Auto Racing

Search Results

Close Previous Now showing: of Next

Previous Next Close

Discussion

Welcome to our online comments feature. We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean. We reserve the right to remove comments that are obscene, racist or abusive and statements that are false or unverifiable as well as posts that are attacking other users. Repeat offenders will be blocked. You may flag objectionable comments for review by a moderator.

comments powered by Disqus

July 25, 2010

5 months, 3 huge wins for Ganassi

By Lori Wood Tribune-Star Correspondent The Tribune Star Sun Jul 25, 2010, 10:47 PM EDT

INDIANAPOLIS — No one is the history of motorsports can match what team owner Chip Ganassi accomplished by winning the Brickyard 400 with driver Jamie McMurray on Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

In a span of a little more than five months, team Earnhardt/Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates and Target Chip Ganassi Racing won the Daytona 500, the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, a feat no one thought possible until May, when Dario Franchitti won his second Indy 500 and first with Ganassi. “This is pretty special,” said Ganassi. “This is a big, big day for our team.” 

Both of Ganassi’s parents are ailing and were not able to attend the race, but he made sure to send an exuberant heartfelt shout out over the airwaves. “Hi Dad. I hope you’re on the oxygen back there, because I need some.”

Even race winner Kevin Harvick was impressed. “To win all of those in one year is remarkable. It will probably never happen again,” he said.

McMurray agreed with Harvick, saying, “Most likely it won’t happen. Chip is having such a year. It is hard to get both teams good at the same time.” It took nearly 100 years for the first time.

Ganassi was honored by Harvick’s predication. “I respect him as a driver, and I hope to get to respect him as a historian, and that he is right,” the winning owner said. He also credited Harvick’s team, Richard Childress Racing, for supplying them with great engines.

McMurray said that both Daytona and Indianapolis are strategy races. At the final pit stop, McMurray took just two tires, while teammate Juan Pablo Montoya took four. Montoya was leading at the time.

McMurray, whose future was uncertain just a year ago, was humbled. “I feel very honored to be a part of this. It is quite an accomplishment,” he said. His lean years, recent in memory, have made him appreciate his current situation, he added. “It’s been an unbelievable year The greatest racing year of my life.”

Even Ganassi has struggled in NASCAR recently. The team was looking for sponsorship at the beginning of the nation’s financial crisis in 2007. Although many in the media had written them off as a team, it angered Ganassi and fueled the comeback. “We had to make changes and we did. You have to turn your ear to a lot of things. We’ve been staying on our plan for a long time. You have to make sacrifices. You have to have a passion for what you’re doing,” he said.

Trying to move the spotlight from himself, Ganassi pointed to everyone involved. “This is a win for the team. Today was certainly a mixed emotions day. Without the 42 team, the 1 car wouldn’t have won, I don’t think.”

Prior to the start of the race, there was a lot of speculation that this would happen. However most thought it would be with pole-sitter Montoya. Montoya ran nearly an identical race as 2009 with a dominating car, but a mishap in the pits cost him the lead and eventually he crashed out with Dale Earnhardt Jr. In his incredible state of euphoria, Ganassi still understood JPM’s devastation. “My heart just goes out to him,” the owner said.

McMurray almost seemed in a state of shock as he climbed from the car. “Honestly, when Juan was leading and I was in second, I’m a big believer in fate, and I thought this was how it was meant to be. I won Daytona, Dario won the 500, and I thought Juan was going to win this one.”

Even though McMurray said he didn’t have the best car, he never fell out of the top 10 all day and rarely fell below fifth. He led just 16 laps, the second fewest in the history of the event. “With 10 laps to go, just do what you’ve got to do,” he summarized.

Winning both Daytona and the Brickyard in the same year has happened twice since NASCAR started at Indy 17 years ago. In 1996, Dale Jarrett did it, followed 10 years later by Jimmie Johnson, who went on to win the championship that year.

Ganassi began his career as an owner in 2001 when he joined with Sabates. In 2007, the team merged with Dale Earnhardt Inc. Through nine seasons, the team has amassed nine wins.

Adding to Ganassi’s resume this year, his DP class team finished second in the 24 Hours of Daytona with drivers Max Papas, Scott Pruett, Memo Rojas and Justin Wilson.

Despite the fact that Ganassi said he was speechless at the accomplishment, he found the words to describe the moment. “I’m lucky and privileged to be in this business. I’m the luckiest guy on the planet. You wouldn’t dare dream this. You wouldn’t dare dream this kind of year.”

Text Only | Photo Reprints

Copyright 2012 News From Terre Haute, Indiana. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Auto Racing

• TRACKSIDE: Valley racing showed best, worst of times in 2011

  A look back on the 2011 Wabash Valley auto racing season reveals the best and worst of times the sport has to offer.

  January 1, 2012  

• Action Track to play host to 4 USAC events

  U.S. Auto Club officials have released preliminary schedules for next season and four events are listed to be run at The Action Track.

  December 15, 2011  

• ISU's Troxell, Crossroads Dragway in running for NHRA awards

  Indiana State University student Derick Troxell and the Crossroads Dragway are both in the running for annual National Hot Rod Association awards.

  November 23, 2011  

• Memorial service for Wheldon attracts thousands

  Thousands came to honor deceased IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon during a memorial service at Conseco Fieldhouse on Sunday.

  October 24, 2011  

• Indy remembers Wheldon

  Dan Wheldon’s biggest fans wanted one more chance to thank their favorite driver.
  One by one, they turned Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s main gate into a memorial for the two-time Indianapolis 500 winner, who was killed Sunday in a fiery crash at Las Vegas.
   

  October 18, 2011  

• Wheldon fans leave tributes at Indianapolis track

  Dozens of fans have left flowers, candles and notes at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway gates in memory of two-time Indy 500 champion Dan Wheldon.

