Scott Dixon’s Departure From Chip Ganassi Racing Ends A Glorious Run
IndyCar legend Scott Dixon will depart Chip Ganassi Racing at the end of the 2026 season, concluding a monumental 24-year partnership that brought 59 wins and six championships. Team owner Chip Ganassi confirmed Dixon's July 2 decision, noting they offered a multi-year extension but respected his choice. Dixon is widely anticipated to join Arrow McLaren for 2027, potentially creating a powerhouse trio with Pato O'Ward and recent Indy 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist, also expected to move there. This significant driver market shake-up would likely displace Christian Lundgaard and Nolan Siegel from McLaren, with Lundgaard a prime candidate for Ganassi's now-vacant No. 9 car. This seismic shift, likened to Tom Brady's departure from the Patriots, promises an explosive 2027 season.
It’s the end of a glorious combination in IndyCar history as Scott Dixon has informed team owner Chip Ganassi he will be leaving the team at end of the 2026 season. Dixon has driven for Ganassi since the middle of the 2002 season and during that time has won 59 IndyCar races including the 2008 Indianapolis 500 and six NTT IndyCar Series Championships.
Both marks are second only to the great AJ Foyt who won a record 67 races and seven IndyCar Championships in his storied career.
Although it has not been announced, it is presumed that Dixon will sign with Arrow McLaren beginning with the 2027 season.
Dixon’s departure was announced by team owner Chip Ganassi on July 2.
“Scott Dixon has recently informed the team that he will not be returning in 2027,” Ganassi said in a statement. “Scott has meant so much to CGR over the past 24 years. Together we've shared championships, many victories, and countless moments that have helped define this organization.
“Because of everything we’ve accomplished together, and the legacy Scott has built here, we believed it was important to give him the opportunity to finish his career at Chip Ganassi Racing, and we made him a multi-year offer to do just that. We respect that he's chosen a different path and wish him nothing but continued success. Scott will always be a special part of this team's history, and we're grateful for everything we've accomplished together.
“Our focus now is on finishing this season strong with the No. 9 PNC team while also preparing for the future at Chip Ganassi Racing.”
This weekend’s race is the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Steam Corners, Ohio. Dixon has driven a Chip Ganassi car to victory at Mid-Ohio a record seven times including last year when he passed teammate Alex Palou after that driver went wide entering a turn on the race track. Dixon led the final six laps to score the victory.
In recent seasons, Palou has raced past Dixon in terms of production in the team with 23 wins and four NTT IndyCar Series Championships since 2021. Dixon has nine wins and no championships during that same time span.
Palou enters this weekend’s race with a 60-point lead in the NTT IndyCar Series standings over Team Penske’s David Malukas.
Dixon, meantime, is having a frustrating season and is currently 10th in the standings, 163 points behind Palou.
Dixon’s presumed move to Arrow McLaren would give that team a powerful three-driver lineup that also includes longtime favorite Pato O’Ward of Monterrey, Mexico and the return of Felix Rosenqvist to the team he competed with from 2021 to 2023.
Rosenqvist is this year’s Indianapolis 500 winner, and it was announced last week on June 24 that he would be leaving Meyer Shank Racing at the end of this season with all indications pointing toward Arrow McLaren.
In order for both Dixon and Rosenqvist to join O’Ward on that team, both Christian Lundgaard and Nolan Siegel would not be returning. Siegel’s departure is expected as the young driver has yet to win a race in his career and has never finished higher than 23rd in the standings in each of his two full seasons in 2024 and 2025. He is currently 21st in this year’s standings.
Lundgaard, however, has won two races this season and continues to show promise. But the driver from Denmark is also in a contract season, which means his contract is up.
Ironically, Lundgaard could become a prime candidate to move over to Chip Ganassi Racing in Dixon’s soon-to-be-vacated No. 9 PNC Bank Honda.
With two major players including Dixon, an IndyCar legend, and Rosenqvist, this year’s Indianapolis 500 winner, it creates an explosive set of circumstances on the potential driver lineup for 2027.
And to think, Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio starts the halfway point of the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series season.
With so much potential movement, Scott Dixon’s departure from Chip Ganassi Racing is huge. It can be compared to NFL quarterback Tom Brady leaving the New England Patriots on March 17, 2020, after the combination won six Super Bowl titles together.