Target will leave IndyCar at the end of this season after 27 years with Chip Ganassi Racing that included 11 championships and four Indianapolis 500 victories. The exit comes as Target is examining all of its marketing platforms under new chairman Brian Cornell. Target is also the primary sponsor of Kyle Larson in NASCAR’s top Sprint Cup Series and will return to his car in 2017. Target’s relationship with Ganassi is one of the longest in any racing series, and the retail giant was a key player in helping Ganassi build his organization. Target not only sponsored Ganassi’s first car as a team owner, it eventually became a partner as the Ganassi team grew to one of the top two players in open wheel racing. ‘It was a really difficult decision that we made ‘ we’ve been with Chip Ganassi Racing for 27 years and we are ridiculously proud of the success,’ [senior vice president Scott] Nygaard said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. ‘But the Target brand is about being fresh and new, so we felt like this was the time to make the difficult decision and expand our sports marketing platform.’ About the NASCAR sponsorship, Nygaard said only that Target is excited for the 2017 season with Larson. Target’s contract with Ganassi runs through next year.(Associated Press/ESPN.com)
