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Monday, May 7
Improbables become Ganassi realities
By Robin Miller
Special to ESPN.com
INDIANAPOLIS – Sometimes we tend to sell Chip Ganassi short.
Born with a silver spoon, being lucky with equipment and drivers, leveraging big deals with big business.
|  | | The addition of Jimmy Vasser, left, to Chip Ganassi's team was a bit of a surprise. |
Those are frequent descriptions from critics of the Pittsburgh native who operates teams in CART and Winston Cup.
But his latest lark is downright dazzling and should prove once and for all this guy really does possess a special knack for wheeling and dealing.
Somehow, in the past three weeks, Ganassi has managed:
a) To convince fellow NASCAR owner Joe Gibbs to loan him Tony Stewart for the 85th Indianapolis 500, despite the fact Stewart is in the thick of the Winston Cup fight and must run a 600-mile race in Charlotte a few hours after running 500 miles at Indy.
b) To convince Jimmy Vasser, the driver Chip fired during the 2000 CART season with a year remaining on his contract, to come back and run for him at Indy.
c) To convince longtime CART owner Pat Patrick to loan him Vasser despite a CART race in Japan in mid-May.
d) To somehow get Target (his CART sponsor) and Home Depot (Stewart's sponsor in NASCAR) to coexist on an Indy car.
e) To break the news to his rookie CART drivers, Bruno Junqueira and Nicolas Minassian, they wouldn't be competing at Indianapolis – and they're still speaking to him.
Of all the unlikely unions that have been made in Gasoline Alley over the past nine decades, this one may be the most unpredictable.
Ganassi swears he didn't consider making a change until the oval races at Brazil and Texas were canceled, but Paul Tracy and Vasser both said that Chip asked them in early April at Long Beach about running Indianapolis.
And while it certainly isn't good for the psyche of his rookies, Ganassi's logic can't be faulted. Junqueria and Minassian are both tough little racers but, other than last Sunday's race at Nazareth, they have no oval experience.
Yes, Juan Montoya is a very special talent but the '99 CART champ also had a year of running ovals in the FedEx Championship before dominating Indy last May. With Michael Andretti, Arie Luyendyk and Team Penske returning, Ganassi also understands defending his Indy crown is going to be that much tougher.
Vasser was strapped with a different setup than teammate Montoya last May and it backfired, just like a pit stop when a very delicate aerodynamic helper was accidentally left off the rear wing. His seventh-place finish was a tribute to his skill since a lot of other drivers might have eaten some Indy cement.
The 1996 CART champ is gung-ho to have another try at winning Indy and his former team still holds him in high regard so it was a no-brainer. But Patrick, who sold his Champ car team to Ganassi in 1989, doesn't exactly have warm and fuzzy feelings toward his old partner.
That's why it cost Chip somewhere between $100,000 and $1,000,000 to rent Jimmy from Patrick and the old man kept Ganassi dancing and fretting until last Sunday afternoon. Chip was so nervous about closing this deal he called '99 Indy winner and current CART regular, Kenny Brack, last week to inquire about his availability.
But getting Vasser seemed like a slam dunk compared to signing up Stewart.
First off, the '97 Indy Racing League champion said that after doing the May doubleheader of Indy and Charlotte in 1999, he'd never do it again because he was too exhausted and it cost him a victory in NASCAR.
"I was kind of emotional, I didn't mean it," said Stew on Monday.
Secondly, considering Ganassi snatched Jason Leffler away from Gibbs for his Winston Cup effort, the ex-NFL coach couldn't exactly be considered a buddy. Not to mention the fact that running Indy ensures Charlotte of playing second fiddle.
Stewart claims he no longer has a clause in his contract that allows him to run Indianapolis, but you knew he was foaming at the mouth to drive for Ganassi. And I reckon maybe Gibbs figures if Tony wins it, he'll be done with it and then will concentrate on NASCAR.
Still, getting Target to allow Home Depot signage on the nose and rear wing of Stewart's G-Force/Aurora is comparable to letting Army advertise on Navy's Web site.
But, with some persuasion and hard work from Target CEO Bob Ulrich, this co-sponsorship effort came together.
"This couldn't have happened without the cooperation of Joe and Pat," said Ganassi. "And I'm thankful to have a couple of talented guys like Jimmy and Tony. Every year we try to raise the level of what we're doing."
This time, Ganassi may have topped out. He's assembled a powerhouse lineup out of thin air. And it's more magic than luck. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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