Chip Ganassi
Encyclopedia : C : CH : CHI : Chip Ganassi
Chip Ganassi (born May 24, 1958 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) and educated at local Duquesne University is an American race car driver and 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.
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. He formed his own team a couple of years later and Target became the principle sponsor. He also became active in the NASCAR circuit.
He currently operates three cars in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, three 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 Busch Series.
Ganassi has become famous for finding and grooming young talent. His CART/Champcar drivers have included Michael Andretti, Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi, Scott Dixon, Bruno Junqueira and Juan Montoya. His NASCAR drivers have included Sterling Marlin,Reed Sorenson, Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears, and Jimmy Spencer.
Ganassi's teams have won Champ Car titles in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999. His teams have also won the 2000 Indianapolis 500 as well as over 40 Champ Car races. His race team is based in Concord, North Carolina, which is near Charlotte.
In addition to his racing interests, he is also a former minority owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates major league baseball team.
Indy 500 results as a driver
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Wildcat | Cosworth | 11th | 15th |
| 1983 | Wildcat | Cosworth | 16th | 8th |
| 1984 | March | Cosworth | 22nd | 28th |
| 1985 | March | Cosworth | 25th | 22nd |
| 1986 | March | Cosworth | 25th | 21st |
External links
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.