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Champ Car
Category Open wheel racing
Country or region International
Inaugural season See text
Drivers 17[1]
Teams 9[1]
Constructors Panoz
Engine suppliers Cosworth
Drivers' champion Flag of France Sébastien Bourdais
Teams' champion Flag of the United States Newman/Haas Racing
Official website champcarworldseries.com
"CART" redirects here. Open-wheel car (Often single-seater car, in UK English describes cars with the wheels outside the car's main body and in most cases one seat International or internationally most often describes interaction between Nations or encompassing two or more nations constituting a group or association having Panoz Auto Development is an American manufacturer of high-performance automobiles founded in 1989 by Dan Panoz, son of pharmaceutical and motorsport mogul Don Panoz Cosworth is an Automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing (motorsport Sébastien Bourdais (born February 28, 1979 in Le Mans) is a French Formula One race car driver Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR is a motor racing team competing in the IndyCar Series. For other uses, see CART (disambiguation).

Champ Car, an abbreviation of "Championship Car", was the name for a class and specification of cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades. Since 1916 there has been a recognized United States national Automobile racing National Championship for drivers of professional-level single-seat Open wheel It is also commonly used to refer to the Champ Car World Series, an international open-wheel championship that was based largely in North America.

The governing body was formerly known as Championship Auto Racing Teams, or CART prior to its 2003 bankruptcy. The series was previously known as the CART PPG IndyCar World Series, the CART FedEx Championship Series, and, in the organization's second to last year, the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered By Ford. The series folded into the IndyCar Series before its planned 2008 season. The IndyCar Series is the premier series of the Indy Racing League.

Contents

History

Nigel Mansell racing in a Champ Car in 1993
Nigel Mansell racing in a Champ Car in 1993

In 1909 the American Automobile Association (AAA) established the national driving championship and became the first sanctioning body for auto racing in the United States. Biography Mansell was born in Upton-upon-Severn, a small Town in the English county of Worcestershire. The AAA (usually read triple-A) formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is an American not-for-profit Automobile In 1956, the United States Automobile Club (USAC) was founded to take over sanctioning from the AAA, which ceased sanctioning auto racing in the general outrage over motor racing safety that followed the 1955 Le Mans disaster. The United States Automobile Club (USAC is an Open-wheel Auto racing sanctioning body The 1955 Le Mans disaster occurred during the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans when a racing car involved in an accident flew into the crowd killing the driver ( Pierre Levegh USAC controlled the championship until 1979. In that year, CART began operating its own competing series, which quickly became dominant.

Formation of CART

The split from USAC in 1979 was spurred by a group of activist car owners who had grown disenchanted with what they saw as an inept sanctioning body. Complaining of poor promotion and small purses, this group coalesced around Dan Gurney, who, in early 1978, wrote what came to be known as the "Gurney White Paper", the blueprint for an organization called Championship Auto Racing Teams. Daniel Sexton Gurney (born April 13, 1931) is an American racing driver race car constructor and team owner Gurney took his inspiration from the improvements Bernie Ecclestone had forced on Formula 1 with his creation of the Formula One Constructors Association. Bernard Charles "Bernie" Ecclestone (born 28 October 1930 near Bungay Suffolk, England) is the president and CEO of The white paper called for the owners to form CART as an advocacy group to promote USAC's national championship, doing the job where the sanctioning body wouldn't. The group would also work to negotiate television rights and race purses, and ideally hold seats on USAC's governing body. Gurney, joined by other leading team owners including Roger Penske and Pat Patrick, took their demands to USAC's board and the proposal was rejected. Roger Penske (born February 20, 1937 in Shaker Heights Ohio) is the owner of the automobile racing team Penske Racing, the Penske

USAC's rejection of the proposal led the three owners to form a new series (CART) under the principles laid out in the Gurney White Paper. The new series quickly gained the support of the majority of team and track owners, with the only notable holdout being A.J. Foyt. Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr (born January 16, 1935, in Houston, Texas) is a retired American Automobile racing driver CART's inaugural season was held in 1979.

The newness of the organization, however, prevented it from being recognized by ACCUS, the United States representative to the FIA. An arrangement was reached with the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) where the SCCA would act as the sanctioning body for the new series. The Sports Car Club of America ( SCCA) is a club and sanctioning body supporting Road racing, rally, and Autocross in the United States This would allow the events to be listed on the International Motorsports Calendar.

