On November 12, 2008, Chip Ganassi and
Dale Earnhardt, Inc. owner
Teresa Earnhardt, widow of seven-time Cup Series champion and DEI namesake
Dale Earnhardt, announced that the two teams would merge in time for the
2009 season and run under the name of
Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (EGR). The other two DEI cars – the No. 01 and the No. 15 – were disbanded. The No. 41 Ganassi team was planned to continue, but was ultimately shut down when driver
Reed Sorenson left for
Gillett Evernham Motorsports and when sponsor
Target was moved to the No. 42, with the number transferred by NASCAR to
Jeremy Mayfield's short-lived owner-driver team. In mid-2015,
Rob Kauffman, then co-owner of
Michael Waltrip Racing, purchased a stake in the team. Initially expected to absorb one of the two MWR entries, CGR later announced it would remain a two-car operation. The pit crew department won the 2017 Comcast Community Champion Award in recognition of their charitable work.
Car No. 01 history ;Part-time (1999–2000) In 1999, the team fielded No. 01 and served as the team's research and development car.
Jeff Green,
Steve Grissom, and
Ron Hornaday Jr. drove the car on a limited schedule. In 2000, The No. 01 replaced the No. 42 after New Hampshire and was driven by
Ted Musgrave. Leffler's rookie season was a struggle, despite winning a pole at the inaugural race at
Kansas Speedway. Leffler failed to qualify for four races, and was replaced with
Trans-Am Series driver
Dorsey Schroeder at
Sonoma and
Scott Pruett at Watkins Glen. After more struggles in the first half of 2013, McMurray finally broke back into victory lane at the fall Talladega race, his first victory in three seasons. After an improved 15th-place points finish, McMurray would sign a contract extension to return in 2014. in the No. 1 at
Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2016 McMurray won the Sprint All-Star Race in 2014, taking two tires under the final caution and passing leader
Carl Edwards within the final ten laps to score the victory and the $1 million bonus. However, the team did not win a points race during the season and missed the
Chase for the Sprint Cup. Both McMurray and teammate
Kyle Larson would rebound after missing the playoff, with the 1 car scoring a pole and four top-fives in the final ten races of the year. Overall, McMurray had seven top fives and 13 top tens to finish 18th in points. For 2015, former
Yates Racing driver
Matt McCall was hired as crew chief for McMurray, replacing Keith Rodden. McMurray started 2015 on a high note, climbing to 8th in the standings within the first ten races and making the Chase for the first time in his career, but ended up being eliminated in the first round on a tiebreaker. He finished 13th in points. McMurray would once again be eliminated from championship contention in the first round of the Chase in 2016, following an engine failure at Dover, he finished 13th in points for the 2nd year in a row. In 2017, McMurray scored 17 top 10s, his best number since 2004, advancing to the Chase once again. This time, he was able to make past the first round but was eliminated in the Round of 12 after crashing at Talladega and Kansas. He finished the season 12th in points. McMurray failed to make the 2018 Playoffs with a string of disappointing finishes, with one top-five and six top-10s during the regular season. A second-place finish at the
2018 Bank of America Roval 400 was the high point of his season. McMurray finished the 2018 season 20th in points. On September 10, 2018, it was announced that McMurray will not return to Chip Ganassi Racing in 2019. ;Kurt Busch (2019–2021) in the No. 1 at
Sonoma Raceway in 2019 On December 4, 2018, it was announced that former
Stewart–Haas Racing driver and
2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Champion
Kurt Busch, along with sponsor
Monster Energy, would move to the No. 1 team in the
2019 season. Busch scored his first win with CGR at
Kentucky. On November 2, CGR officially announced that Busch had signed on with the No. 1 team for at least two more years. Busch managed to make the 2020 playoffs without winning a race by staying consistent with four top-fives and 14 top-10 finishes. He scored his 32nd career win and his first of 2020 at
Las Vegas; the win secured him a spot in the Round of 8. He failed to advance to the Championship 4 and finished 10th in the final standings. In 2021, Busch won at
Quaker State 400 on July 11, holding off his younger brother Kyle Busch and locking himself into the playoffs. However, Busch was eliminated from the playoffs following the conclusion of the Round of 16 at
Bristol, which also ended Ganassi's final chance at a Cup championship as an owner. After the season concluded when Trackhouse bought the assets to the team, the second team used the number 1, however that team is the old 42 team including driver, crew chief, crew members, and sponsors.
