Ganassi stars Wheldon, Dixon, Mears win 24-hour race at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Chip Ganassi has another winner.

While his teams have struggled the past few years in NASCAR and the Indy Racing League, Ganassi's sports car team has been prospering.

The IRL team has not won a race since Scott Dixon won in 2003 on the way to an IRL championship. The NASCAR team's last win was by Jamie McMurray near the end of the 2002 season.

But Ganassi, whose team won an unprecedented four straight championships from 1997 to 2000 in the CART series, started his sports car team two years ago and gained quick success.

Two years ago, Scott Pruett and Max Papis combined to win the Grand American Road Racing Daytona Prototype championship, grabbing four race wins. Last year, they won three times and finished second.

And on Saturday and Sunday, Dixon and new teammate Dan Wheldon joined Ganassi NASCAR driver Casey Mears in co-driving a Lexus Riley to a hard-earned victory in the Rolex 24, America's most prestigious endurance race.

Scott Dixon celebrates after bringing the Chip Ganassi car across the finish line in first place. (Getty Images)

"Let's hope this is just the start of a lot of good things for this team," said Wheldon, the reigning IRL champion and Indianapolis 500 winner, who won in his first start since leaving Andretti Green Racing.

All three drivers contributed to the Daytona win, but it appeared Dixon and Wheldon took the lead and were particularly comfortable as teammates.

"We get on pretty good. But we've sort of been teammates for years," said Dixon, noting he was the CART driver for the PacWest team in 2001 while Wheldon drove for the PacWest's Indy Lights team.

"This race is so difficult, so hard to win," Dixon added. "I can hardly believe we won it. But Chip gives us a great team and great equipment. Dan and I were also fast in the Phoenix (IRL) test earlier this week and I think there are going to be a lot more wins this year."

Wheldon agreed that the two will be good teammates.

"He's been on a different team the last couple of years, but there is a good rapport in IndyCars," the Englishman said. "As close as we drive together, you've got to trust one another.

"Scott won the 2003 series championship and he's just had a serious (engine) power deficit the last couple of years. It will be a good relationship for sure, especially if we continue as quick as we have been."