Chip Ganassi’s name is well known in every major form of North American motorsport plus the ultimate international road race, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with a legacy extending far beyond being an accomplished driver. As a team owner, he has fielded title and race winning operations in INDYCAR, NASCAR and IMSA as well as the new offload Extreme E.
Today, promoter Hagerty announced today that the Pennsylvania native will serve as Honoree of The 27th Annual Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance on March 3-6, 2022.
Formula Ford club racer Ganassi made his professional racing debut in the 1981 Robert Bosch Super Vee Championship. In 1982, Ganassi graduated with a finance degree from Duquesne University and started his first Indianapolis 500 in Mario Andretti’s year-old 1981 Wildcat/Cosworth. He was the fastest of a star-studded rookie class, qualifying ahead of future 500 winners Bobby Rahal and Danny Sullivan. A year later Ganassi logged two podium finishes and was voted Most Improved Driver, ultimately ranking ninth in the INDYCAR Championship.
Ganassi retired from IndyCar racing, though, following a brutal high-speed accident at Michigan International Raceway in 1984. His final race in the cockpit would be at the 1987 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In 1990, Chip Ganassi founded Chip Ganassi Racing which is to date the only team to win the crown jewels of North American racing: the Daytona 500, the Indianapolis 500, NASCAR’s Brickyard 400, and the 24 Hours of Daytona, in a 12-month span.
CGR’s incredible success on the track includes eight victories in the 24 Hours of Dayton, eight INDYCAR Championships and four Indianapolis 500 victories, including a 1-2 finish in 2012.
Ganassi would return to Le Mans in 2016, this time as an owner flying the Stars and Stripes. Ford Chip Ganassi Racing did not disappoint, scoring another historic Le Mans Ford victory, finishing first, third and fourth in GTE LM Pro. The landmark class win came on the 50th anniversary of Ford’s historic first overall Le Mans victory in 1966.
Ganassi is also well known for his transformational charitable work for St Jude Children’s Hospital. In 2011 Chip received an honorary Doctorate from Carnegie Mellon University in his hometown Pittsburgh. In 2016, the year of the Le Mans victory for Ford, Chip was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.
“Honoring a hero from the racing community is an important component of The Amelia DNA,” said McKeel Hagerty, CEO of Hagerty. “From the inaugural honoree, Sir Stirling Moss, to the recent celebration of Lyn St. James, The Amelia has anchored the celebration of the automobile to the incredible people who have devoted their lives as ambassadors for driving.
“We are thrilled that Chip Ganassi has accepted our invitation. His racing legacy represents Hagerty’s love of driving and passion for the wellness of others.”
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