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Ganassi locating two new race teams in Brownsburg

December 16, 2010

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Auto Racing, Brownsburg, Economic Development, Government & Economic Development, Hendricks County, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar Series, Motorsports, Regional News, Sports Business

Chip Ganassi Racing announced on Thursday it plans to invest $3.3 million to locate its two newest Izod IndyCar Series teams in Brownsburg and create up to 30 jobs in the next few months.

The addition of the two teams, Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing and Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing, are additions to Ganassi’s existing IndyCar race team—Target Chip Ganassi Racing, which is headquartered in Indianapolis.

Ganassi plans to begin hiring employees immediately to prepare for the March 27 start of the 2011 season.

“Indiana's rich history in motorsports, skilled workers and low-cost business environment makes it the most logical location for our team's latest investment,” Ganassi said in a prepared statement.

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered Ganassi up to $325,000 in performance-based tax credits based on the company's job-creation plans. Brownsburg will consider property-tax abatement at the request of the Hendricks County Economic Development Partnership.

Sponsors for the two new teams are tire maker TBC Retail Group and diabetes drug maker Novo Nordisk.

Brownsburg already is home to several National Hot Rod Association teams.

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Hurl

JDecember 17, 2010 12:40 PM
The chances of Hurl Batterly knowing anyone from Saudi Arabi, let alone an influential investment banker foreign or otherwise, are incalculably minute.

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Gary D is worried now...

Burl HatterleyDecember 16, 2010 9:20 PM
...as he should be. And thanks for the sterotypical response. I'll pass that on to the Saudi investment banker(s). They'll get a laugh out of it. After all, one called it "Indianowhere". But money is money. The family wants to sell. That property is more valuable as a mixed-use. Again, it is the 21st Century son. Auto Racing, particularly the Indy 500, was a 20th Century phenomenon.

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Development awaits

Burl HatterleyDecember 16, 2010 5:32 PM
One of the largest multi-use development firms in the world, backed by Saudi investors and a Sna Fernardo Valley emtertainemnt mogul no less, has a firm commitment to partner on the property of IMS. The race track doesn't pencil like the aforemetioned development. Not even close. I should know and I will leave it at that. The IMS is going up for sale and will be plowed asunder for a much more profitable and beneficial opportunity. Welcoem to the 21st Century. Auto Racing was the Sport of the 20th Century. Not so much now, see?

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Huh?

BerwickGuyDecember 16, 2010 3:24 PM
Hurl Batterly, slathering in slime as usual. When did you enter your drug enduced twilight zone? By the time you come out of your ooze filled fog of doom, despair, and agony, the world will have passed you by. And the only thing you'll have left to show for the purported reality of your dreams is a well used crack pipe.

Zoom, zoom........

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Speedway

JoeDecember 16, 2010 2:40 PM
It is too bad this couldn't have been located in Speedway. I think they missed an opportunity to match up with Dallara and begin to truly develope a motorsports manufaturing hub. But it is still good news and i wish it success.

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Wah

JoshDecember 16, 2010 2:24 PM
I am getting a kick out of the doomsday messages from Burl and Cheif. Here are what their rants would sound like under different contexts...

Sure I bought a new car, but it's gonna break down after 200,000 miles. Those people at (insert manufacturer) are never gonna make it. The auto industry is done. Stick a fork in it.

I just bought a gallon of milk at the store. What a waste of money. It's going to go bad in 4 weeks and then what? Dairy farmers are on their way out. No one wants to buy milk if it's just gonna go bad in a few weeks anyway.

You are also the kind of guy who would yell at an unemployment line 3 years ago and say, "America is not in a recession!"

Bottom line, 1969 has passed you by, my friend. It'll never be that way again. We are entering a new (and exciting) era of Indy Car racing. What is more amusing to me are those who discount the recent investments from IZOD, Chevy, Dallara, Honda, Lotus and several other companies. Not to mention that, even at its lowest attendance figures, the Indy 500 and the speedway are still a cash cow. You honestly beleive in this business environment that the Hulmans want to divest a money maker like the 500?

Keep 'em coming Burl. We all get a kick out of it.

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You are insane...i think

JeremiahDecember 16, 2010 2:05 PM
Not sure where you get your info from Burl, but I personally know several IMS employees (including some at the top...no names here). The 500 is carrying the other events. That one race covers the losses of the IndyCar Series and then some. The 500 does in fact "self-sustain". The 400 however is in jeopardy of no longer being a self sustaining event. But the 500? You my friend are terribly misinformed!

Oh, and IndyCar is slated to turn a profit in 2011.

The economic impact of the 500 for the city of Indianapolis is enormous. It brings in more money for the city than does the SuperBowl each year.

But ya, you are right. IMS is closing down shop, and IndyCar is going to fold.

I want the drugs you are on!

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Too late

Burl HatterleyDecember 16, 2010 1:57 PM
She's done, Jer. It is all over but the shouting, the smoke, and the mirrors. Get that Centennial event in, and I will concede, maybe a 2012 or even a 2013 race, although that is really stretching it. The sport is no longer popular enough to sustain as a major league event and the Indy 500 is an old relic, fading, and irrelevant to all but a very small, niche audience. I suppose it can sustain on some level as a club event akin to a Goodwood Festival but the plan over at Hulman-George is to sell and cut the loss quick. I will concede a buyer may keep 'er open for nostalgia races, but they don't pencil for the value of that piece of real estate. It is all about the Linc's, baby. That is a prime piece of commerical-mixed-residential that would have a much greater long-term impact on the City of Indianapolis at large, Speedway in particualr. We are taking pharmacuetical, high-tech, R & D, and shop-floors with condo tops, bistros, and recreational park stuff. The "500" is over with as a self-sustaining, big time entity. All the rest is deception to get the sport to hustle along enough to make sure the 11 "500" doesn't flop. True as it's about to me, baby.

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Enough already

JeremiahDecember 16, 2010 1:03 PM
Still predicting the demise of IndyCar and IMS huh? ALL signs recently have pointed to a bright future. 5 years a go, I would have said you were right...but now, you are so way off, that I probably shouldn't even waste my time posting this.

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Short term gain, long term zero

Burl HatterleyDecember 16, 2010 12:46 PM
Trouble is, while all this sounds promising, it is minor league stuff for a minor league sport that has a miniscule following. What's more: It is entering the final stages of life. The sport of Indy Car racing is not long for the world nor is IMS. A sale is in the future, followed by job development in the form of heavy equipment operation and cartage from W. 16th and Georgetown. Then mixed-use will provide residences and service-sector employment, to inlcude a historic IMS-themed memorial bistro-style eatery. All of this is in the works, following the 2011 Indy 500. The Ganassi deal is short-term, however Gomertons will tout it as a sure sign a bright future lay ahead. Just the opposite. Funny to watch this unfold. Best wishes to Brownsurg and HCEDP in this sort-term opportunity in a tough environment. Long-term, they will need to look past the demise of the Indy Car sport.

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