Chip Ganassi Racing, founded in 1990 by former racecar driver Chip Ganassi, built its reputation across multiple racing disciplines including IndyCar, NASCAR, and sports car racing. The team had long-standing ties with Ford's competitor programs in North America, particularly through the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. In June 2015, at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ford announced that it would return to the race in 2016 with a factory-supported four-car program, with Chip Ganassi Racing operating the effort. This marked Ford's first factory-level commitment to international road racing since 2004, when the company had competed in Formula One under the Jaguar Racing banner.
The Ford Chip Ganassi Racing program operated across two distinct arms. In North America, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship entries ran under the Chip Ganassi Racing name. In the FIA World Endurance Championship, the program was operated under the Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK banner, managed through a joint venture with Multimatic Motorsports Europe. The European operation was based in the United Kingdom and handled the WEC calendar, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, while the American team concentrated on the IMSA GT Le Mans class.
The centerpiece of the program was the Ford GT, an advanced GT Le Mans specification race car developed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Ford's historic victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966 and 1967. The Ford GT featured a twin-turbocharged EcoBoost V6 engine, a carbon fiber chassis, and aerodynamics shaped in collaboration with Multimatic. It competed in the LMGTE Pro category of the World Endurance Championship, going up against factory-supported Ferrari, Porsche, and Aston Martin programs.
The Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK program competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2016 and 2017. In 2016, Ford finished third in the FIA GT Manufacturer's Championship. In 2017, the manufacturer's standing improved to second place. At driver level, Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell ranked third in the World Endurance Cup for GT Drivers in 2017. In the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMGTE Pro Teams, the No. 67 car finished second in both 2016 and 2017. Pole positions were taken at the 2016 6 Hours of Fuji by the No. 66 car of Stefan Mucke and Olivier Pla, at the 2016 6 Hours of Shanghai by the No. 67 of Priaulx and Tincknell, and at the 2017 6 Hours of Silverstone also by the No. 67.
The program's highest-profile moment came at Le Mans itself. In 2016, the Ford GT driven by Dirk Muller, Joey Hand, and Frederic Makowiecki in the LMGTE Pro class competed directly against rival manufacturers at the circuit Ford's GT40 had dominated five decades prior.
In IMSA, the Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT entries competed in the GTLM class of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship beginning in 2016, when the team transitioned away from the Daytona Prototype program it had run in prior seasons with Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas. Dirk Muller and Joey Hand drove one Ford GT, while Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook drove the second. The team had previously competed in IMSA with BMW-affiliated and Daytona Prototype machinery; the switch to the Ford GT represented both a class change and a return to GT factory racing.
Ford Chip Ganassi Racing represented one of the most significant manufacturer reentries into endurance racing of the decade, drawing direct historical parallels with Ford's celebrated 1960s Le Mans campaign. The program demonstrated Chip Ganassi Racing's capability to operate at the factory GT level across two continents simultaneously. After the program concluded, Chip Ganassi Racing continued as one of North America's leading open-wheel and motorsport organizations, with its IndyCar program remaining a dominant force in that series.