Target goes out of NASCAR business on Ganassi, Larson
Target will leave NASCAR at the end of this season after 16 years with Chip Ganassi Racing.
Target had served as the primary sponsor for Cup driver Kyle Larson since his debut in 2013. The 24-year-old Larson has emerged as one of the brightest young stars in NASCAR and has two wins and nine top-10 finishes this season.
His success wasn’t enough to keep Target interested in racing. The Minneapolis-based retail giant left Ganassi and IndyCar at the end of last season following a 27-year run.
Target says it will focus sports sponsorship on soccer.
“As we looked to evolve our sports marketing program, soccer provided Target with a unique opportunity to reach our guests in new places, and at all levels of the sport,” Target said in a statement.
Ganassi thanked Target for its support of his auto racing teams for 28 years.
While many NASCAR teams have run into sponsorship woes over the last few seasons, Larson could be one of the exceptions and might not have a major problem landing a primary sponsor for 2018 and beyond.
“Kyle Larson is a once-in-a-generation talent. He and the No. 42 Chevrolet will still be on the track for a long time, the only difference is that they will have different colors,” Ganassi said. it
IndyCar: Dixon seeks to build lead at a favorite course
LEXINGTON, OHIO » A year ago, Scott Dixon came to one of his favorite courses and had one of the most trying weekends of his racing career.
A five-time winner at the MidOhio Sports Car Course, Dixon faced reporters two days before the race and, along with his team owner, discussed having Target pull its sponsorship of Chip Ganassi Racing at the end of the season after 27 years.
That media event was followed by Dixon’s last-place finish 48 hours later in the Honda Indy 200 because of mechanical issues.
He’s in a much better spot entering the race Sunday at MidOhio.
The 37-year-old New Zealander leads the IndyCar standings with 423 points, three more than Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves.
A new main sponsor (NTT Data) wasn’t the only change for Dixon’s No. 9 car this year. After three seasons with Chevrolet, Ganassi has returned to Honda engines.
“We had a really big offseason but it was a positive to have such a change,” he said. “We were getting, not complacent, but we were continuing to do the same things over and over. So it was nice to have almost like a shiny new toy that we could change our approach to how we mechanically set up the car to how we approach race weekend.”
He won at Road America in Wisconsin on June 25 and has 11 top-10 finishes in 12 races, including five podium appearances.
Dixon won on Mid-Ohio’s 13turn, 2.258-mile course in 2007, ‘09, ‘11, 12 and ‘14 and has nine top-10 finishes in 12 starts at the track.
F1: Red Bull’s Ricciardo in confident mood
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY » Daniel Ricciardo heads into Saturday’s qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix in a confident mood after showing impressive pace in Friday’s two practice sessions.
The Hungaroring track reduces power output because of its tight and twisting nature, which means that the Red Bulls should be confident of matching Ferrari and Mercedes for race speed, and even challenging for a win.
With Ricciardo in good form, and the upgrades Red Bull has made for this race working well, the omens look good.
“I do feel like we have gained some grip in the car,” Ricciardo said after Friday’s practice runs. “(We) looked strong out of the box. We have stepped in the right direction.”