The NASCAR operation ofChip Ganassi Racing was established in 1989 by Cuban-American businessmanFelix Sabates. The team was known asSABCO Racing, formed after Sabates purchased anR&D team fromHendrick Motorsports.[1] The team was renamedTeam SABCO in 1996.[2] In2001, Ganassi bought 80% of the ownership interest in the then-two-car team to formChip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates; the same year the team switched fromChevrolet to full-works then-DaimlerChrysler-ownedDodge and received a same partnership treatment asPenske Racing (from 2003),Evernham Motorsports,Bill Davis Racing,Melling Racing andPetty Enterprises teams.[3] In 2009, Ganassi partnered withDale Earnhardt, Inc. ownerTeresa Earnhardt to merge their NASCAR operations into Ganassi's shop and entered under theEarnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates banner, while returning to Chevrolet equipment. The NASCAR team dropped the Earnhardt name in 2014, and Ganassi revealed that Teresa was never truly involved with the team.[4]Rob Kauffman, chairman of theRace Team Alliance, purchased a stake in the team in 2015.[5] The NASCAR program has fielded full-time entries for notable drivers includingKyle Petty,Joe Nemechek,Sterling Marlin,Jimmy Spencer,Juan Pablo Montoya,Jamie McMurray,Kyle Larson,Kurt Busch, andRoss Chastain. After already having his name removed from the team previously, at the end of the2019 season, Sabates announced his retirement as a co-owner from the team, taking effect after the 2020 season.[6]
In June 2021, Ganassi accepted an unsolicited offer from former CGR Xfinity Series driverJustin Marks to sell the entire NASCAR operation to Marks'Trackhouse Racing team, with the deal finalized after that season.[7]
On November 12, 2008, Chip Ganassi andDale Earnhardt, Inc. ownerTeresa Earnhardt, widow of seven-time Cup Series champion and DEI namesakeDale Earnhardt, announced that the two teams would merge in time for the2009 season and run under the name ofEarnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (EGR).[8][9] TheChevrolet equipment of DEI and its engine partnership withRichard Childress Racing (asEarnhardt Childress Racing Technologies) were moved under the Ganassi umbrella, and the new team operated out of the CGR NASCAR shop.[10][11] The move contracted the two organizations with six collective entries to threeSprint Cup Series teams – the No. 1Bass Pro Shops car driven byMartin Truex Jr. and the No. 8 car ofAric Almirola from the former DEI stable, and the No. 42 car ofJuan Pablo Montoya from Ganassi's stable.[12] The other two DEI cars – the No. 01 and the No. 15 – were disbanded. The No. 41 Ganassi team was planned to continue, but was ultimately shut down when driverReed Sorenson left forGillett Evernham Motorsports and when sponsorTarget was moved to the No. 42, with the number transferred by NASCAR toJeremy Mayfield's short-lived owner-driver team.[9][13] The No. 8 car was also shut down early in the 2009 season.[12][14]
In 2010 former Ganassi driverJamie McMurray replacedMartin Truex Jr. in the No. 1 car, making Truex the final driver from the DEI stable to leave. In 2013 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing switched toHendrick Motorsports engines after four years withEarnhardt-Childress Racing engines. During the five-year tenure of EGR,Teresa Earnhardt had little influence in day-to-day operations of the team, leading Ganassi and Sabates to revert to the team's original name for the 2014 season.[10][11][15]
In mid-2015,Rob Kauffman, then co-owner ofMichael Waltrip Racing, purchased a stake in the team. Initially expected to absorb one of the two MWR entries, CGR later announced it would remain a two-car operation.[16]
The pit crew department won the 2017 Comcast Community Champion Award in recognition of their charitable work.[17]
In 1999, the team fielded No. 01 and served as the team's research and development car.Jeff Green,Steve Grissom, andRon Hornaday Jr. drove the car on a limited schedule.
In 2000, The No. 01 replaced the No. 42 after New Hampshire and was driven byTed Musgrave.[18]
For2001, Chip Ganassi purchased a majority stake in SABCO, and the BellSouth brandCingular Wireless became the sponsor. Busch Series driver and formerUSAC standoutJason Leffler was hired to drive the car, which was now aDodge.[19] Leffler's rookie season was a struggle, despite winning a pole at the inaugural race atKansas Speedway. Leffler failed to qualify for four races, and was replaced withTrans-Am Series driverDorsey Schroeder atSonoma andScott Pruett at Watkins Glen.[20] Leffler would fail to qualify for the race at Sonoma in the No. 04 car and he was released at the end of the season.
| Year | Driver | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | Owners | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Jeff Green | 01 | Chevy | DAY | CAR | LVS | ATL | DAR | TEX | BRI | MAR | TAL | CAL | RCH | CLT DNQ | DOV | MCH | POC 21 | SON | DAY | NHA | POC | 60th | 100 | |||||||||||||||||
| Steve Grissom | IND DNQ | GLN | MCH | BRI | DAR | TAL 28 | CAR | PHO | HOM | ATL | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ron Hornaday Jr. | RCH 29 | NHA | DOV | MAR DNQ | CLT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000 | Ted Musgrave | DAY | CAR | LVS | ATL | DAR | BRI | TEX | MAR | TAL | CAL | RCH | CLT | DOV | MCH | POC | SON | DAY | NHA | POC 16 | IND 24 | MCH 26 | BRI 17 | DAR 13 | RCH 21 | NHA 14 | DOV 23 | MAR 21 | CLT 29 | TAL 32 | CAR DNQ | PHO 25 | HOM DNQ | 28th | 2815 | ||||||
| P. J. Jones | GLN 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bobby Hamilton Jr. | ATL 31 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Jason Leffler | Dodge | DAY 34 | CAR 33 | LVS 28 | ATL 32 | DAR 39 | BRI DNQ | TEX 17 | MAR DNQ | TAL 20 | CAL 18 | RCH 26 | CLT 30 | DOV 13 | MCH 19 | POC 41 | DAY 24 | CHI 24 | NHA 27 | POC 21 | IND 26 | MCH 24 | BRI 30 | DAR 43 | RCH 28 | DOV DNQ | KAN 28 | CLT 43 | MAR 37 | TAL 15 | PHO 41 | CAR 30 | HOM 10 | ATL DNQ | NHA 30 | 37th | 2413 | |||
| Dorsey Schroeder | SON 25 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scott Pruett | GLN 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: Before merging with Chip Ganassi Racing, Dale Earnhardt Inc. fielded a No. 1 car through 2008, most notably withSteve Park driving. For more information, seeDale Earnhardt, Inc. This section concerns the lineage of Chip Ganassi Racing's entry that later became the No. 1 after the merger with Dale Earnhardt Inc.
