Ganassi sign Brack for 2002.

The Champ Car silly season got off to a dramatic start at Road America this weekend with the announcement that current points leader Kenny Brack had signed for the Target Chip Ganassi Racing outfit for the 2002 CART FedEx Championship.

Target Chip Ganassi Racing announced on Friday that current CART FedEx Series Championship leader Kenny Brack will join the four-time series champions for the 2002 season and beyond. Brack, who currently races for Team Rahal, is also scheduled to compete for Team Target in the 2002 Indianapolis 500.

"Team Target is one of the most highly respected teams in all of Motorsports, and they've proven they're capable of winning championships," said Brack, the 2000 FedEx Series rookie of the year. "My goal is the same as Target Chip Ganassi Racing's: win the CART championship and the Indy 500. I'm thrilled to join this team next year and look forward to working with them to accomplish our goals."

The news of Brack's arrival into the most successful Champ Car team of the 1990's was broken earlier this week forcing Ganassi and Brack to confirm the deal quicker than they would have liked and paddock rumour suggests that Brack's title ambitions with Rahal are now receding. There is also confusion over the identity of Ganassi's second driver as he has an option on both Bruno Junqueira and Memo Gidley for next year.

Brack's move is a critical blow to Team Rahal whose other driver Max Papis may also be leaving the team at the end of the season following a fairly lacklustre spell in the Miller sponsored car but with a Championship potential seat now officially vacant and eight rounds of the CART series left to run Brack's departure leaves the door open for a number of intriguing possibilities.

The Swedish driver is thought to be doubling his current salary with Ganassi with Ganassi's Indy 500 and NASCAR Winston Cup program also being major selling points. Brack won the Indy 500 for AJ Foyt during his three-year tenure in the Indy Racing League and has also professed a desire to try a NASCAR Winston Cup car for size in the future.

As for Rahal the team made no official announcement concerning any possible replacements and it could be some time before Brack's replacement is confirmed although Brack was at pains to stress that there was no animosity between himself and Bobby Rahal, who stood firmly in Brack's court at Mid Ohio, and that his Championship charge is still well and truly on the rails.