IndyCar: Ganassi team to run two PNC Bank cars at Portland

Chip Ganassi Racing heads west this month in hopes of winning a third consecutive NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship with remaining races in Portland, Oregon, and Monterey, California.

PNC Bank and Chip Ganassi Racing will kick things off with a handful of engagements in the City of Roses, starting on Thursday, September 1, with the opening of the 2023 Women in Motorsports internship application portal.

PNC, CGR and Sport Oregon will then host a Women in Motorsports panel discussion from 7-8 p.m. local time Thursday at the Alpha Media Live Studio in downtown Portland. Panelists will include Driver Scott Dixon, Engineer Angela Ashmore and Gearbox Mechanic Anna Chatten.

6-time INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon will also be reading to preschool children Thursday from 2-3 p.m. at the Gladstone Center for Families & Children in support of PNC Bank’s Grow Up Great early childhood education program.

Then on Friday, PNC will host local automotive service and technology students at the Portland International Raceway for a behind-the-scenes look at how drivers work together to win NTT INDYCAR SERIES races. Members of the Chip Ganassi Racing team will meet with the students to educate them on career paths in motorsports.

The compelling race weekend will culminate at the Grand Prix of Portland on Sunday where two title-contending PNC Bank cars will be piloted on-track by Scott Dixon in the No. 9 and Marcus Ericsson in the No. 8. Both drivers are in prime positions to win a third consecutive championship for Chip Ganassi Racing, as Dixon and Ericsson sit just 14 and 17 points from the top of the standings, respectively.

If Dixon were to win the championship, he would tie A.J. Foyt (7) for the most in INDYCAR SERIES history. If Ericsson were to win the championship, he would become the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 and the series title in the same season since Dario Franchitti accomplished the feat with CGR in 2010.