USA TODAY International Edition
MOTOR SPORTS’ BIG WHEELS
Penske- Ganassi rivalry set for latest IndyCar turn
SEBRING, FLA. As soon as Chip Ganassi’s team won the 12 Hours of Sebring this month, the team’s press notes touted an obscure yet intriguing fact: Ganassi had become the only team owner in motor sports history to win the Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500, Brickyard 400, Rolex 24 and Sebring.
Another factoid that could have been added: This is something Roger Penske hasn’t done.
The rivalry between two of the most successful owners of their time is fierce and at times heated, with players sometimes changing teams midcareer. Not all involved, however, agree that it meets the definition of a rivalry.
“Chip wants to think of it as a rivalry, but we don’t,” said Tim Cindric, president of Team Penske. “If you want to think of it in baseball terms, it would be the Yankees and the Florida Marlins — a team with a long history against a younger team that came on strong and won a couple of World Series.”
As the Verizon IndyCar Series prepares to open the season this weekend with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the Penske- Ganassi drama retains its place at the forefront of openwheel racing.
Team Penske has added former Ganassi NASCAR Sprint Cup driver and 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya to a team that includes three- time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves and Will Power. Target Chip Ganassi Racing added former Penske driver Ryan Briscoe and defending Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan, who will join reigning IndyCar champion Scott Dixon and Charlie Kimball. Ganassi lost four- time IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti, who retired under doctors’ advisement after suffering injuries in an October crash at the Grand Prix of Houston.
Both teams say the focal point is the start of another season, but they see each other in the periphery.
“From time to time we’ve copied some of their work practices, and I’m sure they’ve looked at some things we’ve done and used it to their advantage, as well,” Ganassi said.
Other IndyCar teams — most notably Andretti Autosport — are expected to be in the mix with Penske and Ganassi this season, but Ganassi, with five championships in the last six years and wins in three of the last six Indy 500s, has been more successful lately.
“We know that the Ganassi Racing cars are going to be strong week in and week out and we respect what Chip and his teams bring to the track,” Penske said. “The series has become so competitive, we have to make sure we get everything right over the course of a race weekend if we want to have a chance to win.”
DRIVERS ARE FRIENDLY RIVALS
Intensity and controversy aside, the Penske- Ganassi competition has a gentlemanly side.
Unlike some driving rivalries that turn to feuds, these drivers are on speaking terms with one another, if not downright friendly. Montoya is a longtime friend of Kanaan, who has known Castroneves since they were kart- racing kids in Brazil. And Briscoe, who drove for Penske from 2008 to 2012, remains friendly with his former teammates.
“It’s hard for me to compare, because I’ve seen the ups and downs at Ganassi.” Montoya said. “The way things are done at Team Penske, the approach, is different.”
Even Dixon and Power, who clashed in two tense incidents last year, are on speaking terms.
“I don’t dislike any of them,” Dixon said. “The competition gets fierce at times, but none of us carries it off the track. I actually enjoy all of their different personalities.”
SUCCESS ACROSS SERIES
The teams are a reflection of their owners. Both are former drivers, both have Pennsylvania roots and both are extremely wealthy.
Penske, 77, whose empire began with a Philadelphia auto dealership, owns a variety of successful businesses, including Penske Automotive Group, which operates more than 250 car dealerships worldwide. Currently, his racing empire consists of the three- car IndyCar team and twocar NASCAR team that won the Sprint Cup championship in 2012 with Brad Keselowski and saw Joey Logano qualify for the Chase for the first time last year.
Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Ganassi, 55, oversees his four- car IndyCar team, the Sebring- winning sports- car team, and a Sprint Cup team that features veteran Jamie McMurray, who won the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in 2010, and 21- year- old rookie Kyle Larson.
Penske’s operation, mirroring its owner, is more buttoned- down and honed on details, while Ganassi’s team is considered more loose and free- wheeling. Penske is often referred to by competitors as Mr. Penske. Ganassi, on the other hand, is just plain Chip.
Penske’s IndyCar team started in 1969; Ganassi’s in 1990. Penske has a record 15 Indy 500 wins; Ganassi has four. Penske has 12 IndyCar championships; Ganassi has 10. And then there’s the NASCAR side of things, where Penske has 117 wins and three championships in 33 years of Sprint Cup and Nationwide competition. Ganassi, which started its NASCAR operation in 2000, has 17 wins and no titles.
“I’ve learned from Roger, and I would hope that someday people can learn something from me,” Ganassi said. “I hope to carry that legacy forward.”