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OpenAI

Chip Ganassi Racing × OpenAI

Chip Ganassi Racing and OpenAI have teamed up to explore how AI can transform racing. Together, we’re turning the smallest details into an advantage on the track.

When racing met research

Chip Ganassi Racing has long pursued performance at the highest level, with 17 championships and five wins in the last six seasons. In a sport driven by innovation, they set out to be the first team to harness the power of AI for a competitive edge.

That ambition led to an unexpected connection. OpenAI researcher Joyce Ruffell, a lifelong motorsports fan, met CGR’s EVP of Business Operations, John Olguin, at a Women in Motorsports event in Indianapolis. What began as a serendipitous introduction quickly evolved into a partnership.

In its first year, the focus was using AI to make sense of the team’s vast data—from car sensors to race and pit crew performance. Now, it’s about connecting those insights and freeing engineers to think strategically, where gains of just tenths of a second can decide a race.

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A black Formula 1 race car with the number 10 and OpenAI logo speeds past a grandstand filled with blurred spectators under a clear blue sky.
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R&D: The series

Follow the journey of OAI researcher Joyce Ruffell and the CGR team as they search for a competitive edge in every piece of data in their pursuit of a second-straight IndyCar title.

Off to a hot start, the CGR team looks to continue their momentum and help driver Alex Palou bring home his first win at the legendary Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Driven by data

Racing is intensely data-driven, with inputs from historical records, every test and race session, car sensors, and even pit crew performance. OpenAI is helping Ganassi Racing collect and connect that data—freeing engineers to think strategically and uncover efficiencies that, in tenths of a second, can decide a race. 

Over 200 sensors are on a Ganassi IndyCar, generating nearly one billion data points per hour during a race.

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“We have been working with the Chip Ganassi team to build a number of race day tools with the intention of helping them get data faster, more accurately, and more efficiently.”
Joyce Ruffell, researcher and engineer, OpenAI
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image of indycar engineers working on testing equipment

The core team

OpenAI researchers and engineers and Chip Ganassi Racing are working together to redefine how research is applied on and off the track.

Joyce Ruffell

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Researcher & Engineer, OpenAI

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Chip Ganassi

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Owner, Chip Ganassi Racing

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Alex Palou

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Driver, #10 Car, Chip Ganassi Racing

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Roy Ziv

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Forward Deployed Engineer, OpenAI

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Will Plummer

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Human Performance Trainer, Chip Ganassi Racing

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Barry Wanser

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Team Manager & Race Day Strategist, Chip Ganassi Racing

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“Ganassi is bringing its racing knowledge. OpenAI is bringing its frontier intelligence. And we’re putting that together to make decisions and go faster.”
Pete Williams, Head of Tech, Chip Ganassi Racing
Rear view of a race car in a garage with its rear wing displaying "Research & Deployment Co." Two people stand nearby, one in a black jacket and the other in a white racing uniform. The car has visible mechanical components and a DHL Chip Ganassi Racing logo on its rear diffuser.
A group of smiling people wearing racing team uniforms and caps gather closely, many raising one finger in celebration or unity.
A high-speed black and blue Formula 1 race car is captured from behind as it speeds along a racetrack with red, white, and blue painted curbs in bright daylight. The car's rear wing displays the words "Research & Deployment Co." and the image conveys intense motion and blurred surroundings.
A black IndyCar race car with OpenAI branding speeds on a track, viewed from above, with motion blur emphasizing its fast movement.
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Close-up image of a racing helmet with a colorful design featuring logos of Honda, OpenAI, and Chip Ganassi Racing on the visor and shell.
Close-up of a blue and black racing car wing with the word "OPENAI" printed on it, scattered with multicolored confetti in yellow, blue, and orange.
A group of five people, four men in white racing suits with OpenAI logos and one woman in a white shirt and black pants, stand and chat beside a race car tire on a race track. They appear relaxed and are smiling, with a metal fence and trees in the background.
A blue IndyCar race car with OpenAI branding is being towed on a racing street circuit lined with spectators on both sides under clear blue skies. A black Acura banner spans across the track.
Rear view of a black race car in a pit lane with "Research & Deployment Co." on its rear wing, surrounded by crew members in white and black uniforms.