Dixon, Ganassi finally break through in 15th IndyCar race of the season - MotorSportsTalk

It’s weird when Chip Ganassi Racing enters into an extended “drought” as you were, but this season has been a case of that happening.

The four-car team had not won a Verizon IndyCar Series race this season through the first 14 races, although nine drivers from six other teams had.

But in the 15th race, Sunday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, a track where Scott Dixon dominates, Ganassi and “Dixie” finally broke through. It took strategy to do it but Dixon, in the team’s No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, is now the 10th different winner in 2014 and from the seventh different team.

On a lighter note, team boss Ganassi avoided an encore of when he fell off the pit wall last year, when Charlie Kimball secured his first victory of his career.

Last year it took until the 11th round of the season, when Dixon captured another improbable victory – coming from 17th to win at Pocono following his car getting excellent fuel mileage.

Of course the difference this year is CGR now runs Chevrolet engines compared to Hondas.

Other slow starts for Ganassi before they hit victory lane have been few and far between.

Here’s when CGR has won its first race of the season for the last decade:

2014: Round 15, Mid-Ohio, Dixon
2013: Round 11, Pocono, Dixon
2012: Round 5, Indianapolis 500, Dario Franchitti
2011: Round 1, St. Petersburg, Franchitti
2010: Round 5, Kansas, Dixon
2009: Round 2, Long Beach, Franchitti
2008: Round 1, Homestead, Dixon
2007: Round 1, Homestead, Dan Wheldon
2006: Round 1, Homestead, Wheldon
2005: Round 16, Watkins Glen, Dixon

The 2004 and 2005 seasons were tough slogs for the Ganassi organization, due primarily to a down-on-power Toyota engine. Dixon’s win in the 16th race of 2005 at Watkins Glen saved the team from its second consecutive winless season; 2004 marks the last time CGR failed to visit victory lane.

Dixon and the pit crew saved the team from matching that mark a full decade later.

Besides Dixon’s win, the Novo Nordisk and NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing teams also bagged top-10 finishes (Charlie Kimball and Ryan Briscoe were seventh and eighth), while Tony Kanaan’s strong weekend ended early when he was caught up in the first lap collision at Turn 4.

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The IndyCar Series has re-signed NTT as its title sponsor in a multiyear agreement starting in 2024.

NTT, a global information technology and communications company based in Japan, became the series’ title sponsor before the 2019 season after starting as a sponsor of the No. 10 Dallara-Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing.

NTT Data (a subsidiary of parent company Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp.) will remain the official technology partner of IndyCar, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indy 500 and the NASCAR Brickyard weekend.

With the extension, an IndyCar spokesman said NTT would become the second-longest title sponsor in series history. The longest title sponsor was PPG from 1980-97 (under the CART sanction of the Champ Car Series).

NTT replaced Verizon, which was IndyCar’s title sponsor from 2014-18 after IZOD from 2010-13.

“NTT is an excellent partner across our enterprise with strong expertise and a deep commitment to our sport,” Penske Corp. chairman and IndyCar owner Roger Penske said in a release. “From Smart Venue technology at the Racing Capital of the World to the reimagined Series mobile application, NTT is transforming the fan experience in new and innovative ways. We look forward to a bright future together.”

NTT has used artificial intelligence-enabled optical detection technology at IMS to provide information to the track’s operations and security teams, helping improve fan traffic flow and safety, the track said.

“IndyCar is a great partner for NTT Data because of our shared commitment to driving innovation, increasing sustainability and delivering amazing experiences,” NTT Data CEO Kaz Nishihata said in a release. “We also appreciate how IndyCar is so diverse, with drivers from 15 different countries, and races that range from short ovals and superspeedways to road and street courses. It’s both an incredible sport and a wonderful example for our world.”

NTT also has been instrumental in helping redesign the IndyCar app and providing more race and driver data for use in NBC Sports’ broadcasts by utilizing 140 data points from every car in the field.

“NTT is fully invested in the development and growth of our sport and has already established a terrific track record in our industry with problem-solving capabilities and access to top talent and tools,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said.

Said NTT Data Services CEO Bob Pryor: “We’re thrilled to continue our collaborations that enhance and expand the fan experience for motorsports and serve as proof points for data analytics, AI, and other innovative digital technologies. For more than a century, this racing series has pioneered innovations making driving safer for everyone, and by continuing this relationship, we will accelerate the pace of innovations and new technologies, particularly related to sustainability that ultimately can benefit organizations, communities and individuals around the world.”

Starting as a Japanese telephone company, NTT grew into a $100 billion-plus tech services giant with U.S. operations based in Plano, Texas.