Owners go for rare sweep in Indy, NASCAR events today

CONCORD, N.C. -- Chip Ganassi straddled his chair backward, settling in for a chat with NASCAR's top leaders. In Winston Cup just over two years now, Ganassi is beginning to feel at home.

One of the top car owners in open-wheel racing, Ganassi has made a successful entrance into NASCAR and is looking for a banner day today in both series.

He's got an excellent chance to win the Indianapolis 500 with either Scott Dixon or Tomas Scheckter. Tonight, he'll be at Lowe's Motor Speedway, where either Sterling Marlin or rookie Jamie McMurray could challenge in the Coca-Cola 600.

"I feel pretty good about our chances in Indy, we've got two good cars," Ganassi said. "I think winning Charlotte will be a taller order, because in speed, we have some catching up to do. But it's a long race and if we rely on race craft, we can get up front."

No car owner has ever won both of the Memorial Day weekend races on the same day, although Ganassi and Roger Penske both will be trying today.

And no driver has ever done it, but Robby Gordon will try for the fourth time to race all 1,100 miles.

All three will be making a mad dash for North Carolina minutes after the Indy 500 ends -- assuming there is no Victory Lane celebration.

Penske probably has the best chance to pull off the sweep, although he fell short the past two years when Helio Castroneves won in Indy, but NASCAR drivers Rusty Wallace and Ryan Newman came up empty.

Penske will try again with Castroneves and Newman sitting on both poles.

Although Ganassi's cars aren't on the front row of either race, he's just as confident as Penske is about his chances.

"I know what we have in Indy, and I know what we can have in Charlotte," Ganassi said. "It's not impossible to pull it off."

It's that aggressive attitude that has gotten Ganassi to the top so quickly. Since buying a majority stake of Felix Sabates' team before the 2001 season, Ganassi has turned Marlin into a championship contender, found two fresh young faces in McMurray and rookie Casey Mears, and won five races.

He also joined Penske in August 2001 as the only car owner to win in two series on the same day when Bruno Junqueria won the CART race and Marlin won in NASCAR.

Ganassi was at the CART race that day, and barely able to celebrate Junqueria's victory because he was at the hospital tending to another one of his drivers' injuries.

But he was able to listen to the last 15 minutes of Marlin's win on the radio, and flew into Michigan for the celebration shortly after.

"It was the highest of highs and also one of the lowest days," Ganassi said. "Bruno won, but Memo Gidley was in a pretty bad accident and we weren't able to be at Sterling's win.

"Although it was a great accomplishment, I really had kind of an empty feeling when it was over."

The constant chase for success is what has helped Ganassi rapidly reach the elite group of car owners in NASCAR. He already was at the top in CART, winning an unprecedented four consecutive titles. He he moved over to the rival IRL this year and emphasized his arrival when Dixon won the season opener.

"He is so competitive and driven, I really have never seen a person so focused on being successful," said Tony Glover, team manager of Ganassi's NASCAR operation. "He has a saying about 'always filling the tool box' and that means we never go without anything. If there's something we need, he gives it to us, because all he wants is for everyone to do the best they possibly can."

Meanwhile, Penske's chances at winning both races will rest largely with Newman.

He's favored to win in Indy, where Castroneves will go for a third straight victory. While Wallace is still a threat in NASCAR, it's the younger Newman who carries the Penske Racing banner and should challenge for the win in the Coca-Cola 600.

Newman has never finished the 600-mile race, wrecking while leading 12 laps into his 2001 debut, and blowing his motor last season.

That seems to follow the luck Newman has had this year. He either runs near the front, it seems, or wrecks trying to get there.

"You create 99 percent of your own luck in this sport," Newman said. "If you go over the line just a little bit going down the highway, then it's your fault. You're the one in control.

"I'm the one in control in that driver's seat ... there's been times when we let that slip a little bit."