Ganassi confirms IndyCar and Indy NXT lineups
Today at 12:00 PM
Chip Ganassi Racing closed the 2024 NTT IndyCar Series season with five drivers, and will return in 2025 with five drivers spread across three IndyCar entries and two more in its new Indy NXT program.
On the IndyCar side, six-time champion Scott Dixon is back in the No. 9 Honda and three-time and reigning champion Alex Palou will continue to helm the No. 10 Honda. They'll be joined by Kyffin Simpson (main image), who moves into the No. 8 Honda as the Caymanian driver embarks on his sophomore IndyCar campaign.
"By all accounts 2024 was another stellar year for our organization with five IndyCar Series wins and our third championship in the last four seasons," Chip Ganassi said. "So, as we move toward 2025, we are looking to defend the championship with a strong lineup of drivers and look to continue Kyffin's development and the development of our young drivers through our Indy NXT program."
The veteran car number convention at CGR will carry over to its pair of NXT entries for Jonathan Browne, who will pilot the No. 9 Dallara IL15-AER and Niels Koolen who will drive the No. 10 car.
Browne, the 24-year-old from Ireland, spent his rookie NXT season with HMD Motorsports where he earned a best finish of sixth and 13th in the championship.
"This is very much a dream come true,” he said. “In terms of being brought into an organization like Chip Ganassi Racing, it's huge. I'm just excited to get started and get to racing. It's a huge honor and privilege to be a part of this organization."
For 23-year-old Koolen from the Netherlands, 2024 was spent racing in three part-time campaign with HMD in NXT and with other teams in Formula 2 and the European Le Mans Series.
"I’m excited to be doing my second year and first full season in Indy NXT,” he said. “I look forward to working with Chip Ganassi Racing who have great pedigree and vast experience across many different categories."
Ganassi's team is headed into a season of significant transition. With IndyCar's new charter system having launched with a limit of three charters per team being enforced, the Indianapolis-based outfit culled two cars from its program, the No. 4 Honda Simpson drove in 2024, and the No. 11 Honda occupied by Marcus Armstrong.
Armstrong left the team for Meyer Shank Racing's No. 66 Honda, but the ties to Ganassi remain as MSR and CGR have struck a new technical alliance that will involve chassis data, setups, and engineers being provided by Ganassi for Armstrong's car and the other MSR entries.
As RACER has predicted for quite some time, Simpson is stepping into Ganassi's third and final IndyCar entry, which also earned a $1 million Leaders Circle contract last season through the efforts of fellow rookie Linus Lundqvist, who placed 16th in the championship and captured a pair of podiums and his first pole position in the No. 8 car.
The Swede is amid an ongoing search for new opportunities to continue his career after departing CGR.
