Today’s question: The case can be made that Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing are the Yankees and Dodgers of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, the winningest marquee organizations. As the World Series starts Friday (8 p.m. ET, FOX) with the Yankees and Dodgers, what interests you the most about the rivalry between these two iconic INDYCAR SERIES teams?

Curt Cavin: I’m not here to decide which of our teams is the Yankees and which is the Dodgers, but I find it interesting that Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing have stacked up big numbers in different ways. Team Penske has 20 victories in the Indianapolis 500, a total which dwarfs every other team, including Chip Ganassi’s five. Meanwhile, CGR has gotten the better of the season-long pursuits, winning 16 titles since its inception in 1990. Over that same period, Roger Penske’s group has 11 series championships. Interestingly, these trends are active, too. Team Penske has won Indy each of the past two years; CGR has won the season title each of the past two years. It’s fitting that each team has a three-peat on the line in 2025.

Eric Smith: I’m enthralled with how each have sustained excellence. Team Penske has been winning races for six decades with several different drivers and counting. Chip Ganassi Racing has four straight decades of dominance with a number of drivers, too. That’s remarkable considering the challenge to remain on top. Remember, these teams are marked with the bull’s-eye and are taking everyone’s best shot. I’ve always learned from athletes that the hardest part of competition isn’t the climb to the top, but staying there. The Dodgers have recent success with four World Series appearances since 2017, but those are the only trips to the October Classic since 1989. The Yankees have eight appearances since 1982. Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing are annually the teams to beat and provide cars capable of wins and championships in arguably the most competitive era of motorsports.

Paul Kelly: The level of professionalism and respect always has impressed me in the rivalry between Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing. I would be a millionaire if I had a dollar for every time a player, coach or team owner in many stick-and-ball sports spews the cliché, “I have a lot of respect for them,” when you quite well know it’s not true, at least part of the time. But it’s very clear these two blue-chip organizations really respect each other while trying to kick each other’s backsides week in and week out. That starts from the top, as Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi have formed a mutual admiration society for decades. That lack of bad blood trickles down all the way through both teams. The words “rivalry” and “class” often are mutually exclusive in sports, and I wouldn’t mind a bit more trash-talking and aggro at times in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. But it’s a compliment to Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing that the hottest rivalry in the series also is the most sportsmanlike.