Celebrating 30 years of Chip Ganassi Racing with a 10-car exhibit.
Chip Ganassi made a name for himself behind the wheel of a racecar, but in 1990, he branched out to form his own team. In the 30 years since, Chip Ganassi Racing has become one of the most successful racing teams in all of motorsports, and the Petersen Automotive Museum is spending this year celebrating the team's accomplishments with an exciting 10-car exhibit.
The exhibit is called Chip Ganassi Racing: Fast Tracks to Success, and it features a variety of cars that spans Ganassi's racing career. Ganassi has had far more success as a team owner as shown by the diversity of race teams he fields. Chip Ganassi Racing has fielded teams in open-wheel, endurance, stock car and even rally racing, and the 10 display cars are some of the more successful entries.
Chip Ganassi Racing won its first race in 1994 with the Target-sponsored Reynard 94I-Ford-Cosworth XB, and this livery was also present when Dario Franchitti won the 2010 Indianapolis 500 in a Dallara IR-05. The Dallara DW12 helped Scott Dixon win three races and the 2018 IndyCar championship, and a cutaway version of this car will also be on display. For endurance cars, there are the Ford- and Lexus-powered Riley prototype racecars as well as the no. 68 Ford GT that finished first in the LM GTE Pro class at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans – 50 years after Ford’s iconic podium sweep in 1966. Chip Ganassi Racing has had plenty of success in NASCAR racing, too, including the no. 40 Dodge Intrepid driven by Sterling Marlin, the no. 1 Chevrolet Impala driven by Jamie McMurray and the no. 42 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driven by Kurt Busch.
"Chip Ganassi is an influential member of the automotive community, and his team’s penchant for success is a reflection of his raw skill and passion for the sport. Complemented by a visually dynamic and compelling 180-degree video, [this exhibit] will celebrate the team’s victories and tell its story while taking visitors on a trip down memory lane," said Petersen Automotive Museum executive director Terry L. Karges.
The Petersen Automotive Museum opened the Chip Ganassi Racing exhibit on December 14, 2019, and it will continue through January 31, 2021.
