Chip Ganassi Racing facts for kids
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| Owner(s) | Chip Ganassi |
|---|---|
| Principal(s) | Mike Hull (IndyCar/IMSA) Dave Berkenfield (Extreme E) |
| Base | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Series | IndyCar Series WeatherTech SportsCar Championship FIA World Endurance Championship |
| Race drivers | IndyCar: 4.  Kyffin Simpson (R)8.  Linus Lundqvist (R)9.  Scott Dixon10.  Álex Palou11. Marcus ArmstrongWeatherTech SportsCar Championship: 01.  Sébastien Bourdais Scott Dixon Álex Palou Renger van der ZandeFIA World Endurance Championship: 2. Earl Bamber Alex Lynn |
| Sponsors | IndyCar: 4. Journie Rewards 8. The American Legion, Unfrosted 9. PNC Bank 10. DHL, Ridgeline Lubricants, Samaritan's Purse 11. Ridgeline Lubricants, Root Insurance, Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, On the Run, The American Legion IMSA: 01. Cadillac WEC: 2. Cadillac |
| Manufacturer | IndyCar: Honda IMSA: Cadillac WEC: Cadillac |
| Career | |
| Debut | CART/CCWS: 1990 Autoworks 200 IndyCar: 2000 Indianapolis 500 NASCAR (Cup Series): 1989 Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 (Atlanta) 2001 Daytona 500 (Daytona) NASCAR (Busch/Nationwide/Xfinity Series): 2004 Kroger 200 Presented by Tom Raper RVs |
| Drivers' Championships | Total: 21 Champ Car: 4 IndyCar: 12 Grand-Am: 5 |
| Indy 500 victories | 5 (2000, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2022) |
| Race victories | Total: 266 CART/CCWS: 40 Indycar: 96 NASCAR Cup Series: 27 NASCAR Xfinity Series: 22 ARCA Racing Series: 5 Rolex: 41 IMSA: 26 WEC: 6 Global RallyCross Championship: 2 Extreme E: 1 |
Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) is a famous American car racing team. It was started in 1990 by Chip Ganassi, who used to be a racecar driver himself. The team competes in different types of racing, like the IndyCar Series, which is known for fast open-wheel cars. They also race in sports car championships like the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Over the years, Chip Ganassi Racing has won many big races and championships. This includes 16 titles in open-wheel racing (like IndyCar) and 5 in sports car racing. They've also won the famous Indianapolis 500 five times and the Daytona 500. In total, they have over 200 wins across all the different racing series they've been a part of!
IndyCar Racing History
Chip Ganassi Racing has a long and successful history in open-wheel racing. They started in a series called CART (now part of IndyCar).
Early Days in CART
Chip Ganassi first became a co-owner of a racing team in 1989. That team won the 1989 Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Championship. When the original owner retired, Chip Ganassi took over completely in 1990 and renamed it Chip Ganassi Racing. They had Target as their main sponsor.
In 1994, the team got its first IndyCar win with driver Michael Andretti. CGR became one of the top teams in the series. They won four championships in a row from 1996 to 1999 with drivers like Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi, and Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya even won the championship in his very first year!
Switch to IndyCar Series
In 2000, Chip Ganassi Racing made a big move. They were the first team from CART to race in the Indianapolis 500 again after a big "split" in open-wheel racing. Juan Pablo Montoya won the Indy 500 that year, showing how strong the team was. After this, CGR decided to join the Indy Racing League full-time, which is now called the IndyCar Series.
Since then, they have continued to win many championships in IndyCar. Famous drivers like Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, and Álex Palou have won titles for the team. Scott Dixon is especially well-known for winning six IndyCar championships with CGR!
