Target to exit partnership with Ganassi

27-year sponsorship produced 11 titles, four Indy 500 wins.

Target will leave IndyCar at the end of this season after 27 years with Chip Ganassi Racing that included 11 championships and four Indianapolis 500 victories.

The exit comes as Target is examining all of its marketing platforms under new Chairman Brian Cornell. Target is also the primary sponsor of Kyle Larson in NASCAR’s top Sprint Cup Series and will return to his car in 2017.

Target’s relationship with Ganassi is one of the longest in any racing series. Target sponsored his first car as a team owner and eventually became a partner as the Ganassi team grew to one of the top two players in open wheel racing.

In discussing the decision, Target Senior Vice President Scott Nygaard rattled off a list of highlights from Target’s run: Jimmy Vasser winning Ganassi’s first championship, Alex Zanardi adding another two, Juan Pablo Montoya winning Ganassi’s first Indianapolis 500 and domination over the last decade by Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon. “It was a really difficult decision that we made,” Nygaard said. “But the Target brand is about being fresh and new, so we felt like this was the time to make the difficult decision.”

Ganassi praised his partnership with Target and said he understood the company made a business decision.

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