Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Chip Ganassi, we salute you and your underground test track [w/video]]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/17/chip-ganassi-we-salute-you-and-your-underground-test-track-w-v/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/17/chip-ganassi-we-salute-you-and-your-underground-test-track-w-v/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/03/17/chip-ganassi-we-salute-you-and-your-underground-test-track-w-v/#commentsFiled under: , ,

chip ganassi tunnel test track
Chip Ganassi's underground test track - Click above to watch video after the jump

Floyd Ganassi Jr, better known as Chip, is a fixture in the motorsports industry. He currently operates vehicles that run IndyCar, NASCAR and Grand-Am races. That requires knowledge of a variety of racing vehicles, and Ganassi has a unique way to test his vehicles - in a mile-long tunnel built into a Pennsylvania hill.

Opened in 1940, the Laurel Hill Tunnel was originally intended to be a railway tunnel before becoming a part of the local turnpike. Ganassi has since turned the tunnel into his own test track. Vehicles run down the straight roadway, hit a pre-determined speed and then coast while aerodynamic forces are measured. At each end of the tunnel sits a turntable so that the vehicle being tested can quickly be rotated and sent back in the other direction.

A hiker walking by the tunnel managed to capture beautiful noises emanating from within, and you can listen in by clicking past the jump. We also recommend heading over to Racecar-Engineering for a detailed look at what's going on underneath this hill in Pennsylvania.

[Source: Racecar-Engineering.com via Inside Line]

Continue reading Chip Ganassi, we salute you and your underground test track [w/video]

Chip Ganassi, we salute you and your underground test track [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You'd have to search long and hard to find a racing team as successful as Chip Ganassi Racing. The team has won four Champ Car titles (before the series shut down), three Indy Racing League titles and one Grand-Am championship.

This year alone, CGR took home both the IndyCar and Rolex Grand-Am titles, and won the Indianapolis 500, the Brickyard 400 and the Daytona 500 in the process. Names like Franchitti, Dixon, Stewart and Montoya race under the Ganassi banner. And this coming season, the team has taken a big step forward by expanding its IndyCar team by two drivers to make for a four-car mega team.

Joining two-time champions Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti this season in a parallel team will be Graham Rahal and Charlie Kimball. Rahal is the son of Indy 500 legend Bobby Rahal, and himself became the youngest ever race winner in the series' history when he won the season-opener at St. Petersburg in 2008 - his only victory to date. Kimball, meanwhile, is moving up the ladder from the Indy Lights feeder series having competed overseas in the Formula 3 Euro Series, Formula Renault 3.5 and A1GP.

Both drivers are American in an increasingly foreign-dominated grid, and bring much-needed sponsorship cash along with them at a time when some big name teams are struggling to make ends meet.

[Source: Autosport | Image: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty]

Chip Ganassi Racing expands to four-car Indy mega team originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 18:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>charlie kimballchip ganassichip ganassi racingchip ganassi racing with felix sabatesgraham rahalindyindycarIZOD IndyCar SeriesThu, 23 Dec 2010 18:02:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19773907/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2010/12/23/chip-ganassi-racing-expands-to-four-car-indy-mega-team/19773907/article-detail.xml 19773907 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/12/gyi0061148127_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/12/gyi0061148127.jpg <![CDATA[Ganassi shuts down Franchitti's NASCAR ride]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/02/ganassi-shuts-down-franchittis-nascar-ride/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/02/ganassi-shuts-down-franchittis-nascar-ride/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/02/ganassi-shuts-down-franchittis-nascar-ride/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Okay, we'll admit it. Most of us here at Autoblog aren't big NASCAR fans. But we have been intrigued by the recent migration of championship-winning open-wheel racers to the stock car series. Former Indy 500 and Monaco GP winner Juan-Pablo Montoya seems to be making a go of it, while fellow Indy and F1 champ Jacques Villeneuve has all but given up hope of ever making it with the good ol' boys. But how about Dario Franchitti? After winning both the Indy 500 and the IRL title, Franchitti made the move to NASCAR. Unfortunately, however, his skills in open cockpits have yet to translate to closed ones in the same way as they have for his Colombian team-mate, and his sponsorship cash in the top-level Sprint Cup has run dry after Coors Light dropped the No. 40 Dodge.

Team principal Chip Ganassi has had no choice but to shut down Franchitti's ride as a result. Ganassi emphasized that Dario is encouraged to continue in the second-tier Nationwide Series, and after Franchitti finds his speed again we hope to see him rubbin' bumpers and taking names back in the Sprint Cup soon. In the meantime he'll just have to take solace in the arms of his wife Ashley Judd... poor guy.

[Source: AutoWeek, Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images]

Ganassi shuts down Franchitti's NASCAR ride originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scott Dixon, racing for the Target Chip Ganassi IRL team, is your pole sitter for the upcoming Indy 500. Scott took the front spot with a 4-lap average of 226.366 MPH, about 0.5 MPH faster than last year's pole sitter. Slotting in behind Dixon is his teammate, Dan Wheldon, just a fraction slower at 226.110 MPH.

The first 22 slots in the 32-car field have been decided. Dixon and Wheldon will be followed by Ryan Briscoe, Helio Castroneves, Danica Patrick, Tony Kanann and Marco Andretti as the top six. The final 11 slots will be decided this Saturday and Sunday. The 92nd Indy 500 takes place on Sunday, May 25.

[Source: AP]

Scott Dixon grabs Indy 500 pole originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 13 May 2008 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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