretti (1994)
★ Kenny Bräck (2002)
★ Eddie Cheever (1990-1992)
★ Scott Dixon (2002)
★ Memo Gidley (2001)
★ Robby Gordon (1992)
★ Mike Groff (1995)
★ Mauricio Gugelmin (1994)
★ Bryan Herta (1995)
★ Bruno Junqueira (2001-2002)
★ Arie Luyendyk (1992-1993, 1997)
★ Nicolas Minassian (2001)
★ Juan Pablo Montoya (1999-2000)
★ Didier Theys (1992)
★ Jimmy Vasser (1995-2000)
★ Alex Zanardi (1996-1998)
Target made the jump to the IRL in 2002 with Ward driving one car, with the addition of Ganassi's two Champ Car drivers Kenny Brack and Bruno Junqueira for the Indianapolis 500. None of those three would drive for Ganassi in 2003; the replacements were Scott Dixon, a midseason addition to Ganassi's Champ Car team in 2002, and Tomas Scheckter. Dixon won three races and the series championship while Scheckter struggled and was released from his contract. Tony Renna was to replace him, but had a tragic testing crash at Indianapolis that claimed his life. Briton Darren Manning wound up in the seat for 2004. The team's performance suffered the next two seasons and when Manning was fired, a bevy of drivers ran in Ganassi's cars, among them former Formula One drivers Ryan Briscoe and Giorgio Pantano and Jaques Lazier. For 2006, Target Ganassi Racing scaled back to two cars, with Dixon returning along with 2005 Indy 500 champ Dan Wheldon, whom Ganassi signed away from Andretti Green Racing in the offseason. The team also changed to Honda engines (along with all other IRL teams) and Dallara chassis for 2006.
★ Kenny Bräck (2002)
★ Ryan Briscoe (2005)
★ Scott Dixon (2003-)
★ Bruno Junqueira (2001-2002)
★ Jaques Lazier (2005)
★ Darren Manning (2004-2005)
★ Nicolas Minassian (2001)
★ Juan Pablo Montoya (2000)
★ Giorgio Pantano (2005)
★ Tomas Scheckter (2003)
★ Tony Stewart (2001)
★ Jimmy Vasser (2000-2001)
★ Jeff Ward (2002)
★ Dan Wheldon (2006-)
On December 20, 2006, Chip Ganassi Racing announced that it will field an Indy Pro Series team for the first time in 2007, with drivers Chris Festa and Pablo Perez. Perez was severely injured in a crash in the opening race of the IPS season and was not replaced.
Target Chip Ganassi Racing also runs a Daytona Prototype team in the Rolex Grand-Am series fielding a Riley-Lexus car driven by Scott Pruett and Luis Diaz. Their second team car won the 2006 24 Hours of Daytona driven by Ganassi IRL drivers Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon along with NASCAR driver Casey Mears. In 2007, Ganassi won the race again, this time with Pruett, former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya, and Salvador Duran, making him the first owner to win it in back to back years since Al Holbert in 1986-87.
★ Chip Ganassi Racing (English)
★ Chip Ganassi Racing (Spanish) (primarily for information on Juan Pablo Montoya)
★ Racing Reference
'Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates' is an automotive racing organization with teams competing in NASCAR, IRL, and Grand-Am racing. It is owned by businessmen Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates.
The team is based in Concord, North Carolina, which is a suburb of Charlotte.
| Contents |
| NASCAR |
| Car #39 History |
| Car #40 History |
| Car #41 History |
| Car #42 History |
| Champ Car |
| Drivers |
| Indy Racing League |
| Drivers |
| Indy Pro Series |
| Grand Am series |
| External links |
NASCAR
The NASCAR operation was formed in 1989 by Felix Sabates, a Cuban immigrant who was a self-made millionaire in products such as Teddy Ruxpin. The team was known as 'Team SABCO' or 'SABCO Racing.' In 2001, Ganassi bought 80% of the ownership interest in the team, the same year the team switched from Chevy to Dodge. However, Sabates plans to give his 20% interest back to Ganassi during the 2012 season.
