Target Chip Ganassi Racing, Part I
The cast: Drivers – Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan. Chief engineers – Eric Bretzman (Dixon) and Chris Simmons (Kanaan)
Twitter: @scottdixon9, @TonyKanaan, @CGRTeams
The car: Chevrolet-powered Nos. 9 (Dixon) and 10 (Kanaan)
Snapshot: All four Chip Ganassi Racing Teams cars have switched from Honda to the Chevrolet 2.2-liter twin turbocharged V6 engine for 2014. … Kanaan, driving for KV Racing Technology-SH Racing the past three seasons, has experience with the Chevy powerplant. ... Kanaan has replaced four-time IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti, who retired in November, in the No. 10 car. “TK is a great driver. He's won a championship. He's won many races,” Dixon said about the move. “I think with the team combination, drivers and engineering, we can try to bring that back together and make it a strong 1-2 punch. I think you will lose some stuff in the respect of losing Dario, but you're also gaining different areas, as well.” … Kanaan will seek to add to his record for consecutive Indy car starts, which is at 215. Competing in every race will push his career starts to 295. Dixon’s next start will be his 221st. … Dixon is the active leader with 33 Indy car victories (one behind Al Unser Jr.). … Kanaan, who turned 39 on Dec. 31, is tied with Helio Castroneves and Rick Mears for ninth on the career top-five finishes list with 111. Dixon is three back. ... Dixon is the reigning and three-time IndyCar Series champion. Kanaan won the series title in 2004.
The stats: Dixon earned four victories, including three in a row in July, plus eight other top-10 finishes in 2013 to claim his third title. He started strong, advancing 15 positions to finish fifth in the opener at St. Petersburg, and placing second at Barber Motorsports Park for the fourth year in a row. He earned two poles to push his career number to 20. Led eight races for a total of 239 laps and was running at the finish in 17 of the 19 races. Had an average starting position of 9.6 and finish of 8.2. … Kanaan earned his first Indianapolis 500 victory in 2013 and posted five other top-five finishes (three on ovals). He led six races for a total of 79 laps and was running at the finish in 14 races. He qualified a season-high fourth at Sao Paulo and Toronto 1, and had an average starting position of 11.3. He placed 11th in the championship standings.
The gist: Also part of the transition for the Ganassi team is Ryan Briscoe coming on board in the No. 8 NTT DATA car. He’ll work with race engineer Eric Cowdin (Kanaan’s longtime engineer who followed Kanaan to the team from KV Racing Technology). Kanaan and Simmons worked together at Andretti Green Racing a decade ago. “That makes it a lot easier,” he said. “Eric has worked with Ryan before. It’s all there, the confidence is there, and we know each other. There’s no adapting issues; it’s just more me getting used to the setup.” … Kevin O'Donnell remains the crew chief on the No. 10 car. ... Dixon's longtime crew chief, Ricky Davis, moves to the No. 8 car. Blair Jullian will be the crew chief on the No. 9 car. ... Dixon is the longest-tenured driver for Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, joining during the 2002 CART season. ... Target and the team are celebrating the 25th year of their partnership. "I'm proud to represent them. Coincidence or not, four of my best friends -- (Alex) Zanardi, Jimmy (Vasser), Dan (Wheldon) and Dario -- raced for Target Chip Ganassi Racing," Kanaan said.
They said it: “I think the comeback (in 2013, after three consecutive results out of the top 10) for us as a team was huge,” Dixon said in assessing the season. “The three (wins) in a row with Pocono and Toronto was the start of the swing. The strength that the team had throughout the remainder of the season, with the exception of some of the big ovals where we didn't have the speed (was impressive). All the road and street courses, we were qualifying in the top three or four every race. For me, I think one of the biggest achievements was to keep strong.
“Personally, and for the team, the thing on the 9 car side we need to do a little bit better is start the season off stronger.”
Added Kanaan: "It's taken time to adjust. We went from a very small operation and we made all the decisions together and here I just have to worry about driving. I'm trying to learn as fast as I can. It's definitely a good place to be."