Ganassi would move the Target sponsorship to the No. 42 car to replace Texaco/Havoline for 2009, leaving the No. 41 without a driver or a sponsor.[13] As a result, Ganassi merged his team with the strugglingDale Earnhardt, Inc., and the DEI No. 1 car. DEI's driver (Martin Truex Jr.) and sponsor (Bass Pro Shops) also came over to join Ganassi. Bass Pro Shops, however, reduced its schedule to 20 races. The team also carried its Earnhardt-Childress Engine program over to Ganassi, and switched manufacturers from Dodge toChevrolet.[9][21] Truex failed to win a race in his only season driving for Ganassi, and left the team after the season forMichael Waltrip Racing.
Truex was replaced byJamie McMurray, who had previously driven for the Ganassi organization from 2002 until 2005, winning his first Cup race with the team as a substitute driver.Bass Pro Shops was joined byMcDonald's as a primary sponsor. McMurray started the year off with a bang, winning the2010 Daytona 500 for Ganassi in his first race in the No. 1 car.[1] It was the first win for a Ganassi team car sinceJuan Pablo Montoya won the2007 Toyota/Save Mart 350. McMurray returned to the winner's circle by winning theBrickyard 400 at Indianapolis, the first time that he had won multiple races in a season since joining the Cup Series full-time in 2003.[1] Inconsistency throughout the season, however, kept McMurray out of the Chase for the Cup. He added a third win at theBank of America 500 atCharlotte during the Chase, the same race he won for the 40 team in 2002. McMurray earned four poles, nine top fives and twelve top tens to finish 14th in the final standings, his best points finish since his earlier tenure with Ganassi.
McMurray and the Ganassi team struggled in 2011, earning two top fives and four top tens while failing to finish five races, with a dismal 27th-place points finish. The struggles continued in 2012, with only three top tens and a 21st-place points finish. For 2013, CGR would switch toHendrick engines looking to improve performance.[22] McDonald's would become the main sponsor asBass Pro Shops scaled down to two races. The team also gained a 10 race sponsorship from theTextron Company, with brandsCessna,Bell Helicopter, Bad Boy Buggies, and E-Z-Go adorning the car.[23] After more struggles in the first half of 2013, McMurray finally broke back into victory lane at the fall Talladega race, his first victory in three seasons. After an improved 15th-place points finish, McMurray would sign a contract extension to return in 2014.[24]
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McMurray won the Sprint All-Star Race in 2014, taking two tires under the final caution and passing leaderCarl Edwards within the final ten laps to score the victory and the $1 million bonus.[25] However, the team did not win a points race during the season and missed theChase for the Sprint Cup. Both McMurray and teammateKyle Larson would rebound after missing the playoff, with the 1 car scoring a pole and four top-fives in the final ten races of the year. Overall, McMurray had seven top fives and 13 top tens to finish 18th in points.
For 2015, formerYates Racing driverMatt McCall was hired as crew chief for McMurray, replacing Keith Rodden.[26] McMurray started 2015 on a high note, climbing to 8th in the standings within the first ten races and making the Chase for the first time in his career, but ended up being eliminated in the first round on a tiebreaker. He finished 13th in points. McMurray would once again be eliminated from championship contention in the first round of the Chase in 2016, following an engine failure at Dover, he finished 13th in points for the 2nd year in a row. In 2017, McMurray scored 17 top 10s, his best number since 2004, advancing to the Chase once again. This time, he was able to make past the first round but was eliminated in the Round of 12 after crashing at Talladega and Kansas. He finished the season 12th in points.
McMurray failed to make the 2018 Playoffs with a string of disappointing finishes, with one top-five and six top-10s during the regular season. A second-place finish at the2018 Bank of America Roval 400 was the high point of his season. McMurray finished the 2018 season 20th in points. On September 10, 2018, it was announced that McMurray will not return to Chip Ganassi Racing in 2019.[27]
On December 4, 2018, it was announced that formerStewart–Haas Racing driver and2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series ChampionKurt Busch, along with sponsorMonster Energy, would move to the No. 1 team in the2019 season.[28] Busch scored his first win with CGR atKentucky.[29] On November 2, CGR officially announced that Busch had signed on with the No. 1 team for at least two more years.[30]
Busch managed to make the 2020 playoffs without winning a race by staying consistent with four top-fives and 14 top-10 finishes. He scored his 32nd career win and his first of 2020 atLas Vegas; the win secured him a spot in the Round of 8.[31] He failed to advance to the Championship 4 and finished 10th in the final standings.
In 2021, Busch won atQuaker State 400 on July 11, holding off his younger brother Kyle Busch and locking himself into the playoffs. However, Busch was eliminated from the playoffs following the conclusion of the Round of 16 atBristol, which also ended Ganassi's final chance at a Cup championship as an owner.[32] After the season concluded when Trackhouse bought the assets to the team, the second team used the number 1, however that team is the old 42 team including driver, crew chief, crew members, and sponsors.
The No. 40 car debuted in1993 as the second car in the SABCO stable. It had sponsorship fromDirt Devil and was piloted by rookie driverKenny Wallace. After Wallace finished 3rd behindBobby Labonte andJeff Gordon in theNASCAR Rookie of the Year standings, he was released at the end of the season.
Bobby Hamilton drove the car the next season with sponsorship fromKendall Motor Oil, during which the No. 40 car was bought byDick Brooks. Hamilton finished 23rd in points that year.
