Chip Ganassi
Interview by Curt Epstein - February 1, 2009
When Chip Ganassi was five, his father gave him and his cousins a number of go-karts he had confiscated from the owner of a go-kart track who had failed to pay his bill after the elder Ganassi had paved the track. That early experience led the young Ganassi to high school dirt-bike motocross contests, motorcycle racing and, eventually, professional auto racing. He competed in the Indianapolis 500 five times between 1982 and 1986 before transitioning into the owner/management side of the business.
Today, Chip Ganassi steers a nearly $100 million auto-racing empire and Sports Illustrated ranks him among the most powerful men in motorsports. In 2008, Team Ganassi enjoyed its best year ever, taking the Grand-Am Series Championship and its prestigious Rolex 24 at Daytona, and highlighted by driver Scott Dixon’s winning the IndyCar Series and its crown jewel: the Indianapolis 500. Ganassi also merged his NASCAR operations with those of Dale Earnhardt Inc., one of the sport’s most recognizable names.
A Pittsburgh native, Ganassi attended local Duquesne University and still resides in the Steel City, where he maintains his corporate offices. But he doesn’t spend much time there. Making heavy use of a Learjet 45 (delivered on his 45th birthday) and other airplanes, he flies to racing hotbeds in Charlotte, N.C., and Indianapolis, as well as to numerous races across the country. His operation also employs three other aircraft to ferry crew from venue to venue on the IndyCar, NASCAR and Grand-Am racing circuits.
When you graduated from college in 1982 did you plan a career in auto racing?
No, I was going to go into our family businesses, but I just couldn’t get racing out of my system. I entered the sport at a time when it was becoming a business and I was fortunate to be on the leading edge of that trend.
What led you to go from driving to the business side of the sport?
I was getting older and my family background and college education were in business. I always looked at the business model of things.
Do you still drive?
No. I think there was a time and place for that, and while I certainly enjoyed that time in my life, I’m past it.
Is it common for race team owners to be involved in several race platforms?
Most owners are just in one segment–Indy cars, NASCAR or sports cars. I guess I’m like the gambling addict who doesn’t care if it’s the blackjack table or the horses. I like the action of racing in whatever form that takes.
What led you to use business aircraft?
In the early ’90s, people in the racing business were beginning to use business aircraft. In those days we were probably doing 12 or 15 races a year and I didn’t really see a need for it, but as I began to get older I spoke with Mario Andretti, who was a big mentor of mine early in my career, and he talked to me about the use of business aircraft. So I started getting my toe in the water. It was around the beginning of ’95 when I acquired my first aircraft, a Lear 24.
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