Fast Facts: Chip Ganassi Racing and Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing

Jamie McMurray, Chip Ganassi and Dario Franchitti following
the 2010 Indy 500.
Credit: IndyCar Media/Dana Garrett

In baseball, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are the “super teams;” in football, it’s the New England Patriots. In auto racing, there are a number of “super teams” – teams like Hendrick Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing and Andretti Autosport – but only a few cross the lines into multiple series. One such team owner who has had great success in NASCAR, IndyCar and sports car racing is Chip Ganassi, the owner of the team that won the 2012 Indianapolis 500 with Dario Franchitti on Sunday, May 27. Here are a few fast facts about his auto racing “super teams.”

• Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is the official name of the IndyCar and GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series team owned in part by Ganassi. In the IZOD IndyCar Series, the team owns the cars of Scott Dixon (No. 9 Target), Dario Franchitti (No. 50 Target), Graham Rahal (No. 38 Service Central) and Charlie Kimball (No. 83 Novo Nordisk). In the GRAND-AM Rolex Series, the team owns the No. 01 of Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas.
• In NASCAR, Ganassi is part owner of Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, fielding Chevrolets for Jamie McMurray (No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/McDonalds/Belkin/Banana Boat/Liftmaster/Allstate) and Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 42 Target).
• In 2010, Ganassi became the first team owner to win the Daytona 500, Indy 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year, as McMurray won both the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 and Franchitti won the Indy 500. With his team’s win at the 24 Hours of Daytona in February 2011, Ganassi became the first team owner to win all four races in a 12-month time frame.
• As an owner, Ganassi began in the CART/Champ Car Series in 1990. His teams won four Champ Car titles from 1996 to 1999, and IndyCar titles in 2003 and from 2008 to 2011. He has been the Indy 500-winning team owner four times: in 2000 with Montoya, in 2008 with Dixon and in 2010 and 2012 with Franchitti. Ganassi qualified for the Indy 500 five times as a driver (1982 to 1986), with a best finish of eighth in 1983.
• For more information on Ganassi’s teams, visit www.chipganassiracing.com – the arrows at the top of the webpage allow fans to visit all the team sites in IndyCar, NASCAR and the GRAND-AM Rolex Series.