NASCAR Cup

Ganassi: 'Never say never' to NASCAR return but...

Honda and Alex Palou would be attractive in the Cup Series

Matt Weaver

Edited: Aug 26, 2025, 7:51 PM

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Chip Ganassi

Photo by: Penske Entertainment

Never say never but Chip Ganassi more than likely isn’t back in the market for a NASCAR Cup Series ownership charter.

It’s a reasonable question given the 20 years that Ganassi spent in the highest levels of American Stock Car competition but also because his current engine supplier in the NTT IndyCar Series is Honda -- which is currently considering an option to join the Cup Series in the years ahead.

Should Honda join the Cup Series, NASCAR also has an option within the charter system that governs the discipline, to release additional ownership charters into the market. Ganassi sold his program and charters to Trackhouse Racing after the 2021 season but still knows his way around too.

“Am I open to it, I wouldn’t say ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ but what I can tell you is that I haven’t had that conversation with Honda,” Ganassi said during a Tuesday press conference to a question asked by Motorsport.com. “I have never had that conversation with NASCAR but I am also smart enough to never say never.”

Ganassi has 20 Cup Series wins and 24 Xfinity Series wins, including the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400, and has reached victory lane with the likes of Sterling Marlin, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kurt Busch, Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson.

His IndyCar success has continued since his exit from NASCAR with four championships with driver Alex Palou in 2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025. Palou 28, has reportedly drawn interest from the Red Bull F1 team but has Ganassi ever contemplated what his road course racing ace and Indianapolis 500 winner could do driving a Cup Series car that is more similar to an Indy Car than ever before?

The Shane Van Gisbergen comparison, a road specialist, who won four times this year for Trackhouse is such an easy comparison.

“You’re onto something there, so the answer is yes (I have considered how good Palou could be in NASCAR) because the formula has changed since I was there,” Ganassi said. “It is a formula that does lend itself to the kind of racing we do and the kind of engineering we do, that we’re good at.

“So the answer to that is yes, but I have not had any of those discussions or given it much thought.”

But again, never say never.

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