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by Holly Cain

Filed under: Jamie McMurray, Juan Pablo Montoya, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, NASCAR

SPEEDWAY, Ind. -- Soaked in champagne and still grinning from ear to ear, NASCAR team owner Chip Ganassi was walking over to a Corvette convertible for his second victory lap around Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the last two months when Tony Stewart stopped him in his tracks.

They shook hands, shared a laugh and Stewart, NASCAR's only owner-driver, patted Ganassi on the back, offering his congratulations.

"That was a moment between car owners,'' Sunday's fifth-place finisher Stewart said with a smile and a nod. "Can I appreciate what he's done here? Oh yeah.''

What he's done is make history as the first team owner in auto racing history to win the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR's Brickyard 400 at Indy in the same season. But it came with a twist.

One of Ganassi's drivers, Juan Pablo Montoya, dominated practice, qualifying and most of the early race until crashing with 15 laps to go Sunday while his other driver, Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray beat Kevin Harvick on the ensuing re-start, held off the field for 11 laps and ultimately delivered the triumph to Ganassi instead.

In all, Ganassi drivers led a race-best 102 of the event's 160 laps, but McMurray's 16 laps out front (including five earlier in the day) is the second fewest ever for a winner. Not that it matters.

"To win all those (races) in one year is remarkable,'' Harvick said of Ganassi's organization. "It will probably never happen again.''

Chip Ganassi Makes More Racing History at Indianapolis originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 25 Jul 2010 20:19:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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Filed under: Greg Biffle, Jamie McMurray, Juan Pablo Montoya, Sprint Cup, NASCAR

Jamie McMurray's crew gave him only two tires on his final pit stop, but that turned out to be the key to victory in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday.

McMurray was able to use his outside position to get past leader Kevin Harvick on the final restart with just a few laps to go.

"It's unbelievable," McMurray said in victory lane. "We didn't have the best car. But we made the right call with two tires. It's unreal right now. It was a really good day."

Harvick was second, followed by Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer and Tony Stewart. Jeff Burton was sixth, followed by Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Kurt Busch.

The victory gave the Daytona 500 winner his first victory in NASCAR's biggest race of the summer, and gave car owner Chip Ganassi an unprecedented triple crown, with victories in the Daytona 500, the Indy 500 and now the Brickyard 400 in 2010. Ganassi is the first car owner to win both of Indy's big races in the same year.

"How about Chip winning the 500 and both of them?" McMurray said.

 

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Filed under: Juan Pablo Montoya, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, NASCAR

SPEEDWAY, Ind. -- It was of little surprise that Juan Pablo Montoya won the pole position for Sunday's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This is one of the two biggest events on the NASCAR schedule and when the stakes are highest, Montoya's team owner, Chip Ganassi, brings the A-game.

A victory by Montoya or his teammate, Jamie McMurray, on Sunday, accompanying Ganassi team wins in the Daytona 500 (McMurray) and the Indianapolis 500 (Dario Franchitti) earlier this year, would give Ganassi one of racing's most rare and impressive trifectas.

He already is the first owner to win the Daytona 500 and Indy 500 in the same season. No team owner has ever won both the NASCAR and IndyCar races at Indianapolis.

"I wish I could put my finger on it,'' Ganassi said this week. "Our drivers get up for big events, they seem to like those places.

"So many times you have drivers who are good a particular type of track. Fortunately, our guys are good at the tracks that have the big races. Believe me, that's a big help, and it's no small thing.''

 

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Filed under: Jimmie Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya, Mark Martin, Sprint Cup, NASCAR

SPEEDWAY, Ind. -- Juan Pablo Montoya proved again Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway that he's pretty darn fast around the 2.5-mile legendary oval.

Sunday he'll just have to prove he can keep his speed under control.

Montoya won the pole for Sunday's 17th running of the Brickyard 400, topping the 43-car field in qualifications with a lap that averaged 182.278 mph. Last year's winner Jimmie Johnson starts second, and the pole-sitter from a year ago -- Mark Martin -- will start third.

"We've got to execute right and see what happens," Montoya said. "It's freakin' 400 miles, not a three-lap shootout."

A year ago, of course, Montoya looked unbeatable in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' annual visit to the Brickyard. The 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner led 116 laps as he tried to be the first crossover winner at IMS, but a speeding penalty during what should have been Montoya's final green-flag pit stop -- with a big lead -- relegated a fuming Montoya to an 11th-place finish.

