With some recent high profile moves and less than stellar performances on the track, the world of motorsports has been a buzz the last couple of months with criticisms of Chip Ganassi Racing. This weekend Dario Franchitti failed for the second time this season to make a race adding to the mountain of criticism that is currently on the organization. The recent problems however are not the team’s only issues. They extend well beyond the last couple of months, and beyond the shop floor.

Floyd ”Chip” Ganassi, a former racer, entered into motorsports ownership in 1989 with a stake in Patrick Motorsports, a CART team. By 1990 Ganassi split off forming what is now known as Chip Ganassi Racing with Eddie Cheever behind the wheel. In the 18 years since then, the team has racked up four Champ Car championships, one IRL championship and one Grand Am championship. Ganassi entered NASCAR racing in 2001 after purchasing a controlling interest in SABCO Racing. The lineup of drivers through the years has included Jamie McMurray, Jimmy Spencer, Casey Mears and David Stremme just to name a few. Despite the team being able to attract talent, they have not had near the success they had in open-wheel or even Grand Am.

So what is the problem with Ganassi today? Problem one is the fact that there are far too many chiefs. John Fernandez (formerly of Dodge), Tony Glover (with Sabco since 1997) and Steve Hmiel (formerly of DEI) all serve as team managers on each of the three Cup Series teams. All three have been prominent figures in the sport for the last couple of decades, but their job titles overlap so much, it is difficult to tell who is in charge. From my knowledge of the situation Steve Hmiel as Director of Competition works towards the short term of race team performance. He is a visible figure on race weekends and that was demonstrated by the recent firing of Jimmy Elledge which occurred over a disagreement on pit road between the two. John Fernandez is in charge of more of the long term goals of the team, and Tony Glover’s role is not so clear. So you have three people in charge of the very same things overseeing an army of engineers and a group of crew chiefs who don’t always get along.

The next problem is that while all three of the previously mentioned gentlemen have been working on the improvement of their COT program, it has fallen short. Dodge has struggled throughout the sport, with Penske, Petty and Evernham, until recently, posting mediocre finishes despite high profile talent. Dodge is so far behind in the Cup series all of their teams are struggling to keep their heads above water.

Another issue is that Ganassi himself spends very little time on the management of the team. Recently he brought on Steve Lauletta, formerly of Miller Brewing, to oversee the team as its president. Lauletta is in charge of all business operations with the team which includes sponsorship and general business management among other things. Ganassi though is rarely seen around the shop, coming in maybe one day per week. And at this point Felix Sabates’ stake in the team is so small, he really serves as nothing more than a cheerleader for the team.

The last major problem is the driver development program. Lorin Ranier, son of famed car owner Harry Ranier, does a large portion of the scouting for the team (his claim to fame is “discovering” Davey Allison) finding such prospects as Bryan Clauson, Scott Lagasse and Reed Sorenson. All three have struggled and in the case of Lagasse have been cut loose. And in light of his contract being up at the end of the season and poor performance, it looks like Sorenson might not be too far behind. None of these young men possess the high-profile talent of their peers at other organizations and they have floundered in the face of challenges. Ranier has not had a successful prospect in years, and that really weighs on the organization. They continue to pump money into talent that likely won’t pan out.

So here is what they need to do. They need to streamline operations. There is no reason to keep people on the payroll who either no longer do things, or do the same thing as someone else. Also Chip needs to be more involved with the team. He knows how to win, but if he is not providing the visible leadership, the organization cannot succeed. Finally they need to rally behind Juan Montoya and build the team around him. Montoya can succeed, but if he is not happy he is going to run poorly. Banking on development of guys like Bryan Clauson and Scott Lagasse is not the answer. Lagasse ran poorly and Clauson has struggled.

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is an organization that has a lot of potential. The money is there, the talent is there, but it lacks a clear vision. If Chip Ganassi ever hopes to have a NASCAR program with the success of the other teams in his organization he needs to make some changes fast or face a future full of mediocrity.

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