June 3, 2004

by Melisa Lalich

"Don't keep him waiting child! Why, his time is worth a thousand pounds a minute!...Language is worth a thousand pounds a word!...Now here you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get to somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!...."

How is TCGR structured as an organization, and is it structured differently than most other racing teams?

"Although I don't know how other teams are structured, TCGR is structured to emphasize communication so that the entire team is abreast of what each project is in a timely fashion. Here at TCGR, job titles aren't emphasized but rather job descriptions. We are not top-heavy within our management. Within our building which is approximately 70,000 sq. feet, there are approximately about 90 people working here; not all of who get to put their hands on the cars or product. Within the administrative personnel, there is accounting, a travel agent, a human resources director, sponsor relations, merchandise, a maintenance crew, computer network personnel and a receptionist. I'm sure I'm forgetting someone."

"Within the mechanical crew, we have a travel team, a shop team and a group of mechanics and shop technicians who run our gearbox shop, body work shop, parts room, electronics, parts and fabrication, carbon shop and sub assembly areas. The craftsmen within these cottage industries, if you will, don't travel with the team. The ratio of managers to employees is about 1: 5-7. Our middle management includes two team managers. These are a Race Operations Team Manager, Rob Hill, who supervises our 2 chief mechanics and crew chief [of the shop-based crew] and our Administrative Operations Team Manager, Scott Harner, who supervises the business offices and human resources dept. They in turn, report to me. I oversee the engineering dept. and the expense budget. There are 11 engineers, not all of whom go to the races, but rather are involved with the development end of the racing business including the wind tunnel, simulators and the development of various parts and pieces."

"Racing is a very practical business. The race is going to start whether we roll our car upon the starting grid or not. It's going to start with or without us. As a team who represents a sponsor, in this case Target, our car needs to start when we turn the key and needs to finish up front at the end of the race. What our engineers do is solve problems and help us stay ahead of our competitors."

"But they need to do so in a practical manner on race day. That's what I do. Hopefully, I energize and supervise them in being able to get the car out on race day and be successful."

What is your background in racing?

"I grew up as a kid in Southern Cal. (one of the big hot beds in racing then) and was lucky enough to be involved around race cars. I always wanted to go racing and I did! I was then lucky enough to end up here. I was simply a by-product of the American open wheel racing system. I began by coming through the ranks as a driver in open wheels including midgets, Formula Fords and Super Vees. When I couldn't find enough money to go racing, I went to work for a friend of mine who was racing and worked on his car. We won some races and the money was good so I started working on cars and figured out that this was what I wanted to do; and I'm still doing it!"

What are the qualities it takes to work for Team Target?

"Attention to detail and the desire to race. That's why we work here. We want to race!"

"That's the most important thing to us. There are some people in our industry who give racing "lip service". Without sounding like a selfish individual, I'd say that if a person only wants to think about racing 8 hrs. a day, then this is not the place for that person. However, if a person thinks about racing 24 hrs. a day, then this is the place that person should work. Some might consider it selfish, if let's say you couldn't have a family life or go water skiing on the weekends. They would be absolutely right. There are times within this business, because of our enthusiasm for what we do, that those things have been affected, but that's what we do and who we are."

Explain "Speed Is Life".

"That is a team slogan that comes from Target. What it represents is that life is only something you get to live once and there's no reason to stand still. You should go "flat out" with whatever you do in life. It's about being flat out in your life and that's what we do here. We constantly search out ways to do things better. And not necessarily better than our neighbors, but better than we've done ourselves. Target is the same way. Progressive, technically oriented and streamlined with a CEO who pushes his people very hard the same way Chip pushes his people here [to be the best]. As that work ethic developed within each company, a partnership emerged and that association has worked very well."

Is there a secret to the longevity of the association between Chip Ganassi and Target?

"We've managed to work together as partners for 12 years now and what Target is very good at, is partnering up with other people involved in our program, who see the value in their association between the different companies involved in our program such as Toyota, Firestone and Lola. Target is very happy with this and they have done some things together. Each company has benefited from the other. Probably the reason behind this relationship growing over the years has been an attitude of "if we work together; we get a lot further down the road together". We've adopted that same philosophy here internally and it's worked well for us. We represent a sponsor who is very happy about the marketing areas that we race in. I think that's what more CART teams need in the future; to be able to work with companies that are willing to allow an expansion into marketing areas and are diverse enough companies to where they can draw upon their financial resources. That would further, require a multitude of sponsors to be in on a race car. Target does a great job with that."

What kind of budget is required to run a team of this size and caliber?