With the exception of Foyt's team, the more established teams joined CART. This meant that the front and mid-pack teams would be racing in the new CART series. Of the 20 races held that year, 13 were part of the 1979 CART Championship. Of the 10 tracks to host races, 5 would host CART events exclusively and one, Ontario Motor Speedway would host races from both series. The Ontario Motor Speedway (located in Ontario California) was a 2

Dominance by non-US drivers

CART, like its predecessor USAC, was dominated by North American drivers until the 1990s. Many road-racing stars, including Mario Andretti, Bobby Rahal, and Danny Sullivan found success in the series. Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian American former racecar driver and one of the most successful Americans in the Robert "Bobby" Woodward Rahal (born January 10 1953 in Medina Ohio) is an American Auto racing team owner and former driver spending most of Daniel John "Danny" Sullivan III (Born March 9, 1950 in Louisville Kentucky) is a former racing driver from the United States. After former F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi won the series title in 1989, additional drivers from South America and Europe joined the series. Emerson Fittipaldi (born December 12, 1946 in São Paulo, Brazil) is a highly successful Brazilian automobile racing driver winning world championships

British driver Nigel Mansell, the 1992 F1 Driver's Champion, switched to CART in 1993 and beat Emerson Fittipaldi in the championship. Biography Mansell was born in Upton-upon-Severn, a small Town in the English county of Worcestershire. Emerson Fittipaldi (born December 12, 1946 in São Paulo, Brazil) is a highly successful Brazilian automobile racing driver winning world championships Mansell's victory, coupled with 1991 CART champion Michael Andretti's underrated sojourn into F1, was seen by many as evidence of the superiority of non-US drivers. Michael Mario Andretti (born October 5, 1962 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) is an American retired CART and Formula One This, combined with CART's move to include more road racing on the schedule, led to a split of the series after the 1995 season due to a dispute between CART owners and Tony George, owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Anton Hulman "Tony" George (born December 30 1959) is the owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway Indiana (an Enclave of Indianapolis) in the United States, is the home of the

Split with Indy's Tony George

After resigning from the CART Board of Directors, George went on to form a new racing series, the Indy Racing League (IRL), which initially included an all-oval schedule, all races on US soil, and mostly American drivers. The Indy Racing League, better known as IRL, is the sanctioning body of a predominantly American based Open-wheel racing series.

In March of 1996, CART filed a lawsuit against the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in an effort to protect their license to the IndyCar mark which the Indianapolis Motor Speedway had attempted to terminate. In law a lawsuit is a civil action brought before a Court in which the party commencing the action the Plaintiff, seeks a legal or equitable remedy In April, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway filed a countersuit against CART to prevent them from further use of the mark. Eventually a settlement was reached in which CART agreed to give up the use of the IndyCar mark following the 1996 season and the IRL could not use the name before the end of the 2002 season.

During the 1996 season, George used the Indianapolis 500 as his trump card when he all but shut-out non IRL regulars by guaranteeing the top 25 drivers in IRL points a spot in the race, leaving only eight of the thirty-three grid positions available to CART regulars. The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, often shortened to Indianapolis 500 or Indy 500, and historically known simply as "The 500" is an American In 1997 this backfired allowing Johnny Unser and Lyn St. James, both IRL supporters, to make the race. Both were fastest to make the race if it was a regular qualifying format. Both were not in the top 25 in points and were not fastest in the 8 positions available thus would not have made the race. For the first time since 1979 35 cars started the Indy 500. The top 25 rule was dropped for 1998. In response, CART attempted to create a rival showcase event, the U.S. 500, at Michigan International Speedway on the same day as the Indy 500. The US 500 was an automobile race sanctioned by CART on May 26, 1996 at the Michigan International Speedway as an alternative to the Michigan International Speedway is a two-mile (322-km moderate-banked D-shaped Superspeedway located off U But this race had a disastrous start with a major crash involving many of the cars. So after red flagging and restarting the race in backup cars, Jimmy Vasser went on to win. The race date was changed the next year so it did not run against the Indy 500. The U. S. 500 name was, however, retained through 1999, and affixed to the existing July race at Michigan.

CART's next strategy was to hold a race the day before the Indy 500 at Gateway, which also failed to draw attention away from the IRL's most famous race. Gateway International Raceway is a race track in Madison Illinois, USA just minutes from Downtown St Tony George's next move was to specify new technical rules for less expensive cars, and "production based" engines that outlawed the CART-spec cars that had been the mainstay of the race since the late 1970s. CART teams would be forced to purchase different cars if they wanted the chance to qualify for the Indy 500.

