Chip Ganassi Racing

It's the Fourth of July weekend.The traditional cook-outs, parties, and fireworks will kick off around the county. Only one place will have their fireworks that will outshine Macy's Fireworks show in New York. Daytona International Speedway will be the host of the Coke Zero 400 on July 5th. Daytona provided some interesting action with the "Car of Today".

1. Transitions In Competition

I think the Car of Tomorrow is moving restrictor plate racing from the typical "ticking timebomb" as fans wait eagerly for the "Big One" to a more team oriented, drafting and passing challenge. Looking back at the finish of 08 Daytona 500, Penske teammates Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch drafted by Joe Gibbs teammates Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch. Since these car are larger and heavier, these cars will be less willing to spin and create the tornado of smoke and debris that fans are usually expecting when they tune to watch a Daytona or Talladega. Now, it will be up to drivers, spotters, and crew chiefs to make sure they can get victory by playing unique and creative pit strategy and efficient teamwork with other teammates and friends on the racetrack.

2. Desire to Win

Daytona could provide the win several of NASCAR's biggest names. Jeff Gordon, who had several wins in 2007 coming into Daytona, is winless in 2008. Tony Stewart is also in the same boat as Gordon for wins. The only difference is that Tony Stewart, statistically, runs strongest and picks up the most wins from Infineon to the Chase. This season, Tony has had bad luck follow him around across the country. Infineon, racing second, gets taken out in a freak accident. New Hampshire, Mother Nature was just not on his side. This could Gordon and Stewart's big night under the lights of Daytona.

3. 40 Car Shut Down

Chip Ganassi Racing announced yesterday that due to a lack of sponsorship funding, the 40 car, driven by Indy Car Champ Dario Franchitti, will be pulled from the track ASAP. This is an announcement that I actually saw coming. I will give it to Franchitti, he is an excellent driver in the IRL. But, I felt from the beginning that Ganassi should have placed him in the Nationwide series to transition from the open wheel cars to the NASCAR stock cars. I think that Ganassi felt that Juan Pablo Montoya made the transition smoothly, which he did, so Franchitti would also. Montoya and Franchitti are two completely different drivers from different backgrounds. They should use the remainder of the season to prep Franchitti and work on their Nationwide team. With the 40 car shut down, that means that one more team can possibly make the field in the "Go or Go Home" qualifying session this week at Daytona.

Given these factors, The Coke Zero 400 should be just as exciting and action-packed as ever, just don't expect to see a huge wreck because the Chase is only a few races away.

What does Chip Ganassi’s latest news say about the state of NASCAR today.  For those who haven’t heard Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates will cease the operation of his #40 Dodge formerly piloted by Dario Franchitti.  Look back no farther than 2002, when Sterling Marlin made the #40 “flagship” car of CGR a perennial championship contender.

Ganassi pioneered the “Open-Wheel Driver” movement into NASCAR.  A few short years ago they introduced Juan Pablo Montoya into NASCAR.  Despite the seemingly unnoticed earlier movements of Tony Stewart and other less storied drivers from open wheel backgrounds, JPM ignited a fad towards open wheel drivers making the move.  Suddenly it seemed like every owner wanted open wheel talent; every open wheel driver wanted to be in NASCAR. 

One driver to make the jump during that time was Dario Franchitti.  Dario only had experience in the open wheel ranks, he was 35 years old, and he wanted see if he could find success like JPM.  Like so many others had before him, he jumped right into the Cup level.  As on several previous occasions, he made a mistake doing it, and Ganassi made a mistake letting him do it.    

Looking at this years entry lists it is not uncommon to see ten or more drivers who have recently made the jump.  Chip Ganassi becomes the latest to realize that this fad is not always profitable.  Remember Jacque Villeneuve and his early departure from Bill Davis Racing - an underfunded team at best.  In the long run it is overly obvious that only a few open wheel drivers will successfully make and maintain the transition into NASCAR. 

Looking at the bigger picture of driver impact on sponsorship, and the financial requirement race teams need from sponsorship, we see yet another trend.  Today’s multi-million dollar sponsors, or lack thereof, are making and breaking teams like never before.  With the additional emphasis placed on the top-12 by the new Chase format, we can only expect the current trend to continue. 

Sponsors seem to want young talent that experience instant success.  At times they just want youth.  This was most recently referenced in stories of the Army wanting a younger driver to hit their target audience, rather than old and gray, yet experienced and capable Mark Martin.  With more sponsors either finding success or moving on to a more successful organization, we will see more and more of the smaller teams dropping off the radar. 

With the news of Dario, it is clear that even Ganassi Racing is not exempt from sponsorship woes.  It seems like sponsors would rather have a small patch on the uniform in victory lane than a logo on the hood of the car riding mid to rear pack.  Sooner or later teams like Penske, Ganassi, Waltrip, DEI, Wood Brothers, etc. will be mired permanently outside of the top-25 in points.  Left there to fight over the few small sponsors and investors left who want to take a chance on a struggling team.  Or they will resort to partnering up with a larger team like Yates Racing has with Roush, left still to struggle with good equipment due to lesser known drivers and lack of full time primary sponsors. 

