Car No. 01 history

Part-time (1999-2000)

In 1999, the team fielded No. 01 and served as the team's research and development car. Jeff Green, Steve Grissom, and Ron Hornaday Jr. drove the car on a limited schedule.

In 2000, The No. 01 replaced the No. 42 after New Hampshire and was driven by Ted Musgrave.^[18]

Jason Leffler (2001)

For 2001, Chip Ganassi purchased a majority stake in SABCO, and the BellSouth brand Cingular Wireless became the sponsor. Busch Series driver and former USAC standout Jason Leffler was hired to drive the car, which was now a Dodge.^[19] Leffler's rookie season was a struggle, despite winning a pole at the inaugural race at Kansas Speedway. Leffler failed to qualify for four races, and was replaced with Trans-Am Series driver Dorsey Schroeder at Sonoma and Scott Pruett at Watkins Glen.^[20] Leffler would fail to qualify for the race at Watkins Glen in the No. 04 car and he was released at the end of the season.

Car No. 1 history

Note: Before merging with Chip Ganassi Racing, Dale Earnhardt Inc. fielded a No. 1 car through 2008, most notably with Steve Park driving. For more information, see Dale Earnhardt, Inc. This section concerns the lineage of Chip Ganassi Racing's entry that later became the No. 1 after the merger with Dale Earnhardt Inc.

Martin Truex Jr. (2009)

Ganassi would move the Target sponsorship to the No. 42 car to replace Texaco/Havoline for 2009, leaving the No. 41 without a driver or a sponsor.^[13] As a result, Ganassi merged his team with the struggling Dale Earnhardt, Inc., and the DEI No. 1 car. DEI's driver (Martin Truex Jr.) and sponsor (Bass Pro Shops) also came over to join Ganassi. Bass Pro Shops, however, reduced its schedule to 20 races. The team also carried its Earnhardt-Childress Engine program over to Ganassi, and switched manufacturers from Dodge to Chevrolet.^[9][21] Truex failed to win a race in his only season driving for Ganassi, and left the team after the season for Michael Waltrip Racing.

Jamie McMurray (2010–2018)

Truex was replaced by Jamie McMurray, who had previously driven for the Ganassi organization from 2002 until 2005, winning his first Cup race with the team as a substitute driver. Bass Pro Shops was joined by McDonald's as a primary sponsor. McMurray started the year off with a bang, winning the 2010 Daytona 500 for Ganassi in his first race in the No. 1 car.^[1] It was the first win for a Ganassi team car since Juan Pablo Montoya won the 2007 Toyota/Save Mart 350. McMurray returned to the winner's circle by winning the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis, the first time that he had won multiple races in a season since joining the Cup Series full-time in 2003.^[1] Inconsistency throughout the season, however, kept McMurray out of the Chase for the Cup. He added a third win at the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte during the Chase, the same race he won for the 40 team in 2002. McMurray earned four poles, nine top fives and twelve top tens to finish 14th in the final standings, his best points finish since his earlier tenure with Ganassi.

McMurray and the Ganassi team struggled in 2011, earning two top fives and four top tens while failing to finish five races, with a dismal 27th-place points finish. The struggles continued in 2012, with only three top tens and a 21st-place points finish. For 2013, CGR would switch to Hendrick engines looking to improve performance.^[22] McDonald's would become the main sponsor as Bass Pro Shops scaled down to two races. The team also gained a 10 race sponsorship from the Textron Company, with brands Cessna, Bell Helicopter, Bad Boy Buggies, and E-Z-Go adorning the car.^[23] After more struggles in the first half of 2013, McMurray finally broke back into victory lane at the fall Talladega race, his first victory in three seasons. After an improved 15th-place points finish, McMurray would sign a contract extension to return in 2014.^[24]

McMurray won the Sprint All-Star Race in 2014, taking two tires under the final caution and passing leader Carl Edwards within the final ten laps to score the victory and the $1 million bonus.^[25] However, the team did not win a points race during the season and missed the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Both McMurray and teammate Kyle Larson would rebound after missing the playoff, with the 1 car scoring a pole and four top-fives in the final ten races of the year. Overall, McMurray had seven top fives and 13 top tens to finish 18th in points.

