Chip Ganassi

The owner of teams in a variety of disciplines talks about his reasons for quitting racing in the ’80s, his long-term rivalry with Roger Penske and why his burning ambition is just to win the next race

INTERVIEW: ROB WIDDOWS

DPPI

Rivals Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi in 2010 with the Harley J Earl Trophy, left, presented to the winner of the Daytona 500, and the Borg-Warner Trophy – for the winner of the Indy 500

Floyd Ganassi Jr, better known aS ‘Chip’, is quite simply one of the most successful team owners in the sport. He came to motor racing as a driver and raced at Indianapolis before deciding he’d be more successful out of the car.

His team, Chip Ganassi Racing, has won all there is to win including 14 open wheel titles (10 IndyCar and four Champ Car). It’s accumulated a total of 242 race wins including the Indy 500 five times, Grand-Am five times, Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans. And they are still going with teams in IndyCar, IMSA, WEC and Extreme E. Today, Ganassi has his own chapter in American racing history. But, as he tells us from his base in Indianapolis as heads into a new IndyCar season with four cars for Scott Dixon, Alex Palou, Marcus Ericsson, and rookie Marcus Armstrong, he’s not done yet.

Motor Sport: How far has IndyCar come in recent years? Is the sport in better shape since Roger Penske took control?

Chip Ganassi: I guess it’s all about your perspective. Somebody coming in during the last year or two might not think much of it but for me, after 35 years in the sport, it’s been a great thing. We are stewards of the sport, of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, these are national assets, so when you look at the Speedway, for example, this is a regional if not a national treasure and the same could be said of IndyCar itself.

Alex Palou was the 2021 IndyCar champion; he’ll continue to race for Chip Ganassi in 2023

Who owns a sport? Who owns a league? I mean, you can say Liberty Media owns Formula 1, or the team owners own the NFL, but in actual fact it’s the fans who own these sports, or the country itself, that’s the longterm perspective. Roger Penske’s timing, in one sense, could not have been better, but in another sense it could not have been worse because of dealing with the Covid pandemic when he took control.