Auto Racing Capsules: Ganassi celebrates run of championships

The surprise was ruined, but the celebration will stay etched in Ganassi's memory.

"It was one of the more special moments of my racing career," Ganassi said Tuesday, searching for the words to adequately describe his emotions.

Longtime partner Target last week brought Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi, Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti together for a two-day event in Minneapolis honoring their title runs. Vasser gave Ganassi his first championship in 1996, Zanardi added two more in '97-98, and Montoya made it four consecutive Ganassi titles in 1999.

Dixon started another four-year run for Ganassi in 2008, and Franchitti added the last three IndyCar championships to the incredible reign.

The core group had an enthusiastic reunion dinner on the first day, and a large luncheon with their Target partners the next. The luncheon included a tribute video to the late Dan Wheldon, who drove for Ganassi for three seasons in IndyCar.

"So many years, and so many championships for Chip, and so many friendships," Montoya said.

It was an emotional two days for almost everyone involved for various reasons. Vasser and Zanardi built an incredibly tight friendship during their time as teammates, and although Zanardi now lives in Italy, the two remain close even though they don't see each other often.

"Other people could live 1,000 years and not experience the intensity or the emotions of the three years I spent with Jimmy driving for that race team," Zanardi said. "It is by far the best memories of my racing career."

For Dixon and Franchitti, it was a chance to sit back and watch the comedy routine of Vasser and Zanardi. While it was a walk down memory lane, it was yet another move toward getting on with business again after Wheldon's fatal accident in the Oct. 16 season finale. Both were close friends with Wheldon, and his accident lingers over the championship, Franchitti's fourth overall, and the ninth for Ganassi's open-wheel teams.

"We've reflected on the championship, and when I went to the Christmas party with the whole Target team, there was a lot of congratulating each other and all those sort of things," Franchitti said. "But I don't think we celebrated it. When we think about it, we are always going to be connected (with Wheldon). That's just the way it's going to be.

"So celebrating or not celebrating is not that important. We're really just motivated to go out and win another."

Motivation to win races and championships has always been what's driven Ganassi, and he's still searching for that formula in NASCAR. It's the only series he's yet to find consistent success, and last season was a black eye for an otherwise banner Ganassi year.

Aside from Franchitti's title in IndyCar, Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas combined to win their second consecutive Grand-Am title and were the anchors on yet another Ganassi victory in the prestigious 24 Hours of Daytona sports car race.

However, Ganassi's NASCAR teams went winless. Montoya finished 21st in the final Sprint Cup standings, Jamie McMurray was 27th and Ganassi on Tuesday called the overall organization effort "just pathetic for a team with our ability and resources."

"It certainly wasn't the first year I've had success on one side and not on the other," said Ganassi, who ordered sweeping organizational changes to his NASCAR operation. He released three top executives, hired industry veteran Max Jones as general manager, chose John Probst as technical director and lured Chris Heroy, a coveted employee at Hendrick Motorsports, to be Montoya's crew chief.

Ganassi expects early and immediate improvement, and indicated he's not done shaking things up if the results don't turn around.

"It was obviously time to make a change and we had to do it, we had to fix it," Ganassi said. "We took a big swipe at it, and I'm certainly happy with the people that we have now. But if more changes need to be done, we'll do that as well."

Nobody doubts he means it.

Franchitti called Ganassi one of the greatest motivators he's had in his career.

"He's the driving force. A lot of the success we have comes from Chip's determination," Franchitti said. "He hires the right people and then puts them in the right position and then gets on with it. He doesn't micromanage. If you win and do well, he's very appreciative. If you don't win, he's not shy, he pushes you to get on with it and pick it up."

And Zanardi, who came to the U.S. with the hardened individualist mentality so prevalent in European racing, credits Ganassi for opening his mind to a team atmosphere,

"When I started to drive for him and win the races, I had picked up a big head, you know, think you are the best," Zanardi said. "It was always clear he gave me a great opportunity, but I also thought I was helping him. I look at him now and realized he changed my life. Yes, we were winning and having great success, and at the time, I didn't give much credit to Chip for having created all that.

"But it's his perseverance, his dedication to what he does, he pours everything into his racing ... he definitely changed my life completely for the better."

Ganassi deflected all individual credit on Tuesday.

He instead praised his sales team, which on Tuesday announced partnerships with Banana Boat, Belkin products and LiftMaster garage doors and filled all the primary sponsorship for his two NASCAR teams. Everything is sold to the point that across all Ganassi's organizations, the IndyCar races for Franchitti in Edmonton and China are the only opportunities for a potential new primary sponsor.

Try pinning Ganassi down on what he does to make his organizations successful on the race track and in the business world, and he defers.

"It's like laying bricks. One brick would be me. Another brick would be Vasser. Another brick would be Zanardi. Another brick was the management team," he said. "Those are all bricks that you build and one day you look up, you've added Montoya, Dixon and Franchitti, suddenly what started out as a brick is now a wall. A strong wall.