For 2015, former Yates Racing driver Matt McCall was hired as crew chief for McMurray, replacing Keith Rodden.^[26] McMurray started 2015 on a high note, climbing to 8th in the standings within the first ten races and making the Chase for the first time in his career, but ended up being eliminated in the first round on a tiebreaker. He finished 13th in points. McMurray would once again be eliminated from championship contention in the first round of the Chase in 2016, following an engine failure at Dover, he finished 13th in points for the 2nd year in a row. In 2017, McMurray scored 17 top 10s, his best number since 2004, advancing to the Chase once again. This time, he was able to make past the first round but was eliminated in the Round of 12 after crashing at Talladega and Kansas. He finished the season 12th in points.

McMurray failed to make the 2018 Playoffs with a string of disappointing finishes, with one top-five and six top-10s during the regular season. A second-place finish at the 2018 Bank of America Roval 400 was the high point of his season. McMurray finished the 2018 season 20th in points. On September 10, 2018, it was announced that McMurray will not return to Chip Ganassi Racing in 2019.^[27]

Kurt Busch (2019–2021)

On December 4, 2018, it was announced that former Stewart-Haas Racing driver and 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Champion Kurt Busch, along with sponsor Monster Energy, would move to the No. 1 team in the 2019 season.^[28] Busch scored his first win with CGR at Kentucky.^[29] On November 2, CGR officially announced that Busch had signed on with the No. 1 team for at least two more years.^[30]

Busch managed to make the 2020 playoffs without winning a race by staying consistent with four top-fives and 14 top-10 finishes. He scored his 32nd career win and his first of 2020 at Las Vegas; the win secured him a spot in the Round of 8.^[31] He failed to advance to the Championship 4 and finished 10th in the final standings.

In 2021, Busch won at Quaker State 400 on July 11, holding off his younger brother Kyle Busch and locking himself into the playoffs. However, Busch was eliminated from the playoffs following the conclusion of the Round of 16 at Bristol, which also ended Ganassi's final chance at a Cup championship as an owner.^[32] After the season concluded when Trackhouse bought the assets to the team, the second team used the number 1, however that team is the old 42 team including driver, crew chief, crew members, and sponsors.

Car No. 40 history

Kenny Wallace (1993)

The No. 40 car debuted in 1993 as the second car in the SABCO stable. It had sponsorship from Dirt Devil and was piloted by rookie driver Kenny Wallace. After Wallace finished 3rd behind Bobby Labonte and Jeff Gordon in the NASCAR Rookie of the Year standings, he was released at the end of the season.

Multiple Drivers (1994-1997)

Bobby Hamilton drove the car the next season with sponsorship from Kendall Motor Oil, during which the No. 40 car was bought by Dick Brooks. Hamilton finished 23rd in points that year.

The 1995 season saw multiple drivers such as Rich Bickle, Greg Sacks, and Shane Hall pilot the car. But at the end of the season, Brooks closed up shop and sold the team back to Sabates. The team came back in the 1996 season with First Union sponsoring the car and Greg Sacks, Jay Sauter, and Robby Gordon in select events

The team returned for 1997 full-time with rookie driver Robby Gordon, Coors Light moving over from the No. 42, and the team switching from Pontiac to Chevrolet.^[2] Gordon won the pole at the spring Atlanta race. Unfortunately, open-wheel ace Gordon suffered burns during the Indianapolis 500. By the time he returned, the damage was done and despite picking up a Top 5 finish at Watkins Glen, Gordon was released. Sabates later said in a 2007 interview that hiring Robby Gordon was "a mistake", while Gordon said that his departure stemmed from Sabates focusing more on making money than improving the team.^[2] Sacks returned to finish out the year.

Sterling Marlin (1998–2005)

For the 1998 season, Sabates chose a more experienced driver in 2-time Daytona 500 winner Sterling Marlin.^[2] Marlin did not qualify at the spring Atlanta race—one year after the team won the pole position there, marking the first time since 1986 that Marlin missed a race. At the end of the year, Marlin had six top-10 finishes and ended up 13th in the points standings.^[2] Marlin showed a brief resurgence in the 1999 season when he won the pole at Pocono. The next year, Marlin placed runner-up to Jeff Gordon at Sonoma, which was his best finish of the season.

