Chip Ganassi Racing has selected Christian Lundgaard to replace Scott Dixon in the #9 car starting in 2027, GRANDE PRÊMIO has learned. The Dane has signed a short-term deal starting next season with the team that has won four of the last five IndyCar championships with Álex Palou.
In an announcement expected to be released shortly, Lundgaard emerged as a safe bet for Ganassi after Dixon opted to leave the team for McLaren — where the Dane currently drives. At McLaren, Lundgaard was passed over in favor of Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist, who will line up alongside the six-time champion.
Initially, Marcus Armstrong was the driver being groomed to return to a full-time Ganassi seat, which he lost following the introduction of charters at the start of 2025. Since then, the New Zealander was placed at Meyer Shank Racing and was widely considered the natural candidate to take over a Ganassi entry as soon as a seat opened up. Internally, however, the consensus was that the current driver of the #66 car was not yet as ready as Lundgaard to step into the role.
As a result, Armstrong signed a multi-year extension with Meyer Shank and was promoted to the #60 car— the team’s flagship entry, which Rosenqvist drove to victory at the Indianapolis 500. Meanwhile, Lundgaard departs McLaren, where he won two races this season, to join IndyCar’s powerhouse team of recent years.
However, the decision to opt for a short-term contract is aimed at evaluating Lundgaard’s performance more closely and understanding, on a day-to-day basis, if the Dane has the long-term potential to remain with Ganassi for many seasons to come, GRANDE PRÊMIO has learned.
With Lundgaard’s deal locked in, Ganassi is expected to field Palou, Kyffin Simpson, and the Dane in 2027, while McLaren’s lineup is already set with O’Ward, Rosenqvist, and Dixon. Among the other front-running teams, Penske Racing has yet to finalize the future of Josef Newgarden, who remains without a contract extension, while Andretti has Marcus Ericsson on a deal that runs only through the end of the season.
IndyCar returns this weekend with the Nashville GP, a round held on the oval located in the city of Lebanon, Tennessee. The green flag is scheduled for this Sunday (19), right after the World Cup final.
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