LEBANON, Tenn. – Chip Ganassi appeared happy as he leaned back in a chair in his team’s hospitality lounge at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday, Sept. 14 and with good reason.
Star driver Alex Palou of Spain is on the verge of his third NTT IndyCar Series championship in Sunday’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix at the 1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway.
He enters Sunday’s final race of the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season with a 33-point lead over Team Penske’s Will Power.
Ganassi was having a private media session that included reporters from the Indy Star, NBCSports.com and Motorsport.com in what annually has become one of the more productive media sessions of the season.
There’s a slogan in racing, “Chip likes winners.” In that case, he has to love Palou.
Since joining the team in 2021, Palou has won the NTT IndyCar Series Championship in 2021 and 2023. If he clinches his third championship Sunday, he will be the first back-to-back IndyCar Series Champion since Ganassi mentor Dario Franchitti, who won three straight from 2009-2011.
It was back in 2022 when Palou stunned IndyCar by dropping a bomb on Ganassi that he had signed a contract with McLaren that was set to begin in 2023.
Ganassi fought back, claiming Palou’s option year of 2023, but treating the driver from Spain with all the respect and giving him the equipment to dominate the series.
Midway through his championship run last year, Palou realized his dream ride was the one he already had. So, he informed McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown that he would not be joining Arrow McLaren in 2024 and would stay at CGR.
Ganassi signed Palou to a contract extension and IndyCar’s most potent combination has had another championship-worthy season.
The faith in each other has been rewarded.
“I’ll say the guy doesn’t let things bother him, you know what I mean?” Ganassi responded to a question from NBCSports.com. “I know Dixon is the Iceman, but if Dixon’s the Iceman, Palou is cool as a cucumber, you know?
“Nothing seems to bother him, though.”
Palou starts 24th in the 27-car field in Sunday’s Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. He qualified a disappointing 15th in Saturday’s qualifications and combined with a nine-grid spot penalty for an unapproved engine change after the September 1 race at The Milwaukee Mile.
But the numbers are still in Palou’s favor. If he finishes ninth or better on Sunday, Palou will win his third championship, and second in a row.
“If everything goes all right on Sunday, you certainly have to put his name in the conversation,” Ganassi said. “You would have to put his name in the conversation of the greats, wouldn’t you?
“He is certainly in the conversation. And he’s got a lot of runway left. And that would only add to the …”
As Ganassi searched for the final word of that sentence, legend or legacy would certainly be appropriate for Palou.
Is he on the same path at Scott Dixon, or Mario Andretti or AJ Foyt – the trio of drivers who have proven to be the greatest in IndyCar history?
“You guys have been around as long as I have, you can answer that yourself,” Ganassi said. “He is reminiscent of Dario Franchitti.
“Prior to Palou, we were searching a little bit for somebody to drive that 10 car, and it’s good to have he (Palou) and Dixon around.”
This year, Ganassi fielded a five-driver team that also included second-year driver Marcus Armstrong of New Zealand and rookies Linus Lundqvist of Sweden and Kyffin Simpson of the Caymen Islands.
But IndyCar team owners have agreed to a Charter System that will protect their investment in the sport. Although it has not been officially announced, the Charter agreement, will put a 3-car cap on each team.
That means Chip Ganassi Racing will be downsizing next season, but the upside is an Indy NXT team that will begin competition in 2025.
“Yeah, we’re going to have three entries,” Ganassi said. “We’re just going to have three entries. I think the charter thing is, as far as I know, it’s happening and it’s as advertised, so I’m happy.
“I think the decision is probably already made (on three cars). We just need to announce it here in the next couple of weeks.
“We’re focused on tomorrow right now. I don’t need these sideshows.”
Charter teams are allowed to compete for the 22 Leader’s Circle entries, a revenue-sharing program that rewards full-time entries in the series and is a key part of the operational budget.
The other three Charter entries are guaranteed starting positions in each IndyCar race, outside of the Indianapolis 500, with a maximum of 27 cars in each race, except for the 33-car starting lineup in the Indianapolis 500.
