Ganassi explains reasoning behind parking drivers

Chip Ganassi took to Twitter on Monday to explain his reasoning for parking Max Chilton at Pocono and Tony Kanaan Saturday night at Gateway while both cars were fully functional.

Chilton’s No. 8 Honda was called into the pits and retired after completing 129 of the 200 laps scheduled at Pocono. Kanaan’s No. 10 Honda was retired after 168 of 248 laps at Gateway, and in both instances, the Chip Ganassi Racing drivers were multiple laps down. At the time, Chilton voiced his displeasure with the call over the radio to CGR technical director Julian Robertson.

"[Whoever gave me] this instruction is brain dead," he said. "It's the first time I've had a decent car in a while. Why can't we learn, or are we a quitting team? Good riddance, [I] can't wait for next year."

In the case of Chilton, Ganassi’s choice did not affect his finishing position; the Briton was credited with 18th and was the last car that failed to complete all 200 laps. That wasn’t the case with Kanaan, however, as he could have improved his final position from 16th to 15th when Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay crashed out on Lap 205 – after the Brazilian was instructed to stop driving.