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Filed under: Jamie McMurray, Daytona Int'l Speedway, Other Racing Series, IRL

For the first time in the history of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the reigning Indianapolis 500 and Daytona 500 winners will team up to campaign in the twice-around-the-clock sports car endurance race that kicks off 2011 Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway.

Indy winner Dario Franchitti and Daytona winner Jamie McMurray headline one of the most impressive driver lineups in all of motorsports, sharing driving duties in Chip Ganassi's No. 02 TELMEX-Target BMW with two-time IZOD IndyCar Series champ Scott Dixon and Formula One-turned-NASCAR star Juan Pablo Montoya for the Jan. 29-30 Grand-Am Series season opener.

Ganassi's No. 01 BMW will be driven by reigning Grand-Am Series Daytona Prototype co-champs Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas, the team's newly-signed Indycar driver Graham Rahal and sports car veteran Joey Hand, giving Ganassi a formidable lineup in his quest to win a fourth Rolex 24 at Daytona title. His team became the first in history to win three consecutive times (2006-08) and has finished runner-up the last two years.

Ganassi's eight drivers have won a combined 12 series championships, eight Rolex 24 at Daytona titles, one Daytona 500 and four Indianapolis 500s victories.

 

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Filed under: IRL, Indianapolis 500

Reigning IZOD IndyCar Series championship owner Chip Ganassi will be doubling his efforts in the series in 2011, adding two additional cars to his trophy stable.

The team, which would not confirm or comment on the long-rumored news, has scheduled a press conference Thursday in Indianapolis where Ganassi will introduce the newest additions to a driver lineup that already features two-time defending series champ Dario Franchitti and former two-time champ Scott Dixon.

Second-generation driver Graham Rahal -- son of 1986 Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal -- and Charlie Kimball, 25, a young talent moving up from the feeder Indy Lights Series, will campaign for Ganassi next year, working out of a "satellite" team shop rented from drag racing legend Don Prudhomme.

Rahal, 21, is the youngest IndyCar Series winner in history, scoring his only victory in the 2008 season-opener at St. Petersburg, Fla. However, he did not race full time last season. Kimball will be making his debut in the series.

Thursday's announcement will also confirm full-time sponsorship for both Rahal and Kimball -- significant for the series, which had several high-profile teams struggling to find primary corporate backing in 2010. In a unusual twist, Rahal actually announced a two-year sponsorship deal with TBC Corporation -- which owns several automobile tire retailers -- at this season's finale in Homestead, Fla. before having a contract in place with a team.

 

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Filed under: IRL, Indianapolis 500, NASCAR

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- It is the greatest single season success story in all of auto racing.

Chip Ganassi's race teams have won the 2010 Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400, Grand-Am Series sportscar championship and Saturday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway, added an IZOD IndyCar Series championship with driver Dario Franchitti overcoming an 11-point weekend deficit to earn his second straight championship and third in the last four years.

As the Target Ganassi team's Manager of Racing, Mike Hull, casually suggested while walking out of the champions' press conference, "I guess it worked out.''

Indeed. It's the first time in history one team owner has won the Daytona 500 and Indy 500 in the same year and Ganassi didn't stop there. All the sport's biggest trophies -- from NASCAR to IndyCar to Sports Cars -- will reside in his Pittsburgh home.

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"It's going to be tough to repeat that,'' Franchitti said. "Chip's just had an incredible year.''

 

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Filed under: IRL

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Target Ganassi Racing swept all honors in Saturday night's IZOD IndyCar Series finale with Scott Dixon comfortably beating Danica Patrick and Tony Kanaan by 2.7 seconds to take the win at Homestead-Miami Speedway, while teammate Dario Franchitti's eighth place finish was enough to overcome an 11-point deficit earning him his second consecutive series championship and third overall.

Team Penske driver Will Power, who previously led the championship for all but one week of the season, saw his title hopes extinguished on lap 135 of the 200-lap race when he brushed the wall and broke the right rear suspension on his car. The team tried to repair the damage and he turned a handful of laps only to come in again for good.

It's the second straight year Franchitti, husband of actress Ashley Judd, came into the final race needing to overcome a points deficit to win the title. The native of Scotland needed to win the pole position, lead the most laps and win the race to guarantee the title. He did win the pole and led the most laps, but his title was all but secure upon Power's uncharacteristic mishap.

"Last year I was here watching this race in a back brace, so it's been the best year of mine in motorsport, though obviously I'm very disappointed with the outcome tonight,'' Power said.

 

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Filed under: IRL

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Two-time Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti took the first step toward defending his IZOD IndyCar Series championship by claiming the pole position for Saturday night's Cafes de Brazil 300 series finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The point he earned for the pole trims Will Power's lead in the standings to 11 points. Franchitti (pictured right) can win his second straight -- and third career -- title by leading the most laps and winning Saturday's race.

