IndyCar charter system will “add value to every team”, says Chip Ganassi

• Michael Andretti called on Roger Penske to sell series at start of season
• Ganassi says Penske has received “unfair shots” over charter proposal

Eponymous team owner Chip Ganassi has claimed IndyCar’s charter system will “add value to every team” once the agreement is finalised.

Efforts to implement the Nascar-style contract have created divisions across the paddock, most notably when Michael Andretti called on Roger Penske to sell the series at the start of the season. 

At the time, Ganassi was vociferous in his support of ‘the Captain’, and that has continued as discussions around the proposal drag on.

 “I think the charter thing is happening and it’s as advertised, so I’m happy,” he told reporters, including Motorsport.com.

“It’s a really good thing. And it’s going to add value to every team. Granted it’s not the size of the Nascar charter guarantee. But it’s a hell of a start. It’s a hell of a running start. So, I think it’s a great thing.”

Ganassi also confirmed that the team would be downsizing from five entries to three, with reigning champion Alex Palou and IndyCar’s most successful driver Scott Dixon confirmed for the 2025 season.

The third seat is likely to go to Kyffin Simpson thanks to funding from his father’s Ridgeline Lubricants deal with the team.

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On the incoming charter system, Ganassi pointed to Penske’s experience with Nascar as crucial for implementing the agreement in IndyCar.

“Every single question that everybody in the IndyCar paddock has had about charter systems is like a repeat of ten years ago when they did Nascar charters,” he said. “You feel like just saying to somebody, ‘Don’t worry about that. This is what will happen.’ It’s just a carbon copy.

“They are all valid questions. It’s not like they don’t know what they’re talking about, but they’re all questions anyone with a modicum of business acumen would ask. But the net positive is just incredible.”

Nascar is currently navigating its own political minefield after all but two teams signed its charter proposal for the 2025 season onwards. Negotiations dragged on for almost two years, but 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports opted against signing the agreement.

While IndyCar won’t face a similarly drawn out process, teams are certainly not unanimous in their support.

“I guarantee [Penske is] taking some unfair shots because even on some of these things you guys are talking about, and I can tell you that you don’t know the story,” Ganassi said.

“Nobody knows the story, and when you hear the story, you go, ‘Oh, okay, no problem.’ So, it’s all good at the end of the day, just because, and I can tell you this, I don’t want to mention any drivers’ names, but they don’t know the whole story either.

“Okay, so just tell them, ‘Sit down and shut up.’ Worry about what you should be worrying about and don’t get involved in things you don’t know what’s going on.”

Ganassi concluded: “I would say that the IndyCar paddock is fortunate because I think Roger, with some of the speed bumps, if you will, and I’m not talking about the latest thing in Nascar there, I’m not even talking about that.

“I’m just talking about general things over time that the IndyCar paddock is going to benefit from Roger going through that over there [in Nascar].

“This paddock, they are benefiting from that. They’re benefiting from him being a team owner, so it’s a good thing. It’s a really good thing. And it’s going to add value to every team and granted, it’s not the size of the Nascar charter guarantee. But it’s a hell of a start. It’s a hell of a running start.

“So, I think it’s a great thing.”