CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Target will leave IndyCar at the end of this season after 27 years with Chip Ganassi Racing that included 11 championships and four Indianapolis 500 victories.The exit comes as Target is examining all of its marketing platforms under new chairman Brian Cornell. Target is also the primary sponsor of Kyle Larson in NASCARs top Sprint Cup Series and will return to his car in 2017.Targets relationship with Ganassi is one of the longest in any racing series, and the retail giant was a key player in helping Ganassi build his organization. Target not only sponsored Ganassis first car as a team owner, it eventually became a partner as the Ganassi team grew to one of the top two players in open wheel racing.In discussing the decision to leave IndyCar, senior vice president Scott Nygaard rattled off a list of highlights from Targets run: Jimmy Vasser winning Ganassis first championship, Alex Zanardi adding another two, Juan Pablo Montoya winning Ganassis first Indianapolis 500 and domination over the last decade by Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon.It was a really difficult decision that we made -- weve been with Chip Ganassi Racing for 27 years and we are ridiculously proud of the success, Nygaard said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. But the Target brand is about being fresh and new, so we felt like this was the time to make the difficult decision and expand our sports marketing platform.About the NASCAR sponsorship, Nygaard said only that Target is excited for the 2017 season with Larson. Targets contract with Ganassi runs through next year.Chip Ganassi raved about his partnership with Target while noting he understood the company made a business decision after nearly three full decades together in IndyCar.Its the greatest sponsor in racing, ever, Ganassi said. Theyve been nothing but good to me. They developed me personally and professionally. Ive developed lifelong friends and relationships. I understand things change and people have different marketing efforts, and the way they want to stamp their name on things.But its one of the longest running sponsors in racing and they delivered for me and the team, and the team delivered for them.Target walks away from an enormous investment it made in IndyCar and aligning itself with Ganassi drivers as its brand ambassadors. That includes Dixon, who has been sponsored by Target for 15 years and is one of the greatest open wheel drivers in history. Ganassi said Dixon is not a tough sell at all to sponsors, and he expected to announce a replacement on the Target car within the next two months.Dixon is a four-time IndyCar champion and his 39 career victories include the 2008 Indianapolis 500.I cant thank Target enough for their partnership on and off the track over the years, Dixon said. They have been with the IndyCar team for an amazing 27 years, which is unheard of in professional sports, and on the car Ive driven for the past 15 seasons. I have nothing but great memories and much thanks for Target being great partners for so long.Nygaard praised Dixon as a longtime Target ambassador.He is a true class act, a gentleman on and off the track, Nygaard said of the New Zealand driver. Hes always stood tall for the values of Target and the Target brand. 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Sydney ruckman Callum Sinclair says the battle for spots at the top of the AFL ladder can be overwhelming and daunting, as his Swans prepare to host leaders Hawthorn on Thursday.The Hawks have clear air on 48 points, but just four points separate the next seven clubs, with the Swans, Crows and Bulldogs on 44, and the Eagles, Giants, Cats and Kangaroos on 40.A loss to the Hawks at the SCG could send the second-placed Swans sliding out of the top four, depending on other results later in the round.It can be a little bit overwhelming and daunting at times, I think that might be the case, Sinclair said at the SCG on Monday.It probably just shows the strength of the competition that if youre not on your game one week, it can really cost you and the race for top four is getting tighter and tighter every week, so theres very little time for mistakes.We need to keep the momentum going in our squad because the top eight is just so tight at the moment.You drop a couple of games and youre going to drop pretty low.Sydney will be going for back-to-back wins over Hawthorn having triumphed by 14 points at the MCG back in May.ddddddddddddts going to be a pretty fierce contest, obviously they are going to be fired up that we got the four points against them last time, Sinclair said.They probably dont like losing two games in a row to us, so were expecting a pretty combative contest, but I think our boys are up for it.He thought Hawthorns ability to change game plans was one reason why they were doing so well despite being only 13th in the competition in the contested possessions category.They are just an awesome side, theyve got multiple plans. Sinclair said.If plan A is not working theyve got plan B and plan C, so they are just a great total football side and theyve got a few strings to their bow, so its going to be a tough ask.He credited young Swans ruckmen Toby Nankervis and Sam Naismith for stepping up in the absence of the injured Kurt Tippett.Sam obviously had a really big influence on the game last week and Toby with his competitiveness and aggression has been a real plus. ' ' '