NTT INDYCAR SERIES team owner Chip Ganassi says that the amount of cars they run doesn’t change how the team operates on a day-to-day basis or at the race track other than having a bigger tent at events.
In 2024, Chip Ganassi Racing will compete in Extreme E, IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, a single Cadillac entry in the FIA World Endurance Championship while in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Chip Ganassi Racing will run five cars full-time with Linus Linqvist in the No.8 The American Legion Honda, Scott Dixon in the No.9 PNC Bank Honda, defending series champion Alex Palou in the No.10 DHL Honda, Marcus Armstrong in the No.11 Ridgeline Lubricants Honda while Kyffin Simpson will make his series debut at the Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg presented by RP Funding which takes place from March 8-10.
Speaking to The Paddock Eye during a conference call following the news that DHL will serve as primary sponsor to Alex Palou in 2024 and beyond, team owner Chip Ganassi said:
Yeah, I don’t look at it as four or five cars. We’re running multiple cars out of our facility in Indianapolis, whether they’re INDYCARs or sports cars. The number of cars seems to stay about the same. It changes from series to series each year.
We’ve run seven or eight cars out of that shop plenty of times. It’s not really a huge change in that area. I might say other than making the tent a little bigger at the racetrack, buying a few more plates for lunch, I don’t know that there’s much change in the way we do things. Probably no change at all, as a matter of fact.
Alex Palou has confirmed that he will attempt to defend his championship in the No.10 DHL Honda instead of opting to run with the No.1 on his car as he believes that running with that number brings with it added pressure.
Yeah, it’s super special. I mean, we’re welcoming a new sponsor to the team. We’re welcoming a huge sponsor. As I said, it’s very special to represent such a big brand like that. I think small kids that don’t really follow a lot in motorsport, they know what DHL is. It’s super visible, it’s a brand that you see everywhere. Hopefully we’ll not only help the team continuing to win races, but we’ll also help getting more exposure everywhere globally.
Yeah, I’m excited. It’s obviously challenging to get a big sponsor like that. You need to deliver. At the same time that kind of pressure is what drives us. That’s what we do. It’s what keeps us working every day, not only myself but everybody on the 10 car and everybody back at the shop at CGR.