The1995 season saw multiple drivers such asRich Bickle,Greg Sacks, andShane Hall pilot the car. But at the end of the season, Brooks closed up shop and sold the team back to Sabates. The team came back in the1996 season withFirst Union sponsoring the car and Greg Sacks, Jay Sauter, and Robby Gordon in select events
The team returned for 1997 full-time with rookie driverRobby Gordon,Coors Light moving over from the No. 42, and the team switching fromPontiac toChevrolet.[2] Gordon won the pole at the springAtlanta race. Unfortunately, open-wheel ace Gordon suffered burns during theIndianapolis 500. By the time he returned, the damage was done and despite picking up a Top 5 finish at Watkins Glen, Gordon was released. Sabates later said in a 2007 interview that hiring Robby Gordon was "a mistake", while Gordon said that his departure stemmed from Sabates focusing more on making money than improving the team.[2] Sacks returned to finish out the year.
For the1998 season, Sabates chose a more experienced driver in 2-timeDaytona 500 winnerSterling Marlin.[2] Marlin did not qualify at the spring Atlanta race—one year after the team won the pole position there, marking the first time since 1986 that Marlin missed a race. At the end of the year, Marlin had six top-10 finishes and ended up 13th in the points standings.[2] Marlin showed a brief resurgence in the1999 season when he won the pole atPocono. The next year, Marlin placed runner-up toJeff Gordon at Sonoma, which was his best finish of the season.
In2001, the car got a new silver-red paint scheme, a manufacturer switch toDodge, a new crew chief in Lee McCall, and a new owner in Ganassi. Marlin won his qualifying race for the Daytona 500. On the last lap ofthe 500, Marlin was involved inthe crash that killedDale Earnhardt. Many fans sent misguidedhate mail anddeath threats to Marlin and his wife, blaming him for Earnhardt's death.[citation needed] Earnhardt's driversDale Earnhardt Jr. andMichael Waltrip came to Marlin's defense, and Marlin was cleared of any responsibility by NASCAR's investigation into the crash.[citation needed]
Marlin was able to rise above the controversy, and gaveDodge its first win since its return to NASCAR atMichigan, won again at theUAW-GM Quality 500, and finished 3rd in points, well ahead of the factory-backed Dodges fromEvernham Motorsports. Marlin led the points standings for most of the2002 season and won two races, but he suffered a fracturedvertebra in a crash atKansas Speedway, which ended his season.[33] Some say that Marlin's injury signified the beginning of the struggles for the team.Jamie McMurray, who was scheduled to drive the No. 42 car the following season, filled in for Marlin in six races, withMike Bliss running the car atMartinsville.[34] AtCharlotte, McMurray beat outBobby Labonte to win his 1st race in just his 2ndWinston Cup start. This emotional victory was capped off with a phone call from Marlin through the television network congratulating McMurray on his victory. Marlin would go winless over the next three seasons, with a best finish of 18th in points in 2003 and was released after 2005.
RookieDavid Stremme replaced Marlin in the2006 season.[35][36][37] This move outraged some fans, since Coors Light and Ganassi both stated that the decision was partly due to Coors Light attempting to target the younger demographic.[35][38][39] A new primary sponsor,Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon, joined the team and split time with Coors.[35] Stremme did not finish higher than 11th, with an average finish of 26th, and had a 33rd-place finish in the points.[40] Before the 2007 season started, Lone Star left the No. 40 team as primary sponsor, leaving only Coors Light. After the beginning of the season,Tums also came on as a sponsor of the No. 40 team. Stremme had a much better start to the season, earning his first Top 10 in theSamsung 500 atTexas Motor Speedway, posting his best career finish, 8th, two weeks later in theAaron's 499 atTalladega Superspeedway, and ended the season with three Top 10s. Stremme was released due to Coors Light's departure to become the "Official Beer of NASCAR".
On October 3, 2007,reigningIndianapolis 500 winner andIndyCar ChampionDario Franchitti was announced as the new driver of the No. 40 car for the 2008 season. Due to the lack of sponsorship, the team had to procure one-race partnerships on a rotational basis, withThe Hartford,Kennametal,Dodge Journey, Target,Dodge Avenger, andWii Fit appearing on the car. Franchitti suffered ankle injuries in a Nationwide Series race at Talladega, causing him to miss several races. Marlin, Stremme,Ken Schrader, andJeremy Mayfield filled in during his absence.[41][42][43][44][45]
Ganassi shut the team down in July due to its lack of funding mid-season, with around 70 employees laid off.[9][46][47] Franchitti, meanwhile, moved to CGR'sIndyCar operation.[48] The team was revived for several fall races withBryan Clauson driving, but race qualifying was rained out twice and the team did not make the field due to being too low in the owner points. When qualifying was finally staged at Texas, Clauson subsequently failed to qualify, and the team was shut down again.[43][49]
With Cingular moving toRichard Childress Racing to sponsor the No. 31 car, long time Ganassi backerTarget became the sponsor of the former 01 team, the number was changed to No. 41, and veteranJimmy Spencer was tabbed to replace Leffler.[18][50][51] Spencer did not qualify for the Daytona 500, and was replaced by road course ringerScott Pruett atWatkins Glen, with Pruett finishing a strong sixth.[20] The high point of the season was at theFood City 500 at Bristol in the spring, when Spencer and fierce rivalKurt Busch engaged in a heated battle at the end of the race. Busch, on worn tires, would go to victory lane while Spencer scored a season-best second-place finish. In 34 races, Spencer scored two Top 5's and six Top 10 finishes en route to a 27th-place points finish, and was released to make way for Ganassi's Busch driver, Casey Mears.
Busch Series driverCasey Mears was hired to drive the car, joining fellow rookie teammateJamie McMurray. Mears struggled in his rookie season but steadily improved over the next two seasons.
For 2006 another young driver,Reed Sorenson was hired to drive the No. 41 car full-time, and Mears replaced McMurray in the No. 42 car. Sorenson had five Top 10's and ended the 2006 season 24th in the standings.[40] After finishing 22nd in the standings with three Top 5's and six Top 10's in 2007, the No. 41 team only managed one Top 5 and two Top 10's and dropped to 32nd in the final standings in 2008. In an effort to keep the car higher in points, Scott Pruett took over atSonoma, finishing 38th after a late-race wreck. Sorenson left the team to drive forRichard Petty Motorsports.
