The Stars of CGR

The one thing I love just about as much as my love for the trucks of the trucking industry is the NTT IndyCar Series and the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, The Indianapolis 500.  When the Month of May rolls around, not much else matters to me and my eyes and ears are consumed with what’s happening at the corner of Georgetown Road and 16th Street in Speedway, Indiana.  From the Grand Prix of Indianapolis on Indy’s road course, then when the weeklong practice begins leading up to “Fast Friday” before the qualifying weekend where the run for the coveted pole position ensues – all culminating on Memorial Day weekend as 33 of the fastest drivers in the world vie to drink the milk in victory lane.

As one of the most prestigious races in the world, the Indy 500 has a long list of traditions and a long history of impressive winners, dating back to 1911, that include names like Wilbur Shaw, Jim Clark, Parnelli Jones, AJ Foyt, Mario Andretti, ‘Rocket’ Rick Mears, and the Unser Family of Big Al, Little Al and Uncle Bobby.  In more recent years, the faces of the late Dan Weldon, Dario Franchitti, Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Kanaan, Helio Castroneves and Josef Newgarden have all been immortalized on the Borg-Warner Trophy.

While the Indianapolis 500 is the crown jewel of the NTT IndyCar Series schedule, the stars and the cars of the IndyCar Series crisscross the North American continent multiple times a year – from the season opening race in St. Petersburg, Florida, to the iconic streets of Long Beach, California, the corn fields of Iowa to the national park of speed – Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin – the series is one of the most diverse, based on the tracks they race.  From superspeedways to short tracks, street courses and natural terrain road courses, it challenges a driver, team, and its crew of engineers and mechanics to build and set-up a car for the challenging schedule week in and week out, along with the logistical factor of moving the team from race to race during the 17 race six month long season.

One team that does it better than just about any other team in the IndyCar Series paddock is Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR).  Founded 35 years ago in 1990 by former driver and Pittsburgh, PA area-based businessman Chip Ganassi, the team has grown from fielding one car driven by Eddie Cheever in its humble beginnings to becoming a powerhouse in IndyCar over the last three and a half decades.  With open wheel legendary names like Arie Luyendyk, Michael Andretti, Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi and Juan Pablo Montoya, just to name a few, and in more recent years Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Dan Weldon and the reigning 2024 IndyCar Series Champion, Alex Palou.  The team has a combined total of 16 IndyCar series Championships to its credit, along with five Indianapolis 500 wins.

While the team has primarily been a staple in IndyCar, one interesting and fascinating fact about CGR is that the team is the only one in history to have won the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400, the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.  In addition, CGR is the only team to win four straight IndyCar titles in a row – 1996 with Vasser, 1997 and 1998 with Zanardi, and 1999 with Montoya.  The team did it again in 2008 with Dixon, 2009, 2010 and 2011 with Franchitti.

Attacking the 2025 NTT IndyCar Season with a three-car assault, CGR has sophomore Kyffin Simpson behind the wheel of the #8 Journie Rewards Dallara/Honda, 6-time IndyCar Series Champion and 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon behind the wheel of the #9 PNC Bank Dallara/Honda, and 3-time IndyCar Series Champion Alex Palou in the #10 DHL Dallara/Honda.  While these drivers and their cars are the stars of the team, their impressive resumes wouldn’t be possible without the stars of CGR who work tirelessly behind the scenes at both the shop and on race weekends to transport, build, repair and prepare the cars week in and week out throughout the season.

Back in February, I was invited to Chip Ganassi Racing’s Indianapolis shop to meet with CGR’s Senior Manager of Transportation and Logistics Jake Klomp before the 2025 IndyCar season began.  The team was gracious enough to spend some time with me, providing a tour of CGR’s impressive facility, along with getting to photograph one of the CGR IndyCar transporters and meeting all their truck drivers.  “We currently operate eight tractor-trailers – five of which are for the IndyCar teams, two that are for hospitality, and one is for our Indy NXT team, the feeder series for IndyCar,” Jake told me.

If you’ve ever seen an IndyCar transporter rolling down the highway, they are quite impressive.  Dressed out with plenty of shiny goodies such as aluminum wheels, stainless accents and covered in sponsor graphics, these rigs are some of the most expensive and impressive trucks on the road and are just as sleek as the cars they haul.  The CGR Freightliners are equipped with 72-inch sleepers and spec’d with Detroit engines, mated to 12-speed automatics, and have extended wheelbases.

“The Cascadias provide our truck drivers with comfort and have every option available on them and are provided to us by our Indianapolis based partner, Venture Logistics,” said Jake.  “We operate 53-foot spread-axle Featherlite trailers that are custom built to our specs, and each of these trailers have a specific purpose within the team.”  In a series as fast as IndyCar is, the pit-stops are just as quick.  The average pit-stop length is only between 6 and 8 seconds where all four tires are changed to a fresh set and the car is refueled before being released back on track with an impressive burnout as they roll out of their pit stall.

Asking Jake how he got involved in IndyCar, he answered, “I had always wanted to work in sports in some capacity or another, so after graduating from high school, I attended Ball State University where I received a degree in sports administration.  I had been working for a marketing firm in the NHRA and I had met members of some of the teams there who had mentioned to me about some opportunities in IndyCar.  I’ve been in IndyCar for 17 years now and this is my 14th season working with Chip Ganassi and my 11th going over the wall.  I am currently on the #10 DHL crew servicing Alex Palou’s car, where I am the left rear tire changer on pit-stops.”

The CGR truck drivers don’t just drive the trucks from race to race – these drivers also have other responsibilities once they arrive at a race venue for the weekend.  Scott Dixon’s hauler is driven by Dan Ruckman and Carl Rentzell.  Dan is on the #9 pit crew and is the refueler while Carl is a tire specialist on this same crew.  Alex Palou’s hauler is driven by Steve Barry and Tim Harper.  Steve is also on the #10 pit crew and is the refueler while Tim is a tire specialist.  Kyffin Simpson’s hauler is driven by Ryne Fager and Mike Dreessen.  Ryne is responsible for changing the right rear tire during pit stops and Mike is the refueler on this crew.

CGR’s Engineering hauler is driven by Paul H. Cassidy and the Support Hauler is driven by Kyle Nelson.  Both Paul and Kyle work trackside, as well, and provide the team with support in a myriad of different roles.  “The IndyCar transporters always return to the shop after each race to change out and prep the cars for the next race and restock the trucks,” said Jake, continuing with, “But depending on how much time we have between races, the engineering and support haulers will stay out on the road and will head directly to the next race.”  Also, CGR’s Indy NXT transporter is driven by Daniel Welbes, who is a tire specialist during race weekends.

While the drivers, cars, and big sponsors like DHL, PNC Bank and Journie Rewards get much of the glory across the sports headlines and on a race weekend broadcast, it’s a team effort at Chip Ganassi Racing on so many levels.  From the crew members at the shop to the pit crews who go over the wall, the engineering staff at the track to the truck drivers who haul the cars out to a race weekend, along with everyone else at Chip Ganassi Racing, the ‘Stars of CGR’ encompasses everyone who works at this legendary team.

Tune in and watch the 2025 NTT IndyCar Series all season long on FOX or listen on SiriusXM IndyCar Nation, Channel #218.  The 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 takes place Sunday, May 25, with live coverage on FOX beginning at 10:00 AM EDT.  Watch and see as CGR team members Dixon, Palou and Simpson try to win the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, but remember the real stars, behind the scenes, are the crew members and truck drivers that help make it all happen!

EDITOR’S NOTE: In addition to my pictures, special thanks to the folks at Chip Ganassi Racing for providing some of the other photos for this feature.