"I'm too lazy to work and too nervous to steal": Chip Ganassi shares the whole truth about building a legendary IndyCar team from scratch

Chip Ganassi began his journey as an IndyCar Team owner in 1990 when Pat Patrick moved away from Emerson Fittipaldi's Marlboro IndyCar team. Ganassi started the team with the assets leftover and is currently one of the biggest names in the IndyCar series. In an interview with the Associated Press, Ganassi revealed the truth about why he started the IndyCar team.

One cannot imagine getting into the world of professional racing without having a strong financial background. However, things were different back in the day when talent was prioritized over money. The racing has become exponentially expensive in the present day leading to driver and team owners bringing in large sums of money to go racing.

INDYCAR Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg - Source: Getty

Ganassi was ambitious of making it as a professional motorsport driver but a crash in 1984 ended his dream of becoming one. The CGR owner then decided to start a team of his own. Detailing the reason behind the same, he said:

“I’m too lazy to work and too nervous to steal. All that was left was racing,” Ganassi quipped to AP. “When I got into racing, I was just trying to avoid getting a real job. When I got involved in IndyCar racing ... the sport wasn’t recognized as a real business. It was a sport of kings."

“But I think IndyCar racing is now a viable business for people like Chip Ganassi or like Mike Shank. You don’t have to be a multimillionaire to have an IndyCar business. You can have a business and go out and you can beat billionaires at it,” added Chip Ganassi.

Mike Shank and Chip Ganassi are the only owners in IndyCar who don't have a secondary business alongside motor racing. The two have teams fielded across a multitude of racing series.

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Chip Ganassi Racing's strong start to the 2025 IndyCar season

Alex Palou and Scott Dixon crossed the checkered flag in P1 and P2 at the Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg to start the 2025 IndyCar season on a high. Palou and Dixon started P8 and P6 respectively, and with help from an early caution, brought home a 1-2 result for CGR.

FOX reporter Jamie Little spoke with Chip Ganassi after Palou's win as the team owner said:

“I'll tell you what, it was a crazy race. I mean, the pit strategies going on there and, you know, all the work they do coming back from like 12th or 13th. At one point, they were 30 seconds back. What a great race. Unbelievable.”

The No. 8 CGR driver Kyffin Simpson had a difficult race as he started the race in P15 but finished in P18, over a minute behind his teammate Alex Palou.