For the next few years almost all of the CART teams and drivers did not compete in the race. While this situation allowed many American drivers to participate in an event that they might otherwise have been unable to afford, the turbulent political situation, along with the absence of many of the top CART drivers, the big-name sponsors, and the faster CART-spec cars, together served to cast something of a shadow over the race. It was certainly arguable that to the average fan the replacement of at least fairly-well-known foreign drivers by almost-unknown American ones was not perceived as a real gain. Consequently, the Indianapolis 500 lost its television ratings lead to NASCAR's Daytona 500. The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, often shortened to Indianapolis 500 or Indy 500, and historically known simply as "The 500" is an American The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing ( NASCAR) is the largest sanctioning body of Stock cars in the United States. The Daytona 500 is a 200-lap long NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach Florida.

CART after the split

In the early years of the split, CART seemed to be dominant. It controlled most of the races and most of the "name" drivers, while George's primary asset was Indianapolis Motor Speedway and its 500. The first IRL schedule consisted of only three races, including the Indy 500, and many of the drivers were relative unknowns.

In 2000, Bobby Rahal stepped in as interim president of CART and designated the Vanderbilt Cup as the series championship trophy. Robert "Bobby" Woodward Rahal (born January 10 1953 in Medina Ohio) is an American Auto racing team owner and former driver spending most of The Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American Auto racing. The PPG cup was used from 1979-1999. That year, Gil de Ferran of Penske Racing set the world closed-course speed record for a car race at Fontana in his Marlboro Team Penske Honda at 241. Gil de Ferran (born November 11, 1967 in Paris, France) to Brazilian parents is a racing driver 428 mph (388. 540 km/h) while qualifying for the season ending million-dollar (pursed to the winner) Marlboro 500. [2] [3] Despite the considerable drag on the car (inherent of the mandated Hanford MkII rear wing used in CART on the superspeedways at that time) the feat was accomplished on the first lap of qualifying.

CART dominance seemed relatively unchallenged through 2001 until a series of poor decisions and tension at the start of the millennium.

Beginning in 2000, some CART teams began to compete at the Indianapolis 500, and ultimately switched allegiance to the IRL for the entire season. The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, often shortened to Indianapolis 500 or Indy 500, and historically known simply as "The 500" is an American This was motivated by mismanagement, upset engine manufacturers, and sponsors that desired participation at Indianapolis 500.

In 2000, Chip Ganassi, while still racing in the CART Series, made the decision to return to the Indianapolis 500 with his drivers, the 1996 CART and U.S. 500 champion Jimmy Vasser, and the 1999 CART champion Juan Pablo Montoya. Floyd "Chip" Ganassi (born May 24, 1958 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and educated at local Duquesne University) is a former The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, often shortened to Indianapolis 500 or Indy 500, and historically known simply as "The 500" is an American The US 500 was an automobile race sanctioned by CART on May 26, 1996 at the Michigan International Speedway as an alternative to the Jimmy Vasser (born November 20 1965 in Canoga Park, California) is an American racing driver and current race team owner Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (born September 20, 1975, in Bogotá, Colombia) is a Race car driver in NASCAR for Chip On race day Montoya put on a dominating performance, leading 167 of the 200 laps to win. The defeat was somewhat humiliating for the IRL teams, with the Ganassi team's advantage primarily being pit stops that were frequently several seconds quicker than their main rivals. Yet the real winner was Tony George, who had brought back one of the CART teams—and its sponsor—to race with the IRL cars. Anton Hulman "Tony" George (born December 30 1959) is the owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

A year later, Roger Penske, historically CART and Indianapolis' most successful team owner, also came back to Indianapolis and won. Roger Penske (born February 20, 1937 in Shaker Heights Ohio) is the owner of the automobile racing team Penske Racing, the Penske For 2002, Penske and Ganassi became permanent entrants in the IRL.

Bankruptcy and rebranding to Champ Car

The Champ Car World Series logo from 2003-2006
The Champ Car World Series logo from 2003-2006

In 2002, FedEx announced that they would end their title sponsorship of the CART series at the conclusion of the racing season. FedEx Corporation ( is a Logistics services company based in the United States. In another blow, Honda and Toyota switched their engine supply from CART to the IRL after 2002. () is a Multinational corporation, engine Manufacturer and engineering corporation headquartered in Japan. (pronounced) is a Multinational corporation headquartered in Japan, and is currently the world's largest Automaker. CART decided to rebrand itself. Beginning in 2003, CART began to promote itself as Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford. ( is a Japanese Rubber conglomerate founded in 1931 by in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following

