American businessman Floyd “Chip” Ganassi Jr. has not been left behind and has already put his intellect, experience and multi-million dollar investments in the electric age of motorsports by shaping his team on the debuting Extreme E series.
Ganassi has always been linked to the world of motorsports and began his career as a driver, although now he stands out as a strong businessman in the difficult automotive industry.
He was born on May 24, 1958 in the United States; he served as a racing driver, and founder of the “Chip Ganassi Racing” team. He was a promising rider, but a serious accident wiped out his aspirations and took him off the tracks.
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After the bittersweet, he took ownership of the team from him in 1988 when he bought a share of Patrick Racing. He only partnered with Target stores to give his team financial muscle in 1990 and began earning four years later with Michael Andretti. Since then, his drivers Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi and Juan Montoya have won Champ Car titles.
Honors
Ganassi is a member of the US Motorsports Hall of Fame and has been in the world of motorsports for over 30 years. His team, of which he is not only the owner but also the director, plays different competitions such as the IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and now in the Extreme E.
The Pittsburgh native boasts of being the only team owner in history to have won the Indianapolis 500, Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400, the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring and more recently, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, six of the most important races in the world.
In his 30-year career, the businessman was honored by the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, which opened a year-long exhibition to honor Ganassi’s legacy in motorsports.
Expedition to Extreme E
After listening to bombastic names like Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button or Nico Rosberg, Ganassi moved his checkbook to invest in the ambitious Extreme E project, led by Spaniard Alejandro Agag.
With the alliance of a giant like General Motors, Ganassi reached a multi-year agreement with the manufacturer to give name, decoration and bodywork to its 550 hp electric 4×4. It is the brand’s second agreement with the championship, after the arrival of CUPRA to the ABT team.
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Thus, the vehicle of the American team has grills, decoration and bodywork inspired by the GMC HUMMER EV, the new electric model of the mythical vehicle (1,000 hp 100% electric by 2022).
“It is an honor to represent GMC, especially in these exciting times for racing. The new GMC HUMMER EV is going to be a revolution in how the world views electric SUV capabilities. We are very proud to represent GMC in such an innovative category,” stated Ganassi after his announcement to join the electric category.
Wrtitten by I Jhonattan González
