This weekend at Road America, Alex Palou claimed his third win of the year and padded his already significant points advantage at the halfway point in the season.
The win also gave Chip Ganassi Racing an important milestone, as the team crossed the 250 win mark across all racing series.
The team was founded by former racing driver and businessman Chip Ganassi in 1990, and he fielded a single car in the CART championship with Eddie Cheever.
The team expanded to two full time entries in 1994 and promptly won its first race in Michael Andretti behind the wheel at Surfers Paradise.
CGR quickly became a powerhouse in the series, and claimed four consecutive championship titles from 1996 through 1999.
The team has continued in American open wheel racing through to this day, and has consistently been one of the top teams in the paddock.
With five Indy 500 wins and 14 open wheel titles on the resume, there is no doubt that Ganassi is one of the biggest names in the sport.
“It’s a big number,” said Ganassi after Palou’s win on Sunday. “It’s a testament. A lot of people have a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and money in those 250 wins.
“The great employees we have, the great partners we’ve had over the years that have contributed to every one of those. It’s just an incredible feat, and it’s all about the team.”
In 2001, Ganassi expanded his enterprise over to the stock car world by purchasing a NASCAR team.
He ran a successful program in the series for two decades, until he was bought out by Trackhouse Racing in 2021. Ganassi saw the event as a business opportunity, and was happy to continue his racing ventures in other areas.
Those other areas also include sports car racing, with the team having fielded a mix of prototypes and GT class races over the past two decades.
The squad’s most recent venture in IMSA with a Cadillac prototype in the new GTP class has already produced a win a Laguna Seca, with more expected in the future.
CGR has earned five sports car titles in its history, adding even more accomplishments to the already successful program.
There are even a couple Global RallyCross victories mixed into the 250 win milestone that was achieved this past weekend.
The flagship program for Ganassi continues to be in the NTT IndyCar Series, and with a bevy of talented drivers on the roster, the win tally is sure to continue to grow.
