OpenAI, Chip Ganassi Racing Release Episode Two of R&D

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INDIANAPOLIS — OpenAI and Chip Ganassi Racing have released the second episode of R&D, their documentary series produced in collaboration with Box to Box Films that follows the development of artificial intelligence inside one of INDYCAR’s most successful teams.

Episode two, released Wednesday, expands on a project that began by documenting how OpenAI and CGR were working together to find new ways to use the enormous amount of data generated by an NTT INDYCAR Series team.

Produced with Box to Box Films, the company behind Formula 1: Drive to Survive, R&D was developed to give viewers an inside look at that collaboration while following five-time INDYCAR champion and 2025 Indianapolis 500 winner Alex Palou and the No. 10 team through the 2026 season.

Latest installment of documentary series produced with Box to Box Films follows Alex Palou’s title run and development of CGR’s work with AI

The first episode, released in May, was built around the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach and introduced the partnership through interviews with team owner Chip Ganassi, Palou, strategist Barry Wanser and OpenAI research engineer Johannes Otterbach.

Episode two moves the story forward both on and off the racetrack.

Production included shooting at Chip Ganassi Racing’s Indianapolis headquarters, where the series documents the work taking place between the race team and OpenAI, as well as in Washington, D.C., during INDYCAR’s inaugural Freedom 250.

The episode then follows CGR and Palou through the latter stages of the season as Palou pursues a fourth consecutive championship and fifth title in six seasons.

At the center of the episode is the continued development of OpenAI technology within CGR and the challenge of turning a massive amount of racing information into something engineers and strategists can use.

An IndyCar produces a constant stream of data from hundreds of sensors, while engineers must also evaluate everything from track conditions and tire performance to aerodynamics, springs, dampers and anti-roll bars.

The issue isn’t finding more data. It’s determining which pieces of it matter.

Episode two shows how OpenAI is being used to help CGR identify the relevant information within that stream, allowing the team’s engineers to more quickly apply their own experience and expertise to car setup and strategy.

For OpenAI’s Joyce Ruffell, CGR provides an example of how AI can enhance the work of people who already operate at an elite level.

“The team members at Ganassi are already such experts in their field,” Ruffell says in the episode. “They are now seeing opportunities to take that expertise even further.”

The process, Ruffell says, reflects what OpenAI is trying to accomplish more broadly through research and development.

“Stories like these are just so exciting to me because that’s what we aim to do every day in research and in AI — to take learnings and to take the next step and find that it pays off,” she says.

The partnership between OpenAI and CGR predates the documentary series. The organizations began exploring how AI could be applied to racing before announcing a formal partnership in March 2025. What began as an effort to better understand CGR’s extensive collection of racing data has developed into a broader effort to build tools around the specific needs of the team.

R&D documents that development in real time.

The first episode established the challenge. The second shows the technology becoming more integrated into the team’s competitive process.

“Working with OpenAI has really opened our eyes to what is possible,” says race engineer Julian Robertson.

The episode compares an INDYCAR weekend to dumping the pieces of a puzzle onto a table. Every team arrives with information, experience and tools, but has only a limited amount of practice time to determine the correct setup.

“The question is who puts the puzzle together the fastest,” team owner Ganassi says.

That race to find answers becomes intertwined with Palou’s championship pursuit.

The episode captures the volatility that remains even during a dominant season, including the team’s response to a difficult weekend as it prepares for the next opportunity.

 “I often say you either win or you learn.”

That philosophy also mirrors the development process at the center of the OpenAI partnership: learn from what happened, determine what matters and apply it to what comes next.

“I often say you either win or you learn,” Ganassi says. “We’re working diligently to get to the end of the season on plan, and that’s to be at the front.”

Palou ultimately secured the 2026 championship, his fifth title in six seasons and fourth consecutive championship, while delivering Chip Ganassi Racing its 18th INDYCAR title.

For Palou, the team’s exploration of AI fits into a larger history of CGR searching for ways to remain ahead of its competition.

“Their story has been staying on top of technology, staying at the top of the game,” Ruffel says. “AI is just the next chapter in their story.”

And R&D makes clear that the championship isn’t being treated as an ending.

“We’re going to go for 19th,” Palou says. “Bring it on.”

R&D Episode 1