The No. 42 car debuted in1989 atAtlanta Motor Speedway, asPEAK-sponsoredPontiac for SABCO Racing, Felix Sabates' race team. The car was driven byKyle Petty,[1] who finished fourth in the race. The car ran on and off for the rest of the year before moving to full-time status in1990. Petty scored one victory and finished 11th in points that year. He was running strong in1991 with a new sponsorship fromMello Yello,[2] before he broke his leg in a crash atTalladega Superspeedway. Over the next 11 races, he was replaced byBobby Hillin Jr.,Tommy Kendall, andKenny Wallace while recovering. After returning, he won four races finished fifth in points in both1992 and1993. After that, Petty's career began to run out of steam. He won his final race in1995 atDover, the first year the car hadCoors Light as a sponsor.[2] In 1996, Petty was temporarily replaced byJim Sauter to recover from more injuries.
In 1997, Kyle Petty and team owner Sabates split and sponsor Coors Light moved to the No. 40 car.[2] The team switched fromPontiac toChevy.Joe Nemechek and sponsorBellSouth proceeded to come on board.[2] The year got off to a rocky start when Nemechek did not qualify for theDaytona 500 but was able to get in on a car bought fromPhil Barkdoll. After losing his brotherJohn in a crash atHomestead-Miami Speedway (and missing Darlington to attend his funeral, during which he was replaced byPhil Parsons), Nemechek won two pole positions and finished 28th in points, followed up by a then-career best 26th in1998. Weeks after announcing that they would not race together after the1999 season had ended, Nemechek won his firstWinston Cup race atNew Hampshire International Speedway, and won two more poles. The No. 42 was 87 in 1996.
In 2000, former Winston Cup Rookie of the YearKenny Irwin Jr. took over the 42 car. He was just adjusting to his new team, scoring a single top ten in the first 17 races, when in July he was killed in an accident at New Hampshire during Cup Series practice, the first race since the team won there the previous year.[52][18] The team took one week off and returned as the No. 01 driven byTed Musgrave.[18]
Originally the 42 was planned to run the Daytona 500 with Swedish CART driverKenny Bräck in the car and even completed testing at Daytona, the team never attempted the Daytona 500. The car came back as No. 42 in2002 at Watkins Glen whenJimmy Spencer attempted but failed to qualify the car while Scott Pruett drove Spencer's normal car, the No. 41.[20] The car was scheduled to run seven more races withJamie McMurray driving, but when McMurray filled in for Sterling Marlin, the team did not run until2003. The No. 42 team ran full-time in 2003, with McMurray as the driver andTexaco/Havoline as the sponsor.[18] McMurray won Rookie of the Year honors in the Winston Cup Series. He failed to win a race in 2004, but had a very good season, with 23 Top-10s. He finished 11th in series points, the best of the non-Chasers. In 2005, McMurray missed the Chase after he was passed byRyan Newman just before the Chase started, and McMurray finished 12th in points.
McMurray left after the 2005 season to replaceKurt Busch atRoush Racing.Casey Mears moved over from the No. 41 to take his place during the 2006 season. He finished runner-up at the Daytona 500, but failed to win a race during the season and finished 14th in points.[40] Mears decided to leave Ganassi, moving toHendrick Motorsports for 2007.[40]
In July 2006, it was announced that former Indianapolis 500 winner, CART Champion, and at-that-time Formula One driverJuan Pablo Montoya would replace Mears in the No. 42 for 2007.[40] Texaco returned to sponsor the car, with additional funding fromWrigley gum brandsBig Red andJuicy Fruit.[21] Montoya won his first career Nextel Cup race during his rookie season atSonoma in theToyota/Save Mart 350, ending a nearly five-year victory drought the Chip Ganassi Racing organization had since the2002UAW-GM Quality 500.[40] He ended the year 20th in points and won Rookie of the Year. After he failed to return to victory lane and dropped to 25th in points despite some good results and a second place in theAaron's 499 in 2008, Texaco/Havoline left the team.
With Texaco leaving and theWrigley Company not able to cover the full season, long-time Ganassi sponsorTarget moved over from the No. 41 to the No. 42 for 2009.[13][21] Upon merging with DEI, the team absorbed the team's Chevrolet equipment after running Dodges since 2001.[9][21] In 2009, Montoya had a breakout season, with seven top 5s, 18 top 10s, and 2 poles. He qualified for theChase for the Sprint Cup and finished eighth in the overall standings, the best season-ending points position for Ganassi sinceSterling Marlin's third-place finish in the final standings in 2001. Midway through 2010, Montoya had sported great runs but didn't have the finishes to show for it, specifically at theIndianapolis Motor Speedway where Montoya dominated, but his crew chief Brian Pattie called for four tires late in the race, causing Montoya to fall to 8th and never recover. A similar situation happened the following week atPocono when Montoya was running second at a late stage in the race, and Pattie again called for four tires, placing Montoya back in traffic. Montoya and Pattie were heard arguing over the radio. The next weekend, however, Montoya won his second career race, dominating atWatkins Glen. Montoya ended up placing 17th in the overall standings for 2010.
The 2011 season started fast for the 42 bunch. Montoya posted a 6th in the season opener at Daytona and then finished 3rd at theLas Vegas. AtTalladega Montoya was involved in a late crash with the No. 39 car ofRyan Newman. Two weeks later atRichmond, Newman and Montoya were involved in two crashes, relegating them to 20th and 29th-place finishes respectively. AtDover Montoya was running for the lead but after a vibration and a crash involving the No. 27 car ofPaul Menard, Montoya finished 32nd. Later at the Toyota/Save Mart 350, Montoya had a great run and looked like he was going to fightKurt Busch for the lead but crashed in an incident withBrad Keselowski near the end of the race and finished in 22nd. Montoya was inconsistent for the rest of the year except for a 7th-place finish atWatkins Glen on August 14 and a 9th-place finish on August 25 at the Sylvania 300 atNew Hampshire.
