CHEVROLET RACING IN THE VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES
HONDA INDY 200
MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE
LEXINGTON, OHIO
CHIP GANASSI, SCOTT DIXON MEDIA AVAILABILITY TRANSCRIPT
FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016
AN INTERVIEW WITH CHIP GANASSI RACING TEAMS OWNER CHIP GANASSI AND DRIVER SCOTT DIXON AT MID-OHIO SPORTS CAR COURSE:
Q: YOU’VE KNOWN THIS (TARGET DEPARTING AFTER END OF 2016 VERIZON INDYCAR SERIES SEASON-IT’S 27TH AS SPONSOR OF CGR) FOR A WHILE, SO WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?
CHIP GANASSI: When you say we’ve known it for a while, the answer for us is we wanted to make sure we knew exactly what was what. There is no aggravation and I have nothing bad to say. They are the greatest sponsor ever in the sport and the greatest partner anybody could ever have. They’ve been around for 27 years and 11 Indy car championships and four Indy 500 wins. I can understand that maybe they want to do something else. I understand that.
Q: HOW DID IT START BETWEEN YOU, TARGET AND WHEN THEY SPONSORED EDDIE CHEEVER?
CHIP GANASSI: It started when I bought Patrick Racing. They were sort of going in one direction and I was going in another. That was in 1990.
Q: WHEN DID IT LAPSE INTO A YEAR BY YEAR (CONTRACT)?
CHIP GANASSI: It’s always been a year by year. My deal with Target has always been a year by year, but I had a two-year out.
Q: CHIP, A LOT OF PEOPLE WANT TO SEE THIS AS A REFERENDUM ABOUT INDYCAR RACING. WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON THAT?
CHIP GANASSI: It doesn’t say anything about IndyCar racing; it doesn’t say anything about the sport or the TV ratings. It’s just a business decision that Target made. I don’t there is any secret message or ulterior motive or hidden agenda. There is no sub story here. It’s just they’ve been in it for 27 years and they want to go do something else.
Q: SO IT WASN’T BECAUSE YOU FAILED TO WIN AT TORONTO? (LAUGHTER)
CHIP GANASSI: I didn’t want to let that out right away (laugh).
Q: SO WHO IS IN THE WINGS?
CHIP GANASSI: I’m not going to take about that stuff.
Q: SOME OF TARGET’S SUPPLIERS OVER THE YEARS HAVE HAD SOME REALLY COOL LIVERIES, LIKE THE ENERGIZER ONE. DO YOU HAVE CONTACT WITH THOSE THAT YOU COULD MAYBE HAVE A PARTNERSHIP?
CHIP GANASSI: I think it’s safe to say you’ll see a couple of those around.
Q: HOW DIFFERENT IS IT GOING TO BE TO YOU TO GET A CAR WITHOUT THAT PAINT SCHEME?
SCOTT DIXON: I’ll echo what Chip said. Target has been an amazing sponsor. But the team is still going to be racing for race wins and championships. It’s just a change in direction and a change in color.
Q: WHAT WILL THE TWO OF YOU TAKE AWAY FROM THE RELATIONSHIP IN GENERAL?
CHIP GANASSI: Obviously, I’ve developed some longstanding relationships with people that are lifelong relationships. They were so much more than a sponsor, and I think you’ve seen that over the years. Arguably, you could say my team’s development is squarely on their shoulders, and maybe my own development to some extent as a person or businessman. My takeaway is greatest sponsor ever.
Q: WHAT DID THE TV ADS IN THE ‘90S HELP DO FOR YOUR TEAM COUPLED ITH THE SUCCESS YOU HAD ON-TRACK AND THOSE FIRST FEW CHAMPIONSHIPS?
CHIP GANSSSI: They probably did more for the sport than they did for the team. I think we were lucky to have those at a time when CART at the time was on an upswing, and they were squarely part of that. Because of those ads, they generated a lot of buzz and talk. People are still talking about the racing the motorhomes or going through the store with shopping carts or radio-controlled cars that a lot of guys had fun with. Another thing you take away is all the great things they were involved in with the team, starting with (Alex) Zanardi and the pass at Laguna and then the championship on the same day for Jimmy (Vasser). And everything that has happened since then has been one (memory) after another. There was a time in racing when there was like Roger (Penske) and Carl Haas and nobody else getting in that door, and the only way to get in that door was to go create your own door. What Target helped us do was create our own way of doing it.
Q: AND THEY WERE WITH YOU DURING TIMES WHEN THE SPORT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN THAT STRONG
CHIP GANSSSI: No question. At the time of the split, we had to make some difficult decisions and they were right there with us the whole time, whether it was breaking away and coming over to the Speedway. I’d like to think we were some small part of bringing the thing back together.
Q: LOOKING FORWARD, WHAT KIND OF QUALITIES ARE YOU LOOKING FOR OUT OF A SPONSOR IN TERMS OF NOT JUST WRITING A CHECK BUT HOW CAN THEY HELP THE TEAM?