Car #39 History
The #39 car was often a R&D car for CGN. It debuted in 2003 at Watkins Glen with Scott Pruett driving, starting 28th and finishing 2nd. Pruett and the car reappeared in 2004 and 2005 at Infineon, where Pruett finished 3rd and 31st, respectively. He also attempted The Glen, but he failed to qualify both years. In 2005, former champion Bill Elliott drove the car with Coors sponsorship at the Bud Shootout when his regular ride was unavailable. David Stremme then drove seven races in preparation for his bid in 2006 for NASCAR Rookie of the Year. Casey Mears was originally going to drive this car full-time in 2006 with sponsorship from Home123, but it was later announced he would drive the #42 car instead. Home123 then terminated its contract with CGN. However, after the surprise announcement of Juan Pablo Montoya coming to NASCAR from Formula 1, the #39 car returned as the #30 sponsored by Havoline. Originally it was thought that the 30 would switch owners points with the 42, but this was later denied. The car debuted at the Ford 400 at the end of the 2006 season. Montoya would make the race but would be involved in a fiery crash late after contact with Ryan Newman. The car has not run since
Car #40 History
The #40 car in 2006.
The #40 car debuted in 1993 as the 2nd car in the SABCO stable. It had sponsorship from Dirt Devil and was piloted by rookie driver Kenny Wallace. After Wallace finished 3rd behind Bobby Labonte and Jeff Gordon in the NASCAR Rookie of the Year standings, he left for other opportunities. Bobby Hamilton drove the car the next season with sponsorship from Kendall, during which the #40 car was bought by Dick Brooks. Hamilton finished 23rd in points that year. The 1995 season saw multiple drivers such as Rich Bickle, Greg Sacks, and Shane Hall pilot the car. But at the end of the year, Brooks closed up shop and sold the team back to Sabates. The team came back in 1996 with First Union sponsoring the car and Greg Sacks driving. Returning full-time the next year with rookie driver Robby Gordon driving and Coors Light paying the bills, things looked promising when Gordon won the pole at the spring Atlanta race. Unfortunately, Gordon, an open-wheel ace, suffered burns during the Indianapolis 500. By the time he came back, the damage was done, and despite picking up a top-5 at Watkins Glen, Gordon was released. Sacks returned to finish out the year.
For 1998, Sabates chose a more experienced driver in 2-time Daytona 500 winner Sterling Marlin. Marlin did not qualify at the spring Atlanta race, one year after the team won the pole position there, marking the first time since 1986 Marlin missed a Winston Cup race. At the end of the year, Marlin had 6 top-10's and was 18th in points. Marlin showed a brief insurgence in 1999 when he won the pole at Pocono, but the mediocrity continued, and it looked like Marlin's best days were behind him. In 2001, the car got a new silver-red paint scheme, a manufacturer switch to Dodge, a new crew chief in Lee McCall, and a new owner in Ganassi. Marlin made an impression by winning his qualifying race for the Daytona 500, but the euphoria soon vaporized. On the last lap of the 500, Marlin's car bumped into Dale Earnhardt, causing the 7-time champion to lose control and crash into the wall, killing him. Out of anger and grief, fans sent hate mail and death threats to Marlin and his wife, claiming him responsible for Earnhardt's death. They only ceased when Earnhardt's drivers, his son Dale Jr. and Michael Waltrip, publicly defended Marlin. Marlin was able to rise above the controversy, and gave Dodge its first win since its return to NASCAR at Michigan, and finished 3rd in points. Marlin led the points standings for most of 2002, but broke his neck at Kansas Speedway, ending his season. Jamie McMurray, scheduled to drive the #42 car the following season, filled in for Marlin. At Lowe's Motor Speedway, McMurray beat out Bobby Labonte to win his first race in just his second Nextel Cup start. The emotional victory was capped off with a phone call from Marlin through the television network congratulating McMurray on his victory. Since then, Marlin has not won a race, and rookie David Stremme replaced Marlin in 2006. This move outraged some fans, since Coors and Ganassi both stated that the decision was partly due to Coors attempting to target the younger demographic. Stremme did not finish higher than 11th and had a 33rd-place finish in the points.
Before the 2007 season started, Lone Star left the 40 team as primary sponsor, leaving only Coors Light. Since the beginning of the season, TUMS has also come on as a sponsor of the 40 team. Thus far into his sophomore season, Stremme has had a much better start to the season, earning his first top ten in the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, posting his best career finish, 8th, two weeks later in the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway, and is currently sitting 25th in the point standings.
For 2008, however, this team does not have a sponsor and may soon have to find a driver. Coors announced its departure from CGRFS, leaving the door open for Stremme to look for another ride. 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti is rumored for the ride. In an irony, Franchitti is contesting the 2007 IndyCar Series title with another Ganassi driver, Scott Dixon.