Due to the loss of its title sponsor and two engine providers, CART's shares plummeted to 25¢ (USD) per share. It declared bankruptcy during the 2003 off-season and the assets of CART were liquidated. Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their Creditors Creditors may file a bankruptcy petition against Tony George made a bid for certain assets of the company, while a trio of CART owners (Gerald Forsythe, Paul Gentilozzi, and Kevin Kalkhoven), along with Dan Pettit, also made a bid, calling their group the Open Wheel Racing Series (OWRS). Anton Hulman "Tony" George (born December 30 1959) is the owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Gerald (Gerry Forsythe (born in Marshall Illinois) is an American businessman and Auto racing magnate best known for being one of the three men ( Paul Gentilozzi (born February 6, 1950 in Lansing Michigan) is a race car driver and businessman Kevin Oscar Newton Kalkoven, former CEO of JDS Uniphase, is an Australian venture capitalist and Auto racing magnate based in Menlo Park California George's offer was to purchase only select company assets, in an effort to eliminate any series that would rival his Indy Racing League. However, if George's bid (which was actually higher than the OWRS bid) had been successful, many vendors that were still owed money by CART would have not been paid. Therefore, a judge ruled that the OWRS group should be the purchaser of CART, which ensured a 25th anniversary season in 2004, running as Champ Car. Open Wheel Racing Series. (OWRS) would later change its name to Champ Car World Series (CCWS) LLC.

Team Rahal and Andretti Green Racing defected in 2004, the latter team being owned by CART champion and fan favorite Michael Andretti. Rahal Letterman Racing (RLR is an Auto racing team that currently races in the IndyCar Series. Andretti Green Racing (AGR is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series and the American Le Mans Series. Michael Mario Andretti (born October 5, 1962 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) is an American retired CART and Formula One However, several teams stayed with Champ Car, ensuring that the series could continue. Most notable among these was Newman-Haas Racing (now Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing). Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR is a motor racing team competing in the IndyCar Series. Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR is a motor racing team competing in the IndyCar Series. The powerful and well-funded team owned by actor Paul Newman and Illinois businessman Carl Haas was adamant on its loyalty to the series and its direction. Paul Leonard Newman (January 26 1925 &ndash September 26 2008 was an Academy Award Carl A Haas (born February 26, 1930) is an American Auto racing impresario Another team notable for its loyalty was Dale Coyne Racing, one of the world's oldest continually operating open wheel teams. Dale Coyne Racing is a Motorsports team in the IndyCar Series owned by former driver Dale Coyne. [4]

In 2007, with the withdrawal of Bridgestone and Ford Motor Company as presenting sponsors, the official name of the top-tier series promoted by Champ Car became simply the Champ Car World Series. ( is a Japanese Rubber conglomerate founded in 1931 by in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following

On February 22, 2008, the Indy Racing League and Champ Car World Series signed a deal to unify the two open-wheel American circuits, bringing them under the umbrella of IRL. The Indy Racing League, better known as IRL, is the sanctioning body of a predominantly American based Open-wheel racing series.

Specifications

A Champ Car V8 engine in 2004.
A Champ Car V8 engine in 2004.

Comparison with Formula One

A Champ Car is a single-seat open-wheel racing car. Open-wheel car (Often single-seater car, in UK English describes cars with the wheels outside the car's main body and in most cases one seat Auto racing (also known as automobile racing, motor racing or car racing) is a Motorsport involving Racing Cars It For much of their history Champ Cars have been similar to Formula One cars, although there have traditionally been several key differences between the two.

Over the years, Champ Car's race schedule included high speed oval tracks. The increased stress and speed of these tracks mean that the cars tended to be heavier and have longer wheelbases than F1 cars (increasing stability but decreasing agility). In 2007, there were no oval tracks on the schedule.

When the weight of the driver is factored in, a Champ Car weighs over 30% more than a Formula One Car. The minimum weight for a Champ Car is adjusted from 1,575 lb based on the weight of the driver compared to the field average; with the driver included, all cars have a minimum weight of 1741 lb (790 kg). A Champ Car piloted by 195 lb Paul Tracy (the heaviest driver in the series and 29 lb heavier than the field average) must weigh at least 1,546 lb (701 kg) when empty. Paul Tracy (born December 17, 1968 in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada is a professional automobile racer who competed The minimum weight of a Formula One Car, including the driver, is 605 kg (1,334 lb). This difference of 407 lb (185 kg) is just over 30% of the F1 car's weight.