The result will be the big teams like Hendrick, Gibbs, Childress, and Roush having a controlling interest in all the teams in NASCAR.  Which ironically is the same route taken by the tracks raced on in NASCAR.  Before long all tracks will be owned by one of two organizations, Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (SMI) or International Speedway Corporation (ISC).

The days of drivers like Kurt Busch, Reed Sorenson, Casey Mears, and a wide array of driving talent having a few years to bounce off the walls of every track before finding their footing are numbered.  The unfortunate part is that occasionally a few of those drivers would figure it out and win races or a championship.  Furthermore champions can now be produced by equipment over talent. 

What is most distressing is that money now controls our beloved NASCAR.

Go Kyle Busch and the #18 crew!  Show them how to win at Daytona this time!

Goodbye Ashley Judd-Franchitti, we will now have to watch those old DVD’s to see your smiling face. 

Dario Franchitti is no longer the driver of the No. 40 Dodge for Chip Ganassi Racing.  In fact, reports are saying that team doesn't even exist anymore.

Owner Chip Ganassi told the Associated Press he saw no reason to continue to run the team out of his own pocket.  Jayski is now reporting that over 70 employees have been laid off because of the closing.

This season has been full of disappointments for the 2007 Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series Champion.  Franchitti has run in 10 of 17 races this season, missing five because of a broken ankle but two because he failed to qualify.  His highest finish was a 22nd in Martinsville and he has an average finish of 34th.

The lack of sponsorship was a major contributor in the shut down of the team.  Coors Light departed last year, and while Target and Guitar Hero have been on the car, a full-time sponsor was never secured.

Franchitti was 41st in Owners Points.

Ganassi hopes that his driver, who he said was "disappointed", will continue to drive the team's Nationwide car until the Cup effort is reconstructed.

Franchitti is not the only open-wheeler to struggle with the transition to NASCAR. 

While teammate Juan Pablo Montoya has won a race (Sonoma-2007), he's yet to win in 2008 and only has two top-10s. 

Penske Racing's Sam Hornish Jr., who made the transition this year along with Franchitti, is yet to score his first top-five or top-ten in the series. 

Former Formula One Champion Jacques Villeneuve only made two races last year before being let go by Bill Davis and that team, the number 27 Toyota, being shut down.

Paul Tracy has made a couple of lackluster attempts in the Nationwide and Truck Series.

Dario Franchitti was part of Ganassi's winning team in this year's Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona with Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas, and Montoya.  He has 13 wins in his 10 years in IndyCar and CART. Last year he edged out Ganassi driver Scott Dixon for his first championship as a driver for Andretti-Green Racing.

Winners, Losers and Stepping In It.

    The dust is still settling since last February’s announced merger of the now defunct Champ Car World Series and the apparently victorious Indy Racing League.  The casualty list has still yet to be finally tabulated as bodies are still being pulled from the wreckage but slowly the haze is lifting from the battlefield and now the historians can start assessing who won, who lost and who really stepped into it.

Before continuing to read this opinion piece please realize that the whole story of this alleged merger may not ever be known.  Many strange and bewildering events took place in the months, weeks and even days before it became official.  Business practices that would have made Gordon Gecko types call for their mommies and a misinformation campaign that would have humbled G. Gordo Liddy.   And that is what I know…..which isn’t nearly the whole story.  But that is for another of my future attempts of Motorsports media immortality.

     So here we go.  The Winners, the Losers and those who Stepped Into It all because of the Open Wheel reunification.

Winner: The casual Open Wheel fan is the biggest winner.  Now they won’t get confused about which series is which.  Drivers with household names like Victor Meira, Tony Kannan, Ed Carpenter, Justin Wilson and Frank Perera can all be found together.  Ok.  I am kidding but at least fans can finally watch drivers with some name recognition on the track at the same time and not be confused about which series is which.  Names like Dario Franchitti, Sam Hornish, Sebastien Bourdais………..oh!

     Well at least you have “Twinkle Toes, the 11 year old Korean boy and the Andretti/Rahal kids.

Stepped in it: Tony George.  No excuses.  If you don’t bring Indy racing back to popularity rivaling the “Glory Days” everybody will blame you….and rightly so.  We are almost at the half-way point of the season and the numbers don’t look good.  I guess that the split wasn’t the problem and that the “reunification” isn’t all that it is cracked up to be.

Loser: All the people who lost jobs because of the merger.  This number is easily in the thousands.  Not only some of the great people at Champ Car and the teams but all those who work for the different events that were cancelled and the suppliers for the teams and venues.

Winner: Hardcore IRL fans:  Go ahead and gloat.

Loser:  Hardcore IRL fans:  Well if you believe that real racers come from the dirt tracks in the Midwest, Road racing is for sissies and that CART everything that was wrong with Indy Car racing….I have news for you!  Welcome to CART II.

Loser:  Champ Car fans…..”Pass the tissues along with that beer will ya?”