In 2001, the car got a new silver-red paint scheme, a manufacturer switch to Dodge, a new crew chief in Lee McCall, and a new owner in Ganassi. Marlin won his qualifying race for the Daytona 500. On the last lap of the 500, Marlin was involved in the crash that killed Dale Earnhardt. Many fans sent misguided hate mail and death threats to Marlin and his wife, blaming him for Earnhardt's death.^{[citation needed]} Earnhardt's drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip came to Marlin's defense, and Marlin was cleared of any responsibility by NASCAR's investigation into the crash.^{[citation needed]}

Marlin was able to rise above the controversy, and gave Dodge its first win since its return to NASCAR at Michigan, won again at the UAW-GM Quality 500, and finished 3rd in points, well ahead of the factory-backed Dodges from Evernham Motorsports. Marlin led the points standings for most of the 2002 season and won two races, but he suffered a fractured vertebra in a crash at Kansas Speedway, which ended his season.^[33] Some say that Marlin's injury signified the beginning of the struggles for the team. Jamie McMurray, who was scheduled to drive the No. 42 car the following season, filled in for Marlin in six races, with Mike Bliss running the car at Martinsville.^[34] At Charlotte, McMurray beat out Bobby Labonte to win his 1st race in just his 2nd Winston Cup start. This emotional victory was capped off with a phone call from Marlin through the television network congratulating McMurray on his victory. Marlin would go winless over the next three seasons, with a best finish of 18th in points in 2003 and was released after 2005.

David Stremme (2006–2007)

Rookie David Stremme replaced Marlin in the 2006 season.^[35][36][37] This move outraged some fans, since Coors Light and Ganassi both stated that the decision was partly due to Coors Light attempting to target the younger demographic.^[35][38][39] A new primary sponsor, Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon, joined the team and split time with Coors.^[35] Stremme did not finish higher than 11th, with an average finish of 26th, and had a 33rd-place finish in the points.^[40] Before the 2007 season started, Lone Star left the No. 40 team as primary sponsor, leaving only Coors Light. After the beginning of the season, Tums also came on as a sponsor of the No. 40 team. Stremme had a much better start to the season, earning his first Top 10 in the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, posting his best career finish, 8th, two weeks later in the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway, and ended the season with three Top 10s. Stremme was released due to Coors Light's departure to become the "Official Beer of NASCAR".

Dario Franchitti (2008)

On October 3, 2007, reigning Indianapolis 500 winner and IndyCar Champion Dario Franchitti was announced as the new driver of the No. 40 car for the 2008 season. Due to the lack of sponsorship, the team had to procure one-race partnerships on a rotational basis, with The Hartford, Kennametal, Dodge Journey, Target, Dodge Avenger, and Wii Fit appearing on the car. Franchitti suffered ankle injuries in a Nationwide Series race at Talladega, causing him to miss several races. Marlin, Stremme, Ken Schrader, and Jeremy Mayfield filled in during his absence.^{[41][42][43][44][45]}

Ganassi shut the team down in July due to its lack of funding mid-season, with around 70 employees laid off.^[9][46][47] Franchitti, meanwhile, moved to CGR's IndyCar operation.^[48] The team was revived for several fall races with Bryan Clauson driving, but race qualifying was rained out twice and the team did not make the field due to being too low in the owner points. When qualifying was finally staged at Texas, Clauson subsequently failed to qualify, and the team was shut down again.^[43][49]

Car No. 41 history

Jimmy Spencer (2002)

With Cingular moving to Richard Childress Racing to sponsor the No. 31 car, long time Ganassi backer Target became the sponsor of the former 01 team, the number was changed to No. 41, and veteran Jimmy Spencer was tabbed to replace Leffler.^[18][50][51] Spencer did not qualify for the Daytona 500, and was replaced by road course ringer Scott Pruett at Watkins Glen, with Pruett finishing a strong sixth.^[20] The high point of the season was at the Food City 500 at Bristol in the spring, when Spencer and fierce rival Kurt Busch engaged in a heated battle at the end of the race. Busch, on worn tires, would go to victory lane while Spencer scored a season-best second-place finish. In 34 races, Spencer scored two Top 5's and six Top 10 finishes en route to a 27th-place points finish, and was released to make way for Ganassi's Busch driver, Casey Mears.

