Chip Ganassi Racing facts for kids

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Chip Ganassi Racing
Career

Owner(s)	Chip Ganassi
Principal(s)	Mike Hull
Base	Indianapolis, Indiana
Series	IndyCar Series Indy NXT
Race drivers	IndyCar: 8. Kyffin Simpson 9. Scott Dixon 10. Álex Palou Indy NXT 9. Jonathan Browne Bryce Aron 10. Niels Koolen
Manufacturer	Honda
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	6 (2000, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2022, 2025)
Race victories	Total: 274 CART/CCWS: 40 IndyCar: 104 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 auto racing team. It competes in the NTT IndyCar Series. The team was started in 1990 by Chip Ganassi, a former race car driver. Over the years, CGR has also raced in many other championships, including NASCAR, Global Rallycross Championship, Extreme E, and various sports car series.

Chip Ganassi Racing has won many championships and big races. They won four straight championships in the CART series from 1996 to 1999. Then, they moved to the Indy Racing League (now IndyCar Series) and won 12 more championships there. Some of their most famous drivers include Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, and Álex Palou. The team has also won the Indianapolis 500 six times, the Daytona 500, and the 24 Hours of Daytona. They have over 270 wins across all the different types of racing they've competed in.

Open-Wheel Racing History
Sports Car Racing
Global RallyCross Championship
Extreme E Racing
Images for kids
See also

Open-Wheel Racing History

Chip Ganassi Racing has a long and successful history in open-wheel racing, which includes both CART and IndyCar.

Famous Drivers

Many talented drivers have raced for Chip Ganassi Racing.

Current Drivers

08 Kyffin Simpson
09 Scott Dixon
10 Álex Palou

Past Drivers

Some of the well-known drivers who raced for CGR over the years include:

Eddie Cheever (1990–1992)
Arie Luyendyk (1992–1993, 1997)
Michael Andretti (1994)
Jimmy Vasser (1995–2000, 2001)
Alex Zanardi (1996–1998)
Juan Pablo Montoya (1999–2000)
Bruno Junqueira (2001–2002)
Jeff Ward (2002)
Scott Dixon (2002–present)
Dan Wheldon (2006–2008)
Dario Franchitti (2008–2013)
Charlie Kimball (2011–2017)
Tony Kanaan (2014–2017, 2021, 2022)
Felix Rosenqvist (2019–2020)
Marcus Ericsson (2020–2023)
Álex Palou (2021–present)
Jimmie Johnson (2021–2022)

CART Racing Era

Jimmy Vasser's Reynard 96I race car.

Eddie Cheever racing at Laguna Seca in 1991.

Chip Ganassi started his own racing team in 1990. Before that, he was a co-owner of another team that won the Indy 500 and the championship in 1989. When he took over, he renamed it Chip Ganassi Racing.

The team quickly became very successful. They had a main sponsor, Target, for many years. They won four championships in a row from 1996 to 1999. These wins were with drivers like Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi, and Juan Pablo Montoya. Montoya even won the championship in his first year of racing!

In 2000, Chip Ganassi Racing made a big move. They were the first team from the CART series to race in the Indianapolis 500 again after a big disagreement between racing leagues. Juan Pablo Montoya won that race easily, showing how strong the team was. The team then decided to switch to the Indy Racing League (IRL) full-time.

IndyCar Series Success

Ganassi's No. 9 car getting ready for practice.

Charlie Kimball at the 2012 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Chip Ganassi Racing joined the IndyCar Series full-time in 2002. They quickly found success. Scott Dixon joined the team and won the championship in 2003. He has since become one of the most successful drivers in IndyCar history.

The team continued to win many races and championships. They had another amazing run from 2008 to 2011, winning four championships in a row with Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti. Franchitti also won the Indianapolis 500 in 2010.

In 2011, the team grew to have four cars. They also changed engine suppliers to Honda in 2012. In 2013, Scott Dixon won his third IndyCar title. The team switched to Chevrolet engines in 2014.

In recent years, the team has continued to be a top competitor. Scott Dixon won his sixth IndyCar championship in 2020. In 2021, Álex Palou won his first IndyCar championship, becoming another star driver for the team. Palou continued his winning streak, securing championships in 2023 and 2024. The team also won the Indianapolis 500 in 2022 with Marcus Ericsson and in 2025 with Álex Palou.

