​Christian Lundgaard has officially landed on his feet after being let go by Arrow McLaren in favor of Scott Dixon and Felix Rosenqvist. Lundgaard’s IndyCar career will continue with Chip Ganassi Racing, which signed the Danish driver to a multiyear deal to replace Dixon in the No. 9 Honda.Lundgaard won two races in 2026 and finished third in the IndyCar championship behind only CGR’s Alex Palou and Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood. He’s now set to join the team that has won a series-best 18 championships.How Lundgaard to CGR came togetherLundgaard said he found out the morning of July 6, just hours before Arrow McLaren made the announcement official, that the team was replacing him in 2027 (although he was granted permission to negotiate elsewhere before that). He understandably didn’t agree with Arrow McLaren’s decision.But once Lundgaard realized there was mutual interest between himself and CGR, his tensions eased knowing he could drive for a team more successful than Arrow McLaren.“As soon as the conversations really started, that was when – I would say – my excitement changed,” Lundgaard said. “Obviously I was very disappointed, very confused, and I’m sure I share that opinion with many. But as soon as the conversations started, that was when I knew there was a chance, and all I had to do was keep performing on track, and it would all fall into place.”Replacing Dixon, a six-time champion, was no easy task for CGR owner Chip Ganassi. Ganassi said he “looked at everybody,” including drivers in other series. According to Ganassi, the timing with most of those drivers didn’t align to trigger serious conversations about driving the No. 9 car, which led CGR back to Lundgaard.“Christian’s name kept landing back as the obvious one,” Ganassi said. “Like, ‘Wait a minute, we’re not overlooking this guy, are we?’ Every name that came along, we said, ‘OK, well, how does that compare with Lundgaard?’”Lundgaard understood that Ganassi had an initial process to go through before deciding he should take the seat. But he felt his track record in IndyCar would be enough for the team to land on him.“I’ve always been aware that there’s drivers out there – there’s options,” Lundgaard said. “But it also goes back to: when was the last time a third-place championship driver was available? I think we both had enough confidence to make it work.”Lundgaard has accepted that, despite his confusion with Arrow McLaren’s decision, his two-year tenure is in the past. He’s now making light of the fact that he’ll race in the No. 9 car to continue his IndyCar career.“I choose to look at it in a very different way,” Lundgaard said. “I’ve done well, and a better opportunity has (arisen) versus what it could have been. I think this is a conversation that Chip and I have already had. We’re just looking forward now. It’s not really looking back.”For many years, Dixon was the unheralded leader and frontman of CGR.