Conversation: Chip Ganassi

Chip Ganassi is one of those guys who keeps an eye peeled for the next big thing.

He bought into NASCAR with Felix Sabates, built a big shop near Concord (N.C.) Regional Airport, moved a lot of his other far-flung racing holdings to it, and all of that happened before most of the rest of the sport figured out that it was the smart thing to do.

Ganassi is a former driver, having started six Indianapolis 500s, and as a team owner has titles in Champ Car, the Indy Racing League and the Rolex Sports Car Series, to name a few. His cars have won the Indianapolis 500, too.

Franchitti and Montoya

He's also prone to doing what the establishment doesn't expect, bringing in open-wheel drivers to NASCAR's top level and letting them repopulate the gene pool, as it were.

Ganassi was on the run during the Lowe's Motor Speedway event, but took the time to talk about various issues, including his new driver, the sport in general and the need for interpreters in today's NASCAR.

Q: Bringing Dario Franchitti to NASCAR the year after you brought Juan Montoya ... was that like taking the best player available on the draft board?

Ganassi: Exactly. When a good guy becomes available, I think you have to go after him. If you're doing the right thing for your partners and your employees and your sponsors, when somebody good comes along, I think it's incumbent upon you as a car owner to take a look at him. That's been our plan, and that's pretty much what happened with Dario. Here's a guy that comes along and says, 'I'd be interested in NASCAR.' As a car owner, you have to say, 'Hmmm ... I have to take a look at that.'

Q: Why are drivers like Franchitti and Montoya interested in NASCAR now?

Ganassi: I think it's different for each and every guy. I see these stories lately where everyone says it's the money, it's the money. I don't think it's the money. These guys, on a per-race basis, they can make more money in open-wheel racing. I don't think it's the money at all. In fact, I would suggest to you that it's quite the opposite. A lot of these guys already have all the things that money can buy you. I would suggest that they are here for the racing side of it. They are competitive personalities and they want to be in a competitive situation. They want a challenge.

Q: As an owner, bringing in guys like Franchitti and Montoya, does that put more pressure on you to have them succeed quickly?

Ganassi: There's pressure to succeed around this sport all the time. If you're not trying to get better, you're getting worse, believe me. Nobody can put racers under more pressure than they do themselves. They're always challenging themselves. If they're not out there winning races, you're not happy, and you want to know why.

I don't know that this puts any more or less pressure on a team; it's just about building up and getting more quality people in your organization.

Q: On a side note, what did you think of someone asking Franchitti if he needed an interpreter?

Ganassi: I found that kind of funny. The guy speaks better English than half the people I know in the United States. (Continued)