Why Chip Ganassi wants legends like Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick to make a NASCAR comeback

Chip Ganassi has stated that he would consider returning to NASCAR if he had Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick racing for his team. He left the sport at the end of the 2021 season after selling it over to Trackhouse Racing.

Chip Ganassi Racing was a well-established team in the NASCAR Cup Series that raced for over two decades. The team hosted some popular full-time drivers including the likes of Kyle Petty, Kurt Busch, Kyle Larson, and Juan Pablo Montoya.

However, CGR is still involved in motorsports, participating in the NTT IndyCar and the Indy NXT Series. While there are no plans for their NASCAR return, team owner Chip Ganassi stated that he wouldn't say no to an opportunity.

Speaking to Kevin Harvick on his namesake podcast, he also mentioned that he wouldn't plan on returning unless Harvick and Dale Jr. were to also return.

"I get that question a lot," Ganassi said. "Of course, I would. I would never say never. I would probably want some people like, you know, when you and Dale Jr. decide to get back in, you let me know, and I'll come with you. You know what I mean?"

He also mentioned that he would want to return with the two drivers since they could be his support in managing the operations in the team.

"I like to go racing, you know, I like to have, you know, whether it's, you know, having the proper financial backing, having the proper, you know, people driving the cars, working on the cars and I like to be involved. It was just hard for me to do that in NASCAR and do it in sports cars."

While he sounds rather positive about a return to stock racing, there are currently no plans.

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Chip Ganassi lists out the differences in NASCAR and IndyCar

NASCAR and IndyCar are the two most popular American motorsports in the world. They continue to pose new challenges in the world of stock and open-wheel racing. Understandably, there are certain differences in the cultures of both sports, as Ganassi mentioned.

When asked by Kevin Harvick, he stated that the main differences between the two sports stem from their cultures. Using the France Family and Richard Petty as his examples, he further mentioned that the cultures of both sports originated from their earlier, more successful drivers.

"You know, the culture in NASCAR was developed because of the people like the France family, and the Wood Brothers, and the Pettys and Banjo Matthews, and all these people from way, from a long time. And it's a culture that you and I grew up inin that formula of racing," he said. (23:10 onwards)

"And same thing here in IndyCar racing, you know, the culture here in IndyCar racing was, was, was born out of AJ Foyt and Bobby Unser and Mario Andretti, teams that go way back in the sport."

Chip Ganassi's stint in the IndyCar Series is going rather strongly with Alex Palou. The Spaniard has won three championships with the team and is currently leading the 2025 season as well.