Casey Mears (2003–2005)

Busch Series driver Casey Mears was hired to drive the car, joining fellow rookie teammate Jamie McMurray. Mears struggled in his rookie season but steadily improved over the next two seasons.

Reed Sorenson (2006–2008)

For 2006 another young driver, Reed Sorenson was hired to drive the No. 41 car full-time, and Mears replaced McMurray in the No. 42 car. Sorenson had five Top 10's and ended the 2006 season 24th in the standings.^[40] After finishing 22nd in the standings with three Top 5's and six Top 10's in 2007, the No. 41 team only managed one Top 5 and two Top 10's and dropped to 32nd in the final standings in 2008. In an effort to keep the car higher in points, Scott Pruett took over at Sonoma, finishing 38th after a late-race wreck. Sorenson left the team to drive for Richard Petty Motorsports.

Car No. 42 history

1989–2000: Original No. 42

Kyle Petty (1989–1996)

The No. 42 car debuted in 1989 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, as PEAK-sponsored Pontiac for SABCO Racing, Felix Sabates' race team. The car was driven by Kyle Petty,^[1] who finished fourth in the race. The car ran on and off for the rest of the year before moving to full-time status in 1990. Petty scored one victory and finished 11th in points that year. He was running strong in 1991 with a new sponsorship from Mello Yello,^[2] before he broke his leg in a crash at Talladega Superspeedway. Over the next 11 races, he was replaced by Bobby Hillin Jr., Tommy Kendall, and Kenny Wallace while recovering. After returning, he won four races finished fifth in points in both 1992 and 1993. After that, Petty's career began to run out of steam. He won his final race in 1995 at Dover, the first year the car had Coors Light as a sponsor.^[2] In 1996, Petty was temporarily replaced by Jim Sauter to recover from more injuries.

Joe Nemechek (1997–1999)

In 1997, Kyle Petty and team owner Sabates split and sponsor Coors Light moved to the No. 40 car.^[2] The team switched from Pontiac to Chevy. Joe Nemechek and sponsor BellSouth proceeded to come on board.^[2] The year got off to a rocky start when Nemechek did not qualify for the Daytona 500 but was able to get in on a car bought from Phil Barkdoll. After losing his brother John in a crash at Homestead-Miami Speedway (and missing Darlington to attend his funeral, during which he was replaced by Phil Parsons), Nemechek won two pole positions and finished 28th in points, followed up by a then-career best 26th in 1998. Weeks after announcing that they would not race together after the 1999 season had ended, Nemechek won his first Winston Cup race at New Hampshire International Speedway, and won two more poles. The No. 42 was 87 in 1996.

2000: Transition to Chip Ganassi Racing

Kenny Irwin Jr. (2000)

In 2000, former Winston Cup Rookie of the Year Kenny Irwin Jr. took over the 42 car. He was just adjusting to his new team, scoring a single top ten in the first 17 races, when in July he was killed in an accident at New Hampshire during Cup Series practice, the first race since the team won there the previous year.^[52][18] The team took one week off and returned as the No. 01 driven by Ted Musgrave.^[18]

Jamie McMurray (2003–2005)

Originally the 42 was planned to run the Daytona 500 with Swedish CART driver Kenny Bräck in the car and even completed testing at Daytona, the team never attempted the Daytona 500. The car came back as No. 42 in 2002 at Watkins Glen when Jimmy Spencer attempted but failed to qualify the car while Scott Pruett drove Spencer's normal car, the No. 41.^[20] The car was scheduled to run seven more races with Jamie McMurray driving, but when McMurray filled in for Sterling Marlin, the team did not run until 2003. The No. 42 team ran full-time in 2003, with McMurray as the driver and Texaco/Havoline as the sponsor.^[18] McMurray won Rookie of the Year honors in the Winston Cup Series. He failed to win a race in 2004, but had a very good season, with 23 Top-10s. He finished 11th in series points, the best of the non-Chasers. In 2005, McMurray missed the Chase after he was passed by Ryan Newman just before the Chase started, and McMurray finished 12th in points.