CHIP GANASSI: It would be pretty easy to look at the model we’ve had. That model seemed to work pretty good. Obviously, having a relationship for so long with somebody would bode well for somebody who wants to get involved in the sport. They would say, they were with these guys for such a long time they must be OK.
Q: WHAT IS IT LIKE TO TRY TO GET SOMEBODY TO BE A PRIMARY SPONSOR FOR INDYCAR? WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO TELL THEM, HOW DO YOU HAVE TO CONVINCE THEM?
CHIP GANASSI: It’s all over the board. Anybody who’s been in the sport for a long time … we’ve heard every answer to every question ad nauseum about why to get involved or why they can’t get involved. It’s nothing new there.
Q: BUT WHEN THEY SEE YOUR ULTRA-SUCCESSFUL TEAM KNOCKING ON THE DOOR OR IS IT KNOCKING ON YOUR DOOR?
CHIP GANASSI: If someone comes looking for that it’s probably a great thing.
Q: ARE YOU SURPRISED (THAT TARGET IS STAYING IN NASCAR IN A LESS-SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM)?
CHIP GANASSI: I don’t think that says anything about IndyCar racing. They good news is they’ve been there for 27 years.
Q: GENERALLY SPEAKING, ARE YOU HAVING TO GO KNOCK OR ARE PEOPLE KNOCKING?
CHIP GANASSI: A little bit of both. The kind of sponsors you would like to have and the kind of people you want to work with and the kind of people who knock on doors are different groups of people so you do both.
Q: HOW ROUGH GOING WAS IT IN THE EARLY YEARS WHEN YOU HAD EDDIE CHEEVER FOR A WHILE, YOU HAD ROBBY GORDON AND BRYAN HERTA; IT WAS MICHAEL ANDRETTI WHO GOT YOUR FIRST VICTORY IN ’94? YOU HAD SAID BEFORE THE ’94 SEAON THAT IF MICHAEL DIDN’T GET YOU A VICTORY THAT YOU WOULD HAVE TO REEVALUATE WHETHER WE BELONG HERE. WHAT WERE THOSE EARLY YEARS LIKE TO KEEPO TARGET INTERESTED?
CHIP GANASSI: I was just honest with them and told them what was going on and what we wanted to do and what we needed to do better. That’s the kind of partner they were. If you needed something, you’d just tell them and they’d say go get it.
Q: DID THEY APPRECIATE YOUR SENSE OF ADVENTURE?
CHIP GANASSI: Did I have to consult with them? Probably not. Did I consult with them? Of course I did. They were there every step of the way.
Q: GOT ANY SPECIAL PLANS FOR MR. DIXON MAKING UP 83 POINTS IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP?
CHIP GANSSI: Go for It.
Q: HOW TOUGH IS IT FOR YOU (SCOTT DIXON); YOU’RE PERCEIVED AS THE LEAD GANASSI GUY AGAINST THIS FLEET OF PENSKE GUYS WHO HAVE VERY STRONG DRIVERS?
SCOTT DIXON: I think we have, too. (Tony Kanaan) has done a helluva job this year. On our side of the fence, we’ve had a few misfortunes. We had a great potential to turn it around at Road America and also Toronto, where both of those I think could have been victories. The great thing about the season is that we’ve had extremely fast cars. It just hasn’t gone our way yet. Hopefully, in typical Mid-Ohio style we can transition. But it’s always a tough fight and that’s why we’re here.
Q: IT SEEMS THE FRUSTRATION WOULD HAVE PEAKED FOR YOU AT TORONTO WHEN THE FLAG DIDN’T GO YOUR WAY?
SCOTT DIXON: That’s just you dominate in situations and you can have something like that pop up. It’s racing; I get it. But in those moments you get pretty dejected.
Q: WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE STREET RACES BE A FULL TWO HOURS?
SCOTT DIXON: I think there are a lot of places … I thought even Road America was way too short by about 30 minutes.
Q: WHAT HAS THE TARGET RELATIONSHIP MEANT TO YOU?
SCOTT DIXON: From my view, Target and Chip and the whole organization has worked so well together. When this is all said and done, when I leave the relationships are the important things. They are the people I’m still going to see, I’ll still talk to. As Chip said, they have been the best sponsor and we’ve achieved a lot together. For me, it’s been a blast.
Q: IS THIS LIKE MARLBORO GOING AWAY?
CHIP GANASSI: I don’t know. I was around but I wasn’t involved. Ironically, it was Marlboro that left me when we got Target.
Q: FIVE TO GO, 83 POINTS OUT?
SCOTT DIXON: I think we’re in a similar situation that we were in ’13. Anything is possible. The year hasn’t gone as smooth as we would have liked. I think we’ve done an excellent job of being fast and having good equipment.
Q: CHIP, DID YOU HAVE A FAVORITE TARGET LIVERY AND WAS ANY OF THAT INSPIRED TO BRING BACK THE LIGHTNING BOLT THIS YEAR?
CHIP GANASSI: That probably was one of my favorites. I don;t know if it was the bolt. We just needed something to jazz the car up back in those days and that how the whole thing started.