Since the late 1960s Champ Cars have used turbocharged engines. A turbocharger, or turbo, is an air Compressor used for forced-induction of an Internal combustion engine. Turbos were banned in Formula One on safety grounds in 1989. For some periods of their history, notably in the early 1970s and late 1990s, turbocharging gave Champ Cars up to 300 horsepower (220 kW) more than F1 cars, in the 70s cars had in excess of 1,000 hp. Recently in 1999/2000 the Champ Cars approached 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) before regulations on turbo boost were tightened. The current generation of cars have roughly the same power as F1 cars, Champ Cars having 800 hp (600 kW) on demand and F1 cars having about 775 hp (580 kW) (since F1 switched to V8 engines for the 2006 season), with the turbo used mainly to improve the spectacle rather than lap-times with the so-called 'power-to-pass' or 'push-to-pass' system giving drivers an increased amount of power for a limited duration during the race. Another reason for retaining the turbocharger is the muffling effect it has on the exhaust note helps keep the cars inside noise-limits, particularly at the many city street races on the schedule.

Champ Cars use methanol for fuel rather than gasoline as used by F1 cars, and refuelling has always been permitted during the race. Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, carbinol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a Chemical compound A modern Formula One car is a single-seat open cockpit open wheel race car with substantial front and rear wings and engine positioned behind the driver This is a legacy of a fiery crash at the 1964 Indianapolis 500 involving cars filled with more than 75 US gallons (285 L) of gasoline killed Dave MacDonald and Eddie Sachs. Results of the 1964 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Saturday May 30 1964. Dave MacDonald ( July 23, 1936 &ndash May 30, 1964) was a Corvette and Shelby Cobra Sports car driver in the Eddie Sachs ( May 28 1927 in Allentown Pennsylvania - May 30 1964 in Speedway Indiana) was a United States Auto Club Until 1994, when refueling was re-introduced to F1, the coupling for the hose was a notable difference between Champ Cars and Formula cars.

Champ Cars continue to have sculpted undersides to create ground effect. For another similarly named effect relating to aircraft see Ground effect in aircraft. This innovation was originally created in Formula One by Lotus in 1978, and was immediately used on the Chaparral Champ Car in 1979. 1950s Colin Chapman established Lotus Engineering Ltd in 1952 at Hornsey, UK. Chaparral Cars was a United States Automotive company which built prototype race cars from the 1960s through the early 1980s F1 banned sculpted undersides in a bid to lower cornering speeds for 1983. In an effort to create better passing opportunities, the new spec Champ Car chassis being introduced in 2007 will generate nearly 50% of the total downforce of the car with sculpted underside tunnels versus the front and rear wings. This will reduce turbulent air behind the cars, enabling easier overtaking.

While F1 uses grooved tires to limit performance, Champ Cars continue to use tread-less "slick" racing tires. This article is about tires used on road Vehicles including pneumatic tires and solid tires. To make races more unpredictable, drivers are permitted to use one set of higher performance softer compound "alternate" tires. These are informally called "reds", as they are made visible to the spectators by their red sidewalls. The same feature has been adopted in F1 from 2007 season where each car must run on both the hard and the soft compound tires, although they can use more than one set of the softer tires. F1 also visibly distinguishes between the two types of tire - the softer set have a white stripe painted into one of their grooves.

Unlike in F1, Champ Car teams are not obliged to construct their own chassis, and in recent times have tended to buy chassis constructed by independent suppliers such as Lola, Swift, Reynard, March and Dan Gurney's Eagle. Lola Racing Cars (also Lola Cars International) is a Racing car Engineering company founded in 1961 by Eric Broadley and based in Huntingdon Swift Engineering is an American engineering firm that built chassis for CART from 1997-2000 notably operated by Newman/Haas Racing and driven by Michael Andretti Reynard Motorsport was at one time the world's largest racing car manufacturer March Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from Britain. The most notable exception was Penske Racing, although they also bought other cars when their own chassis was uncompetitive. Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, ALMS, and NASCAR. By 2000, most teams used either Reynard or Lola, with Lola gradually taking over to have a monopoly by 2004. Starting in 2007, Champ Car features a single, "spec" chassis, the Panoz DP01, created by Elan Technologies, a racing equipment manufacturer owned by Don Panoz. The Panoz DP01 is the recently introduced Champ Car World Series spec race car that was used in the 2007 season Dr Donald Panoz (pronounced PAY-nose (born February 13, 1935, in Alliance Ohio) is an American Entrepreneur who made The spec chassis was introduced to reduce costs for teams.

Direct comparison

In recent years it has been possible to compare the respective performance of the two series.

The performance superiority of the Formula One machines was first demonstrated in 1989 when Champ Car began to race on a street circuit in downtown Detroit, Michigan that had served as the United States Grand Prix just one year prior. The United States Grand Prix is a motor race which has been run on and off since 1908 when it was known as the American Grand Prize. There was no big discrepancy in lap times on this occasion, but this was partly due to a tight second gear chicane that was removed from the circuit for the Champ Car series.