''That's what it's about. It's not about me at all. I never drove the cars, I never changed a tire, I never installed the engine or rebuilt anything. I don't do any of that stuff."

Ford unveils 2013 Ford Fusion

"The NASCAR Nation is made up of car enthusiasts, and NASCAR fans certainly love to pull for a brand or make of car second only to being able to pull for their favorite driver," said NASCAR President Mike Helton. "Today is a very significant landmark for us. It brings back the relevancy of NASCAR on the race track to what fans have in their homes and in their parking lots and garages and at their parking spots at work."

NASCAR officials worked with representatives of its four auto manufacturers to try to make the Sprint Cup car more closely resemble each manufacturer's production cars.

Ford's Fusion was a joint project between the Ford Design Center and Ford Racing.

"We wanted Fusion to be the car that helped return 'stock car' to NASCAR," said Jamie Allison, director of Ford Racing. "I think fans, when they see the car, are just going to smile and cheer. It is going to re-engage them with the sport and make the sport better because there is just something natural about seeing race cars that look like cars in their driveways."

The 2013 Ford Fusion mirrors its production car. It is the third time Ford simultaneously launched production and NASCAR versions of a new model. The first dual launch came in 1968 with the Torino, the second was in 2006 with the newly introduced Fusion.

The 2013 Fusion has a redesigned silhouette and an identifiable front end grill. The overall proportion of the race car now reflects proportions of the showroom Fusion, and the race car has brand and design cues in the side of the vehicle.

"It's a pretty sexy looking race car," said driver Greg Biffle, who was behind the wheel of the Fusion for its unveiling and turned laps in the car around Charlotte Motor Speedway.

"My blood is flowing right now. I am really excited. I can't wait to start racing them and testing them.

Chevrolet, Dodge and Toyota have not said when they will unveil their 2013 cars. NASCAR allowed the four automakers to remodel their race cars to make them more brand identifiable, and Allison is certain the new cars will stand apart.

"The cars will not look anything like each other," Allison said. "The car's identity, the car's definition, it happens at eye level. Every car will now look identifiable as its production sibling."

-- Jenna Fryer

Federal appeals court to hear NASCAR drug case

A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond heard arguments on Tuesday over whether a lower court judge erred in dismissing Mayfield's suit in 2010 because Mayfield had twice — as a driver and an owner — signed documents in order to race that waived his right to sue. At issue also was the district court's refusal to let Mayfield amend his complaint to bolster his case.

Following Mayfield's 2009 suspension, he sued NASCAR, its owner, Brian Zachary France, and the drug testing company for defamation, unfair and deceptive trade practices, breach of contract and negligence.

Mayfield has argued that a combination of over-the-counter allergy medication Claritin-D and the prescription medication Adderall for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder led to the positive test in 2009, that NASCAR's testing system was flawed and that it did not follow federal guidelines in its testing methods. He won an injunction to continue racing during his appeal, but the 4th Circuit reinstated the suspension after Mayfield failed a second random drug test.

But the arguments Tuesday focused on whether the terms of the contract are enforceable in this case and whether contract law broadly exempts any causes of action.

"If you start carving out terms, then I don't know what you're left with. That's not a contract, your honor," Mayfield attorney Tillman Finley told the judges.

David Boies, an attorney for NASCAR, said Mayfield consented to the NASCAR contract and when somebody consents, they "can't complain saying they were defamed."

Boies added that there is a "clear public interest" in whether a driver tests positive for drugs, saying that in making the test results public, NASCAR was trying to protect fans, drivers and the sport itself.

In November, Mayfield was arrested in North Carolina and charged with possessing methamphetamine. He was arrested following a raid on his rural mansion in which police found 1.5 grams of meth, 69 guns and $100,000 in goods that authorities claim were stolen from at least two businesses. Authorities have said Mayfield may face more charges.

An attorney for Mayfield has said he denies those claims. That case is pending in North Carolina Superior Court.

After the hearing, Mayfield commented briefly, saying that he's glad he was able to get his time in court on this issue, that he's working his way through his North Carolina case and is looking forward to "seeing what happens." France did not comment after the hearing.

Since being suspended, Mayfield has faced judgments against him in excess of $2 million for failing to pay bills, and he owes another $109,000 in property taxes. Mayfield also faces foreclosure on his 388-acre property.

Mayfield was the first Sprint Cup driver suspended for failing a random drug test. NASCAR argues its policy is needed so that it can police the sport.

NASCAR originally countersued Mayfield, but it dropped the suit so the appeal could move forward.

The appeals court panel usually takes several weeks to issue a ruling.

-- Michael Felberbaum

Formula One

PARIS (AP) — The Lotus team says Jerome d'Ambrosio of Belgium will be its reserve driver this Formula One season, providing backup to Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean.

The 26-year-old D'Ambrosio said Tuesday that "it's an exciting next step in my career" and an opportunity he "couldn't afford to miss."

D'Ambrosio lost his spot at Marussia Virgin Racing to French driver Charles Pic two months ago.