RideLust

Graham Rahal at Indy in 2010. He's got something to smile about for 2011. Photo: Manningmbd

At a time when most racing teams, regardless of the series, are cutting expenses to a bare minimum, Chip Ganassi is doubling the size of his team. In addition to bringing back the 2010 series champion, Dario Franchitti, and his teammate, Scott Dixon, Ganassi has just signed veteran driver Graham Rahal and newcomer Charlie Kimball for the 2011 season. Ganassi appears to be pulling out all the stops to capture another series championship for the team in 2011.

Graham Rahal, son of Indy 500 winner and three time series champion Bobby Rahal, drove 13 of 18 races in 2010. Unable to land a full season ride with a top tier team, Rahal raced for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, Sarah Fisher Racing, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and Rahal Letterman Racing at various points in the 2010 season. Despite lacking development time and a competitive car, Rahal finished the season 20th in points and managed to accumulate 8 top ten finishes.

Charlie Kimball, Chip Ganassi's latest driver. Photo: Michael Johnson

Charlie Kimball comes to Chip Ganassi Racing after stints in Formula Three, Formula Renault 3.5 and Firestone Indy Lights. Kimball developed Type 1 diabetes during the 2007 season, and wears a wireless blood sugar monitor for competition. On his singing with Ganassi, Autoevolution quotes Kimball as saying, “I am honored to join Ganassi and excited to be moving up to IndyCar. This is a dream come true and I am very proud to work with Novo Nordisk and continue to spread the message that diabetes does not have to slow you down.”

Graham Rahal at Indy in 2010. He's got something to smile about for 2011. Photo: Manningmbd