Current IndyCar Drivers
- 4 Kyffin Simpson
- 8 Linus Lundqvist
- 9 Scott Dixon
- 10 Álex Palou
- 11 Marcus Armstrong
IndyCar Champions
Chip Ganassi Racing has won many IndyCar championships. Here are some of their champions:
| Year | Champion | Wins | Chassis | Engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 |  Jimmy Vasser |
4 | Reynard 96I | Honda HRH V8t |
| 1997 |  Alex Zanardi |
5 | Reynard 97i | Honda HRR V8t |
| 1998 | Alex Zanardi (2) |
7 | Reynard 98i | Honda HRK V8t |
| 1999 |  Juan Pablo Montoya (R) |
7 | Reynard 99i | Honda HRS V8t |
| 2003 | Scott Dixon |
3 | G-Force GF09 | Toyota Indy V8 |
| 2008 | Scott Dixon (2) |
6 | Dallara IR-05 | Honda HI8R |
| 2009 | Dario Franchitti |
5 | Dallara IR-05 | Honda HI9R |
| 2010 | Dario Franchitti (2) |
3 | Dallara IR-05 | Honda HI10R |
| 2011 | Dario Franchitti (3) |
4 | Dallara IR-05 | Honda HI11R |
| 2013 | Scott Dixon (3) |
4 | Dallara DW12 | Honda HI13TT V6t |
| 2015 | Scott Dixon (4) |
3 | Dallara DW12 | Chevrolet IndyCar V6t |
| 2018 | Scott Dixon (5) |
3 | Dallara DW12 | Honda HI18TT V6t |
| 2020 | Scott Dixon (6) |
4 | Dallara DW12 | Honda HI20TT V6t |
| 2021 | Álex Palou |
3 | Dallara DW12 | Honda HI21TT V6t |
| 2023 | Álex Palou (2) |
5 | Dallara DW12 | Honda HI23TT V6t |
| 2024 | Álex Palou (3) |
2 | Dallara DW12 | Honda HI24TT V6t |
Indianapolis 500 Victories
Winning the Indianapolis 500 is a huge achievement in racing. Chip Ganassi Racing has won this famous race five times:
| Year | Champion | Chassis | Engine |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Juan Pablo Montoya (R) |
G-Force GF05 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 |
| 2008 | Scott Dixon |
Dallara IR-05 | Honda HI8R |
| 2010 | Dario Franchitti |
Dallara IR-05 | Honda HI9R |
| 2012 | Dario Franchitti (2) |
Dallara DW12 | Honda HI12TT V6t |
| 2022 | Marcus Ericsson |
Dallara DW12 | Honda HI22TT V6t |
Sports Car Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing also has a strong history in sports car racing, competing in series like Grand-Am and IMSA.
Grand-Am Success
CGR started racing sports cars in the Grand-Am series. They won the famous 24 Hours of Daytona endurance race three years in a row (2006, 2007, 2008). This was a big deal because it's a very tough race that lasts a whole day! Drivers like Scott Pruett, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Scott Dixon helped them achieve these wins.
In 2011, CGR won the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona again. This made Chip Ganassi the first team owner to win four of North America's biggest races in just one year: the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400, and the 24 Hours of Daytona.
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
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The team moved to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2014. They continued their winning ways, taking three victories in their first season. In 2016, they started racing with the brand new Ford GT cars in the GTLM class.
CGR has continued to be a top team in IMSA, winning races with their Cadillac DPi-V.R and later the Cadillac V-Series.R cars.
FIA World Endurance Championship
Chip Ganassi Racing also competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). This is a global series for sports cars, including the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans in France. Ford chose CGR to run their factory-supported Ford GT cars in WEC from 2016 to 2019.
At the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans, one of CGR's Ford GTs won its class, which was a huge victory for Ford's return to the race! They continued to have strong performances in WEC, often finishing on the podium and showing great speed.
Other Racing Series
Global RallyCross Championship
In 2015, Chip Ganassi Racing started a team in the Global RallyCross Championship. This series features powerful cars racing on mixed dirt and asphalt tracks with jumps. The team had drivers like Steve Arpin and Brian Deegan. Steve Arpin earned the team's first win in this series at Daytona in 2016. However, CGR decided to stop competing in Global RallyCross after the 2017 season to focus on other racing programs.
Extreme E
In 2021, CGR joined Extreme E, a new electric off-road racing series. This series uses electric SUVs and races in remote, challenging environments around the world to raise awareness about climate change. CGR was one of the first teams to join and even signed the first female driver in team history, Sara Price.
The team, known as GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing, earned its first Extreme E victory in 2022. Sara Price became the first woman in the organization's history to drive a race-winning car. CGR competed in Extreme E until the end of the 2023 season.
Images for kids
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Jimmy Vasser's Reynard 96I in a Honda Collection Hall.
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Eddie Cheever at Laguna Seca in 1991.
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Ganassi's No. 9 car preparing for practice
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Charlie Kimball at the 2012 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
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2011 Daytona Prototype at Road America
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Lexus-Riley prototype driven by Chip Ganassi Racing driver Scott Pruett
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Ford GT GTE-Pro, which competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship from 2016 until the end of the 2018–19 season and the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship from the 2016 season until the end of the 2019 season.
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2023 V-Series.R LMDh at Daytona International Speedway.
See also
In Spanish: Chip Ganassi Racing para niños