As IndyCar grows, Ganassi believes the value of the Charters will grow with it.
“I’ll tell you I think Roger Penske being a team owner here in NASCAR, and going through the ups and downs, the good and the bad of the NASCAR charter system (was helpful),” Ganassi said. “I’m not taking shots at them or anything, because I was a benefit of the NASCAR charter system (when he sold his NASCAR Charters to Trackhouse owner Justin Marks in 2021 beginning with the 2022 season).
“I would say that The IndyCar paddock is fortunate because I think Roger, with some of the speed bumps, if you will, and I’m not talking about the latest thing in NASCAR there, I’m not even talking about that. I’m just talking about general things over time that the IndyCar paddock is going to benefit from Roger going through that over there (in NASCAR).
“This paddock, they are benefiting from that. They’re benefiting from him being a team owner, so it’s a good thing. It’s a really good thing. And it’s going to add value to every team and granted, it’s not the size of the NASCAR charter guarantee. But it’s a hell of a start. It’s a hell of a running start.
“So, I think it’s a great thing.”
Ganassi believes it is the first step in an evolving system when Penske Entertainment is able to grow the IndyCar business. Penske Entertainment is a subsidiary of the Penske Corporation and owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series.
Because Ganassi has experience as a NASCAR Charter holder who ultimately sold his to Trackhouse, IndyCar team owners have looked to him for advice and education on IndyCar’s impended Charter system.
“Every single question that everybody in the IndyCar paddock has had about charter systems is like a repeat of 10 years ago when they did NASCAR charters,” Ganassi said. “You feel like just saying to somebody, ‘Don’t worry about that. This is what will happen.’
“It’s just a carbon copy.
“They are all valid questions. It’s not like they don’t know what they’re talking about, but they’re all questions with anyone with a modicum of business acumen would ask. But the net positive is just incredible.”
Although the Charter agreement will cost Ganassi two of his five entries, it also gives him the opportunity to return to Indy NXT.
“Right now, we’re basically turning our sports car team into an NXT team, because we don’t have a sports car deal for next year so,” Ganassi said. “
Ganassi also believes certain team IndyCar team owners and drivers have taken unnecessary shots at Penske and how he manages and promotes IndyCar. Team Penske is Chip Ganassi Racing’s greatest competitor on the track, but the two have tremendous respect for each other’s business acumen.
“I guarantee he’s taking some unfair shots because even on some of these things you guys are talking about, and I can tell you that you don’t know the story,” Ganassi said. “Nobody knows the story.
“And when you hear the story, you go, ‘Oh, OK, no problem.’ So, it’s all good at the end of the day, just because, and I can tell you this, I don’t want to mention any drivers’ names, but they don’t know the whole story either.
“Okay, so just tell them, ‘Sit down and shut up.’ Worry about what you should be worrying about and don’t get involved in things you don’t know what’s going on.”
Ganassi doesn’t see IndyCar’s need to become an international racing series, other than a few times a year.
“One or two offshore races I’ve always said adds a little bit of cachet or something,” Ganassi said. “You’re not going to find that sponsor, or ‘Well, you’re going to find sponsors over there.’
“Bullshit, OK?
“We’re not going to do that, you’re not going to, it’s obvious to me, and I’ve told you guys this every year we have this conversation.
“It’s good to stay in these times zones (similar to the United States) not in these ones (east and west). Stay in these times zones, it’s way better than those ones that go that way.”
Ganassi gave his thoughts on other topics, before it was time to wrap it up and get ready for qualifying.
But he did impart one more bit of “Chip’s Wisdom” before departing.
“I’ve said this before, I’ll say it again: The last thing I want to do is go to another ‘race,’” Ganassi said. “The one thing I would like to do is go to an ‘event.’
“I like events, not races. OK? So, if they can make it an event, I’m happy to go anywhere.
“If it’s another race, move on.”