Chip Ganassi Racing is embarking on a new chapter with it’s famed #9 IndyCar entry, signing Christian Lundgaard to the seat for 2027.
Lundgaard will be starting his sixth season in the series next year, and will have a new culture to adapt to by time the first race comes around in March.
Speaking about the decision to hire the 25-year-old, Chip Ganassi related that his mentality and values were some of the first things brought up in conversation about a possible working relationship.
“I’ll be honest with you,” said Ganassi. “He’ll tell you that in some of our first meetings – well, not only with Christian, with any driver these days.
“Drivers that make it to this level of racing, I don’t get into talking about the performance or what setup they like or what springs they like or things like that. I don’t get into the technical side of things.
“I want to know what they’re made of, what their values are. Christian will tell you, I grilled him pretty extensively in terms of what we expect and what we want, what’s important and what’s not important.
“Yeah, we have a great culture that Mike Hull and his team have built around there, and we try to push that down on other people, whether it’s on-track activities or off-track activities.
“I’m confident that our system will continue to develop Christian in the same manner.”
Performance still matters
Even though Ganassi went to lengths to ensure Lundgaard would be a good fit for his organization, he also did not overlook his talent.
The Danish driver’s two wins this season, which came right as he was becoming a free agent, surely helped to raise his standing among those that were interested in having him on board.
Though criticism of Lundgaard’s driving is hard to come by, it has been mentioned that his oval performance could still use some work.
Only one of his 16 podiums has come on an oval, but Ganassi immediately recalled the race where that podium came and used it to further justify his decision.
“I think I like his approach to driving,” continued the long-time team owner. “I think he’s very clinical. He seems to be a student of the craft.
“I’m optimistic. He didn’t seem to have these sort of oval questions — I didn’t see any of those questions at Milwaukee; he seemed to do okay there. That’s an oval, and he beat all three of our guys. So I’m not overly concerned.”
Lundgaard’s first race with CGR will be the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 7.
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