Right and Wrong Things
Is it just me, or does Chip Ganassi have a tendency to do the right thing for the wrong reason or the wrong thing for the right reason?
Let's use Target Chip Ganassi Racing's 2001 foray into the hallowed confines of the Brickyard as an example. Last year, Wonder Rookie, Juan Pablo Montoya, came, saw, and conquered. All well and good. Montoya was Target's regular driver, and he simply couldn't be beaten at Indy.
But Ganassi lost Montoya, who left for the greener pastures -- and greener bank accounts -- of Formula One. Ganassi also tossed US driver Jimmy Vasser overboard. Vasser was seemingly on a decline after winning a CART championship for Ganassi, and Chip, always enthralled with the foreign hot shoes, imported a pair from an F-1 feeder series.
Well, okay. But there turned out to be a missing spring in the Ganassi valve train to a second Indy triumph. Neither foreign driver had much seat time on ovals, and their test speeds at Indy weren't up to snuff.
If Chip needed money to finance this second foray into the Brickyard, he probably could've auctioned seats at the negotiating table when his people met with Jimmy's people. If it was a dinner meeting, crow was probably the main course. |
Enter Tony Stewart and - yes, believe it or not! -- the aforementioned Jimmy Vasser.
The two veteran open wheelers did Ganassi proud, with Stewart (now a NASCAR shoe) pulling off a third-row starting spot.
But to Ganassi apparently there's never too much of a good thing. Whether it was the right thing for the wrong reason or the wrong thing for the right reason, Chip ordered up the back-up cars and gave his two CART regulars a shot at the fabled race.
"After Saturday's qualifying session where drivers Tony Stewart No. 33 and Jimmy Vasser No. 44 qualified in at 7th and team owner 12th for the much anticipated Indianapolis 500," began a press release, "Chip Ganassi decided to give his full time CART drivers a chance to run the team's additional cars. Bruno Junqueira and Nicolas Minassian seized the opportunity to show their skills. The two rookies who had minimal oval experience joined the ranks of champions to compete in the 85th Indianapolis 500."
Team Target's press release reported Junqueira said after qualifying, "I can't tell you how happy I am to be in the Indy 500. It has always been a dream of mine to race here, and now that dream will come true. I also want to thank Tony and Jimmy. They gave me some ideas on how to set up the car and how to be faster in the corners."
