Chip Ganassi Racing has one of the superior operations in the Indy Racing League with Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon behind the wheel.
Chip Ganassi Racing has one of the superior operations in the Indy Racing League with Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon behind the wheel, but their problems preserving key drivers in NASCAR Nextel Cup continued last month when it was revealed that Casey Mears plans to exit the organization at season's end.
With robust sponsorship, and the success that Ganassi has enjoyed in open-wheel, why can't he keep his top drivers happy? When he aligned with Felix Sabates in 2001, Sterling Marlin and Jason Leffler were the two drivers. Ganassi was elated with the success that Marlin was having, but Leffler was handed the pink slip after a fruitless rookie season. Maybe Ganassi gave up on Leffler too early. Kurt Busch was a rookie the same season as Leffler, and his rookie campaign wasn't much better.
Jimmy Spencer replaced Leffler in 2002 with Target replacing Cingular Wireless as the primary sponsor. Spencer was not all that bad as he contended for several wins. But the fact the he missed the Daytona 500 shed a dim light on the team for the remainder of the 2002 season. Spencer would have had to win in order to surmount that disappointment. He came close but close doesn't get it done. Spencer was canned after 2002.
With the success of Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson, Ganassi began to search for his next young superstar. He founded Jamie McMurray, who won a race for the injured Sterling Marlin in October of 2002. McMurray would drive Ganassi's third car sponsored by Texaco/Havoline, and Casey Mears was to replace Spencer.
While McMurray underachieved, Mears' 2003 season was a catastrophe. But instead of dumping him, Mears has lasted until this day, despite being mired in mediocrity. McMurray, who was never able to back up his first win, anticipated greener grass with Roush Racing. We all know how that has worked out for McMurray, he might as well stuck it out with Ganassi. And Sterling Marlin, the man that put Ganassi on the NASCAR map, was no longer fitting into the image that Ganassi and Coors Light preferred. So after a couple of sub par season, he was replaced by David Stremme. If finishing 35th each week is considering good marketing, than Stremme has been a dream for Ganassi.
Ganassi displayed impetuosity and fickleness in the past, and now he is feeling the after effects of the Leffler, Spencer, and Marlin debacles.
Marco Andretti is rumored to be the next driver to enter the Ganassi operation. While Andretti is young and has potential, he would likely perform parallel to Casey Mears in 2003, and David Stremme in 2006. Andretti is barely ready for the Indy Racing League, much less NASCAR. There is plenty of untapped talent in the stock car ranks, wouldn't it be more logical to gamble on Scott Wimmer, or Travis Kvapil, than a guy with absolutely no stock car experience?
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