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What’s up, NASCAR Fans? As we all know, teams often come and go in the world of NASCAR. Sometimes, you can see their downfall plain as day. Other times, it’s you’re completely surprised by their exit from the sport. Chip Ganassi Racing’s abrupt departure following the 2021 season blindsided all of us. Were they the best team in NASCAR at the time? No! Of course not! However, they were hardly a back-marker, and they had a great deal of success throughout their NASCAR tenure. But what if they didn’t sell their operations to Trackhouse Racing? What if Chip Ganassi never left NASCAR at all? He said it himself, he wasn’t looking to sell. So, what if he didn’t? Here’s everything that would have been different if Chip Ganassi Racing had never left NASCAR.
The easiest conclusion to come to is that Ross Chastain would have remained in the #42 car rather than it being rebranded as the No. 1. When Trackhouse Racing purchased Chip Ganassi Racing, they essentially merged the CGR operation with the existing one-car Trackhouse team, turning Trackhouse into a two-car team. Since Ross Chastain was already signed to Chip Ganassi Racing as Kyle Larson’s replacement, he would have remained in the number 42 Chevrolet as there would be no need to rebrand.
As far as the level of success in Chastain’s career goes, it would have more-or-less been the same. The introduction of the NextGen car leveled the playing field for a lot of teams, and that wouldn’t have been any different with Chip Ganassi Racing. Looking back at Chastain’s number in 2021, he has an impressive 2nd place finish at Nashville Superspeedway as well as a 4th at COTA and a 3rd in the Southern 500. He would have continued to build on that, just as he has in real life. Maybe he would have gotten a win or two less, but this is more of a lateral move than a lot of people give it credit.
In real life, Chastain signed a multi-year contract extension in 2022. The same would’ve been done had Chastain remained with Chip Ganassi Racing.
Even if Chip Ganassi remained in NASCAR for the 2022 season and beyond, Kurt Busch would have still left for the greener pastures of 23XI Racing. This means that the No. 1 car for Chip Ganassi Racing would become available in that year’s silly season. Who would be among the favorite drivers to score the ride?
Erik Jones was the top contender to potentially score the No. 1 car in 2022. In 2021, Jones was in a contract year with Richard Petty Motorsports, and it’s hard to believe that Chip Ganassi wouldn’t have at least made a pitch to the veteran. By 2021, Erik Jones was amid a long winless drought. He had 2 wins to his name at the time, both coming from his time at Joe Gibbs Racing (Daytona in 2018 and the Southern 500 in 2019). By every metric, Chip Ganassi Racing had better equipment and more to offer than Richard Petty Motorsports. When you consider GMS’s purchase of RPM in 2021, it wouldn’t be too far of a stretch to imagine Jones going to the No. 1 car.
In real life, Erik Jones won the 2022 Southern 500. He would have done the same driving the No. 1 Chevy for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Ryan Preece is another driver who could have made the jump over to Chip Ganassi Racing. Preece’s talents on dirt are well recognized, and Ole Chip might’ve tried to catch lightning in a bottle twice and signed Preece. He would be aiming to replicate the success of generational talent in Kyle Larson. Unfortunately, it likely wouldn’t have worked out.
In 2021, Preece was driving full-time in an unchartered car for JTG-Daugherty. The team was aiming to shut that car down by season’s end, effectively making Preece a free agent. In real life, Preece signed with SHR but ran the lower series for a year before taking over the number 41 in 2023. Ganassi would have offered Preece a more immediate solution, and Preece would have jumped on it. Unfortunately, his Cup career would have still ended up the same and he would have struggled mightily in the ride.
Another possibility, but perhaps more unlikely, is that Noah Gragson would have been tapped to drive the No. 1 Chevy full-time in 2022. 2021 was Gragson’s third full-time year in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and despite a slow start, he was really starting to come into his own as a driver. Maybe Ganassi would’ve made him an offer he couldn’t refuse by giving him the No. 1 car for the 2022 season. Not very likely, but who knows? Stranger things have happened!
In real life, Noah Gragson returned to JR Motorsports in 2022 and made several cup starts for the likes of Beard Motorsports, Kaulig Racing, and Hendrick Motorsports. He made the jump up to Cup in 2023 with Legacy Motor Club but was released mid-way through the year. He returned in 2024 with Stewart-Haas Racing. After the team announced its closure following the 2024 season, it was announced that he would jump over to Front Row Motorsports for the 2025 season.
Another wrench Chip Ganassi Racing staying in NASCAR would throw at us is with the monumental changes for Trackhouse Racing. Prior to buying out CGR, Trackhouse was already an active team with wild ambitions. They started the 2021 season as a one-car operation, with Daniel Suarez driving their No. 99. They would have remained a one-car operation for a few years, getting their footing under them. Suarez would still go on to win his race at Sonoma in 2022 and qualify for the NASCAR Playoffs that year. Unfortunately, as an organization, they would have taken a slight step back in 2023. Suarez would go winless until 2024, when he scored his second-career victory at Atlanta in the spring, just like in real life.
Trackhouse would expand to a 2-car operation, but that wouldn’t happen until 2024. Justin Marks would have bought Live Fast’s #78 charter like Spire had in real life, and their driver would have been NASCAR Truck Series Champion Zane Smith, and the number would have been 91. In addition, Smith’s deal with Trackhouse would have ended at the end of the 2024 season, but they would have kept it going for at least another year or two.
Needless to say, Spire would have reached anywhere near the same heights if they hadn’t bought out CGR and obtained Ross Chastain. They would have been good but somewhere on the same level that Spire Motorsports is now.
Trackhouse Racing has many drivers signed to its roster but not enough rides. That’s why it loans them out to other teams. We already talked above about how Spire wouldn’t have signed Zane Smith to begin with, as he would be a straight-up Trackhouse driver. Now, let’s talk about some of the other changes from this storyline.
In the end, Michael McDowell still would have been tapped to drive for Spire come 2025. The only thing is it wouldn’t have been in the No. 71 car to replace Zane Smith. Rather, he would be in the 7 to replace Corey Lajoie. Rodney Childers would also still sign on to be McDowell’s crew chief.
Spire would have still released Corey Lajoie. Not everything is as it seems in regard to that situation. Lajoie went from being their cornerstone and their franchise driver to being fired in just a few years. They’ve struggled throughout 2024, but Spire as a whole (other than Hocevar) has as well. There was more going on there behind the scenes than what meets the eye. Regardless, Lajoie would leave the team at the end of 2024, and Michael McDowell would replace him.
This is the biggest change. Without Spire purchasing Chip Ganassi Racing, Justin Marks would have ever pulled the trigger on the immensely successful Project 91. At least not when he did. Maybe down the road, it would have been Project 97. But without Project 91 launching in 2023, Shane van Gisbergen never makes his NASCAR debut. More importantly, he never wins his first race to shock the racing world.
SVG was still supposed to be under contract for his team in Australian Supercars, and he wouldn’t have made the jump to stock cars. At least not as early as he did in the real timeline. So this instant classic moment never would have happened:
In the end, it’s unlikely Trackhouse would have gotten the traction they had if it weren’t for the talents of Ross Chastain. But if Chip Ganassi Racing never left, there would have been no reason for Chastain to jump ship to Trackhouse. And without that move, SVG would’ve never made the jump to NASCAR and he certainly would not have won Chicago in 2023.
What do you think, Daily Downforce readers? What changes would there have been if Chip Ganassi Racing never left NASCAR? Let us know your thoughts! Keep tuning in here at DailyDownforce.com for all the latest news, silly season rumors, and fan discussions about the greatest sport in the world–NASCAR!