Montoya's struggles continued through 2012, as the Ganassi program as a whole was looking for answers. In 2013, after Ganassi switched toHendrick Motorsports engines, Montoya nearly won at Dover, but was passed in the final laps byTony Stewart, and finished second. Montoya would also have a strong run atRichmond leading several laps, but would again come up short. Later, on August 13, 2013, it was announced that Montoya's contract with Ganassi would not be renewed for the 2014 season.[53]
For 2014, promising development driverKyle Larson took over the No. 42 after winning the2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year. Montoya, meanwhile departed forChip Ganassi's rival,Team Penske, in theIndyCar Series. For 2014, Larson competed with what many deemed to be the strongestrookie class in the series' history, including 2013 Nationwide Series championAustin Dillon and several of their former Nationwide Series competitors.[54] Larson nearly won atAuto Club Speedway, finishing second toKyle Busch after a late-race restart. Larson defeated Busch the day before to capture the victory in the Nationwide Series race. He had a steady amount of top 10 finishes in the first half of 2014 and finished fourth at his second road course race at Watkins Glen. Larson had numerous crashes and tire failures but won a competitive Rookie of the Year title. He would struggle in 2015, including having to miss the2015 STP 500 due to dehydration. Larson's best finish that year would be third at the spring Dover race, but he would finish 19th in points. In 2016, Larson would rebound from his sophomore year, taking his first career victory at the2016 Pure Michigan 400, qualifying him for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. However, both he and teammate McMurray would be eliminated from championship contention after the Citizen Soldier 400.
In 2017, Larson captured his second career victory at the2017 Auto Club 400 after securing pole position for the race. This completed his first "Weekend Sweep", which is when a driver wins every race run during the weekend. Larson would win three more races that year, sweeping both Michigan races and winning the last race before the playoffs at Richmond. Larson looked like a championship contender for most of the year, staying in the top-three in points from races 3 to 31 of the season. However, an engine failure at Kansas resulted in him being eliminated at the Round of 12 of the Playoffs, the first of four straight DNFs for Larson, relegating him to an eighth-place finish in points.
In 2018, Larson returned with hisCredit One Bank/DC SolarChevrolet Camaro ZL1. Despite being winless, he made the Playoffs by staying consistent in the regular season with four second-place finishes, eight top-fives, and 14 top-10s. Larson had a dominant car at theInaugural Charlotte Roval race but was caught in a multi-car pileup in a late restart that also involved Playoff contendersBrad Keselowski and Kyle Busch. His heavily damaged No. 42 car took advantage ofJeffrey Earnhardt being spun out byDaniel Hemric on the final lap and limped across the finish line in 25th place, securing him in the top 12. Larson experienced further bad luck at thefall Talladega race when he blew a right-front tire and spun out. He finished 11th in the race but was docked 10 driver and 10 owner points after the team violated the damaged vehicle policy by using metal tabs instead of fasteners and/or tape to repair the torn right front fender.[55] Despite finishing third at thefall Kansas race, Larson was eliminated in the Round of 12 of the Playoffs. He finished the season ninth in points.
During the 2019 season, Larson made history by becoming only the third driver to win the Monster Energy Open and theMonster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race.[56] Larson once again made the Playoffs, his 4th straight appearance. Right after advancing past the Round of 16, Larson broke a 75-race winless streak by winning atDover after qualifying second, immediately advancing to the Round of 8.[57]
On April 13, 2020, NASCAR andiRacing indefinitely suspended Larson after he used a racial slur during aniRacing event.[58] In a statement posted to Twitter, Chip Ganassi Racing had announced that they had suspended Larson without pay. As a result of his actions, McDonald's, Credit One Bank, Advent Health and Fiserv terminated their sponsorship of Larson. In addition, Chevrolet suspended its relationship with Larson indefinitely.[59] CGR fired Larson the following day.[60]
On April 27, 2020, it was announced thatMatt Kenseth would fill in for the remainder of the season. In addition, NASCAR granted him a waiver for eligibility in the 2020 playoffs.[61][62][63] Other than a second-place run in theBrickyard 400, the season was forgettable for the 42 team as Kenseth finished 28th in the final standings with two Top 10's in his 32 races. After the year, Kenseth formally retired from NASCAR and primary sponsorCredit One Bank left the organization.
On September 21, Chip Ganassi Racing announced thatRoss Chastain would replace Kenseth in the No. 42 Chevrolet in2021.[64] After a few great runs including a third-place finish in theSouthern 500 and a second place at the inauguralAlly 400 atNashville, the team missed the playoffs and finished 20th in points in his first fulltime season as a Cup driver. After the season however, Ganassi sold his assets toJustin Marks and theTrackhouse Racing. After a short decision, the team decided to bring the whole 42 team over including Ross, crew chief Phil Surgen, the crew and sponsors includingAdventHealth but the 42 number did not come over as that team now runs as the 1 car. The 42 number however was not out of use long as thePetty GMS Racing team picked up its second car as the 42.
The No. 46 car began as the No. 87NEMCO Motorsports car owned and driven byJoe Nemechek. After he signed with SABCO in 1996, Sabates became the majority owner of the team, which debuted at the1997Daytona 500 as the No. 46First UnionChevrolet driven byWally Dallenbach Jr.[2] After skipping several races, the team moved to full-time racing. Dallenbach competed in 22 races and finished 41st in points. He only raced in four races in the1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series before he was replaced by a rotation of drivers includingJeff Green,Morgan Shepherd, andTommy Kendall.
After First Union stopped their backing at the end of the season, the team was scheduled to close down,[2] but instead it changed its number to No. 01 and served as the team's research and development car.
In 2001, The team fielded the No. 04 atSears Point forJason Leffler. He attempted to make the race whileDorsey Schroeder piloted Leffler's regular ride, the No. 01; Leffler did not qualify for the race.
