Chip Ganassi is preparing for a big weekend, taking on both the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 and the IndyCar Series Indianapolis 500. FOXSports.com recently caught up with Ganassi to talk about his thoughts on the 100th running of the Indy 500, and what that race means to the sport.
Q: Why is the Indianapolis 500 still the greatest spectacle in racing?
Ganassi: It’s like any big event. You have to take it all in from end to end. It’s not just a race. It’s an event. And it has a social aspect to it. You have to experience it not only as a race, but the tradition, the build up, the qualifying, the procedures, it’s all part of it.
Q: Do you still get goosebumps going through the tunnel?
Ganassi: Of course. Oh, you don’t understand that place if you don’t get that. It’s where it all started, that’s all you can say.
Q: And to win it?
Ganassi: Big. It’s as big as it gets. You win that, you win Daytona. That’s all they want to talk about. Did you win it? Did you win it? How many times? That’s all they want to know.
Q: What was that first win like?
Ganassi: Surreal. Just like Daytona. You work, work, work so hard to win that thing and one day you and you just can’t believe it.
