Chip Ganassi Racing team manager Barry Wanser has an opportunity to help Alex Palou secure his third NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship, including two consecutively, in the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix Presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, Sept. 15.
If successful, Palou will become the first back-to-back series champion since Dario Franchitti and his three-year reign in the same No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda entry between 2009-11.
Wanser has served as Palou’s strategist for both of his titles with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2021 and 2023, but the 2024 championship would arguably mean more to Wanser than the previous two.
Wanser received a cancer diagnosis late in the championship-winning 2023 season, forcing him to miss the final two races. The team honored him in the interim by assembling ‘Barry heads’ on a stick and passed them around the paddock while Wanser was away from the track undergoing treatments for squamous cell carcinoma.
“Obviously, people are diagnosed with cancer every day,” Wanser said. “It was my turn last year. Just happened to be me.
“I had a couple of surgeries that I was able to get done sooner than later, so that took me away from the last two races. I wasn't there. But saw the team, had the Barry heads, which was pretty awesome to see from home, even on some pretty good pain meds.
“The support system, it's been very humbling the amount of support I've had. Not just from my teammates, but from the paddock and all of racing, in general, and the fans. It's been pretty special. Thanks to everybody that has been pulling for me. They've made a difference.”
Wanser defeated cancer last fall and instead of “Barry heads” this weekend at Nashville, Barry in the flesh will be on site as he returned to the pit box for the entire 2024 season. He helped Palou earn a 33-point advantage in the championship standings over Team Penske driver Will Power entering the season finale.
“Still somewhat recovering a little bit in some areas of my neck, but it just was great to be back with the team to start the year, and then to have another shot at a championship,” Wanser said. “Certainly, it will mean a lot more to me personally if we're able to pull it off and I'm there.”
Palou must finish ninth or better to secure the championship in Sunday’s 206-lap race airing at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, Universo, Peacock and INDYCAR Radio Network. Wanser won’t allow the conservative, points-racing mindset despite the ability to finish ninth or better in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to clinch the title Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway.
“Certainly, for the 10 car, we don't points race,” said Wanser. “We have to race to win because if we're points racing, then that affects the strategy.
“We want to run up front and run a leader strategy with the goal of finishing as far forward as possible. It doesn't change for us. We're racing to win. If you can't finish first, finish second. If you can't finish second, finish third. That's how we're going into the weekend.”
Ron Ruzewski (photo, left) has a similar approach for the No. 12 Verizon Business Team Penske Chevrolet car driven by Power. Ruzewski has served as managing director for Team Penske since 2019 with a focus on overseeing the technical development and day-to-day management of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES teams. He also is the strategist for Power and is vying for his second championship in that role, the first coming with the team and Power in 2022.
Power can’t finish lower than third Sunday with the best-case scenario to securing what would be his fourth victory of the season.
“I would say every weekend we go into the weekend with the expectation of winning, but if we don't have a winning car in the race, we try and get the best position that we can,” Ruzewski said.
“I would say the only difference in this race is if it gets down to the end and we have no chance or it looks very slim and we have to maybe go off strategy or do something at the ninth hour, you would entertain that. You make that call as you go along.
“I'm sure Barry would do the same if he is sitting there just out of the realm and we're leading the race, and he needs to do something to get himself into a position. You do what you need to at that point.
“Sure, your best bet is to go do what you've been doing, do what got you to here, and that's try to win races.”