Chip
Ganassi has been a fixture in the auto racing industry for over 30 years and is
considered one of the most successful as well as innovative owners the sport
has anywhere in the world. Today his teams include two cars in the NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series, four in the IZOD IndyCar Series and one Daytona Prototype in
the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series.
In
2012, Ganassi’s No. 01 GRAND-AM Daytona Prototype team captured the
organization’s 15th championship, becoming the most successful team
in series history. 2011 saw CGR teams win both the IZOD IndyCar Series and the
GRAND-AM Rolex Sport Car Series Championships. That same year the team scored a
one-two finish in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, launched a new, two-car IZOD IndyCar
Series program, and reached its second run of four consecutive titles
(1996-1999, 2008-2011) making it nine total championships for the Target Indy
car program.
The
12-month span beginning in February of 2010 saw Ganassi have one of the
greatest years in the history of auto racing when he became the first owner to
ever win the four most prestigious races in the United States. He claimed
victories in the Daytona 500 (NASCAR), the Indianapolis 500 (IndyCar), the
Brickyard 400 (NASCAR) and the Rolex 24 at Daytona (GRAND-AM).
Following
a strong career as a driver, Ganassi created his own one-car Indy car team in
1990 and established a partnership with a new sponsor, Target, which he has
maintained a long-standing relationship with ever since. In addition, he can
now claim partnerships with Bass Pro Shops and McDonald’s among many others.
Through
the years, his open wheel teams have amassed nine championships, 89 wins -
including four in the Indianapolis 500 - while overall his teams can claim 15
championships and 150 victories.
His
NASCAR teams have 16 wins, including wins in the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400
and a trip to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Ganassi manages his teams
from state-of-the-art race shop facilities in Indianapolis and Brownsburg, Ind.
and Concord, N.C., with a corporate office in Pittsburgh, Penn.
The
Duquesne University graduate was formerly part owner of his hometown Pittsburgh
Pirates and is a strong supporter of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, to
which his teams have donated over half a million dollars over the years.