Car No. 1 results Car No. 40 history ;Kenny Wallace (1993) in 1997 for SABCO paint scheme The No. 40 car debuted in
1993 as the second car in the SABCO stable. It had sponsorship from
Dirt Devil and was piloted by rookie driver
Kenny Wallace. After Wallace finished 3rd behind
Bobby Labonte and
Jeff Gordon in the
NASCAR Rookie of the Year standings, he was released at the end of the season. ;Multiple Drivers (1994–1997)
Bobby Hamilton drove the car the next season with sponsorship from
Kendall Motor Oil, during which the No. 40 car was bought by
Dick Brooks. Hamilton finished 23rd in points that year. The
1995 season saw multiple drivers such as
Rich Bickle,
Greg Sacks, and
Shane Hall pilot the car. But at the end of the season, Brooks closed up shop and sold the team back to Sabates. The team came back in the
1996 season with
First Union sponsoring the car and Greg Sacks, Jay Sauter, and Robby Gordon in select events The team returned for 1997 full-time with rookie driver
Robby Gordon,
Coors Light moving over from the No. 42, and the team switching from
Pontiac to
Chevrolet. Some say that Marlin's injury signified the beginning of the struggles for the team.
Jamie McMurray, who was scheduled to drive the No. 42 car the following season, filled in for Marlin in six races, with
Mike Bliss running the car at
Martinsville. At
Charlotte, McMurray beat out
Bobby Labonte to win his 1st race in just his 2nd
Winston Cup start. This emotional victory was capped off with a phone call from Marlin through the television network congratulating McMurray on his victory. Marlin would go winless over the next three seasons, with a best finish of 18th in points in 2003 and was released after 2005. ;David Stremme (2006–2007) at
Homestead in 2007 Rookie
David Stremme replaced Marlin in the
2006 season. This move outraged some fans, since Coors Light and Ganassi both stated that the decision was partly due to Coors Light attempting to target the younger demographic. A new primary sponsor,
Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon, joined the team and split time with Coors. Ganassi shut the team down in July due to its lack of funding mid-season, with around 70 employees laid off. Franchitti, meanwhile, moved to CGR's
IndyCar operation. The team was revived for several fall races with
Bryan Clauson driving, but race qualifying was rained out twice and the team did not make the field due to being too low in the owner points. When qualifying was finally staged at Texas, Clauson subsequently failed to qualify, and the team was shut down again.
