Between chats with Brian France, Tony George and Roger Penske, Ganassi rubbed elbows with a wealthy heir (Carlos Slim Domit, son of the world's second-richest man, according to Forbes magazine) and a CEO (Gregg Steinhafel of Target).

The receiving line was fitting on the day Ganassi was crowned king of the world's most famous racetrack. But it formed as he strolled the front straightaway hours before his driver, Scott Dixon, won the Indianapolis 500 on May 25.

"Brian and Tony could talk to anyone they want, but I was a familiar face," Ganassi says, "and I guess everyone likes to be around winners."

Ganassi remains a respected force with drivers, sponsors and power brokers because his teams continue to win, albeit outside NASCAR's premier series.

Ganassi's Dallara-Hondas rule the Indy Racing League (Dixon leads the standings; Dan Wheldon is third). In January, Ganassi became the first owner to score three consecutive victories in 46 years of the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, and his No. 01 Lexus Riley of Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas is ranked first in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series.

While last season was the fourth in a row in which he and minority partner Felix Sabates were shut out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Ganassi still had 13 wins in NASCAR, IndyCar and Grand-Am, most in his 18-year history. His Indianapolis-based IndyCar and Grand-Am teams have won six of 11 in 2008.

"Our strategy obviously works in the other two series," says Ganassi, 50, who has four Indy 500 winners (Dixon, Wheldon, Juan Pablo Montoya and Dario Franchitti) under contract. "We just need to apply that to NASCAR."

The Concord, N.C., NASCAR base of his racing empire is enduring another tough season. Montoya is its top-ranked driver at 17th and has one top-10.

Manager of competition Steve Hmiel, though, has been encouraged by the commitment of Ganassi, who checks in daily by phone as late as 11:30 p.m.

"His public persona is completely different from the guy I work with," says Hmiel, who claims not to have seen the imposing stare and square-faced scowl Ganassi has been known to shoot at reporters. "You never feel like a whipping boy. Chip kicks you when you're up and encourages you to do better."

The team is doing better on the business side, adding a half-dozen significant sponsorships in a weakening economy. Chip Ganassi Racing President Steve Lauletta, who oversees the commercial side, credits that to a marketing team that includes savvy veterans of the NBA and Major League Baseball and a refusal by Ganassi to sugarcoat his pitches with visions of victory lane.

"Anyone in this just for wins, it's going to be very frustrating," Lauletta says. "Chip built the team on knowing what sponsors look for in addition to wins."

Winning, though, remains the reason Ganassi flies 500 hours annually on a Learjet that ferried him last week from Long Pond, Pa., to Dover, Del., to Milwaukee to Indianapolis to Concord to his hometown of Pittsburgh.

"Sometimes it gets to be a little much, but it's like The Godfather where Hyman Roth says, 'This is the business we've chosen,' " Ganassi says. "On one hand, I'm a workaholic, but on the other, I've never worked a day in my life. I love the business and everything about it."

Enlarge By Brent Smith, Reuters Chip Ganassi congratulates his driver Dan Wheldon after qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 10, 2008.

ADVERTISEMENT

Iconocast is about learning and teaching without borders; we offer eMarketing, Internet Advertising, Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, Online Branding, and eMarketing News Services.

Iconocast Home Page

Contact Iconocast

© 2003-07. ICONOCAST is a trademark of iconocast.com.