Chip Ganassi Calls His Team "Pathetic"

For any employee of Chip Ganassi's three NASCAR racing teams, it's a good thing that the owner is over a 1,000 miles away at the IndyCar event in St. Petersburg, Fla.

His words, though, about the performance of the No. 40, No. 41, and No. 42 teams could be well heard in the garage area of Texas Motor Speedway.

Ganassi sure didn't mince any words when talking about it on Saturday:

"Frankly, there are 46 cars there and if you can't beat three of them, that's pretty pathetic," Ganassi said on Sirius Satellite Radio. "I certainly have all the faith in the world in (Franchitti's) driving abilities. I don't think it's that. The fact of the matter is, we didn't give him a car that was capable of doing it."

Heading into Texas, Juan Pablo Montoya's team is 17th in points, Reed Sorenson's is 26th, and Dario Franchitti -- who didn't make Sunday's race -- sits 37th. Teamwork is the problem, Ganassi says.

"When you say 'this team' you hit the nail on the head – we're not working as a team," Ganassi said. "You can't have guys that are fast and guys that are slow. It doesn't make any sense. These guys, these teams are not talking to each other, they are not working together, they are not using all the resources that are available to them. That's how you end up in a fix like this."

You've got to love this brutal honesty. Ganassi indeed hits the nail on the head himself with the summary of his team. They have frankly been mediocre for a long while and with the sponsorship and racing experience a guy like Ganassi has, he knows when a team is reaching its potential.

And in this case, he knows that his Sprint Cup teams aren't cutting it. It should be an interesting week around the CGR shop.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

4-05-2008 @ 9:20PM

Frederick said...

I think stremme last year showed alot of talent

And he his a good qualifier. Chip replace him with someone with no experience.

What about you take part of the blame chip. I think youre the one who made that decision.

4-05-2008 @ 10:02PM

anzajoe said...

I think CHEAP GANASSI, SHOULD INCLUDE HIMSELF IN THE PATETIC CREW. After all he owns the teams. I ALSO THINK HE SHOULD GET THE HELL out of nascar and spent his resources in to the IRL, where it seems he has more success.NASCAR is for the high qualifyed professionals not for the GANASSI CHEAPOS.
WORKS FOR ME.

4-06-2008 @ 12:56AM

Don Emerson said...

Pretty funny if you ask me. What's an owner doing bitchin' to the media about what's wrong with his team, instead of fixing it. I just know his employees are going to love reading about their faults in the press. Talk about a morale booster. Works for me.....

4-06-2008 @ 1:35AM

EMERSON, I think you are missing the point. CHEAPO'
GANASSI cannot even fix light bulb or a tire on his cars. Imagine fixing his team problems. He is asking the media to fix the problems for him. What a
joke of owner?.

4-06-2008 @ 11:37AM

Brad said...

Joe, I think Don nailed it, the media can't fix this and the Big boss man should not be taking cheap shots at a 1,000 miles away or 1 ft. away, although the closer one could have resulted in a bloody nose. He's not doing his teams any favors just pissin'em off.

Aloha, Brad

4-06-2008 @ 12:02PM

Kevin said...

Anyone from NY knows that complaining in the press about their team doesn't accomplish anything . Ask King George .

4-06-2008 @ 1:11PM

shawam04 said...

I agree that Stremme is very talented, he just wasn't given the right equipment at Ganassi. Ganassi needs to blame himself for whats wrong with his teams, try fixing the problem instead of bitching about whats wrong.

4-06-2008 @ 2:32PM

BRAD,
I know very well that the media cannot fix cheap ganassi team problems. I was just being a smart butt. Don has got it right.

4-06-2008 @ 6:32PM

Cleo said...

One would hope that Ganassi is also including himself. Not all drivers are going to adjust as well as JPM, and to expect Franchitti to jump in and perform as well as JPM did, shows a serious lack of Management ability.

Perhaps Franchitti should have ran for a full season in the Nationwide series before jumping to Cup. Ganassi blew it when he got rid of Stremme.

4-06-2008 @ 11:09PM

Unbekannter Soldat said...

. 69 races and counting!!! Little "E" is all hype, propped up by the media!! I should start a web-site. I will list all the reasons "E" is just a loser. So far, I have 69 reasons.

4-07-2008 @ 3:01AM

IT goes to show how bad and poor management and judgement skills cheap ganassi is educated with.

UNDERBUNKER SOLDER POST # 10:
I have a nice reply for you under the carl hatewards file. Please check it and enjoy it.

4-07-2008 @ 6:38AM

Steve said...

Chip Ganassi is the pathetic one. Isn't he the one who hires all those losers. Sorenson, Montoya, and Franchitti. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze. If he thinks he is going to get a winner out of any of those three bums, he is living in the land of wine and cheese. Or should I say WHINE and cheese. Cram it Ganassi and shut the hell up, you loser.

4-07-2008 @ 9:47AM

lm1jr said...

Racing is a extremely hard sport to win in .
If there is one clash either in the open or hidden in the shop that filters through I believe the term is "forgetaboutit"..
Everyone,EVERYONE must work for the good of the team ..It only takes one that I am better or I must win..

4-07-2008 @ 11:42AM

vinyldr said...

Get rid of foreign drivers and Non-American brands (yes, I know Toyota is made here...it's just that this used to be an all American sport). NASCAR sold out awhile ago

4-07-2008 @ 7:59PM

one wonders if Juan will ever win one out of formula one

4-08-2008 @ 12:40AM

HAL said...

IF YOU THINK IT'S BAD NOW WITH TOYOTA DOING BETTER THAN "REAL AMERICAN" CARS, WAIT UNTIL PORSCHE COMES OUT WITH THEIR NEW SEDAN NEXT YEAR AND GETS INTO NASCAR THE FOLLOWING YEAR-THEY ALREADY HAVE PHOTO'S OF THE PROTOTYPEIN SOME MAG'S,DECALS AND ALL. FOR YOU OLD GUYS, THE LAST TIME PORSCHE JUMPED INTO A SERIES, IT WAS CAN-AM AND THEY PUT THE SERIES OUT OF BUSINESS BECAUSE THEY NEVER LOST.

4-08-2008 @ 12:41PM

tooslick said...

Ganasty should get outta Nascar, go into hydroplane racing: Miss Management..... yea and put wanda pablo muntoyo out there in a boat (he can't swim)heehawww

4-08-2008 @ 7:57PM

Kim said...

Wow Steve, why don't you tell us how you really feel? Just teasing you a little. Your comment & opinions are fine, harsh, but fine.

Any owner or high ranking representative that would go out and "air their dirty laundry" to the media is not only a Jerk, but yes a loser, too. How can Ganassi honestly expect that his team will perform better after this? Talk about low team morale? What an ass! I agree with some of the posts above. First, Juan is a hot head and will not allow any constructive crticism so will probably not be a success in the long-term. Second, Franchitti should have run one full year minimum in the Nationwide Series. Lastly, I like Reed Sorenson. I think the talent is there, just not the team. Reed is also a stand up guy in person, (I've met him). If I were him, I would jump ship & quick!

Kim