62 10-4 Magazine / May 2025 The one thing I love just about as much as my love for the trucks of the trucking industry is the NTT IndyCar Series and the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, The Indianapolis 500. When the Month of May rolls around, not much else matters to me and my eyes and ears are consumed with what’s happening at the corner of Georgetown Road and 16th Street in Speedway, Indiana. From the Grand Prix of Indianapolis on Indy’s road course, then when the weeklong practice begins leading up to “Fast Friday” before the qualifying weekend where the run for the coveted pole position ensues – all culminating on Memorial Day weekend as 33 of the fastest drivers in the world vie to drink the milk in victory lane. As one of the most prestigious races in the world, the Indy 500 has a long list of traditions and a long history of impressive winners, dating back to 1911, that include names like Wilbur Shaw, Jim Clark, Parnelli Jones, AJ Foyt, Mario Andretti, ‘Rocket’ Rick Mears, and the Unser Family of Big Al, Little Al and Uncle Bobby. In more recent years, the faces of the late Dan Weldon, Dario Franchitti, Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Kanaan, Helio Castroneves and Josef Newgarden have all been immortalized on the Borg-Warner Trophy. While the Indianapolis 500 is the crown jewel of the NTT IndyCar Series schedule, the stars and the cars of the IndyCar Series crisscross the North American continent multiple times a year – from the season opening race in St. Petersburg, Florida, to the iconic streets of Long Beach, California, the corn fields of Iowa to the national park of speed – Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin – the series is one of the most diverse, based on the tracks they race. From superspeedways to short tracks, street courses and natural terrain road courses, it challenges a driver, team, and its crew of engineers and mechanics to build and set-up a car for the challenging schedule week in and week out, along with the logistical factor of moving the team from race to race during the 17 race six month long season. One team that does it better than just about any other team in the IndyCar Series paddock is Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR). Founded 35 years ago in 1990 by former driver and Pittsburgh, PA area-based businessman Chip Ganassi, the team has grown from fielding one car driven by Eddie Cheever in its humble beginnings to becoming a powerhouse in IndyCar over the last three and a half decades. With open wheel legendary names like Arie Luyendyk, Michael Andretti, Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi and Juan Pablo Montoya, just to name a few, and in more recent years Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Dan Weldon and the reigning 2024 IndyCar Series Champion, Alex Palou. The team has Truckapedia: By Mark Harter a combined total of 16 IndyCar series Championships to its credit, along with five Indianapolis 500 wins. While the team has primarily been a staple in IndyCar, one interesting and fascinating fact about CGR is that the team is the only one in history to have won the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400, the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In addition, CGR is the only team to win four straight IndyCar titles in a row – 1996 with Vasser, 1997 and 1998 with Zanardi, and 1999 with Montoya. The team did it again in 2008 with Dixon, 2009, 2010 and 2011 with Franchitti. Attacking the 2025 NTT IndyCar Season with a three-car assault, CGR has sophomore Kyffin Simpson behind the wheel of the #8 Journie Rewards Dallara/Honda, 6-time IndyCar Series Champion and 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon behind the wheel of the #9 PNC Bank Dallara/Honda, and 3-time IndyCar Series Champion Alex Palou in the #10 DHL Dallara/Honda. While these drivers and their cars are THE STARS OF CGR
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