Chip Ganassi had driven in the IndyCar World Series before a 1984 crash at Michigan ended his driving career. In 1989 he joined Pat Patrick as co-owner of Emerson Fittipaldi's Marlboro IndyCar team. When Patrick retired at year's end, Ganassi took over the operation and renamed it Chip Ganassi Racing, signing former Formula One driver Eddie Cheever as his first driver with Target as primary sponsor.
The team's first IndyCar victory came at Surfers Paradise in 1994 with Michael Andretti. The mid-1990s brought a dynasty: Jimmy Vasser won the 1996 CART championship; Alex Zanardi took back-to-back titles in 1997 and 1998; and Juan Pablo Montoya, in his CART rookie season of 1999, claimed the fourth consecutive championship — making Ganassi the first car owner to win four straight CART titles. In 2000, Ganassi became the first CART organisation to break ranks and enter the Indianapolis 500. Montoya dominated the race, becoming the first driver to win both the Indianapolis 500 and the Michigan 500 in the same year since Rick Mears in 1991.
The team transitioned fully to the Indy Racing League in 2003 with Scott Dixon, who had joined midseason in 2002. Dixon won three races and the 2003 championship — the beginning of a remarkable record with the team. Dan Wheldon joined Dixon for 2006 and 2007, each winning twice per season. The partnership with Dario Franchitti from 2009 onwards added further championships: Franchitti won three IndyCar titles and three Indianapolis 500s with Ganassi, the last including a 1-2 finish with Dixon at the 2012 Indy 500.
Scott Dixon became the team's defining figure. He won six IndyCar championships with Ganassi — in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018, and 2020 — and multiple Indianapolis 500 victories. The 2020 season saw him win the first three races of a delayed calendar before closing out the title. Alex Palou joined for 2021 and immediately won the championship, becoming the third Ganassi driver to claim the IndyCar title since the team's full IRL commitment. As of 2026, the team fields cars for Kyffin Simpson, Dixon, and Palou in the IndyCar Series.
In 2001, Ganassi purchased a majority stake in Felix Sabates' Team SABCO, entering NASCAR as Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. The team ran notable drivers over two decades including Sterling Marlin, Jamie McMurray, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kyle Larson, and Ross Chastain. In 2009, the operation briefly merged with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. as Earnhardt Ganassi Racing before reverting to the Ganassi banner in 2014. In 2021, Ganassi accepted an offer from former CGR Xfinity Series driver Justin Marks to purchase the entire NASCAR operation, with the team rebranded as Trackhouse Racing at the end of that season.
CGR's Grand-Am programme delivered exceptional results at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The team won the race in 2006, 2007, and 2008 consecutively — the first owner to achieve three straight Daytona 24-hour victories since Al Holbert in 1986 and 1987 — and again in 2011. The 2011 victory made Ganassi the first owner to win the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500, Brickyard 400, and 24 Hours of Daytona within a single twelve-month span. Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas anchored the Grand-Am effort, also winning the 2010 championship after claiming nine of twelve races that season.
From 2016, CGR moved to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTLM class with the Ford GT, in a factory partnership with Ford. Under the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing banner, the team also competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2016 and 2017, earning podiums in the GT category standings.
In 2015, Ganassi entered the Global RallyCross Championship with Steve Arpin and Brian Deegan in M-Sport Ford Fiestas, with Arpin earning the team's first win at Daytona in 2016 before the programme was shut down in 2017. The team joined the Extreme E electric off-road series for its inaugural 2021 season, competing as GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing from 2022. Sara Price became the first woman in team history to win a race when she took victory in 2022. CGR departed Extreme E after the 2023 season.
Across more than three decades, Chip Ganassi Racing has won in every major class of North American motorsport it has entered. The team's CART four-peat from 1996 to 1999, Scott Dixon's six IndyCar titles, and consistent success across ovals, road courses, endurance racing, and sports car disciplines represent a record that places Ganassi among the defining teams in American racing history.