CGR has occasionally run an additional part-time entry for research and development or for rookie drivers making their debut. The team debuted in2003 atSonoma Raceway as the No. 09TargetDodge, run under thePhoenix Racing banner, with road course specialistScott Pruett, finishing a lap down in 34th after an incident while running in the top ten.[20][66]
In the same year, Pruett would run for CGR itself atWatkins Glen as the No. 39. Pruett started 28th and finished 2nd.[67] Pruett and the car reappeared in2004 and2005 atSonoma, where Pruett finished 3rd and 31st, respectively. He also attempted Watkins Glen, but he failed to qualify both years. In 2005, former championBill Elliott drove the car in theBud Shootout, due to his ride atEvernham Motorsports being unavailable. The car was sponsored byCoors, running a tribute scheme that Elliott had run in the past with the sponsor. Development driverDavid Stremme then drove seven races in preparation for his bid in2006 forNASCAR Rookie of the Year, making his debut atChicagoland Speedway in July.[35][68] Stremme finished 16th in his debut.[69]Reed Sorenson also drove at Atlanta withDiscount Tire sponsorship in preparation for his full-time cup season in 2006.
In August 2005, CGR announced their plans to expand to four full-time teams, withHome123 moving up from theBusch Series to sponsor the new entry.Casey Mears, then the driver of the 41 car, was selected to drive the new entry, withReed Sorenson moving into his old ride.[70][71] Home123, then the "official mortgage company ofNASCAR", was one of several mortgage companies that specialized insubprime loans to make a large investment in the sport during the peak of theU.S. housing bubble.[72] By November, however, Home123 and Ganassi mutually ended their agreement, and Mears was tabbed to replace the departingJamie McMurray in the No. 42Texaco HavolineDodge.[73][74]
In preparation for running full-time in the No. 42 car in 2007, Formula One and Indy 500 winnerJuan Pablo Montoya made his Cup debut at the 2006 season finale Ford 400 atHomestead-Miami Speedway, in aTexaco Havoline car numbered No. 30.[40][75] Montoya qualified 29th and ran as high as 13th, but was involved in an incident withRyan Newman on lap 254, leading Montoya's car to crash and erupt in flames. Montoya was credited with a 34th-place finish.[40][76]
After the DEI merger, Ganassi gained a set of owners' points from the former DEI No. 8 car, which had been driven byMark Martin andAric Almirola in 2008. (For more information about the No. 8 prior to the merger, including the time during which the car was driven byDale Earnhardt Jr., seeDale Earnhardt, Inc.). Although Ganassi did not have enough sponsorship to run three cars, and afterBobby Labonte turned down an offer to drive the car,Aric Almirola was tentatively signed to return to the No. 8 Chevrolet for the full 2009 season, pending sponsorship.[9][21] The team was able to signGuitar Hero for four races including theDaytona 500,[21][77] and one-race deals withCub Cadet,[78]TomTom,[79] and Champion Apparel.[78] After seven races and while sitting 37th in owner points, Ganassi announced that the operations of the No. 8 team were being suspended indefinitely due to lack of sponsorship.[12][14] Almirola later sued Ganassi for breach of contract, which he alleged promised a full-season ride,[80] and the dispute was settled out of court.
In addition to the No. 8 car, for 2009 EGR formed an alliance withFront Row Motorsports's No. 34 car and driverJohn Andretti. FRM received the owner points of DEI's former No. 15 car, allowing the team to qualify for the first five races of the season. The teams also formed a technical alliance, with EGR crew chief Steve Lane moving to FRM and the No. 34 fielded as a fourth EGR entry in select races including theDaytona 500.[21][81][82]
CGR/FS began running in the then-Busch Series as SABCO Racing in 1995, attempting nine races in the No. 42 Pontiac withKyle Petty,Bobby Hamilton andDennis Setzer.Band-Aid andService Merchandise sponsored Hamilton and Turner’s attempts whileCoors Light came onboard for Petty’s one-off at Homestead. Overall, the team qualified for seven races, their best finish being a 15th place with Hamilton at Nashville. SABCO returned to the series in2000, fielding two full-time teams (numbered 81 and 82) and one part-time (numbered 42). The No. 42BellSouth-sponsored Chevrolet was primarily driven byKenny Irwin Jr., withSteadman Marlin running two races at Nashville and Memphis. The No. 42 had run 10 races with Irwin finishing in the Top 10 twice before he was killed in a practice accident at New Hampshire.[52] Like Irwin's Cup team, the number was switched to 01, andSterling Marlin became the new driver. He raced three races in the 01, finishing in the Top 10 twice.Blaise Alexander drove the No. 81TracFone/WCW Chevy full-time in 2000, and had two top-tens and finished 25th in points, despite failing to qualify for the season-opening race.Dave Steele was hired by SABCO to drive the No. 82Channellock-sponsored Chevy full-time, but after failing to qualify for three out of the first five races, he was released. Sterling Marlin won the next race at Bristol in the No. 82, whileJeff Fuller failed to qualify in his attempt in the car the following week at Texas. After Derek Gilcrest drove for a pair of races,Glenn Allen Jr. drove for the next five races, not finishing better than 29th.Jason White drove for two short track races, followed byAnthony Lazzaro at Watkins Glen,Andy Houston at Milwaukee, andAustin Cameron at Nazareth and Pikes Peak. Ted Musgrave then signed on for the next eight races, finishing eighth at Lowe's.Marty Houston finished the season in the No. 82, with a best finish of 14th. At the end of the 2000 season, SABCO's Busch equipment was sold toHighLine Performance Group (later FitzBradshaw Racing), owned by Sabates' son-in-lawArmando Fitz.[83][84]
The Busch Series program was restarted by CGR from 2004 to 2008, run primarily to develop drivers includingReed Sorenson,David Stremme,Dario Franchitti, andBryan Clauson. The team won eight races over the five year stretch, but shut down following CGR's merger withDale Earnhardt, Inc.[85][86] At the end of 2014, CGR acquired Steve Turner's interest in the Nationwide (now Xfinity) operations ofTurner Scott Motorsports, which had fielded entries in the Nationwide Series,Truck Series,K&N Pro Series East andWest, andARCA Racing Series for Ganassi driversKyle Larson andDylan Kwasniewski between late 2012 and 2014. Though Turner Scott was a two car Xfinity operation (at one point operating as many as five entries), the operation under Ganassi was reduced to a single-car entry running under Harry Scott's banner,HScott Motorsports with Chip Ganassi.[85][87]
On January 4, 2019, Chip Ganassi Racing announced the closure of their Xfinity program due to lack of sponsorship. The shutdown was announced after the home of the CEO ofDC Solar, the team's primary sponsor, was raided by theFBI on December 18, 2018.[88][89][90]
In 2003, CGR Cup driverCasey Mears drove 14 races in the No. 19 Dodge forBraun Racing sponsored by CGR partnerTarget, with Braun forming a technical alliance with Ganassi.[91] For 2004, the alliance continued, with Braun fielding the No. 32TrimSpa Dodge for Ganassi development driverDavid Stremme.[91] Late in the season, Stremme left Braun to drive the No. 14 NAVYChevrolet forFitzBradshaw Racing – formed fromFelix Sabates' former Busch Series team in 2000 – replacingCasey Atwood. In a similar technical alliance with Ganassi, the team switched to Dodge to field Stremme for the full 2005 season.[84][92] Stremme had five top 5s and 10 top 10s en route to a 13th-place finish, then moved up to the No. 40 Cup ride with Ganassi for 2006.
