Chip Ganassi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Floyd "Chip" Ganassi (born May 24, 1958 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and educated at local Duquesne University) is a former American racecar driver and current racecar owner. He is currently the owner and president of Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates which operates teams on both the IndyCar and NASCAR circuit.
His Indy team has won multiple Indianapolis 500 races and the CART championship.
Contents |
[edit] IndyCar driver and race team owner
Ganassi began his CART (Champ Car) racing career in 1981 and competed in the Indianapolis 500 five times, with a best finish of 8th in 1983. His career cut short by an injury, Ganassi purchased an interest in Patrick Racing in 1988 -- a team he had raced with before in 1984 -- and was part of the team that won the 1989 Indianapolis 500. In 1990, he split off and formed his own team, Chip Ganassi Racing, with Target as the principal sponsor. He also became active in the NASCAR circuit.
He currently operates three cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, two cars in the Indy Racing League, two cars in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype class and one car in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Ganassi has become famous for finding and grooming young talent. His CART/IRL drivers have included Michael Andretti, Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi, Scott Dixon, Bruno Junqueira, Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Renna, Darren Manning, Ryan Briscoe, Jacques Lazier, and Dan Wheldon. His NASCAR drivers have included Sterling Marlin, Reed Sorenson, Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears, Jimmy Spencer, David Stremme,Juan Pablo Montoya, and Dario Franchitti.
Ganassi teams have won Champ Car titles in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 and an IRL championship in 2003. His teams have also won the 2000 Indianapolis 500 as well as 50 Champ Car and IRL races. His NASCAR race team is based in Concord, North Carolina, which is near Charlotte. The IRL team is located in Indianapolis, Indiana.
[edit] Personal life
In addition to his racing interests, he is also a former minority owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates major league baseball team.
He currently resides in the borough of Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania. He is also an amateur pilot and flies his own plane.
As a teenager Chip also raced motocross with his buddies from Seven Springs. His first bike was a 125 Penton and his second bike was a 250 CZ.
[edit] Indy 500 results as a driver
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[edit] External links
| Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates | |
| Sprint Cup Drivers | Dario Franchitti (#40) | Reed Sorenson (#41) | Juan Pablo Montoya (#42) |
| Nationwide Series Drivers | Bryan Clauson (#40) | Kyle Krisiloff (#41) |
| IRL Drivers | Scott Dixon (#9) | Dan Wheldon (#10) |
| Grand-Am Telmex #01 team drivers | Scott Pruett | Memo Rojas |
| Other Development Drivers | Brady Bacon | Kevin Hamlin | Alex Lloyd |
| Other | Chip Ganassi | Felix Sabates |
