Cup Series race winner admits 'never say never' to NASCAR return

NASCAR Cup Series News Wednesday, August 27, 2025 at 8:00 AM ET •By Chris Deeley

Chip Ganassi has refused to definitively rule out a return to NASCAR in the near future, admitting that the sport would suit his team more than ever.

Ganassi's team just claimed its fifth IndyCar title in the last six years, four of them coming via Spanish star Alex Palou, but it has been absent from the Cup Series for a few years.

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He admitted this week that he hasn't had any conversations with Honda about the possibility of coming back to the pinnacle of stock car racing with the team which has run entries for Juan Pablo Montoya, Jamie McMurray, Kyle Larson, Kurt Busch, and Ross Chastain.

Ganassi sold his NASCAR operation to Trackhouse Racing in 2021, but was quizzed this week on whether a return could be on the cards.

Ganassi: NASCAR formula has changed

Speaking at a press conference this week, he said: “Am I open to it, I wouldn’t say ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ but what I can tell you is that I haven’t had that conversation with Honda,. I have never had that conversation with NASCAR but I am also smart enough to never say never.”

When asked whether he'd thought about what Palou could do in the Next-Gen car, which has ben described as more friendly to open-wheel drivers than ever, he admitted: “You’re onto something there, so the answer is yes (I have considered how good Palou could be in NASCAR) because the formula has changed since I was there.

“It is a formula that does lend itself to the kind of racing we do and the kind of engineering we do, that we’re good at.

“So the answer to that is yes, but I have not had any of those discussions or given it much thought.”