Power, who was third fastest in qualifying, simply needs to finish one position ahead of Franchitti to earn his first major championship.

Target Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon will start alongside Franchitti, his teammate. Power's Team Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe will start next to him on the second row. Dan Wheldon was fifth quickest. Danica Patrick was 12th.

"I feel he's got a serious advantage, so the easiest way to do it (win championship) is to qualify on pole, lead the most laps and win the race,'' Franchitti said. "We've done the first part of that.''

"I'm not going to be points racing tomorrow, I don't see that working out for me.''

 

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Filed under: IRL

As Helio Castroneves dominated the IndyCar race at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan, an already tight points race tightened even more.

Dario Franchitti finished second, just ahead of series points leader Will Power, but the edge trimmed five points off the 17-point lead Power had coming into this event.

Castroneves, who started from the pole, led 153 laps and won by 4.5 seconds over Franchitti.

Behind Power in third was Ryan Briscoe in fourth, followed by Danica Patrick.

"They gave me a fantastic car," Castroneves said afterwards. "It was awesome. The car was on rails. Every time I wanted to go for it, the car was responding. I am as happy as can be!"

It was the third win of the season and second Motegi victory for Castroneves, who sits third in the title chase, 88 behind Power.

 

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Filed under: IRL

This time, Helio Castroneves was all hugs with IndyCar's security director Charles Burns.

Castroneves won Saturday night's Kentucky Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway after his Penske team made a shrewd call for an extra pit stop during the race's second and final caution period. Just weeks ago, of course, Castroneves was violently shaking Burns after being denied of a win thanks to a last-lap penalty in Edmonton.

"You shouldn't actually interview me, you should interview (Tim Cindric)," Castroneves beamed after the race, crediting the winning call on fuel to Cindric, his race strategist. "It was kind of like rolling the dice, but this guy, he's kind of like the gambler."

Castroneves celebrated with his traditional frontstretch fence climb, and when he returned to the track gave Burns a hug as he walked back to his car.

 

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Filed under: IRL

Dario Franchitti stole the IndyCar race at Chicagoland Speedway from a host of tough competitors with a bold, no-tire pit stop during the final round of pit stops in the waning laps of the race.

Franchitti went from eighth to first on the strength of the fuel-only stop and managed to stay in front the rest of the way.

Franchitti crossed the finish line less than a car length ahead of Dan Wheldon in a tight pack that was so relentlessly tight all night, a number of drivers complained it was no fun racing like that. Marco Andretti was third, followed by Ryan Hunter-Reay and Tony Kanaan.

"We struggled all night in traffic," Franchitti said. "Whoever made that call -- that was the call that won us the race tonight. They pulled my ass out of the first again tonight."

Meanwhile, points leader Will Power failed to get his car fully fueled on the last stop, forcing a green flag stop for another gallon with just a few laps to go, sending him plummeting in the standings.

It also opened up the IndyCar points championship battle, with Power now leading by only 23 points over Franchitti with three races to go. He had a rather comfortable 59-point lead going into this race.

"Unfortunately, we didn't get all the fuel in," Power said. "Man, this is going to make it tough in the championship. We've got to eliminate mistakes like that. I was looking so good there before that last stop."

 

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Filed under: IRL, Danica Patrick

NEWTON, Iowa (AP) -- Tony Kanaan overtook Helio Castroneves with 10 laps left and held on to win the Iowa 250 Sunday.

It was the first win since 2008 for Kanaan, who last took the checkered flag in Richmond two years ago. Kanaan had crashed in each of his first three starts at Iowa, but he zipped past Castroneves on lap 240 and cruised to victory by over four seconds.

"I've had three years to think about why I didn't finish. When I came here people kept reminding me of that," said Kanaan, who led for 62 laps. "I never finished, and then I finished. I finished first, so know we have a different story."

Castroneves finished second and E.J. Viso was a career-best third. Penske teammates Ryan Briscoe and pole winner Will Power rounded out the top five.

Danica Patrick finished 10th. Dario Franchitti, a two-time winner in Iowa, had mechanical issues with 50 laps left and finished 18th.

Kanaan started the race 15th, but he moved up quickly and took the lead about halfway through the race. Franchitti took the lead away from Kanaan with a quick pit stop 70 laps from the finish, but his quest for a third win in three starts at Iowa fell apart soon thereafter.

Castroneves moved past Franchitti for the lead, and Franchitti soon went back to pit row when his gear box got stuck. That left the race up to Kanaan and Franchitti, and Kanaan easily moved past Castroneves to pick up his 14th career IndyCar Series win.

 

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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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