 

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Filed under: Carl Edwards, NASCAR Crashes, NASCAR

As a former substitute school teacher, Carl Edwards knows the importance of following directions. It's the playing well with others, he's still mastering.

NASCAR told its competitors, "Boys, have at it" this season hoping a good mix of temper tantrums and crash-and-bang finishes would create more interest in the sport and boost its lagging television ratings and ticket sales.

Edwards has done his part, turning aggressive driving into an art form. He's had at it. And at it. And at it.

 

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Filed under: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Chase for the Sprint Cup, FanHouse Exclusive, Indianapolis 500

INDIANAPOLIS -- A still-smiling Chip Ganassi stared down at the scene on the ground as the private jet we rode in ripped toward the sky at such a steep incline it was as if his beloved Indianapolis Motor Speedway below was tugging him back for more.

Less than an hour earlier, a massive crowd of some 400,000 had witnessed the Target Chip Ganassi Racing team win its second Indianapolis 500 in three years, and from the sky, the traffic looked like a maze flowing from the legendary speedway. Fans were still partying in the parking lots, fully satisfied they'd gotten their money's worth with Sunday's thrilling race and historic finish.

Less content was the 52-year-old Ganassi, who had just settled into his seat for the 56-minute plane ride toward the day's next order of business: the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR race outside Charlotte, N.C. -- 600 more miles of competition 429 miles away.

Earlier, in the moments after his driver Dario Franchitti claimed racing's most sought-after checkered flag, Ganassi walked down Indianapolis' pit road for an overwhelming offering of congratulatory handshakes, hugs and pats on the back. Among the first to greet Ganassi was his great rival, Roger Penske.

With this victory, Ganassi had become the first race team owner in history to win the Indianapolis 500 and Daytona 500 in the same year -- a feat not even the sport's standard-bearer, 15-time Indy winner Penske, could claim.

And yet even before the significance of this historic accomplishment could set in -- before he'd tasted a drop of the Indy winner's milk -- Ganassi stopped outside victory circle, leaned over and shouted to me above the celebration, "We're going to Charlotte! I've got a new boost of energy and we've got another race to win.''

 

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Filed under: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, IRL, Indianapolis 500, NASCAR, Charlotte Motor Speedway

Chip Ganassi made racing history on Sunday, becoming the first owner to win the Indianapolis 500 and Daytona 500 in the same year. His day wasn't over after the win in Indy, however, as he hopped on a jet to Charlotte, N.C., for his team's Coca Cola 600 race. In between the two races, Ganassi met the media and FanHouse TV was there.

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Filed under: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IRL, Indianapolis 500

With Dario Franchitti's victory on Sunday, Chip Ganassi became the first owner to win the Indy 500 and the Daytona 500 in the same year. Ganassi, on his way to Charlotte to participate in the Coca Cola 600, made a pit stop to discuss his historic day with FanHouse TV's Holly Cain.

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Filed under: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IRL, Indianapolis 500

INDIANAPOLIS -- In the end, Dario didn't run out of gas, a bunch of his competitors nearly did, and Ashley couldn't stay in her shoes.

Everything else surrounding the 94th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday prior to the final couple of laps was a blur -- sort of like Dario Franchitti's No. 10 car for most of the steamy afternoon.

This was fun. This also was scary.

With one lap remaining and his car threatening to gasp any moment courtesy of a sprinkling of gas left in his tank, Franchitti's likeness on the Borg-Warner Trophy was guaranteed for a second time in four Indy races after a crash in the north chute. It was a brutal one, but it wasn't fatal. It featured Mike Conway suffering just a leg injury despite his sparking, flipping and exploding ride flying high before slamming into the fence.

So this mostly was vintage Indy -- as in drama.

As in, it's about time.

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Filed under: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IRL, Indianapolis 500

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- One lap to go, running on empty and a car bearing down on his tail.

After having the dominant car and the perfect game plan, Dario Franchitti still needed more Sunday -- one break to win his second Indianapolis 500.

He got it in the form of a spectacular, airborne crash that brought out a yellow flag and allowed him to cross the line with a scant 1.6 gallons of fuel left.

That 1.6 gallons left him holding a quart of milk, a winner at the Brickyard for the second time in four years.

"Still running," the winner told his crew over the radio as he crossed the finish line, while wreckers were moving out to scoop up debris from an accident that sent Mike Conway into the wall and to the hospital with a broken left leg.

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