CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Chip Ganassi has only one business — he's not a car dealer, he's not backed by private equity money — the Pittsburgh native focuses only on racing.
And in 35 years, he's proved to be good at his chosen profession.
Alex Palou closed the IndyCar season with his fourth championship — the first driver since Dario Franchitti to win three in a row, he actually won four titles in five seasons — to give Chip Ganassi Racing its 17th championship.
The 17 titles tie Ganassi with Team Penske for the series record. But for statistical purposes, Ganassi did it in his 35th anniversary season and Roger Penske has been racing for nearly two decades longer. And, since Jimmy Vasser in 1996 gave Ganassi his first title, no IndyCar team has won more championships over the past 30 seasons.
The CGR success rate tops that of nearly every North American sports franchise, including the Los Angeles Lakers and New England Patriots (six championships apiece), New York Yankees (five), and in NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports, which has won 13 titles in the same span.
Vasser started a winning streak that kicked off a span of four consecutive titles: Alex Zanardi won back-to-back titles in 1997 and '98 and Juan Pablo Montoya won the fourth championship in 1999.
Scott Dixon added six more titles beginning in 2003, and Franchitti won his three straight from 2009 through 2011.
Now he has Palou, who put together the most dominating season in nearly two decades. He challenged the all-time win mark of 10 with eight victories and became the first driver since Franchitti in 2010 to win the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar championship in the same season. The Spaniard locked up the title with two races remaining on the season — the first driver to clinch that early since Cristiano da Matta won with three to go during the 2002 season.
Palou's four titles puts him in an elite IndyCar club that includes A.J. Foyt (seven) and Dixon (six), and tie him with Mario Andretti, Franchitti and Sebastien Bourdais.
Palou, who flirted with tying Foyt and Al Unser's record of 10 wins in season, is the most consistent, dominant driver IndyCar has seen in years. Even so, Ganassi refuses to rank greatness.
“That’s like saying Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Terry Bradshaw, Tom Brady – who’s the best quarterback?” Ganassi said. “Different eras, different teams, different contexts. That’s the great thing about sports: We’ll never really know.”
Palou's great season
The first Spaniard to win the Indianapolis 500 and first to win a championship, Palou won eight races this season, the most since Sebastien Bourdais in 2007.
He won six poles, the most since Will Power, IndyCar's all-time greatest qualifier with 71, earned six in 2017. Palou's 13 podiums passes teammate Dixon for the most in a single season since 2008. Zanardi and Unser, both with 15, are the only drivers with more podium finishes in the last half-century.
Ganassi won't compare drivers, but he knows he's got a rare talent in his stable.
“It’s very rewarding to have a driver like Alex under your roof," Ganassi said. "You surround him with great people, the right engine, tires, chassis and race strategy, and you end up with a pretty good package.
“We knew we had a strong team going in, but no one predicted a year like this,” Ganassi continued. “I said at the start of the season we were just tapping into Alex’s talent. Unfortunately for everyone else, I don’t think he’s hit the ceiling yet.”
A bumpy road to get here
Palou was signed by Ganassi at the end of his first season, 2020, when the Ganassi group saw potential in him as he drove for underfunded Dale Coyne Racing.
He was spectacular out of the gate and won the first of his championships in his Ganassi debut. But by early 2022, Palou's aspirations to become a Formula 1 driver took over. He signed a contract with McLaren to move to its IndyCar team with a chance at F1, but Ganassi pushed back and said he held Palou's rights for 2023.
A mediator decided Palou would drive for Ganassi in 2023, do F1 work for McLaren at the same time, then join McLaren in 2024. Only problem? The McLaren lineup is full, its IndyCar team isn't as strong as Ganassi's and Palou figured he'd be better off staying at CGR.
So he breached his contract, twice, and for that he's being sued for almost $30 million by McLaren Racing. A three-week trial is set to begin in London later this month.
It's costly for all sides involved, and Palou went through the second half of 2022 on icy terms with Ganassi and his CGR teammates. All is well now, the relationship never stronger, and Ganassi said Palou twice remaining in his camp is proof that the driver is where he wants to race.
“Of course I don’t want to lose him. Who wants to lose somebody good?” Ganassi said. “He had an opportunity to leave and he decided to stay. I don’t know how many times I have to say that. Everybody can see that.”
For Palou, he has a deep appreciation for Ganassi, first for taking a chance on him and then for sticking with him through the McLaren mess.
“Not only for the ‘22 stuff, but also for the ’21 opportunity and the ‘23 opportunity of giving me another chance. That’s pretty big,” Palou said. "And not only another chance of keeping me there, but being like: 'Whatever happened is in the past. We don't care anymore and I'm going to give you my best.'
“For me it is easy, but for him to move past it, maybe a little bit harder. But he gave me three more championships in three years. Everything we've been through, that we've shared together, the relationship just gets better and better.”
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