Today’s question: Chip Ganassi Racing won its record-setting 18th NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship this year. What’s one of those championship seasons you’d like to highlight?

Al Unser Jr. Jimmy Vasser Parker Johnstone

Curt Cavin: The 1996 season was embroiled in the politics of a divided sport, so many of the accomplishments of the drivers and their teams didn’t get the credit they deserved. Among those was Jimmy Vasser, who became Chip Ganassi Racing’s first season championship in ‘96. That year, Jimmy (photo, above, center) won three of Champ Car’s first four races and then won the highly anticipated U.S. 500, the Memorial Day weekend race at Michigan International Speedway that countered the Indy Racing League’s Indianapolis 500. Jimmy finished the season 22 points ahead of Michael Andretti and Alex Zanardi while besting a field that included eight drivers who earned series championships in their careers. Because of the split, Jimmy didn’t participate at Indy for four of his best years in the sport, so his talent isn’t as regarded as it should have been. Jimmy had two other top-three series finishes (third in ’97, second in ’98), and he won eight poles and 10 races amid that highly competitive late-1990s.

Eric Smith: It’s 2009 for me. Dario Franchitti rejoined the INDYCAR SERIES following a disappointing year in NASCAR. He won the 2007 INDYCAR SERIES title with Andretti Autosport, left to join CGR in NASCAR, then returned to open-wheel racing in 2009 and won a narrow championship by 11 points over teammate Scott Dixon. Franchitti won the season finale while Dixon tried to stretch his fuel strategy but had to pit with eight laps to go at Homestead. He finished third in the race but second in the championship, one of three times the team finished 1-2 occurred joining 1998 and 2023. Franchitti (photo, top, right) and Dixon (photo, top, left) combined to win 10 of the 17 races that year, tying 1998 for the most wins by a team in a single season. Franchitti had 15 top-10 finishes, while Dixon had 14.

Arni Sribhen: Dario Franchitti thought he was done with INDYCAR SERIES racing after winning both the Indianapolis 500 and NTT INDYCAR SERIES title in 2007. But after a brief and aborted foray into NASCAR with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2008, Ganassi put Franchitti back in an INDYCAR SERIES car for 2009. And what a comeback season it was. Franchitti won five races, including a masterclass in fuel saving at Homestead, to steal the title from reigning champion Scott Dixon and Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe. It was the first of three straight title wins for Franchitti and paired with two Indy 500 wins over the next four seasons, lifted him into the status of one of this generation’s greats.

Paul Kelly: It’s absolutely 2009 for me, too, for so many reasons – some also listed above. Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon finished 1-2 in the standings and won 10 of 17 races. This wasn’t the first time Chip Ganassi Racing drivers finished 1-2 in the standings – Alex Zanardi and Jimmy Vasser first achieved the feat in 1998 for the team. And it wasn’t the last, as Alex Palou and Dixon were 1-2 in 2023. But I elevate 2009 over those other two seasons for two reasons. One, Franchitti and Dixon were the team’s only drivers in 2009, yet they still finished 1-2. Team Penske drivers have finished 1-2 in the standings five times since 2014, an incredible achievement. But those were three- or four-driver teams, so Penske could have a driver or two with a down year and still have a shot at finishing 1-2. Two, Franchitti and Dixon were so competitive with each other in 2009. Franchitti finished just 11 points ahead of his teammate. In 1998, Zanardi was 116 points ahead of Vasser, and Palou beat Dixon by 78 in 2023. The 2009 race featured true competition between two all-time greats of the sport. It was fantastic.