Casey Mears (2006)

McMurray left after the 2005 season to replace Kurt Busch at Roush Racing. Casey Mears moved over from the No. 41 to take his place during the 2006 season. He finished runner-up at the Daytona 500, but failed to win a race during the season and finished 14th in points.^[40] Mears decided to leave Ganassi, moving to Hendrick Motorsports for 2007.^[40]

Juan Pablo Montoya (2007–2013)

In July 2006, it was announced that former Indianapolis 500 winner, CART Champion, and at-that-time Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya would replace Mears in the No. 42 for 2007.^[40] Texaco returned to sponsor the car, with additional funding from Wrigley gum brands Big Red and Juicy Fruit.^[21] Montoya won his first career Nextel Cup race during his rookie season at Sonoma in the Toyota/Save Mart 350, ending a nearly five-year victory drought the Chip Ganassi Racing organization had since the 2002 UAW-GM Quality 500.^[40] He ended the year 20th in points and won Rookie of the Year. After he failed to return to victory lane and dropped to 25th in points despite some good results and a second place in the Aaron's 499 in 2008, Texaco/Havoline left the team.

With Texaco leaving and the Wrigley Company not able to cover the full season, long-time Ganassi sponsor Target moved over from the No. 41 to the No. 42 for 2009.^[13][21] Upon merging with DEI, the team absorbed the team's Chevrolet equipment after running Dodges since 2003.^[9][21] In 2009, Montoya had a breakout season, with seven top 5s, 18 top 10s, and 2 poles. He qualified for the Chase for the Sprint Cup and finished eighth in the overall standings, the best season-ending points position for Ganassi since Sterling Marlin's third-place finish in the final standings in 2001. Midway through 2010, Montoya had sported great runs but didn't have the finishes to show for it, specifically at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where Montoya dominated, but his crew chief Brian Pattie called for four tires late in the race, causing Montoya to fall to 8th and never recover. A similar situation happened the following week at Pocono when Montoya was running second at a late stage in the race, and Pattie again called for four tires, placing Montoya back in traffic. Montoya and Pattie were heard arguing over the radio. The next weekend, however, Montoya won his second career race, dominating at Watkins Glen. Montoya ended up placing 17th in the overall standings for 2010.

The 2011 season started fast for the 42 bunch. Montoya posted a 6th in the season opener at Daytona and then finished 3rd at the Las Vegas. At Talladega Montoya was involved in a late crash with the No. 39 car of Ryan Newman. Two weeks later at Richmond, Newman and Montoya were involved in two crashes, relegating them to 20th and 29th-place finishes respectively. At Dover Montoya was running for the lead but after a vibration and a crash involving the No. 27 car of Paul Menard, Montoya finished 32nd. Later at the Toyota/Save Mart 350, Montoya had a great run and looked like he was going to fight Kurt Busch for the lead but crashed in an incident with Brad Keselowski near the end of the race and finished in 22nd. Montoya was inconsistent for the rest of the year except for a 7th-place finish at Watkins Glen on August 14 and a 9th-place finish on August 25 at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire.

Montoya's struggles continued through 2012, as the Ganassi program as a whole was looking for answers. In 2013, after Ganassi switched to Hendrick Motorsports engines, Montoya nearly won at Dover, but was passed in the final laps by Tony Stewart, and finished second. Montoya would also have a strong run at Richmond leading several laps, but would again come up short. Later, on August 13, 2013, it was announced that Montoya's contract with Ganassi would not be renewed for the 2014 season.^[53]

Kyle Larson (2014–2020)

