Chip Ganassi Racing Team Profile: IndyCar’s Modern Dynasty

Chip Ganassi Racing is the team that has defined the modern era of American open-wheel racing, and in 2026 it lived through both ends of that story at once: a fifth championship for Alex Palou, and the end of the longest driver-team partnership the sport has known.

Who Is Chip Ganassi Racing?

Chip Ganassi Racing is an Indianapolis-based team competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, fielding Honda machinery. Its two best-known entries are the No. 9 driven by Scott Dixon and the No. 10 of Alex Palou. Over the past two decades the team has been the benchmark that every other IndyCar operation measures itself against.

Chip Ganassi Racing in 2026: Palou’s fifth title

Alex Palou clinched his fifth IndyCar Series championship at the Milwaukee Mile at the end of August 2026, finishing tenth in the rain-delayed opener to seal it. It was his fourth title in a row, following 2023, 2024 and 2025, on top of his first in 2021, and it made him the youngest five-time champion in the history of the series.

That run has been built on continuity as much as speed. Barry Wanser has been Palou’s strategist for all five championships, with Ricky Davis as chief mechanic and Julian Robertson as race engineer. Palou also won the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500 for the team, becoming the first Spaniard to claim both an IndyCar title and the Indy 500. His full driver profile covers the season in detail.

The end of the Dixon era

After the 2026 season, Scott Dixon and Chip Ganassi Racing part ways, closing one of the longest continuous pairings in North American motorsport. Dixon leaves after 24 full-time seasons, six series championships and 58 of his 59 career victories, all with the No. 9. He won his titles with the team in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 2020, took the Indianapolis 500 in 2008, and set the all-time record for series starts in 2025.

Ganassi did not let him go quietly. The team confirmed it had put a multi-year offer on the table to keep Dixon in-house through to his eventual retirement, and accepted his decision to take a new challenge at Arrow McLaren instead. The story of Dixon leaving Ganassi for McLaren was the biggest of the IndyCar year.

What comes next for Ganassi

With Dixon gone, Palou inherits the role of team leader outright. He has said he is ready for it, and on current form there is little reason to doubt him: a fifth title and a run of four consecutive championships is not the profile of a driver who needs someone else to set the standard. How Palou leads the post-Dixon era at Ganassi is the question that shapes the team’s 2027.