IndyCar
Chip Ganassi Racing celebrating 35th anniversary in 2025
ST. PETERSBURG, FL (March 2, 2025) – Chip Ganassi Racing embarks on its 35th season with Sunday’s season opening NTT INDYCAR SERIES Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by RP Funding.
CGR was founded in 1990 after Ganassi purchased the assets of Patrick Racing. Ganassi’s late father Floyd told me back in 1999 that the seeds of ownership were actually planted by his mother Marie, who wanted Chip to retire from driving after suffering serious head injuries in a crash at the Michigan 500 in 1984.
“When I look back on the 35 years, I know it’s because of the people that we have been able to consistently enjoy success, so any credit really goes to all of them,” said Ganassi. “However, I must say that I look at us like a 35-year-old start-up company. Every year we need to redefine both our mission and vision. We reinvent ourselves, then regroup, and refocus. I think this is what has always kept us motivated.”
CGR is coming off back-to-back INDYCAR Championships won by Alex Palou and the No. 10 DHL Honda squad and has won 4-of-the-last-5 INDYCAR titles, including Palou’s first title in 2021 and Scott Dixon’s sixth Championship in 2020.
CGR is no stranger to reeling off multiple titles in a row winning four-straight from 1996-2000 with alums Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi and Juan Pablo Montoya and again from 2008-2011 with Dixon and alum Dario Franchitti.
That kind of consistency is something that teams search endlessly for but is what motivates the entire organization.
“I think what defines Chip Ganassi Racing is, for 90 percent of the people in motor racing, it’s about forecasting change, and that’s what Chip does an extremely good job of,” said Mike Hull, CGR’s Managing Director. “We have three of the best drivers in the business driving for us, and that’s what Chip does a really good job of, he’s able to not necessarily hire those drivers but find those drivers, and those are drivers that work together like these three do. That’s who we are. That’s who we’ve always been.”
Unselfishness and a team-first attitude is a hallmark of CGR and it’s evident in the teams success but it was forged when the team wasn’t winning titles.
“I think ’04 and ’05 are definitely years that we tried to forget at the team, but obviously I think the years we learned the most, as well, and definitely built a fantastic foundation for the future,” said Dixon, who drives the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda.
PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon holds the Astor Cup after winning his sixth NTT IndyCar Series Championship. (Photo: Penske Entertainment – Chris Owens)
“I think all of us are quietly confident. I think the team is always confident. Looking forward to a strong year and hopefully a championship for the 35th anniversary.”
A Championship for Dixon would tie him with A.J. Foyt for the most Championships in Series history, something Palou could close in on if he makes it three-in-a-row in 2025.
“It’s been an amazing two years, going back-to-back,” said Palou. “It’s very been very different. I would say ’23 we felt like we had a lot of speed everywhere and were winning a lot of races, and last year we had a lot more issues, a lot more mistakes on track, as well, and we just want to get back on form. We’ve been digging deep this off-season to look better in places that we normally struggle a little bit more.”
Chip Ganassi raises the Astor Cup following Alex Palou’s third Championship in 2024. (Photo: Penske Entertainment – Chris Owens)
Throughout the 35-years the Ganassi organization has amassed 23-motorsports Championships and 260-wins in some of the biggest motorsports events in the world including five Indianapolis 500 wins, eight wins in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, two in the 12 Hours of Sebring and wins in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400.
Ganassi likes to use the hashtag #ilikewinners on his social media posts and there is no doubt that Chip Ganassi Racing has consistently proven over its history that they are winners and Champions.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (July 2, 2026) – Six-time Series Champion Scott Dixon is leaving Chip Ganassi Racing following the conclusion of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series Season the team announced in a statement Thursday before the series races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Complex this weekend.
MADISON, IL (Sunday, June 7, 2026) – The king of World Wide Technology Raceway has returned to his throne.
Josef Newgarden won for the sixth time in 11 starts at the 1.25-mile oval just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, enduring two rain delays during the race Sunday night to win a feverish, fascinating Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline. The victory was Newgarden’s second this season, as he also won in March at the 1-mile Phoenix Raceway oval.
SEE: Race Results
The two-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion has captured 15 of his 34 career victories on ovals shorter than 1.5 miles. This win came as he was still recovering from a lower leg injury suffered two weeks ago in the 110th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.
“Great job to the group,” Newgarden said. “Just a methodical night. We had a good car to start. It wasn’t perfect, but it really came to us just when we needed it. It was a track position day.”
Newgarden, who started eighth, drove his No. 2 Astemo Team Penske Chevrolet to victory by .6613 of a second over the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda of fellow Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson, who still managed a season-best finish. Christian Rasmussen finished a season-best third in the No. 21 Splenda Chevrolet of ECR.