As part of the alliance withFitzBradshaw Racing, in 2005 a new No. 40 car was fielded by Fitz as a Dodge team with Ganassi's veteran Cup driverSterling Marlin as the primary driver.Cottman Transmission,Family Dollar andJani-King served as primary sponsors.[83][84][93] Marlin ran 18 races for the team with five Top 10s, then replacedTim Fedewa in the team's No. 12 car atGateway.[94]Reed Sorenson moved over to the No. 40 atAtlanta when his No. 41 Ganassi car missed the race, finishing 19th.[95] CGR development driverScott Lagasse Jr. ran five races in the car, with a best finish of 22nd.[83][96]Carlos Contreras,Paul Wolfe, andErin Crocker also ran races in the 40 car.
For2008, rookies Franchitti andBryan Clauson shared the No. 40 car, along withReed Sorenson,Juan Pablo Montoya,Scott Pruett, andKevin Hamlin, with sponsorship coming from Fastenal.[97] Late in the season, with Franchitti departing from the sport, Clauson took over the car permanently.[98] The drivers combined for three Top 5 finishes and five Top 10s, with a best finish of third atAutódromo Hermanos Rodríguez with Pruett.[97] Clauson finished second in Rookie of the Year standings toLandon Cassill.[99] In December 2008, the newly formed Earnhardt Ganassi Racing announced that they had closed the No. 40 team down, due to a lack of sponsorship.[85][100]
The 41 car began racing at the2004Kroger 200 when Reed Sorenson made his NASCAR debut with sponsorship fromDiscount Tire. He qualified third and finished 13th. For the rest of the season, Sorenson,Casey Mears, and Jamie McMurray ran limited schedules in the No. 41, with McMurray picking up a win at Phoenix. In2005, Sorenson drove full-time, picking up two wins and finishing fourth in points. He drove most of the 2006 season, except theAT&T 250, where David Stremme finished eleventh in his place.
For 2007 Discount Tire left forRoush Fenway Racing andWrigley's became the new sponsor.Brian Pattie was the team crew chief. Sorenson and Stremme shared the No. 41 for most of the season, with Sorenson winning at Gateway.Scott Pruett ran the road courses. At Montreal with 3 laps left, Pruett was running in third place when he got in contact withKevin Harvick. Harvick responded by waving his hand in anger and spinning Pruett around in turn 1. Pruett's accident collectedRon Fellows,Jeff Burton,Ron Hornaday Jr., and several others. Pruett restarted in 10th place but his speed never returned; finishing him in 14th place. Later in the season,Bryan Clauson came on board withMemorex sponsorship then drove for five races with a best finish of eighteenth, beforeA. J. Allmendinger finished out the season in the No. 41. Bryan Clauson began the 2008 season in the No. 41 withPolaroid sponsorship, beforeKyle Krisiloff drove for a few races. After the spring Talladega race, the 41 was shut down.
In 1995, SABCO Racing, running the No. 42Band-Aid-sponsored Pontiac in eight races withBobby Hamilton andDennis Setzer. SABCO returned to the series in2000, fielding the No. 42BellSouth-sponsored Chevrolet was primarily driven byKenny Irwin Jr., withSteadman Marlin running two races at Nashville and Memphis. The No. 42 had run 10 races with Irwin finishing in the Top 10 twice before he was killed in a practice accident at New Hampshire.[52]
The car debuted under Ganassi in2006 as the No. 42Texaco/Havoline-sponsored Dodge.Casey Mears drove nine races and won his first career race atChicagoland Speedway.Juan Pablo Montoya drove the last four races of the year, posting an 11th-place finish in his series debut atMemphis, and two top tens.[40]
For 2007, Ganassi announced that Montoya andKevin Hamlin would split the driving duties.[100] Montoya drove seventeen races the next season, and won his first race atAutódromo Hermanos Rodríguez and had three top-tens.[101] Hamlin made seven starts, including two consecutive Top 10's at Gateway and IRP.[100] AfterMichael Valiante drove atCircuit Gilles Villeneuve andDavid Stremme at Bristol, it was announced the 42 team would shut down effective immediately, but that decision and was rescinded andA. J. Allmendinger was named driver for the next five races, though he failed to finish higher than 14th.Dario Franchitti finished out the year with Target sponsorship, qualifying in the Top 10 twice.[101]
With Ganassi switching to Chevrolet, the remnants of the No. 40 team were purchased by businessman Eddie Smith and professional boxerEvander Holyfield in February 2009 to formSmith-Ganassi Racing, later known asTeam 42 Racing, renumbering the car once again to 42.[102][103] The team ran part-time schedules over the next two years, primarily withKenny Hendrick,[102]David Gilliland, andTeam Penske development driverParker Kligerman.[103] Ganassi driverKevin Hamlin also ran a single 2009 race atGateway.[100]
At the 2009Bristol spring race, EGR fielded a car for then-DEI development driverTrevor Bayne, leasing the No. 52 owner's points fromMeans Racing. The car was provided to Ganassi by then-partnerFront Row Motorsports, with FRM sponsorTaco Bell appearing on the car. Bayne would finish 23rd in his series debut, later moving toMichael Waltrip Racing.[81][104][105][106]
In 2013,Turner Scott Motorsports was contracted to field CGR development driverKyle Larson in their No. 32 car, with Larson winning Rookie of the Year.[107] In 2014, the car was renumbered to Ganassi's No. 42, with Larson andDylan Kwasniewski sharing the ride, with Kwasniewski ran the majority of the season in TSM's No. 31 car.[108] Larson scored his first win atAuto Club Speedway in March,[109][110] and won again atCharlotte in May.