Since 1978 Formula One has made an annual visit to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a motor racing circuit which was the venue for the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix, and is the venue of NASCAR Canadian Montreal, or Montréal in French ( pronounced in French, in English) is the largest city in the Canadian province of Quebec Champ Car added this circuit to their tour in 2002, making another direct comparison possible. That year, Juan Pablo Montoya won the pole position in the Formula One race with a lap time of 1'12. Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (born September 20, 1975, in Bogotá, Colombia) is a Race car driver in NASCAR for Chip 836. Several weeks later, when the inaugural Champ Car race was held, Cristiano Da Matta won the pole position in the Champ Car race with a lap time of 1'18. Cristiano Monteiro da Matta (born September 19, 1973, in Belo Horizonte, MG Brazil is an Auto racing driver winner of the American The term " pole position " comes from the Horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole 959.

In the Autocourse / CART "Official Champ Car Yearbook" for 2002, the following article appears on page 132, entitled "CART VS. F1":

"With the FedEx Championship Series making its first visit to the track that had hosted the Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix since 1978, there were inevitable comparisons between the world's two major open-wheel categories. Admittedly, it was rather like comparing apples and oranges, but it did represent the first opportunity in over two decades to get some idea of the relative performance of Champ Cars and their F1 cousins.

"On the face of it, there was no contest. Cristiano da Matta's pole time of 1 m 18. 959 s was 6. 123 seconds shy of 1999 CART champion Juan Pablo Montoya's stunning pole-winning effort aboard the BMW/Williams at the 2002 GP—which was exactly the sort of discrepancy da Matta had predicted in the run-up to the event.

"In CART, meanwhile, Bridgestone's position as sole tire supplier ensured production of a more conservative (i. e. , harder) compound, prioritizing durability over ultimate pace. Granted, the F1 tire war was fought on grooved rubber rather than the slicks sported by Champ Cars. But bear in mind that a Champ Car weighed the best part of 400 pounds more that its F1 counterpart, and the general conclusion was that CART's machinery stacked up pretty respectably.

"And then there's the 'other' factor. As da Matta observed, 'It's a pretty unfair comparison, since one side spends £100 million more than the other! I think that our designers and engineers are pretty smart if they can get this close with ten percent of the budget. '"

In 2006, the last time both series raced on the same track, Formula One was 5 to 7 seconds faster than Champ Car. The pole position in Formula 1 was taken by Fernando Alonso in a time of 1 min 14. Fernando Alonso Díaz (born July 29, 1981 in Oviedo, Spain) is a Spanish Formula One racing driver and a two-time 942 s, while Sébastien Bourdais took the pole in 1 min 20. Sébastien Bourdais (born February 28, 1979 in Le Mans) is a French Formula One race car driver 005 s in Champ Car. The fastest lap in the Formula 1 race was 1'15. 841 by Kimi Räikkönen, while Sébastien Bourdais' fastest lap was 1 min 22. Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (ˈkimi ˈmɑtiɑs ˈræikkønen born October 17, 1979 in Espoo) is a Finnish Formula One race car driver currently 325 s in the Champ Car race. Bourdais' qualifying effort was almost 1 second off the pace of even the slowest F1 qualifier, Super Aguri's Franck Montagny, who turned in a time of 1 min 19. Early career Montagny was born in Feurs, France and started racing karts there in 1988 winning the cadet class in the French Karting Championship in 1992 and 152 s.

Latest possible comparison

At Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California on August 20, 2006, Toyota F1 test driver Ricardo Zonta set a new unofficial lap record of 1min 6. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (previously known as Laguna Seca Raceway) is a paved road Racing track used for both Auto racing and motorcycle racing Events 636 - Battle of Yarmouk: Arab forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid take control of Syria and Palestine Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Early career Born in Curitiba, Brazil Zonta began karting in 1987 winning his first race shortly thereafter 309 s, however, this was in an exhibition, not a qualifying or race session. [6][7] The official record time is 1'07. 722, set by CART driver Helio Castroneves in a Penske Champ Car in qualifying for the 2000 CART Honda Grand Prix of Monterey. Hélio Castroneves (born Hélio Castro Neves on May 10, 1975 in São Paulo, Brazil) is a Brazilian Auto racing Both of these times were eclipsed on March 10, 2007 by Sébastien Bourdais, who lapped in 1'05. Events 241 BC - First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates Islands - The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Sébastien Bourdais (born February 28, 1979 in Le Mans) is a French Formula One race car driver 880 piloting the newest Champ Car, a Panoz DP-01, for Newman/Haas/Lanigan during Champ Car Spring Training. [8][9]