Rinus VeeKay continued the trend of season-best finishes by ending up fourth in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, with Scott McLaughlin rounding out the top five in the No. 3 DEX Team Penske Chevrolet that featured a throwback livery honoring the 2009 Indianapolis 500-winning car driven by Helio Castroneves.
Newgarden took the lead for good on Lap 221 after a spirited duel with Rasmussen that began almost immediately after a restart on Lap 212. Rasmussen dove under Newgarden in Turn 1 for the lead on Lap 215, but Newgarden drove past Rasmussen in Turn 3 for the top spot on Lap 219.
One lap later, Rasmussen again drove under Newgarden for the lead in Turn 1, one of his race-high 38 on-track passes. But Newgarden countered again in Turn 3 one lap later for a lead he would not surrender. It was the most decisive of an event-record 268 passes for position in this frantic race.
Ericsson sped under Rasmussen for second in Turn 3 on Lap 225 and set his sights on Newgarden. But one lap later, a plume of smoke trailed from the No. 4 Combitrans Amazonia Chevrolet fielded by A.J. Foyt Enterprises for Caio Collet, who was enjoying the best race of his rookie season by leading seven laps and running consistently in the top five in the second half of the race.
That triggered the last of four caution periods, with another wrinkle to concern Newgarden and the lead pack. A host of trailing cars entered the pits for fresh Firestone Firehawk tires, while the top eight cars stayed out.
McLaughlin made a spirited charge toward the front on the restart on Lap 234, climbing from ninth to fifth in just four laps. But the Kiwi and the other cars that pitted for tires didn’t have enough traction from the fresher rubber or speed to challenge the top four down the stretch.
Meanwhile, Newgarden maintained a gap of around one-half of a second over Ericsson over the closing 10 laps and never was threatened.
“You’ve got to give a lot of credit to Marcus,” Newgarden said. “I thought he was incredibly strong. I don’t really think there was much between us, so it was a matter of who was going to get position on each other, and that was going to seal the deal. He drove a great race.”
Said Ericsson, seeking his first win since March 2023 at St. Petersburg: “I’m very proud of our performance, but at the same time it’s tough to lead that many laps … I thought we had it at some points, but Josef is the best in the business on these short ovals.”
Two red-flag periods totaling 50 minutes kept strategists’ heads spinning on the pit wall as various permutations and fuel options were considered.
Chip Ganassi Racing rolled the dice earlier in the race by calling NTT P1 Award winner Alex Palou and his teammate Scott Dixon to the pits to top off fuel as soon as the pits opened after the first red flag period, which lasted 38 minutes. The hope was to get enough caution to need one fewer fuel stop than rivals or be out front when a race-ending rain shower arrived.
But neither happened, and Palou paid the price dearly.
The four-time series champion entered the pits on Lap 203, two laps after Dixon had to enter a closed pit for emergency service as his No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was running out of fuel. Palou’s No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda sputtered when it entered the pit lane and ran out of fuel, and he was forced to coast to his pit box for a stop made even longer when his engine wouldn’t refire.
Palou’s car restarted, and he returned to the track to finish 17th. The two short oval races this season have been Palou’s Achilles’ heel. He finished 24th after contact in March at Phoenix, and that result and tonight’s disappointing showing are his only finishes outside of the top seven all season.
Reigning series champion Palou’s lead in the standings was trimmed to 49 points over Kyle Kirkwood, who finished sixth in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda of Andretti Global.
The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race is the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America on Sunday, June 21 at Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
MADISON, IL (June 6, 2026) – Alex Palou and the No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing team are continuing to lay down fast laps when it counts with Palou earning the pole position for Sunday’s NTT IndyCar Series Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway. The pole position is Palou’s fourth straight NTT P1 Pole award.
“It was incredible and so much fun, especially that first lap,” said Palou, who turned a two-lap average speed of 174.353 mph in the No. 10 HRC Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. “The #10 Honda Honda had so much speed. The team I have around me is incredible. My car was on rails today; it was incredible.”
David Malukas starts second in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet after a two-lap average of 173.244 mph. Malukas could only look on in disbelief as Palou knocked him off the pole.
Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood starts third in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda following a two-lap average of 173.206 mph.
“ It was a good run for us,” said Kirkwood, the 2025 WWWT Raceway winner. “P3 is a really good starting spot and we can definitely do some great things from there. Last year we won from 10th, so it’s nice to be able to be at the front.”
2026 Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge winner Felix Rosenqvist starts fourth in the No. 60 SiriusXM Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian Honda.
Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin will start 5th in the No. 3 Dex Imaging Chevrolet.
Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon starts 7th in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda and CGR’s Kyffin Simpson will start 14th in the No. 8 Sunoco Honda.
Television coverage of Sunday’s Bommarito Automotive Group 500 begins at 8 PM CT / 9 PM ET on Fox. Complete, flag-to-flag race coverage also will be available on the INDYCAR Radio Network, and SiriusXM INDYCAR Nation (Channel 160).
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