Car #41 History
The #41 car is the original part of Ganassi's NASCAR stable. It debuted in 1989 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, as the #42 PEAK Pontiac driven by Kyle Petty, who finished 4th. The car ran on and off for the rest of the year before moving to full-time status in 1990. Petty won one race and finished 11th in points that year. Petty was running strong in 1991 with new sponsorship from Mello Yello, before he broke his leg in an accident at Talladega Superspeedway. He was replaced by Bobby Hillin, Jr., Tommy Kendall, and Kenny Wallace while he recovered. Petty didn't seem to miss a beat, as he finished 5th in points in both 1992 and 1993.
After that, his career began to run out of steam, as he began to be less consistent and was not able to qualify. He won his final race in 1995 at Dover, the first year the car had Coors Light as a sponsor. In 1996, Petty was temporarily replaced by Jim Sauter to recover from more injuries. After that year, Petty and Sabates split and Coors moved to the #40 car. Joe Nemechek and BellSouth came onboard. The year got off to a rocky start when Nemechek did not qualify for the Daytona 500, but was able to get in on a car bought from Phil Barkdoll. After losing his brother John in an accident at Homestead-Miami Speedway (and missing Darlington to attend his funeral, during which he was replaced by Phil Parsons), Nemechek developed a prowess for qualifying, garnering two pole positions and earning the nickname "Front Row Joe." Nemechek finished a then-career best 26th in points in 1998, before hitting paydirt the following season. Weeks after announcing that they would not race together in 2000, Nemechek won his first Winston Cup race at New Hampshire International Speedway, and won two more pole positions.
In 2000 Kenny Irwin Jr. took over. He was just adjusting to his new team when tragically, he was killed in a practice accident at New Hampshire, the first race since the team won there the previous year. The team took one week off and returned as #01 driven by Ted Musgrave. For 2001, the BellSouth brand Cingular became the sponsor and rookie driver Jason Leffler handling the driving chores. Leffler struggled despite winning a pole at the inaugural race at Kansas Speedway, and he was released at the end of the season. When Cingular moved to the #31 car, Target became the sponsor, the number was changed to #41, and Jimmy Spencer was tabbed to replace Leffler. Spencer did not qualify for the Daytona 500, and was replaced by Scott Pruett at Watkins Glen, then was released. To the surprise of many, Casey Mears, an inexperience and unheralded Busch Series driver was hired to drive the car. After struggling initially, he has come along steadily in Nextel Cup. Reed Sorenson now drives the #41 car full time, and Mears switched to the #42 car. Sorenson had five top-tens and ended the 2006 season 24th in the standings.
Car #42 History
What is now the #42 car was the #87 car owned and driven by Joe Nemechek. After he signed with Sabates in 1996, Sabates bought the majority ownership of the team, which debuted at the 1997 Daytona 500 as the #46 First Union Chevy driven by Wally Dallenbach Jr.. After skipping several races, the team moved to full-time racing. Dallenbach competed in 22 races and finished 41st in points. He only raced in four races in 1998 before he was replaced by a rotation of drivers including Jeff Green, Morgan Shepherd, and Tommy Kendall. After First Union stopped their backing at the end of the season, the team was scheduled to close down, but instead it changed its number to #01 and served as the team's research and development car. Green, Steve Grissom, and Ron Hornaday drove the car on a limited schedule in 1999. The team reappeared at Sears Point in 2001 as car #04 when Jason Leffler drove the car while Dorsey Schroeder piloted his regular ride; Leffler did not qualify for the race. The car came back as #42 in 2002 at Watkins Glen when Jimmy Spencer did not qualify while Scott Pruett drove his normal car. The car was scheduled to run seven races with Jamie McMurray driving, but when McMurray filled in for Sterling Marlin, the team didn't run until 2003. When it raced full-time for the first time in 2003, McMurray drove the car with Texaco/Havoline as the sponsor. Despite winning Rookie of the Year honors, McMurray left after the 2005 season to replace Kurt Busch at Roush Racing. Casey Mears moved up to take his place during the 2006 season, but Mears also decided to leave Ganassi, replacing Brian Vickers at Hendrick Motorsports. In July 2006, it was announced that racer Juan Pablo Montoya would replace Mears in the #42. Montoya, a former Formula 1 driver, made his first NASCAR appearance at the end of the 2006 Cup series in the #30 car (see above). He qualified 36th and finished 19th in the 2007 Daytona 500. Juan recorded his first top 5 in his rookie year with a spectacular fifth place finish at Atlanta, in the Kobalt Tools 500. Montoya recently won his first career Nextel Cup race at Infineon Raceway in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 ending a near five year victory drought the Chip Ganassi Racing organization had in the NEXTEL Cup Series.