All of these comparisons mentioned should take into consideration the fact that large F1 teams build their own chassis and engines. It is estimated that these teams spend €100 to €200 million ($125-$250 million) per year per manufacturer on engines alone. [10]The Formula One Car is a more expensive and technology-centric platform than a Champ Car. This was even the case during the CART PPG era during the mid to late 1990s. At this time global engine manufacturers Toyota, Honda, Mercedes and Ford vied for dominance. (pronounced) is a Multinational corporation headquartered in Japan, and is currently the world's largest Automaker. () is a Multinational corporation, engine Manufacturer and engineering corporation headquartered in Japan. Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of luxury Automobiles Buses coaches and Trucks It is currently a division of the Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following Since Champ Car's restructuring, a desire to keep costs down and the existence of one engine manufacturer has helped to create a series with far more parity than its European-based cousin. For instance, a competitive Champ Car team like Newman-Haas Racing team operates on approximately US$20 million per season, while McLaren-Mercedes F1 team operates on US$400 million. Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR is a motor racing team competing in the IndyCar Series. McLaren, founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren (1937&ndash1970 is a Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, UK [11]

Seasons

Reunification of Champ Car and the Indy Racing League

As in recent times, there had been some discussion among fans and journalists regarding the reunification of Champ Car with its rival series, the IndyCar Series. The 2007 Champ Car World Series Season was the twenty-ninth Champ Car World Series, however only its fourth season under the Champ Car title The 2008 Champ Car World Series season was to have been the 30th season of the series The Indy Racing League, better known as IRL, is the sanctioning body of a predominantly American based Open-wheel racing series. The Indy Racing League, better known as IRL, is the sanctioning body of a predominantly American based Open-wheel racing series. Proponents of the reunification idea theorized that a merger of the two series would provide a brighter future for open wheel racing in North America, whose racing landscape is currently ruled by the massively popular and more financially stable NASCAR. The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing ( NASCAR) is the largest sanctioning body of Stock cars in the United States. According to this theory, open wheel racing would be more successful in securing sponsorship, increasing the number of cars racing on track, and improving television ratings. There is continued speculation that both sides will look for future opportunities to resolve outstanding differences. It is possible that Champ Car's recent move to ABC/ESPN, the same television network as the IndyCar Series, could aid in reunification efforts. The IndyCar Series is the premier series of the Indy Racing League.

On the other side of the reunification debate are fans and series owners who argue that Champ Car and the IndyCar Series are irreconcilably focused on different markets and agendas, as demonstrated by the release of the 2008 Champ Car schedule, which adds another European event, for a current total of three European events, one Australian event, and ten North American events. By contrast, the IndyCar Series calendar includes one race in Japan, where key sponsor and engine provider Honda is headquartered, with the remainder of events in North America. () is a Multinational corporation, engine Manufacturer and engineering corporation headquartered in Japan. [12]

One example of how merger rumors highlight the sharp divide between the two series can be found in press reports from January 2008. Initially, Robin Miller of the SPEED television network reported on an alleged offer by the Indy Racing League's Tony George to assist in providing new and backup cars to any Champ Car team willing to commit to racing for the full 2008 IRL season. Speed, sometimes still referred to as the Speed Channel, is a cable and satellite Television channel broadcast to various parts of North Miller stated that under George's offer, the IRL season would be modified to include events previously run by Champ Car, including Long Beach and Australia. [13] However, Champ Car co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven denied in the Indianapolis Star that any such offer had ever been made. The Indianapolis Star is a daily Newspaper which began publishing on June 6, 1903. George stated in the same paper that he had indeed made an offer, but that it had recently been withdrawn. He noted that the deal would have only been worth his investment to bring Champ Car teams into the series for the full 2008 and 2009 seasons, rather than delay the deal's implementation until 2009. Also, George confirmed that under the terms of his offer, the IRL would have been responsible for managing the series, giving no control to any Champ Car owner. [14] Despite these denials, details of an impending merger continue to arise. On February 12, 2008, Miller reported that Champ Car might file Chapter 7 bankruptcy within 24-48 hours. Chapter 7 of the Title 11 of the United States Code (Bankruptcy Code governs the process of Liquidation under the Bankruptcy laws of the Champ Car President, Steve Johnson, denied those rumors, but Miller's article claimed other employees have been told to cease working on 2008 projects and some to begin cleaning out their desks[15]. Kalkhoven claimed on February 14 that the bankruptcy rumors were "absolutely wrong. "[16]