For 2014, promising development driver Kyle Larson took over the No. 42 after winning the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year. Montoya, meanwhile departed for Chip Ganassi's rival, Team Penske, in the IndyCar Series. For 2014, Larson competed with what many deemed to be the strongest rookie class in the series' history, including 2013 Nationwide Series champion Austin Dillon and several of their former Nationwide Series competitors.^[54] Larson nearly won at Auto Club Speedway, finishing second to Kyle Busch after a late-race restart. Larson defeated Busch the day before to capture the victory in the Nationwide Series race. He had a steady amount of top 10 finishes in the first half of 2014 and finished fourth at his second road course race at Watkins Glen. Larson had numerous crashes and tire failures but won a competitive Rookie of the Year title. He would struggle in 2015, including having to miss the 2015 STP 500 due to dehydration. Larson's best finish that year would be third at the spring Dover race, but he would finish 19th in points. In 2016, Larson would rebound from his sophomore year, taking his first career victory at the 2016 Pure Michigan 400, qualifying him for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. However, both he and teammate McMurray would be eliminated from championship contention after the Citizen Soldier 400.

In 2017, Larson captured his second career victory at the 2017 Auto Club 400 after securing pole position for the race. This completed his first "Weekend Sweep", which is when a driver wins every race run during the weekend. Larson would win three more races that year, sweeping both Michigan races and winning the last race before the playoffs at Richmond. Larson looked like a championship contender for most of the year, staying in the top-three in points from races 3 to 31 of the season. However, an engine failure at Kansas resulted in him being eliminated at the Round of 12 of the Playoffs, the first of four straight DNFs for Larson, relegating him to an eighth-place finish in points.

In 2018, Larson returned with his Credit One Bank/DC Solar Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Despite being winless, he made the Playoffs by staying consistent in the regular season with four second-place finishes, eight top-fives, and 14 top-10s. Larson had a dominant car at the Inaugural Charlotte Roval race but was caught in a multi-car pileup in a late restart that also involved Playoff contenders Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch. His heavily damaged No. 42 car took advantage of Jeffrey Earnhardt being spun out by Daniel Hemric on the final lap and limped across the finish line in 25th place, securing him in the top 12. Larson experienced further bad luck at the fall Talladega race when he blew a right-front tire and spun out. He finished 11th in the race but was docked 10 driver and 10 owner points after the team violated the damaged vehicle policy by using metal tabs instead of fasteners and/or tape to repair the torn right front fender.^[55] Despite finishing third at the fall Kansas race, Larson was eliminated in the Round of 12 of the Playoffs. He finished the season ninth in points.

During the 2019 season, Larson made history by becoming only the third driver to win the Monster Energy Open and the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race.^[56] Larson once again made the Playoffs, his 4th straight appearance. Right after advancing past the Round of 16, Larson broke a 75-race winless streak by winning at Dover after qualifying second, immediately advancing to the Round of 8.^[57]

On April 13, 2020, NASCAR and iRacing indefinitely suspended Larson after he used a racial slur during an iRacing event.^[58] In a statement posted to Twitter, Chip Ganassi Racing had announced that they had suspended Larson without pay. As a result of his actions, McDonald's, Credit One Bank, Advent Health and Fiserv terminated their sponsorship of Larson. In addition, Chevrolet suspended its relationship with Larson indefinitely.^[59] CGR fired Larson the following day.^[60]

Matt Kenseth (2020)

On April 27, 2020, it was announced that Matt Kenseth would fill in for the remainder of the season. In addition, NASCAR granted him a waiver for eligibility in the 2020 playoffs.^[61][62][63] Other than a second place run in the Brickyard 400, the season was forgettable for the 42 team as Kenseth finished 28th in the final standings with two Top 10's in his 32 races. After the year, Kenseth formally retired from NASCAR and primary sponsor Credit One Bank left the organization.

Ross Chastain (2021)

On September 21, Chip Ganassi Racing announced that Ross Chastain would replace Kenseth in the No. 42 Chevrolet in 2021.^[64] After a few great runs including a third place finish in the Southern 500 and a second place at the inaugural Ally 400 at Nashville, the team missed the playoffs and finished 20th in points in his first fulltime season as a Cup driver. After the season however, Ganassi sold his assets to Justin Marks and the Trackhouse Racing. After a short decision, the team decided to bring the whole 42 team over including Ross, crew chief Phil Surgen, the crew and sponsors including Advent Health but the 42 number did not come over as that team now runs as the 1 car. The 42 number however was not out of use long as the Petty GMS Racing team picked up its second car as the 42.