Julian is the team manager of Chip Ganassi Racing, overseeing the team’s three-car Indy operation.
In the more than two decades that he’s been part of the team, Julian has enjoyed all six of Scott Dixon’s championships and all six Chip Ganassi Racing wins at teh Indianapolis 500.
It’s a rap sheet that inclues Dario Franchitti, Marcus Ericsson, and now Alex Palou, who this year won the 109th running of the Greatest Spectacle In Racing.
He is, for all intents and purposes, the most successful New Zealander in the IndyCar paddock.
“It’s interesting you say that,” said Julian when asked by Speedcafe about his success. “Because you really just don’t think about it, right? I don’t think about it. I know Scott doesn’t think about that so much.
“It is kind of cool now, having a few years under our belts, to be able to sort of look at some of those numbers and just appreciate and respect the opportunities that we’ve had to have a good run, and to put those numbers up on the board is really cool.
“It’s just incredible teammates and facilities and resources that we have from Chip. It’s really cool. It’s something that I’m proud of. It’s a tough thing to be away from your family, and you miss a lot of stuff, parents, all the family stuff that you give up to be here and do this.
“This makes it kind of, not justifies it, but easier. It would really be a shame if you made such a commitment to be away from your life there and then didn’t win a race.
“Everyone in the paddock gives so much to do this and to be able to be in a position with a team that you give so much and be able to get so much out of it with results is pretty good.”
Julian was by Dixon’s side for the lion’s share of his career but has moved into a broader role as the team manager after Taylor Kiel vacated that position to become the operations director and head of strategy.
Julian has seen it all, having worked with Dixon on every title. So what does he make of Palou’s success in such a short space of time?
“I don’t know what it is, but I think he’s just in a special part of his career,” said Julian.
“He’s obviously very comfortable with the team and all the relationships, they’ve been around for a while. Everyone’s familiar with the process and the way that things work, and it’s just working.
“Everything is kind of clicking. Luck’s going his way, he’s obviously incredibly talented and he’s just getting the job done.
“He’s not doing anything different, he’s just got it all together with the group that he’s got. These guys have been together for a while. That core group on the timing stand have been working together for a long time too, so they’re super efficient at what they do.
“They’ve got a good rapport. There’s not a lot of commotion up on the stand, so they can go through the info and data and make decisions there pretty quick. It just works real good and obviously Alex is in a different zone at the moment, just embarrassing everyone honestly.
“It’s interesting, being on Scott’s timing stand there for years and of listening to his success and his years that were super successful and then working on Alex’s stand, it’s just incredible to hear nothing’s kind of an issue for him or a challenge.
“At the end there, we had to make a fuel number to make sure we can get to the end and have enough fuel to fight and it’s just like it’s not a drama. His capability of processing everything that’s going on is incredibly impressive.”
Palou’s win was long-awaited. In 2021, he was runner-up to Helio Castroneves in a thrilling conclusion to that race.
The Spaniard hadn’t won on an oval until this year’s Indianapolis 500, ending years of torment.
“Being with Scott for all those years and being quick and having fast cars doesn’t obviously translate into wins all the time,” said Julian.
“I don’t think people realise just how lucky you have to be for everything to go right to win at the end of the day, right?
“There’s an Al Unser Jr interview after he won the race here and he made a statement about you just don’t know how what it means to win at this place, and it’s true.
“Most people won’t realise that because they’re not in that position where they’re working so hard.
“We were working towards the day for the last 12 months, because we were lacking in performance last year and missed it.
“You see Scott’s issue with the brakes at the start of the race and Kyffin [Simpson] gets taken out by someone else. For it all to come together, it’s just incredible.
“It’s cool to see all the guys’ reactions and all the hard work pay off and tears. Very cool.”
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