IndyCar Champions

Chip Ganassi Racing has helped many drivers become champions:

Year	Champion	Wins	Chassis	Engine	Tyres
1996	Jimmy Vasser	4	Reynard 96I	Honda HRH V8t	Firestone
1997	Alex Zanardi	5	Reynard 97i	Honda HRR V8t	Firestone
1998	Alex Zanardi (2)	7	Reynard 98i	Honda HRK V8t	Firestone
1999	Juan Pablo Montoya (R)	7	Reynard 99i	Honda HRS V8t	Firestone
2003	Scott Dixon	3	G-Force GF09	Toyota Indy V8	Firestone
2008	Scott Dixon (2)	6	Dallara IR-05	Honda HI8R	Firestone
2009	Dario Franchitti	5	Dallara IR-05	Honda HI9R	Firestone
2010	Dario Franchitti (2)	3	Dallara IR-05	Honda HI10R	Firestone
2011	Dario Franchitti (3)	4	Dallara IR-05	Honda HI11R	Firestone
2013	Scott Dixon (3)	4	Dallara DW12	Honda HI13TT V6t	Firestone
2015	Scott Dixon (4)	3	Dallara DW12	Chevrolet IndyCar V6t	Firestone
2018	Scott Dixon (5)	3	Dallara DW12	Honda HI18TT V6t	Firestone
2020	Scott Dixon (6)	4	Dallara DW12	Honda HI20TT V6t	Firestone
2021	Álex Palou	3	Dallara DW12	Honda HI21TT V6t	Firestone
2023	Álex Palou (2)	5	Dallara DW12	Honda HI23TT V6t	Firestone
2024	Álex Palou (3)	2	Dallara DW12	Honda HI24TT V6t	Firestone

Indianapolis 500 Victories

The team has won the famous Indianapolis 500 race multiple times:

Year	Champion	Chassis	Engine	Tyres
2000	Juan Pablo Montoya (R)	G-Force GF05	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	Firestone
2008	Scott Dixon	Dallara IR-05	Honda HI8R	Firestone
2010	Dario Franchitti	Dallara IR-05	Honda HI9R	Firestone
2012	Dario Franchitti (2)	Dallara DW12	Honda HI12TT V6t	Firestone
2022	Marcus Ericsson	Dallara DW12	Honda HI22TT V6t	Firestone
2025	Álex Palou	Dallara DW12	Honda HI25TT V6t	Firestone

Sports Car Racing

Chip Ganassi Racing has also been very successful in sports car racing.

Grand-Am Series

A Daytona Prototype car at Road America in 2011.

A Lexus-Riley prototype car driven by Chip Ganassi Racing.

CGR started racing in the Grand-Am series with Lexus-Riley cars. They won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2006 and 2007, becoming the first owner to win it back-to-back in a long time. In 2008, they won the Daytona 24 Hours for a third time in a row!

The team also won the Grand-Am Championship in 2008 with drivers Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas. They continued their success, winning the 2010 Grand-Am championship after switching to BMW-Riley cars.

2011 Rolex 24 Victory

In 2011, Ganassi's Grand-Am team had an amazing start to the year. They finished first and second in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona endurance race. This win made Chip Ganassi the first team owner to win four of North America's biggest races within a single year. These races were the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400, and the 24 Hours of Daytona.

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

A Ford GT GTE-Pro car, which raced in the FIA World Endurance Championship and WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

A 2023 Cadillac V-Series.R LMDh car at Daytona International Speedway.

When the Grand-Am series merged with another series in 2014, CGR continued racing in the new United SportsCar Championship (now IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship). They won three races in 2014.

In 2016, the team started racing the brand new Ford GT in a different class called GTLM. They stopped using their older Daytona Prototype cars. The team continued to achieve podium finishes and wins in this series.

FIA World Endurance Championship

In 2015, Ford announced that Chip Ganassi Racing would help them return to the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2016. This meant CGR would race Ford GT cars in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The team had good results, earning podium finishes in the manufacturer's category in both 2016 and 2017.

Chip Ganassi Racing also competed in the Hypercar class of the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2023 and 2024 with Cadillac V-Series.R cars. In 2023, they achieved a third-place finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Global RallyCross Championship

In 2015, Chip Ganassi Racing started a team in the Global RallyCross Championship. They hired drivers like Steve Arpin and Brian Deegan to race Ford Fiesta cars. In 2016, Steve Arpin earned the team's first win in this series at Daytona. However, CGR decided to stop their Global RallyCross program in 2017 to focus on other racing series.

Extreme E Racing

In 2020, CGR joined Extreme E, an electric off-road racing series. They signed Sara Price, who became the first female driver in the team's history. In 2021, the team was known as Segi TV Chip Ganassi Racing, and then became GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing in 2022.

The team achieved its first victory in Extreme E on July 7, 2022. Sara Price was the first woman to drive a race-winning car for the organization. Chip Ganassi Racing left the Extreme E series after the 2023 season.