San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
GANASSI HAS STRONG HAND
Chip Ganassi skipped his 1982 graduation ceremony at Duquesne to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. The Pittsburgh native made the field but turned out to be just an OK race car driver.
His strengths were outside the car and inside the boardroom. In the 40 years since, Ganassi has built one of the top open-wheel programs in North America. Ganassi has collected 14 championships and won four Indy 500s as a team owner, though the last one for Chip Ganassi Racing was a decade ago.
That’s a drought the boss doesn’t find at all acceptable.
“It’s been 10 years since we won here, we should be trying to win this thing,” Ganassi said Friday.
Well, today, the Indy 500 appears to be Ganassi’s race to lose.
He’s got not one, not two, not three, but five thoroughbreds in the stable, and Ganassi cars have been untouchable for nearly two weeks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Scott Dixon starts from the pole for the fifth time in his career as the six-time Indycar champion continues his determined quest for a second Indy 500 win. The New Zealander won from the pole in 2008 but has fallen short in 18 other tries.
Dixon has been runnerup three times, and his loss to Takuma Sato in 2020 stings the most. The race ended under yellow, and Dixon had to helplessly follow Sato across the finish line. Over the past week, he set an Indy 500 pole-winning record in qualifying with laps over 240 miles per hour and now is chasing the item atop his to-do list.
“I just want to win, that’s all it comes down to,” Dixon told The Associated Press.
Monaco Grand Prix Today:
On the air: Indianapolis 500 Today:
9:45 a.m., Indianapolis Motor Speedway Ch. 7/39 (8
On the air:
Coca-cola 600 Today:
3 p.m., Charlotte Motor Speedway Ch. 5/69
On the air:
ESPN
“When you are younger, you don’t really give a (crap). The first championship? The first Indy 500? I had no idea. It took some (crap) years for it to actually sink in what big achievements those are.
“And so those close misses, those are the ones that leave you pissed off. Those are the ones that make you keep knocking on the door, and winning another Indy 500 is top of the list. Out of everything, that is what matters most at the moment.“
The competition will come from within his own camp: Ganassi driver Alex Palou, the reigning Indycar champion and last year’s Indy 500 runner-up, starts second.
Ganassi drivers Marcus Ericsson and 47-year-old Tony Kanaan, the oldest driver in the field, start fifth and sixth, respectively, and were fastest in Friday’s “Carb Day” final practice.
And back there in 12th? Why, it’s Jimmie Johnson, the seven-time NASCAR champion making his Indy 500 debut.
He’s achieving his childhood dream at age 46 after proving to his wife that Indy cars have dramatically improved in safety.
Johnson knows his way around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway — he won four times at the track in NASCAR — and if not for a bobble that led to a remarkable save in qualifying, Johnson would be starting much closer to his Ganassi teammates.
“Each day we get closer to the 500, it gets busy. The pressure is ramping up,” said Johnson, who was sent to “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” this week by Indycar to promote the 106th running of the race.
Ganassi is quick to point out that trophies aren’t awarded in practice and his five-car fleet has accomplished nothing yet.
“I like our chances. We’re as prepared as we can be,” Ganassi said. “You’re always hesitant to feel good about the race at this place, but I probably feel as good as any car owner going into the race.”
NASCAR announces sellout
NASCAR is very much still a hot ticket in its Charlotte hub.
Charlotte Motor Speedway announced a sellout for today’s Coca-cola 600, meaning approximately 100,000 fans are expected to attend NASCAR’S longest race of the season.
Grandstand seats sold out earlier this week, and officials announced Saturday that all premium, reserved and standing-room-only seats have all been purchased as well.
It will be the largest crowd for the Coca-cola 600 since 2017.
“This being Memorial Day weekend, it is the biggest weekend in motorsports,” Marcus Smith, president and chief operating officer for Speedway Motorsports, told The Associated Press.
“And we love being the grand finale to the greatest day in motorsports, starting in Monaco and then Indianapolis and then Charlotte with the Coke 600.”
NASCAR the past few years has made multiple tweaks to its traditional schedule but the 600 has remained untouched. It’s 100 miles longer than any other event on the Cup schedule and tests teams from day-tonight during challenging, changing track conditions.
“One of my goals is for our events, in particular the Coca-cola 600, not to grow old, but to grow legendary,” Smith said. “And anybody who loves to go to events, you want to go to some of those legendary events that have been around for a long time.
“It’s been 63 years now, and the Coke 600 is now on our fourth generation of NASCAR fans. People have been coming to Charlotte Motor Speedway with their fathers and grandfathers and are now bringing their own kids. I think that is a really special thing for us.”
Elsewhere
Charles Leclerc positioned himself to reclaim the Formula One championship lead from reigning champion Max Verstappen by winning the pole for today’s Monaco Grand Prix. Leclerc was already atop the leaderboard Saturday when a crash by Sergio Perez stopped the session with about 30 seconds remaining.
Josh Berry outdueled teammate Justin Allgaier to give JR Motorsports its first win at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race. Berry took the lead with 22 laps to go when Allgaier got loose and brushed the outside wall in Turn 1. Berry pulled away and won by more than 18 seconds while Allgaier finished seventh after experiencing a leaky tire.