Champ Car
Target sponsored Ganassi's Champ Car operation. Among its many accomplishments, perhaps the most impressive is Juan Montoya winning the championship in his rookie season in 1999. They won four consecutive series championships, with Jimmy Vasser in 1996, Alex Zanardi the next two seasons and Montoya in 1999. The team ran from 1992 to 2002 before moving into the rival Indy Racing League fulltime. They had run one IRL car for former motocross racer Jeff Ward in 2002, in which Ward won one race at Texas Motor Speedway in one of the closest finishes in IRL history. In its time in CART, driving for Ganassi was viewed as the final proving ground for much of the top talent before moving onto Formula 1.
Drivers
★ Michael Andretti (1994)
★ Kenny Bräck (2002)
★ Eddie Cheever (1990-1992)
★ Scott Dixon (2002)
★ Memo Gidley (2001)
★ Robby Gordon (1992)
★ Mike Groff (1995)
★ Mauricio Gugelmin (1994)
★ Bryan Herta (1995)
★ Bruno Junqueira (2001-2002)
★ Arie Luyendyk (1992-1993, 1997)
★ Nicolas Minassian (2001)
★ Juan Pablo Montoya (1999-2000)
★ Didier Theys (1992)
★ Jimmy Vasser (1995-2000)
★ Alex Zanardi (1996-1998)
Indy Racing League
Ganassi's #9 car preparing for practice
Target made the jump to the IRL in 2002 with Ward driving one car, with the addition of Ganassi's two Champ Car drivers Kenny Brack and Bruno Junqueira for the Indianapolis 500. None of those three would drive for Ganassi in 2003; the replacements were Scott Dixon, a midseason addition to Ganassi's Champ Car team in 2002, and Tomas Scheckter. Dixon won three races and the series championship while Scheckter struggled and was released from his contract. Tony Renna was to replace him, but had a tragic testing crash at Indianapolis that claimed his life. Briton Darren Manning wound up in the seat for 2004. The team's performance suffered the next two seasons and when Manning was fired, a bevy of drivers ran in Ganassi's cars, among them former Formula One drivers Ryan Briscoe and Giorgio Pantano and Jaques Lazier. For 2006, Target Ganassi Racing scaled back to two cars, with Dixon returning along with 2005 Indy 500 champ Dan Wheldon, whom Ganassi signed away from Andretti Green Racing in the offseason. The team also changed to Honda engines (along with all other IRL teams) and Dallara chassis for 2006.
Drivers
★ Kenny Bräck (2002)
★ Ryan Briscoe (2005)
★ Scott Dixon (2003-)
★ Bruno Junqueira (2001-2002)
★ Jaques Lazier (2005)
★ Darren Manning (2004-2005)
★ Nicolas Minassian (2001)
★ Juan Pablo Montoya (2000)
★ Giorgio Pantano (2005)
★ Tomas Scheckter (2003)
★ Tony Stewart (2001)
★ Jimmy Vasser (2000-2001)
★ Jeff Ward (2002)
★ Dan Wheldon (2006-)
Indy Pro Series
On December 20, 2006, Chip Ganassi Racing announced that it will field an Indy Pro Series team for the first time in 2007, with drivers Chris Festa and Pablo Perez. Perez was severely injured in a crash in the opening race of the IPS season and was not replaced.
Grand Am series
Target Chip Ganassi Racing also runs a Daytona Prototype team in the Rolex Grand-Am series fielding a Riley-Lexus car driven by Scott Pruett and Luis Diaz. Their second team car won the 2006 24 Hours of Daytona driven by Ganassi IRL drivers Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon along with NASCAR driver Casey Mears. In 2007, Ganassi won the race again, this time with Pruett, former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya, and Salvador Duran, making him the first owner to win it in back to back years since Al Holbert in 1986-87.
External links
★ Chip Ganassi Racing (English)
★ Chip Ganassi Racing (Spanish) (primarily for information on Juan Pablo Montoya)
★ Racing Reference
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