"Even though we might have the appearance of "bigness" here at TCGR, there are other teams out there that spend more money than we do, to be honest about it. We're frugal about what we do and watch our pennies like everyone else does and Target helps us with that!"

"To be competitive in 2001 with 22 races and 2 cars, you probably need to spend about 12-15 million dollars per driver. Then how you spend it and the results you get are up to you! [chuckle]. There are people who would argue that you could do it for less and they would be right. But to be successful, you need that kind of money and that's the reality of the situation. Any open wheel series in America that runs the size cars that we do at 22 races per year, will need that much money."

What kind of sponsorship packages are available, in terms of cost, to potential sponsors who would want to advertise with TCGR?

"Compared to other teams in racing, what TCGR can offer to sponsors is unique, really. We can offer someone an opportunity to participate 62 times a year in sponsorship because TCGR owns a CART team, a NASCAR team, an Indy [IRL] team and a race track in Chicago. Although I'm not the one who handles that part of the business, a person would have the opportunity to work with an owner who has the people who can figure out how to make that happen for them. In terms of cost, figuring that out would be very simple if you look at the car in terms of real estate. You would divide the numbers of sponsors per square inch of the car by the annual operating budget of the team. I think that would be a fair way to answer that question."

Is there a pricing difference between advertising on the car vs. the driver or team?

"Generally, it's spread out evenly through out the team. Any astute sponsor involved in racing sponsorship would get as much activity away from the track visibility and driver as they would on the track with the driver. An example of this would be the marketing effort of Coca Cola that utilizes their sponsorship in a variety of promotions within various distribution centers to motivate their employees. Not only does the employee (and the family) get rewarded as winner of the promotion, but the distribution center is also rewarded by receiving a show car and the drivers for an evening during race week to promote how teamwork works within their own company as well as in racing. In return, we hopefully get fans!"

"That's how our program works! Our program is geared up to create a positive feeling about what we do here and what our profession is all about. We don't [just] take, we give. And that's the ethic of Target as well. That's how a sponsor benefits. It's not just about a lot of sponsors in a tent at a track. It's about more than that. And that's why companies like Target are willing to help us find the money for a team like ours, because they can find so many new, unique and different ways to help with what they are doing with in their own companies and still give back to their communities. Target, several months ago, was named in one of Wall Street's lists as a top company who engages in charitable giving. They don't do this for personal or monetary gain but rather, because it's part of their [corporate] ethic. And that's what we do in being a part of that. People give a lot here at TCGR."

What is the cost of insuring a Champ car? How does that work?

"Insurance is an option that comes pretty dear[ly]. A Sponsor would want a guarantee that they will have a car at the racetrack. In your team budget, at the beginning of the year, you would create either a self-insurance policy that would cover your damage(s), or you would have to buy track insurance. The "typical" deal over the last few years, has been a premium of half a million dollars per driver with a deductible of $50-100,000 which is based on history, however a driver can continue to be re-insured regardless of past driving history."

"Insurance won't cover the cost of labor, but the insurance reps will supervise the purchase of the new parts required to put the car back together and then reimburse the team upon purchase, less the deductible. Similar to that of crashing your own personal car."

What measures are taken to ensure the safety of the drivers?

"The CART owners voted the Hans device in this year as mandatory on the ovals and optional on the road courses. TCGR does not utilize the suggested life support system mandated in F1. The required on board fire extinguisher (as marked by an encircled E) and the kill switch for the electrical circuitry (as marked by a lightning bolt) are both located in the cockpit and marked clearly near the roll bar of the car."

"CART also has a progressive medical program that maintains their own hospital and a highly trained staff of physicians and medical personnel. Each driver must have a physical by the Medical Director and the results of that physical along with other pertinent medical data are kept on file and constantly updated. In the event of an accident which would require being transported off grounds to another facility, those records along with a CART physician, would accompany that driver."

"Additionally, TCGR maintains their own medical files on their drivers as well as every employee who travels for the team. When private testing is underway, The CART Medical Director is often on site to supervise what goes on with the drivers should there be a problem and help with the administration of emergency equipment that is present at all TCGR private tests. Although he attends most of the testing sessions, when Dr. Lon Bromley can't be there personally, another CART physician will be present in his place. When our physicians think of an improvement with the track or with our teams, we go ahead and look after it. We think that is very important."

Chip Ganassi: He appears to have high standards for everyone in his organization. Does he live by those same standards?