At the end of 2014, crew chief Scott Zipadelli was released from the team.[111] In December 2014, it was announced that Chip Ganassi Racing would partner with TSM co-owner Harry Scott to bring the 42 car in-house under the nameHScott Motorsports withChip Ganassi. The 31 team was shut down due to logistical and funding issues.[85][87] Larson returned for a part-time schedule.[85] Larson's sponsors includedParker Hannifin, which sponsored him as an adolescent midget car racer,[112] and returning sponsorENEOS.Target, and its associated brands, also ran some races. On February 10, 2015,ARCA Racing Series race winnerBrennan Poole was signed to contest a 15-race schedule – later expanded to 17 races – in the 42, sponsored by DC Solar Solutions. Poole replaced Kwasniewski, whose sponsor Rockstar Energy chose not to renew.[113][114][115] In March after two races, it was confirmed that Kwasniewski would not drive for the team at all. This expanded Larson's schedule to around 14 races.Justin Marks, partner with Harry Scott in the K&N Series, ran the three road course events for the team.[114][116] Poole finished 9th in his series debut atLas Vegas.[115] He scored two top tens and ten top-15s during the season.[117][118] Larson scored a win in the season finale at Homestead, after leading 118 laps and passingAustin Dillon with four laps to go.[119]
Though the team was run in-house in 2015, the No. 42 was brought back under the Ganassi umbrella in full for 2016. Larson returned for 17 races, with the same sponsorship from Eneos and Parker.[117] With Poole moving to a new No. 48 Ganassi entry, Marks expanded his schedule to take over all of the oval races not run by Larson, in addition to road courses. Marks, in the No. 42 Katerra-sponsored Chevrolet picked up the win in the 2016 Mid-Ohio Challenge at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in rainy conditions.
In 2017, Larson returned with the same sponsors and schedule (Eneos and Parker), winning two races. The team also added formerBrad Keselowski Racing driverTyler Reddick to drive on a part-time basis in 2017.Hendrick Motorsports development driverAlex Bowman also made two starts in the car. In addition to Larson's two wins, both young drivers also won a race in 2017. Reddick won at Kentucky with Broken Bow Records on the car, while Bowman was victorious at Charlotte with Hendrick and Vannoy Construction sponsorship.[120]
In 2018, Larson returned once again for a part-time schedule. This time, series rookieJohn Hunter Nemechek ran the majority of the races in the 2018 season after Tyler Reddick left the team at the end of 2017 to go toJR Motorsports.[121] Nemechek previously was running full-time in theNASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2017. Larson won in four of his six starts in the car, while Nemechek took his first Xfinity win at Kansas. Late in the season,JD Motorsports driverRoss Chastain joined the team for three races, winning at Las Vegas. McMurray and Marks also each made three starts in the car.
Chastain had been hired to drive the No. 42 full-time for 2019 at the time of the shutdown announcement, and remained "tied to us" according to a team statement; he would eventually drive Ganassi's #42 Cup Series car in 2021.[122]MBM Motorsports purchased the Xfinity #42 owner points and some of the equipment before the 2019 season.
For 2016,Brennan Poole, who drove a part-time schedule in Ganassi's No. 42 the previous season, moved into a new No. 48 car full-time with DC Solar sponsoring the full season.[117][118] Chad Norris is the crew chief for the No. 48. Poole's best finish thus far has been a second-place finish at Kentucky. He also almost won the 2016 spring race in Talladega in which he passed two cars on the final lap, only to be told that he had in fact finished third after a yellow-flag came out on the final lap.
It was announced before the end of 2017 that Poole would not return in 2018, and after the season was over, CGR shut down the #48 team, focusing their Xfinity operation solely on the #42.[123]
On June 18, 2018, it was announced that Poole would sue Chip Ganassi Racing andSpire Sports + Entertainment forbreach of contract, alleging that CGR and Spire conspired to take away DC Solar's sponsorship from Poole and move it to the No. 42 CGR Cup Series team ofKyle Larson and that Spire's involvement representing both driver and team constituted a conflict of interest.[124][125] Ganassi and Spire both released statements through attorneys denying the claims, with CGR's statement saying the sponsorship of Poole ended "because he never won a race despite the advantages of the best equipment in the garage."[126][127] The dispute was latersettled in the aftermath of DC Solar's FBI raid, though terms were not specified.
Earnhardt-Childress Racing Technologies[128] was formed in May 2007 as a cooperation betweenDale Earnhardt, Inc. andRichard Childress Racing to develop and build common engines for the ChevroletMonster Energy NASCAR Cup Series andXfinity Series teams campaigned by the two companies. The partnership was inherited by CGR following its merger with DEI. The company is now known asECR Engines, no longer connected with DEI or CGR.[11]
On November 2, 2012, Chip Ganassi Racing announced that it would get its engine supply fromHendrick Motorsports whilst retaining its Chevrolet stable.[22]
Turner Scott Motorsports ran Ganassi development drivers in theNASCAR Xfinity Series andNASCAR Camping World Truck Series. They wereKyle Larson andDylan Kwasniewski. Kwasniewski drove for TSM in the K&N Pro Series East before signing with Ganassi as a development driver. Ganassi would eventually assume complete control of the team's Xfinity program.
