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A16 sports
Tuesday 27 OcTOber 2020
Chip Ganassi celebrates 30 years of winning

By JENNA FRYER ing in for 2021 is seven-time
AP Auto Racing Writer NASCAR champion Jimmie
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Johnson, who has joined
You may have heard that the Ganassi list of cham-
Chip Ganassi likes winners. pions that includes Dixon,
It's his catchphrase, his slo- Dario Franchitti, Juan Pablo
gan for his drivers, and the Montoya, Alex Zanardi and
brand he's established for Jimmy Vasser.
his race teams. Johnson will run IndyCar
In this 30th anniversary sea- road and street course
son for Chip Ganassi Rac- races for Ganassi in a new
ing, the boss is celebrat- No. 48 entry with funding
ing another winner: Scott from Carvana, a company
Dixon won his sixth IndyCar brand new to motorsports.
title to give Ganassi a 20th Johnson and Dixon have 13
championship ring as a driver titles between them
team owner. "Big Boom!!!!" and are regarded as the
Ganassi posted to Twitter best of their generation.
after Dixon sealed the title Ganassi has been im-
in Sunday's season finale in pressed with Johnson's work
downtown St. Petersburg. ethic and commitment to
He closed with his signature put together a competitive
'#ilikewinners' at the end of IndyCar program. He likes
the post. Chip Ganassi speaks about driver Jimmie Johnson joining his IndyCar team for next season at a hard workers.
It's not been an easy year press conference during the IndyCar race weekend Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020, in St. Petersburg, Fla. He noted Johnson flew
for Ganassi, who started Associated Press from North Carolina to St.
the season miserably sitting slur while participating in Dixon at one point built right." "He always goes into, Petersburg to spend all
in his Pittsburgh home while an online event and Ga- a 117-point lead, a cush- 'Visualize yourself getting day Saturday at the track
IMSA rang the opening bell nassi had to fire him. ion he needed when 2019 that checkered flag first. immersed with the team.
at the Rolex 24 of Daytona. Things didn't start to pick up winner Josef Newgarden Visualize the pit stops going Johnson was ready to work
Ganassi before 2020 shut- until June, when his storied made a late charge. New- smoothly,'" Dixon said. "He upon his 7:30 a.m. arrival.
tered the dominant sports IndyCar program finally garden won Sunday's sea- always has great words of "He's on the phone, on the
car program that had got on track. Team owners son finale, which was basi- encouragement. Before I computer, in front of the
won seven championships are permitted in IndyCar's cally his only path to keep- got in the car, he just said, data, looking at data all
— his manufacturer is tak- "bubble" at the track — in ing his title, but Dixon shad- 'Don't worry, just do what the time," Ganassi said. "It
ing a break from the series NASCAR they are not — owed him the entire day to you do.'" became very apparent
— and Ganassi hated not and Ganassi could at last finish third with a safe and Ganassi is gruff and indis- very quickly why this guy's
having cars in the first show get to a race. smooth strategy. putable, very clear in his a champion. It's such a
of the season. Dixon won the first IndyCar He said he saw concern on wants. Win races and keep breath of fresh air to have
Then the pandemic hit and race of the season, then Ganassi's face in the build- your head down are Ga- a guy like that come in the
racing — his only business the second, then the third. up to the race, but Dixon nassi's demands, and fol- door who's going to push
— was on hold. It was a The fourth race was won joked the boss had nothing low those instructions or us."
contract year for Kyle Lar- by Felix Rosenqvist, giving to worry about. Dixon is as your time with the team Fielding championship
son with Ganassi's NASCAR the Ganassi team four con- steady as they come and will be short. Rosenqvist, teams has gotten harder as
team and an expensive secutive wins and a strong Ganassi ends every meet- a young talent, is report- sponsorship opportunities
bidding war was expected. command of the champi- ing encouraging his teams edly out after two seasons have shrunk. Ganassi has
Then Larson used a racial onship race. to "do the obvious things and just one win. But com- not been immune. q
Pogba lashes out at media outlets over ‘fake news’ stories

MANCHESTER, England player, who is a practis- version of the article.
(AP) — France midfielder ing Muslim, said he is "ap- Macron this month de-
Paul Pogba lashed out at palled, angry, shocked nounced what he called
a British tabloid on Mon- and frustrated" at being an "Islamist terrorist attack"
day and said he is taking the subject of "fake head- against a history teacher
legal action against me- lines" amid current events decapitated in a Paris sub-
dia outlets who have re- in France. urb and urged the nation
ported that he is quitting In a post on Instagram, to stand united against ex-
international soccer. Pogba put a sticker say- tremism.
Using what it called "vari- ing "UNACCEPTABLE FAKE "I am against any and all
ous Middle Eastern news NEWS" over a screenshot forms of terror and vio-
sources," British newspa- of the article published by lence," Pogba wrote in his
per The Sun reported that The Sun. Instagram post. "My reli-
Pogba would stop playing Pogba said the reports gion is one of peace and
for France's national team had created "a gossip love and must be respect-
Manchester United's Paul Pogba warms up prior to the English because of comments chain without caring it af- ed."
Premier League soccer match between Newcastle United and made by the country's fects people's lives and my Pogba has played 72
Manchester United at St. James' Park in Newcastle, England, president, Emmanuel Ma- life." times for France and was a
Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020. cron, about Islam. The Sun said Monday it member of its World Cup-
Associated Press The Manchester United had amended the original winning team in 2018.q