Winner:  The American LeMans Series (ALMS) is another big winner.  Many of the hard core Champ Car fans are fans of any series that combines road racing and technology.  Oval Racing is not for them.  Driving nose to tail, side by side at full throttle lap after lap is not racing to them.  So the ALMS is a natural choice for them to follow.  The recent 12 Hours of Sebring had a distinct Champ Car vibe to it as I recognized many familiar faces from past Champ Car Paddocks.  Forsythe, Walker and Rocketsports are all rumored to be looking into joining the series.  Combine that with heavy manufacture support and a great TV schedule and things look bright for Don Panoz’s series.  And in case anybody forgot with the demise of Champ Car there is a lot of TV time that now needs to be filled.

Stepped in it: Kevin Kalkhoven:  Hailed as the savior of Champ Car and all that is pure in racing.  You are now reviled as the Judas of the sport.  Now you are just the owner of team.  Well at least you have a backup career as a James Lipton’s impersonator.

Loser: Fans in Cleveland, Houston, Mexico City, Assen and everywhere else that lost a race with the merger.   Hate to say it but I really doubt they are ever coming back.  If they do it will be a tough sell.

Winner: Rally America.  Arguably the most exciting racing series in North America (Actually there is no argument. If you don’t agree I am sure there is a NASCAR show on Speed for you to watch.).  With one less series will it pick up the slack?

Loser: Danica Patrick.   Sure she won a race this year but her arrogant attitude and the ridiculous hype is finally beginning to catch up with her.  Even some of the Motorsports press who use to be her lap-dog are beginning to see the truth.  She won a fuel mileage race under dubious circumstances with a depleted field and then acted like she was the 2^nd coming of Fangio.  There will be even more drivers that will have to have mechanical issues and drop out before you can finally win a legitimate race.

Winner: International Speedway Corp is a winner with the fact that with one less series there is one less competitor for the racing fan $$$. 

Loser: The Other IRL teams.  By other I mean the teams that are not Andretti Green, Penske or Ganassi.  You raced for a top 10 finish and the chance at the top if bad luck befell the frontrunners.  Well now you have more teams to contend with.  Do you really think that Newman/Haas/Lanigan will not be competitive by the end of the season and join the Big 3?  They have already won a race this year with Graham Rahal’s St. Pete win.

Winner: Formula 1.  Some people have argued that Champ Car was a more competitive and exciting series than F-1.  Nobody says that about the IRL. 

Why do I have a feeling that Bernie had a hand in this?

Loser:  Mazda.  I bet they are pissed!  With all the news about the merger everybody seems to have forgotten the Mazda Atlantics Series.  Hopefully the announcement of the IMSA (ALMS) sanctioning will save what is a great ladder series.

Stepped in it: The former front office employee of Champ Car who planted false stories and deliberately lied in e-mails and internet postings which was all part of a misinformation campaign to weaken Champ Car.

  We know who you are!

In the dominance of Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards this season, there have been at least two top drivers that have not been to victory lane yet this season. Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart have done well in the past at the road course race track, winning 7 of the last 10 races, combined. In addition to Jeff Gordon & Tony Stewart, here are some of the other drivers that are looking for a win that would do great at Infineon:

Robby Gordon (#7): Two of the three races that he has won were at the road courses of Watkin's Glen and Infineon, both in 2003 and he hasn't won since he won both races in 2003.

Sam Hornish Jr. (#77): Though he is now in NASCAR, Hornish is no stranger to the road course. He has raced there in Indy cars.

Boris Said (#60): Said has been so close a few times of winning a race. He won a pole at Infineon in 2003 and Daytona in 2006. He is also a racing pro and does well in any car that he races in.

Ron Fellows (#01): Fellows have been racing at the road courses in the NASCAR top series since 1995. He did win three Nationwide Series races at Watkin's Glen, the last one being 2001. He races in the Le Mans Series.

Patrick Carpentier (#10): Like Hornish, Carpentier has also raced in the Indy Cars at Infineon and is no stranger to the track. He made his NASCAR debut in 2007 at Watkin's Glen.

Scott Pruett (#41): He is filling in for the #41 car this week. He was full time in NASCAR in 2000. He got spun trying to win at the Mexican road course in the 2007 Nationwide Series race and teammate Juan Pablo Montoya ended up winning the race.

Marcos Ambrose (#21): Trying to attempt to make his first start in the Sprint Cup. He is a road course pro. He was spun at Montréal in 2007 by Robby Gordon in the Nationwide Series race and finished 7th. Robby Gordon got penalized and was not able to race in the race at Pocono the next day. The next week, Robby Gordon let Ambrose race in his race car.

Dario Franchitti (#40): Like Hornish and Carpentier before, Franchitti is also not a stranger to this track, as he too raced at this track in the Indy cars.

Brian Vickers (#83): Vickers have done well with Red Bull Racing this season. He even improved in the standings into the Top 20. He has finished well this season.

A.J. Allmendinger (#84): Allmendinger has also done well, since taking the car back from Mike Skinner at Talladega. He is a former Champ Cup driver.

Juan Pablo Motoya (#42): Montoya is looking for his first win of the season and to win at Infineon for the second year in a row.