  October 17, 2011  

• Indy 500 winner Wheldon dies after massive wreck

  Race car drivers always know the worst can happen whenever they get behind the wheel.

  October 17, 2011 8 Photos  

• UPDATE: Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon dies after massive crash in Vegas

  Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon died Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after his car became ensnarled in a fiery 15-car pileup, flew over another vehicle and landed in a catch fence just outside turn 2.

  October 16, 2011 8 Photos  

• It was a frigid ending to oval dirt track season

  The oval dirt track part of the 2011 Wabash Valley racing season came to a highly successful and climactic end over the weekend at Lincoln Park Speedway.

  October 5, 2011  

• Windom’s impressive streak evokes lofty comparisons

  In the storied history of the Terre Haute Action Track no name is more synonymous with winning and dominance than the late Jim Hurtubise.

  September 14, 2011  

• Windom drives away from field at Action Track

  Chris Windom led all 30 laps to capture the Jim Hurtubise Classic presented by First Financial Bank for USAC National Sprints at the Terre Haute Action Track on Saturday.

  September 11, 2011  

• USAC cars return to Action Track today

  The United States Auto Club sprint cars return to the Terre Haute Action Track tonight for the Jim Hurtubise Classic presented by First Financial Bank.

  September 10, 2011  

• Points titles are on the line at Wabash Valley race tracks

  They have become as much a part of the motorsports scene as the traditional green and checkered flags.

  September 7, 2011  

• Stock cars: ‘backbones’ of short tracks

  It was a familiar scene played out every Saturday night throughout the summer at hundreds of short tracks scattered across the country.

  August 10, 2011  

• Menard pulls off the upset

  Thirteen different drivers held the lead for at least one lap in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Paul Menard led 21 of them — including 11 of the last 12 and the last four — to take the checkered flag.

  August 1, 2011  

• Family: Menard’s team won IRL title

  Although it took 35 years, the name Menard finally made it to victory circle at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday.

  August 1, 2011  

• Sprint Summer Showdown begins at Indianapolis

  The Sprint Summer Showdown begins today at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Brickyard 400 for NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers is the first of five races in the new event that will culminate with the AdvoCare 500 in Atlanta.

  July 31, 2011  

• Johnson knocked off pole by upstart Ragan at Brickyard

  The 18th Brickyard 400 will be run today at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

  July 31, 2011  

• Billboard aims to curb race fans’ hot dog cravings

  A new billboard is warning Brickyard 400 fans that eating hot dogs can be dangerous to their health.

  July 26, 2011  

• Hinchliffe looking forward to IndyCar's Canadian stops

  James Hinchcliffe is looking forward to the next two IZOD IndyCar Series events to be run in his native Canada. First up is Sunday’s Honda Indy Toronto to be run on the streets of Toronto. Versus will carry the action live at 2 p.m. EDT.

  July 8, 2011  

• Safety rules at track

  A race delayed for more than two hours by overnight rain was eventually forced to be postponed by extreme heat and deteriorating track conditions as the vagaries of Mother Nature found another way to plague the Terre Haute Action Track on Sunday.

   

   

  July 4, 2011 4 Photos  

• Sumar Classic hits track Sunday

  Jason McCord remembers how he used to watch racing, playing catch with his father on the infield during lulls in the action on the track.

   

   

  July 2, 2011  

• TRACKSIDE: Coons should be favorite for Sunday

  When the U.S. Auto Club Silver Crown contingent motors into the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds this weekend for the SUMAR Classic it would appear that Jerry Coons Jr. would be the odds-on favorite to win Sunday’s 100-lap main event.
  After all, the veteran driver has all the credentials to make him a winner.

  June 29, 2011  

• TRACKSIDE: Decision to stick with USAC pays off

  When the 2011 USAC Indiana Sprint Weeks schedule was announced back in January, there were many who expressed their share of disappointment that Lincoln Park Speedway had once again been snubbed for one of the coveted series dates.

  June 15, 2011  

• Stunning victory

  After one of the craziest finishes in racing history, Dan Wheldon emerged as winner of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
  Just when it looked like rookie J.R. Hildebrand was one corner away from giving Panther Racing its first Indy 500 victory, he got up into the marbles in the fourth turn, bouncing the right side of the car into the wall.

  May 30, 2011 3 Photos  

• Field still split over double-file restarts

  For the first time ever at the Indianapolis 500, the IZOD IndyCar Series began using double-file restarts during the race.

  May 30, 2011  

• Centennial Indianapolis 500 fill have deep meeting to today's winner

  In the words of Al Unser Jr. as he stood in the winners circle in 1992, “You just don’t know what Indy means.”

  May 29, 2011  

• USAC Tony Hulman Classic tonight

  The 41st running of The Tony Hulman Classic for United States Auto Club cars is set for tonight at The Action Track.

  May 26, 2011 1 Photo  

• TRACKSIDE: Auto racing in May in Indiana runs on history and tradition

  Possibly nowhere in the sports world does history and tradition play such a key role in an event’s success and future as that found in auto racing.

  May 25, 2011  

• MARCO, DANICA MAKE THE CUT

  Every year on Bump Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the question is “Who will make it?”
  The question this year was who wasn’t going to make it in the centennial running of the Indianapolis 500. When it was all over, Marco Andretti and Danica Patrick were in. Teammates Mike Conway and Ryan Hunter-Reay were out.

   

  May 23, 2011 2 Photos 1 Story  

• More Auto Racing Headlines

© 2012 Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. · CNHI Classified Advertising Network · CNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2012. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope. Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
Privacy Policy | AP News Registry privacy policy
Terms and Conditions
Advertiser Index

Events by eviesays.com

News From Terre Haute, Indiana 222 S 7th St Terre Haute, IN 47807