Car No. 40 results Car No. 41 history ;Jimmy Spencer (2002) in 2008. With Cingular moving to
Richard Childress Racing to sponsor the No. 31 car, long time Ganassi backer
Target became the sponsor of the former 01 team, the number was changed to No. 41, and veteran
Jimmy Spencer was tabbed to replace Leffler. Spencer did not qualify for the Daytona 500, and was replaced by road course ringer
Scott Pruett at
Watkins Glen, with Pruett finishing a strong sixth. The team took one week off and returned as the No. 01 driven by
Ted Musgrave. ;Kyle Larson (2014–2020) at Daytona in 2016. For 2014, promising development driver
Kyle Larson took over the No. 42 after winning the
2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year. Montoya, meanwhile departed for
Chip Ganassi's rival,
Team Penske, in the
IndyCar Series. For 2014, Larson competed with what many deemed to be the strongest
rookie class in the series' history, including 2013 Nationwide Series champion
Austin Dillon and several of their former Nationwide Series competitors. Larson nearly won at
Fontana, finishing second to
Kyle Busch after a late-race restart. Larson defeated Busch the day before to capture the victory in the Nationwide Series race. He had a steady amount of top 10 finishes in the first half of 2014 and finished fourth at his second road course race at Watkins Glen. Larson had numerous crashes and tire failures but won a competitive Rookie of the Year title. He would struggle in 2015, including having to miss the
2015 STP 500 due to dehydration. Larson's best finish that year would be third at the spring Dover race, but he would finish 19th in points. In 2016, Larson would rebound from his sophomore year, taking his first career victory at the
2016 Pure Michigan 400, qualifying him for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. However, both he and teammate McMurray would be eliminated from championship contention after the Citizen Soldier 400. In 2017, Larson captured his second career victory at
Fontana after securing pole position for the race. This completed his first "Weekend Sweep", which is when a driver wins every race run during the weekend. Larson would win three more races that year, sweeping both Michigan races and winning the last race before the playoffs at Richmond. Larson looked like a championship contender for most of the year, staying in the top-three in points from races 3 to 31 of the season. However, an engine failure at Kansas resulted in him being eliminated at the Round of 12 of the Playoffs, the first of four straight DNFs for Larson, relegating him to an eighth-place finish in points. In 2018, Larson returned with his
Credit One Bank/DC Solar
Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Despite being winless, he made the Playoffs by staying consistent in the regular season with four second-place finishes, eight top-fives, and 14 top-10s. Larson had a dominant car at the
Inaugural Charlotte Roval race but was caught in a multi-car pileup in a late restart that also involved Playoff contenders
Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch. His heavily damaged No. 42 car took advantage of
Jeffrey Earnhardt being spun out by
Daniel Hemric on the final lap and limped across the finish line in 25th place, securing him in the top 12. Larson experienced further bad luck at the
fall Talladega race when he blew a right-front tire and spun out. He finished 11th in the race but was docked 10 driver and 10 owner points after the team violated the damaged vehicle policy by using metal tabs instead of fasteners and/or tape to repair the torn right front fender. Despite finishing third at the
fall Kansas race, Larson was eliminated in the Round of 12 of the Playoffs. He finished the season ninth in points. During the 2019 season, Larson made history by becoming only the third driver to win the Monster Energy Open and the
Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race. Larson once again made the Playoffs, his 4th straight appearance. Right after advancing past the Round of 16, Larson broke a 75-race winless streak by winning at
Dover after qualifying second, immediately advancing to the Round of 8. On April 13, 2020, NASCAR and
iRacing indefinitely suspended Larson after he used a racial slur during an
iRacing event. In a statement posted to Twitter, Chip Ganassi Racing had announced that they had suspended Larson without pay. As a result of his actions, McDonald's, Credit One Bank, Advent Health and Fiserv terminated their sponsorship of Larson. In addition, Chevrolet suspended its relationship with Larson indefinitely. CGR fired Larson the following day. ;Matt Kenseth (2020) On April 27, 2020, it was announced that
Matt Kenseth would fill in for the remainder of the season. In addition, NASCAR granted him a waiver for eligibility in the 2020 playoffs. Other than a second-place run in the
Brickyard 400, the season was forgettable for the 42 team as Kenseth finished 28th in the final standings with two Top 10's in his 32 races. After the year, Kenseth formally retired from NASCAR and primary sponsor
Credit One Bank left the organization. ;Ross Chastain (2021) in 2021 On September 21, Chip Ganassi Racing announced that
Ross Chastain would replace Kenseth in the No. 42 Chevrolet in
2021. After a few great runs including a third-place finish in the
Southern 500 and a second place at the inaugural
Ally 400 at
Nashville, the team missed the playoffs and finished 20th in points in his first fulltime season as a Cup driver. After the season however, Ganassi sold his assets to
Justin Marks and the
Trackhouse Racing. After a short decision, the team decided to bring the whole 42 team over including Ross, crew chief Phil Surgen, the crew and sponsors including
AdventHealth but the 42 number did not come over as that team now runs as the 1 car. The 42 number however was not out of use long as the
Petty GMS Racing team picked up its second car as the 42.
