When you have drivers like three-time IndyCar Series Champion Scott Dixon and phenomenal NASCAR newcomer Kyle Larson in your stable, you need to run a tight ship business-wise.Chip Ganassi Racing Teams (CGRT) aims to stay a leading competitor on the IndyCar, NASCAR and IMSA circuits, and to do that, it needed a business system that could stay with the pace.“We need to do everything we can to provide the right reporting internally and externally and clearly demonstrate to our sponsors that we’re spending the money to get them the best possible return,” says CGR’s Controller, Jim Dobbs. “There’s less new money coming into the sport, so it’s really important for us to be on top of it on a weekly basis, in order to retain our sponsors.”This team that bears the name of one of the most successful owners in motorsports history chose Greentree and partner Crestwood Associates.CGRT has a quarter of a century of motorsport behind it. Its offices in North Carolina, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh employ over 300 people and its three racing teams are on the road for up to 38 weeks every year. Management and sponsors require precise reports about the costs of managing a 50-person race crew for each event.CGRT had been using Microsoft Dynamics AX, which was due for an upgrade.“It just wasn’t worth the cost,” says Jim. “We decided to look for something that was more user-friendly and cost-effective.”Jim had worked with Crestwood on a previous Greentree implementation.“It was seamless and flawless,” he says, “and they were the first people I thought of when I decided to go through this process.”CGRT looked at several other products, including Sage, but their demonstrations “just fell behind the Greentree product”.“Crestwood blew us away with their demonstration and how it was going to work for our business. We saw that we’d be able to beef up our general ledger to the point where we could create better reporting and better information for all our departments. They also introduced us to web reporting and it just all made sense.”Live information sharing between CGRT’s widespread offices is now a reality, and they’ve been able to establish Quad accounting, delivering granular reporting on the multitude of expenses that the various companies run up at their events.“We have an account called Race Car Parts, which we joke about being like your junk drawer at home,” Jim laughs. “You can find anything in there but you really don’t know what it contains. With Greentree we can do a much better job of sorting and extracting data, so for instance we’ll know how many fuel pumps or rear-end housings we’ve purchased.“We’re really excited about the detailed reporting we’ve added, and how much time and effort it’s going to save us.”It can cost upwards of $200,000 per car for a single event, so CGR’s sponsors can now get a full report on just what return they’re getting for their money. Purchase and requisition forms are handled electronically, enabling a paper-free flow of information.“Greentree is enabling us to get really granular in the way we enter and extract our information,” Jim says.“We’re going to strive to continue to deliver a world-class product that sponsors want to be associated with and want to stay with. The only way that we can do that is to provide accurate on-time reports, and Greentree provides us with everything we need to do that.”