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Tuesday, February 29, 2000 By Chris Dolack, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
Target/Chip Ganassi Racing is back home again in Indiana, where it will compete at the Indianapolis 500 for the first time since 1995.
Ganassi, a Fox Chapel native and owner of the past four CART championship teams, becomes the highest-profile Championship Auto Racing Teams owner to return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway after a four-year rivalry with track president Tony George, who founded the Indy Racing League in 1996 as a less-expensive alternative to CART.
Juan Montoya, the 1999 CART champion, and Jimmy Vasser, the 1996 CART champion, will drive for Ganassi at Indianapolis.
"When CART left two weeks open in the May schedule, we decided the time was right to give our drivers, our team and our sponsors a chance to experience the Indianapolis 500, the biggest auto race in the world," said Ganassi, who will field Aurora-powered G-Force chassis. "Our team has set quite a few records over the past few years and I'm looking forward to entering the history books here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. That's one of the reasons we're back here."
Vasser was leading late in the 1995 race before a wreck in the north-chute wall with Scott Pruett knocked him out.
"I've missed racing in the Indianapolis 500 a great deal," Vasser said. "Although we've been very busy on our CART circuit, it's been sorely missed with me and the rest of my teammates and we're looking forward to coming back and having an opportunity to run the race."
Andy Graves, who was Terry Labonte's crew chief at Hendrick Motorsports in NASCAR Winston Cup last year, will be the team manager for Ganassi's Indianapolis effort.
There is a possibility Ganassi might enter the IRL's Las Vegas race April 28 to gain some experience in the new cars for the Indy 500 May 28.
"We want to do the best job we can. If that involves going to another race, we'll do it," said Ganassi, who expects to have four cars and 10 engines available for the race. "It's kind of up in the air right now until car delivery comes.
"It's not a layup. These guys have a lot more experience running these cars than we do so we have to work that much harder."
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