GE to sponsor Dixon at IndyCar opener at St. Pete

The colors of General Electric will adorn Scott Dixon's No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda at this week's season-opening Verizon IndyCar Series race at St. Petersburg. It marks a return to CGR for GE and its GE Light | LED brand after participating as an associate sponsor and a primary sponsor at select events with the team. NTT Data, which serves at the primary sponsor of Tony Kanaan's No. 10 CGR entry, will also be featured on Dixon's car at St. Petersburg.

With GE in place for the first race of the year on Dixon's No. 9, CGR will continue its search for a season-long replacement to fill the void left by Target, which ended its 27-year run of sponsoring CGR's IndyCar program at the conclusion of the 2016 championship.

It's believed a number of potential sponsorship deals have been in the works for Dixon's car, but due to the lengthy process of developing sponsorship programs and seeking corporate approvals to fund the initiatives, the four-time IndyCar champion will start the season with individual event sponsors until a full-season deal is signed.

Thanks to the extended break between the St. Petersburg race on March 12 and the second round at Long Beach on April 9, CGR will have the better part of one month to continue its primary sponsor search for the No. 9 Honda between events.