Chip Ganassi Racing expands, adds Global Rallycross team

With an empire that already includes NASCAR, IndyCar and sports car, Chip Ganassi Racing is expanding into the Global Rallycross series.

Beginning this season, Ganassi will field two cars in what is a thriving form of motor sport featuring factory production models, but with improvements made to the chassis and engine, as well as safety modifications. The races are short, held on various types of terrain with the courses containing jumps and other obstacles.

The expansion follows Ganassi fielding a two-car NASCAR Sprint Cup organization, four IndyCar teams and a single-car United SportsCar program. Overall, Ganassi is one of the most successful owners in motorsports history with multiple wins in the Indianapolis 500 (four) and Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona (six) in addition to Daytona 500 and 12 Hours of Sebring victories. Across all disciplines, Ganassi owns 17 combined championships.

Unlike the Ganassi NASCAR and IndyCar teams that run Chevrolets, the GRC operation will align with Ford. Ganassi’s sports car team is also Ford-backed.

Ganassi named Brian Deegan and Steve Arpin as drivers. Deegan is a 16-time X-Game medalist, while Arpin has previously competed in NASCAR’s Xfinity Series and ran the entire GRC schedule last season. Deegan will run seven GRC events. Arpin will contest the full 12-race schedule.

Both drivers will also participate in the June X-Games held in Austin, Texas.

That Ganassi has decided to add GRC teams alongside those in other disciplines is because of what he says is a younger demographic and the challenge of something new. GRC states that two-thirds of its fan base is age 18-to-29 -- quite a contrast to NASCAR and IndyCar with substantially older fan bases.

“As a fan of motorsports I’m particularly interested in the GRC cars, their horsepower levels and the absence of traction control, but make no mistake about it, we are in this series to win -- both on and off the race track,” Ganassi said. “Also, GRC has proven to be a very innovative and fresh take on today’s motorsport product. The series is targeting a new demographic and aligns with ours and more importantly with our partners’ focus on connecting with millennials.”

The GRC team will be based out of the same Concord, North Carolina, facility that houses Ganassi’s NASCAR team. The IndyCar and Sports car programs are located in Ganassi’s Indianapolis headquarters.