Car No. 42 results Additional cars ;Part Time as the No. 46 (1997–1998) The No. 46 car began as the No. 87
NEMCO Motorsports car owned and driven by
Joe Nemechek. After he signed with SABCO in 1996, Sabates became the majority owner of the team, which debuted at the
1997 Daytona 500 as the No. 46
First Union Chevrolet driven by
Wally Dallenbach Jr. Car No. 09 results ;Part Time as the No. 39 (2003–2005) In the same year, Pruett would run for CGR itself at
Watkins Glen as the No. 39. Pruett started 28th and finished 2nd. Pruett and the car reappeared in
2004 and
2005 at
Sonoma, where Pruett finished 3rd and 31st, respectively. He also attempted Watkins Glen, but he failed to qualify both years. In 2005, former champion
Bill Elliott drove the car in the
Bud Shootout, due to his ride at
Evernham Motorsports being unavailable. The car was sponsored by
Coors, running a tribute scheme that Elliott had run in the past with the sponsor. Development driver
David Stremme then drove seven races in preparation for his bid in
2006 for
NASCAR Rookie of the Year, making his debut at
Chicagoland Speedway in July. Stremme finished 16th in his debut.
Reed Sorenson also drove at Atlanta with
Discount Tire sponsorship in preparation for his full-time cup season in 2006. In August 2005, CGR announced their plans to expand to four full-time teams, with
Home123 moving up from the
Busch Series to sponsor the new entry.
Casey Mears, then the driver of the 41 car, was selected to drive the new entry, with
Reed Sorenson moving into his old ride. Home123, then the "official mortgage company of
NASCAR", was one of several mortgage companies that specialized in
subprime loans to make a large investment in the sport during the peak of the
U.S. housing bubble. By November, however, Home123 and Ganassi mutually ended their agreement, and Mears was tabbed to replace the departing
Jamie McMurray in the No. 42
Texaco Havoline Dodge.
Car No. 39 results ;Part Time as the No. 30 (2006) In preparation for running full-time in the No. 42 car in 2007, Formula One and Indy 500 winner
Juan Pablo Montoya made his Cup debut at the 2006 season finale Ford 400 at
Homestead, in a
Texaco Havoline car numbered No. 30. Montoya qualified 29th and ran as high as 13th, but was involved in an incident with
Ryan Newman on lap 254, leading Montoya's car to crash and erupt in flames. Montoya was credited with a 34th-place finish.
Car No. 30 results ;Aric Almirola and the No. 8 (2009) 's No. 8 car in 2009. After the DEI merger, Ganassi gained a set of owners' points from the former DEI No. 8 car, which had been driven by
Mark Martin and
Aric Almirola in 2008. (For more information about the No. 8 prior to the merger, including the time during which the car was driven by
Dale Earnhardt Jr., see
Dale Earnhardt, Inc.). Although Ganassi did not have enough sponsorship to run three cars, and after
Bobby Labonte turned down an offer to drive the car,
Aric Almirola was tentatively signed to return to the No. 8 Chevrolet for the full 2009 season, pending sponsorship. and one-race deals with
Cub Cadet, and Champion Apparel. After seven races and while sitting 37th in owner points, Ganassi announced that the operations of the No. 8 team were being suspended indefinitely due to lack of sponsorship. Almirola later sued Ganassi for breach of contract, which he alleged promised a full-season ride, and the dispute was settled out of court.
Car No. 8 results ;Part Time as the No. 34 With Front Row Motorsports (2009) In addition to the No. 8 car, for 2009 EGR formed an alliance with
Front Row Motorsports's No. 34 car and driver
John Andretti. FRM received the owner points of DEI's former No. 15 car, allowing the team to qualify for the first five races of the season. The teams also formed a technical alliance, with EGR crew chief Steve Lane moving to FRM and the No. 34 fielded as a fourth EGR entry in select races including the
Daytona 500. == Xfinity Series ==