PORTLAND, Ore. – As the only team that can win the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series Championship, Chip Ganassi Racing can breathe easy at Portland International Raceway for Sunday’s Bitnile.com Grand Prix of Portland.
The only two drivers who can win the 2023 championship are Alex Palou in the No. 10 Dallara-Honda and Scott Dixon in the No. 9.
It was just one week ago when Dixon drove to a masterful victory in the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Racing that the breathing got a little easier for the elite IndyCar Series operation.
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Palou left Gateway with a 74-point lead over Dixon, and Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden was eliminated after his second consecutive 25th place.
Ganassi clinched the title and ensured all that is left to be determined is which driver wins the championship.
“The first word that came to mind after the race was ‘Exhale,’ ” Chip Ganassi Racing Managing Director Mike Hull told NBC Sports. “Everybody breathed a sigh of relief that what they worked so hard to accomplish had come to pass.
“What we do at Chip Ganassi Racing is truly work on today. We try to get the most out of each other on and off the racetrack and try to improve today. If each team member can look in the mirror and know they did that, then the results that we have shown this year will come to fruition.”
For Palou, the 2021 champion, it would be his second IndyCar Series title. For Dixon, it would tie A.J. Foyt’s record of seven driver championships.
Palou has a 74-point lead over teammate Dixon entering the race and can clinch the 2023 IndyCar Series championship if he leaves with a 54-point edge over Dixon (the maximum points total for each IndyCar race).
If Palou finishes third or better, he will clinch the championship regardless of what Dixon does.
Dixon must gain 21 points to extend the championship fight to WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca next week.
“We have two goals on this team,” Hull said. “Winning the Indianapolis 500 and winning the IndyCar championship.
“We were the first runner-up at Indianapolis this year as Josef Newgarden won the race. So now we have the championship in sight. Hopefully, IndyCar has enough hats in the podium area.”
For team owner Chip Ganassi, it’s his 15th IndyCar championship. His first came with Jimmy Vasser in 1996.
His most have come with Dixon, who has six. Palou will join an elite list of drivers on the team with multiple championships if he wins this year’s title. Chip Ganassi Racing also has won five Indianapolis 500s, most recently with Marcus Ericsson in 2022.
“It’s pretty exciting and a real testament to the team and Mike Hull and his group of people, a testament to a lot of hard work by a lot of great people,” Ganassi told NBC Sports. “My hat is off to them.”
Palou has had a tremendous year from start to finish with a series-high four victories and a worst finish of eighth twice (in the season opener at St. Petersburg and the July 22 race at Iowa Speedway).
Dixon won twice to extend his career win total to 55, second only to Foyt.
Dixon was the driver of his generation, and Palou has become a generational talent for IndyCar who could take the mantle as the best driver in the series for the next 15-20 years.
Last month, Palou informed Arrow McLaren that he would not be joining the team next season. Though he has yet to confirm it, it appears a near certainty that he will be returning to Chip Ganassi Racing.
Palou said he will announce his future intentions after the Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey on Sept. 10. Ganassi may have revealed it a bit sooner with the following comment:
“The guy has shown he has the talent,” Ganassi said. “The guy has been under contract with us for three years and probably for three more, or so.”
A Freudian slip perhaps, but it’s obvious the once-strained relationship between owner and driver never has been better.
“If Alex Palou chooses to stay with us for a long period of time, he very well could break every record that Scott Dixon has set because Scott Dixon has proven is loyalty with a good team helps you win races,” Hull said. “We don’t give up on each other. We support each other give everybody what they need to create the foundation to win.
“You don’t give up. You push hard for each other, and you support each other. That is what Chip did with Alex.”
Chip Ganassi Racing has created an unbeatable combination and with two races remaining in the season, it already can clear a place in the trophy case for this year’s championship.
“We’ve had seasons like that before, but it takes the right driver, the right people working on the car, the right people engineering the cars and the right people calling the races,” Ganassi said. “I think Alex and Scott Dixon, Marcus Armstrong and Marcus Ericsson will be the first guys to tell you it’s a total team effort.”
Ericsson is leaving at the end of this season after signing a multiyear agreement with Andretti Autosport. Earlier this week, 2022 Indy NXT champion Linus Lundqvist signed a multiyear contract with Chip Ganassi Racing.
“We’re going to find out,” Ganassi said of Lundqvist’s talent. “He has shown well in several different cars he has been in. He was the Indy Lights champion, so we are pretty excited for Linus.”
The only two drivers who can win the championship are at Chip Ganassi Racing, but that doesn’t mean the team is assured of a 1-2 sweep in the standings.
Dixon is 51 points ahead of third-place Newgarden, but with 54 maximum points available, he has a big advantage to give Chip Ganassi Racing a sweep of the top two positions for the third time in team history.
Alex Zanardi and Jimmy Vasser finished 1-2 in 1998 and Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon swept the top two in 2009.
“Twice before, we have finished 1-2 in the championship and I hope we can do that,” Ganassi said. “We are certainly capable and that is what we are trying to do right now.”
Hull will call the strategy for Dixon’s efforts on the No. 9 stand, but he can speak on how important it is for the entire operation.
“I think it’s terrific for the team,” Hull said. “It’s a tremendous validation for how hard they work. I think it’s fantastic for Chip Ganassi Racing.
“There are other drivers who have proven they can win the championship and IndyCar has proven the competitive nature allows that happen.
“We’ve lived in this movie for quite a while. With talent in your car and talent working on this car, with an owner committed to the series like Chip Ganassi is, that is what happens.
“It’s terrific to be in this position. We’re happy to be in this position.”