UNDER THE HOOD WITH TEAM TARGET

Under the Hood with Dario Franchitti, Juan Pablo Montoya and Scott Dixon
February 13, 2012

The starting flag drops soon on the NASCAR and IndyCar series.  This season, Juan Pablo Montoya has a whole new crew, and Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti aim to remain the unbeatable dynamic duo of open-wheel racing. Before the Target Chip Ganassi Racing drivers rev their engines and defend their titles, they’ll be off the track tweeting on Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. ET for a #TargetChat. Ask them anything – how it feels to go 120 mph, what they ate for lunch or if they’re excited about the new IndySeries car. There will also be some exciting giveaways for chat participants, so may the best tweeter win!

We took a tour of Chip Ganassi Racing headquarters to get excited for the season and asked the guys a few questions (so you can think of really good ones for Thursday!). Check it out below.

Which race are you most excited for in 2012?

Juan Pablo Montoya: To be honest with you, I’m excited for all of them. It doesn’t matter if we’re going to Daytona or Martinsville, I just want to get out there and race.

Dario Franchitti: Indianapolis 500 – don’t need to say any more!

Scott Dixon: I think each year there’s that anticipation to the start of a new season. You have news teams, drivers, circuits and that is always exciting because there are very few things that stay constant in Indy car racing.

What will be different in 2012 and how will it impact the competition?

DF: All new cars, new engine manufacturers entering the sport, more testing, new venues, new rules and a new INDYCAR race director…you name it. Seems like everything has changed!

SD: I think that adding the new car will be the single biggest factor that will impact the competition. It’s the first new car in eight or nine years.

JPM: NASCAR changed us over to a fuel injection system, and we’re not really sure how that’s going to affect the overall performance yet. I would say the biggest change would be at the Superspeedway races. The goal is to have less tandem racing and more excitement for the fans. They’ve made the restrictor plate and radiator smaller, adjusted the rear spoiler and eliminated our in-car communications.

What is different about your Target team this year?

SD: It will almost be like a new series, but will a lot of the same characters in different places. As far as the Target team goes, we will be ready to go when the green flag drops in St. Petersburg.

DF: Aside from the technical aspect of having a brand new chassis, the Target team is all back to add another championship to our run of four in a row, and to win the Indianapolis 500.

JPM: We made a lot of changes in the off-season so it’s pretty much a whole new deal for us. We’re going into 2012 with a new crew chief, car chief and mechanics. Really the only thing that has stayed the same as last year is Target.

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