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| Jonathan Ferrey/Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images |
This afternoon (11/7/21), Chip Ganassi Racing will embark on its final journey in the NASCAR Cup Series, ending a 20 year long run in stock car racing's highest division. Kurt Busch driver of the team's No. 1 Camaro will jump over to 23XI Racing for his next adventure in the new No. 45 car. Ross Chastain driver of the No. 42 Camaro will stick around to join forces with Trackhouse Racing as they acquire the assets of Chip Ganassi Racing's NASCAR efforts.
Chip Ganassi who joined the sport back in 2001 was no stranger to racing. Ganassi acquired SabCo racing much like Justin Marks of Trackhouse Racing will acquire CGR after the checkered flag falls this evening. Even more similarly both men got their start as far away from NASCAR as possible.
Ganassi started his racing career in the 1980's racing open wheeled cars, and eventually would migrate to the grand series, IndyCar making five "Indy" 500 starts and scoring a career best finish of 8th place in 1983. As the years went by Ganassi would hang up the helmet to make room for other drivers, as he would begin his own IndyCar team with the help of manufacturer Honda in the mid 1990's. By the time 2001 came around, 'Ganassi' was a well known name in the racing world, even if he was just getting his toes wet with stock cars.
With Ganassi's entrance onto the NASCAR scene, Chip Ganassi Racing (with Felix Sabates) would do the unthinkable and bring Dodge back in to the sport for the first time since 1977. Other teams like Evernham Motorsports, Petty Enterprises, and Bill Davis Racing would join forces to bring the manufacturer back to it's former glory. Unfortunately that didn't last very long (but that's a different story).
Justin Marks, the Co-Owner of Trackhouse Racing made his start in sports car racing, which is much different from NASCAR, competing in the Rolex Sports Car Series and the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, before migrating to stock car racing in 2006. Interestingly enough, Marks would race for Chip Ganassi Racing's Xfinity Series program in the mid to late 2010's as the two would cross paths for the first time. Low and behold, the these men would find themselves in a very different situation a few years down the road.
Ganassi achieved many heights throughout his career owning a NASCAR team, but some of the most remarkable came with Sterling Marlin, Kyle Larson, and Kurt Busch, some names likely to never be forgotten in the world of racing. Sterling Marlin, the son of Coo Coo Marlin and driver of the No. 40 Dodge for Ganassi transferred to the team from the former SabCo organization, and scored two victories in only his first season with the new team owner. As Marlin's career winded down he would score two more in the 2002 season, bringing Ganassi his first four Winston Cup victories. Sterling Marlin continued to drive the No. 40 Silver Bullet for a few more seasons, but passed the torch onto Jamie McMurray an Juan Pablo Montoya, as they would carry the team to a handful of more wins throughout the mid to late 2000's and the early 2010's. When Kyle Larson, who currently is rounding off a fantastic season with Hendrick Motorsports, joined the team in 2014 he brought back some much needed consistency. Kyle Larson scored six victories with the team before his premature departure from the team part way through the 2020 season, the most of any singular driver at Chip Ganassi Racing's NASCAR organization. Veteran driver Kurt Busch would also join the team in the late 2010's bringing a handful of wins, and major consistency to the No. 1 team. Kurt scored one win for season he raced with Ganassi. Success was bound for glory with Chip Ganassi Racing and Ross Chastain as he joined them at the Cup Series level in 2021 and showed some fairly decent results out of a rookie driver, though unfortunately his time at the team was cut short for the young driver as the team announced it's upcoming closure part way through his first full-time season.
For many young racing fans, a NASCAR without Chip Ganassi Racing is something that they have never witnessed, though the tried and true veteran fans remember a time without the team. Ganassi's NASCAR teams have been there through thick and thin in the past 20 years of the sport, Dale Earnhardt's fatal accident, Montoya's run in with the jet dryer at Daytona, Jimmie Johnson's seven Championships, and the uprising of Kyle Larson. As the organization runs their final laps ever, we salute Chip Ganassi Racing for the motivation, the hard work, and the scouting of talent they have brought to our sport. Though Ganassi leaves on his own terms, earning a hefty paycheck from the sale of his charters (to Trackhouse), and leaving some of his loyal employees unemployed, the team will be dearly missed as they are left behind in the Gen-6 era.
May Trackhouse Racing carry on the legacy of one of NASCAR's most devoted teams.
Dear @GanassiChip pic.twitter.com/amZhoX8sLT
— Justin Marks (@JustinMarksDG) November 7, 2021
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