"Chip doesn't expect anything of anyone that he doesn't do himself. Chip is very straightforward with no hidden agendas. He expects an awful lot, but he also gives an awful lot. I won't speak for anyone else at TCGR when I say this; I can only speak for myself. The reason I work for Chip Ganassi is because he does what I talked about at the beginning of this interview. He thinks about racing 24 hrs. a day. That's what he lives to do; he loves racing. He's made a profession of it. He wants to succeed in racing, that's his ethic. That's what he's all about. That's why I enjoy working for him, you always know where you stand. You can tell him what you need and he'll help you find it. He'll give you what you need to get the job done. I don't know in racing or anywhere else in life, where you could ask for anything more than that. He's very supportive. For a team to be successful, that's what you need to do. He is also willing to learn from what we do on a daily basis. Whether it is good or bad, he's willing to learn from it and he expects the people who work for him to do the same."

Chip's management style: How would you describe it? [chuckling]

"That depends on where we stand every day of the week. He relies on his managers for all of his racing operations because he can't be in all of these locations at the same time. He relies on our judgment and expects to be informed of what's going on. He wants to be apprised of the decisions being made from time to time and we (Andy Graves in Charlottesville and I ) carry on a daily dialogue of what's going on. But he's not with us every minute of the day on the phone or in person. Chip is an extraordinary individual in that he is able to see what we need and then helps us all a lot [to make it happen]."

What are your plans for "Indy" this year?

"Although there has been no official announcement this year, Chip believes that Indianapolis is a good place to race. Last year was the first opportunity I've had to go there since 1995 and I started racing because I wanted to be involved with Indianapolis. My career, like a lot of others' careers, has followed CART. But believe me; on race day at the Indianapolis 500, no matter what the rhetoric is, no matter what side of the fence you're on, no matter what you believe or what people want you to believe, the electricity at Indianapolis on race day is well worth the price of admission! Chip enjoys that immensely. He knows what that electricity does as a competitor."

"If you can go there and succeed in that environment, in that arena on race day, then that's a measure of where your team is. So, because of that, I think Chip wants to continue to race at Indianapolis."

Let's talk a little bit about the drivers. For example, with the extensive amount of technology and telemetry found in today's cars, what's left for the driver and engineer to possibly discuss?

"You still have to get around the track and make the car work. The telemetry that's downloaded from the car sometimes can give you a direction to go, but what makes the cars go fast, still to this day, is the interaction between the driver, the engineer, the guy that helps him, and the people who work on the car. That's still what it's all about; it's what they can get out of that car together. What we get from the info sometimes tells us where we need to work a little harder. It helps us to balance the car. But on race day, it doesn't do anything for you. The technology helps you to get there, but you still have to be able to race. Everything today is electronic including race cars. The by-product of the electronic age are guys like Bruno and Nicholas."

"We have guys that have grown up in the electronic age and are very used to video games and multi-function electronic controls [as those found within Champ cars and on their steering wheels]. They are very used to those things. That, for them, comes as a standard second nature. They train their minds to go at higher speeds than we do."

"We have guys who run up at the front that are more capable of getting the job done because they've trained their minds to that. They see around the corners a little bit better, they understand what happens a little faster and they are able to do, as what we would call it, 'slow down the thing in their minds a bit'. Occasionally, you'll have a talented guy come along like a Juan, a Jimmy or an Alex. Someone who not only will be able to make their mind focus, but can react quicker to a situation under equal circumstances, better than someone else. That's what puts them at the front. They are able to get out of trouble easier than someone else."

Any final thoughts you would care to share with the racing community?

"All of us in motor racing are doing what we've always wanted to do. We're very lucky to be where we are."

"Never really having to grow up and work for a living; but this is an awful lot of work compared to my neighbor who might get off at 4:00 in the afternoon and does whatever he wants to do on the weekend! We don't do those things [on a regular basis] but we're doing what we like to do. This is a good place to be and a good place to work as well as a good industry to be in."

One Final Question: What would you do for a win and what wouldn't you do for a win?

"In our business, I think most people live their lives to a high ethical standard. Otherwise, they're weeded out of this business. This industry is very small. We want to be better and we want to win badly. Although I don't know if everyone else wants to, we do here. When you win, it is going to be at the expense of someone else. But I don't think our team philosophy is to think about it as that (as evidenced by Chip's reply last year when he was asked to list his top priority for the coming season). We're focused as a team on Today. What we can accomplish Today and how we can get the most out of Today. This is what will help you to succeed. Tomorrow is another day. We are lucky that the public can measure our successes here at TCGR."


"Be what you would seem to be, or if you would like it put more simply; Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were, or might have been, was not otherwise than what you had been, would have appeared to them to be otherwise.... "Don't let him know she liked them best, for this must ever be, a secret kept from all the rest, between yourself and me."

You can contact Melisa at.. Speed News Now