Ganassi, Sweikert, Posey inducted into Motorsports Hall of Fame of America

Via IndyCar.com

As a young aspiring racer, Chip Ganassi enjoyed any form of motorsports. Years later, as one of the most successful team owners who dabbles in multiple forms of the sport, it is fitting that Ganassi is a 2016 inductee into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

Bob SweikertGanassi was announced today as one of seven honorees in the Motorsports Hall’s 28th class. Among those joining the longtime Indy car team owner are 1955 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race winner Bob Sweikert, former Indy car driver and TV commentator Sam Posey and successful NASCAR team owner Richard Childress.

Ganassi was named in the Open Wheel category, appropriate since he has achieved most of his success as an Indy car team owner. Following a short driving career that saw him named Indianapolis 500 rookie of the year in 1982, Chip Ganassi Racing began with a one-car effort in 1990. Since then, his drivers have won 100 races, including four Indianapolis 500s, and 11 season championships – most recently with Scott Dixon in 2015.

He has since branched into NASCAR, sports car and rallycross ownership, with a Daytona 500 win, a record six Rolex 24 At Daytona victories and seven sports car season championships. Ganassi also pulled off the “Chip Slam” when his teams won, in order, the 2010 Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400 and 2011 Rolex 24 in a one-year span.

When introduced today in a news conference, the Pittsburgh native admitted he’d “never been humbled like this before.” It wasn’t lost on the 57-year-old that the Motorsports Hall, which is building a new facility on the Daytona International Speedway grounds, includes a wide array of motorsports greats from the genres of motorcycles, airplanes, sports cars, off road, open wheel, stock cars and more.

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