PORTLAND, Ore, – As Alex Palou’s No. 10 Dallara-Honda took the checkered flag at Portland International Raceway on Sunday, the wild celebration began in the Chip Ganassi Racing pit area.
Palou’s victory in the Bitnile.com Grand Prix of Portland clinched the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series Championship with one race remaining, and it was time to celebrate.
Crew members cheered wildly and slapped each other on the back. On the timing stand, Chip Ganassi Racing team manager Mike O’Gara turned around and shook hands with longtime race engineer Julian Robertson. Together, the two devised a strategy for Palou to win the race and the championship in one swing.
O’Gara got on the radio and guided the championship driver down the front straight and into Victory Lane for a dual championship celebration.
During the tumult in the pit area, a crew member said, “Barry is coming with us” as he grabbed the “Barry Wanser on a Stick” that the team had used all weekend at Phoenix International Raceway.
POV: you can’t stop looking at photos of last weekend 🤩 pic.twitter.com/D2qSN4rJJr
— Chip Ganassi Racing (@CGRTeams) September 5, 2023
It was a fitting way to pay tribute to the longtime Chip Ganassi Racing team manager, who has had to step aside for the final two races of the season.
Wanser watched the Portland win from his home in Indianapolis after being diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma. The cancer was caught early and is very curable, according to Wanser and the team. He had surgery on Aug. 30 and is focused on continued treatment and recovery.
Wanser might not have been at Portland, but his cardboard face was everywhere in pit lane and in Victory Lane as team owner Chip Ganassi celebrated his second championship with Palou.
O’Gara has been part of wild celebrations before. He was the race strategist for Marcus Ericsson in 2022 when the Chip Ganassi Racing driver won the 106th Indianapolis 500. He also has been a key member of many winning IndyCar and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar teams at Chip Ganassi Racing.
Though he was the man on the stand who guided Palou to the championship-clinching victory, O’Gara realized it’s for Barry Wanser.
To borrow a phrase from the late Pat Bowlen, who gave the iconic, “This one’s for John (Elway)!” salute as the owner of the Denver Broncos when the team won its first Super Bowl in 1998, “This one’s for Barry,” in O’Gara’s case.
“Barry helped get this team here, and I’m happy to cover for him while he is away,” O’Gara told NBC Sports as he took off the headset. “I really wish he could be here with us, but he will be at the championship banquet.
“I sure hope he is really happy. I’m sure he really is.”
Get well soon, Barry! Your CGR family is missing you 🫶 pic.twitter.com/GPtxGeUz1x
— Chip Ganassi Racing (@CGRTeams) September 2, 2023
While O’Gara was talking, team owner Chip Ganassi arrived in the pit area. Getting congratulated by the boss is something O’Gara cherishes.
“We show up every day to win,” O’Gara said. “Chip likes winners. He is not shy about that, and I’m happy to be able to do that for him.”
Later in Victory Lane, Ganassi spoke with pride after his team’s 15th IndyCar championship.
“Pretty proud of that,” Ganassi told NBC Sports. “Everybody that has ever worked for this team has their fingerprints on these championships.
“Guys like Gary Rovazzini have been with us since we got started. People like Wayne Westplate, Tom Anderson, Morris Nunn. All these people had huge impacts on this team over the years.”
Wanser is another one of those longtime Ganassi employees.
“I talked to Barry Wanser by phone when I went back to the truck a few minutes ago and told him that we were going to dust the entire team for fingerprints because his are all over what we do,” Ganassi managing director Mike Hull said after the Portland victory. “I was told by one of our communications people today that we’ve had three cars in the top 10 at every race this year.
“That’s how you win a championship. You work together to win, and that’s what we do. Really proud of the effort of everybody doing that.”
But Chip Ganassi Racing also is successful because of Ganassi’s keen eye for talent. Six-time champion Scott Dixon has become one of the greatest drivers in IndyCar history.
Palou may join him in that category one day.
“It’s a big day,” Ganassi continued. “It’s a good thing for the team, a great thing for everybody on the team. They worked hard during the season and during the offseason.
“I couldn’t be happier for the guys on the 10 car. All the guys on the team. It’s one big team that works hard in this business for us.
“The sign of a true champion is a guy that almost has a lock on the championship, and he goes out and wins the race.
“That, to me, is a big sign of a true champion.”
.@AlexPalou called his shot 🤷♂️
— NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar) September 5, 2023
#INDYCAR // @CGRTeams pic.twitter.com/hj2eLTbiO8
It was also a sign of true teamwork that O’Gara was able to slide into the timing stand and seamlessly work with Palou to complete the championship run that was charted by Wanser all season.
“We miss Barry Wanser, but he will be back,” Ganassi said. “We miss him here today, but we had him on FaceTime and he was watching the race on his computer. He is on the road to recovery.”
The path to the championship included a trip to victory lane as the race winner.
O’Gara explained how it happened.
“Super day for the 10 car,” O’Gara said. “It just shows how strong this team is. We hate that Barry is not here. I’m happy to fill in for him and help the team bring the championship home.”
Palou started fifth and won the race, leading a race-high 69 laps in the 110-lap contest. The team was able to manage fuel strategy and tires for the ride to a championship.
“We started on blacks with the goal to go long and minimize our time on the Reds and that worked,” O’Gara explained.
The Firestone blacks are the primary compound, a harder, more durable tire, while the alternate reds are a softer compound built for speed with less durability. This is a key part of IndyCar race strategy.
“This kid is so good, he’s a champion,” O’Gara said, referring to Palou. “There is a reason he’s a two-time champion. You tell him how many laps these tires have to last, and he makes it happen.
“I know he felt some pressure, but he sure didn’t show it in the cockpit or on the radio today.”
Palou hasn’t had a bad race all season. He leads the IndyCar Series with five wins in 2023 and has finished all 16 races in the top eight.
“That’s what wins championships, finishing up front and minimizing mistakes,” O’Gara said.
