Chip Ganassi Racing will drop down to two full-time entries during the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season in try and ensure both are fighting at the sharp end of the grid.
Scott Dixon will remain in the #9 machine for another year, his seventeenth with the outfit, but the driver of the #10 car is yet to be confirmed, but none of Tony Kanaan, Max Chilton and Charlie Kimball will return to the squad, at least in a full-time capacity, with the team returning to a two-car set-up for the first time since Dario Franchitti raced alongside Dixon in 2010.
An official statement from the team has revealed the decision was made to try and ensure both cars are fighting for the championship, with Dixon the only driver amongst the 2017 quartet to either win a race or be in contention for the title.
“We will be returning to a two-car team beginning in 2018 with Scott Dixon in the #9 and a yet-to-be-determined second driver in the #10,” said the official statement from Ganassi.
“This decision was based on the fact that we felt we needed to get back to our core business of running TWO championship-caliber teams. It was a tough decision to make as it affects a lot of people.
“With news like this comes contraction and as such we had to let a number of good people go. The decision was not taken lightly but we felt it was best for our business.
“It is one of the toughest things you experience as a business owner – especially because I am all-too aware that it is the people who make any company tick.
“We will be back in 2018 and ready to compete for our 12th IndyCar championship.”
