The NASCAR operation of Chip Ganassi Racing was established in 1989 by Felix Sabates, a Cuban immigrant who was a self-made millionaire distributing products such as Teddy Ruxpin and Atari video game systems. The team was known as SABCO Racing, formed after Sabates purchased an R&D team from Hendrick Motorsports. The team was renamed Team SABCO in 1996. In 2001, Ganassi bought 80% of the ownership interest in the then-two-car team to form Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates; the same year the team switched from Chevrolet to Dodge, with the latter reentering NASCAR competition that season after a 15-year hiatus. In 2009, Ganassi partnered with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. owner Teresa Earnhardt to merge their NASCAR operations into Ganassi's shop and entered under the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing wi