On February 22, 2008, an agreement, in principal, was reached and signed that merges the Champ Car Series with the IRL. Events 1495 - King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the city's throne As of this point, the schedule is in flux, with movement of several races pending on the 2008 Champ Car schedule and the 2008 IndyCar Series schedule to be determined. The 2008 Champ Car World Series season was to have been the 30th season of the series The 2008 IndyCar Series season is the 13th season of the series In addition, it appears at this time that the newer DP01 Champ Car will not be used in the IndyCar Series, at least not for 2008 except for the Long Beach Grand Prix. [17]

Currently, Champ Car will cease to exist as the IRL will absorb any remaining Champ Car World Series teams that wish to compete in the IRL. Barring any major changes, the open wheel split is now over. The DP01 chassis is rumored to be purchased by a minor league open wheel series.

The Final Bankruptcy of Champ Car

The owners of the Champ Car World Series filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy just two weeks after agreeing to an open-wheel unification plan with the Indy Racing League. The filing in U. S. District Court in Indianapolis, dated March 5th 2008, states that Champ Car has spent tens of millions of dollars in the past four years to maintain the series and that its takeover by the Indy Car is in the best interest of the sport.

The bankruptcy filing will not affect the Indy Car deal, said Jeff Hokanson, a lawyer representing Champ Car. The Champ Car owners intend to stay in business long enough to run their Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on April 20. Then they plan to liquidate or sell their assets to pay debts. The bankruptcy filing indicates debts of up to $10 million, but Hokanson said he expected known claims to amount to $5 million or less. "Subject to what additional claims may come in, we expect that creditors will be paid in full or close to it," he said. Champ Car's largest creditor is the engine-maker Cosworth Inc. , which is owed $1. 8 million (Cosworth is owned by Champ Car principals Forsythe and Kalkhoven, so they essentially owe the money to themselves).

The league was formed in 2004 after team owners Kevin Kalkhoven, Paul Gentilozzi and Gerald Forsythe bought the assets of Championship Auto Racing Teams after it had filed bankruptcy. But Champ Car's leaders decided "that it is no longer economically feasible to sustain an open-wheel series and that (Champ Car) did not have the funds to operate the series in 2008," said an affidavit from Gene Cottingham, vice president and chief financial officer of the series.

Champ Car said the Indy Car was paying $6 million for its intangible assets, such as trademarks and historical documents, and its traveling medical center. A meeting of creditors is scheduled for April 21, 2008, the day after Champ Car's final race.

Champions

Year Driver Team Chassis/Engine
SCCA/CART Indy Car Series
1979 Flag of the United States Rick Mears Penske Racing Penske/Cosworth-Ford
PPG CART IndyCar World Series
1980 Flag of the United States Johnny Rutherford Chaparral Racing Chaparral/Cosworth-Ford
1981 Flag of the United States Rick Mears Penske Racing Penske/Cosworth-Ford
1982 Flag of the United States Rick Mears Penske Racing Penske/Cosworth-Ford
1983 Flag of the United States Al Unser Penske Racing Penske/Cosworth-Ford
1984 Flag of the United States Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola/Cosworth-Ford
1985 Flag of the United States Al Unser Penske Racing March/Cosworth-Ford
1986 Flag of the United States Bobby Rahal Truesports March/Cosworth-Ford
1987 Flag of the United States Bobby Rahal Truesports Lola/Cosworth-Ford
1988 Flag of the United States Danny Sullivan Penske Racing Penske/Chevrolet
1989 Flag of Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Patrick Racing Penske/Chevrolet
1990 Flag of the United States Al Unser Jr Galles-Kraco Racing Lola/Chevrolet
1991 Flag of the United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola/Chevrolet
1992 Flag of the United States Bobby Rahal Rahal/Hogan Racing Lola/Chevrolet
1993 Flag of England Nigel Mansell Newman/Haas Racing Lola/Cosworth-Ford
1994 Flag of the United States Al Unser Jr Penske Racing Penske/Ilmor
1995 Flag of Canada Jacques Villeneuve Team Green Racing Reynard/Cosworth-Ford
1996 Flag of the United States Jimmy Vasser Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard/Honda
PPG CART World Series
1997 Flag of Italy Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard/Honda
FedEx Championship Series
1998 Flag of Italy Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard/Honda
1999 Flag of Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard/Honda
2000 Flag of Brazil Gil de Ferran Penske Racing Reynard/Honda
2001 Flag of Brazil Gil de Ferran Penske Racing Reynard/Honda
2002 Flag of Brazil Cristiano da Matta Newman/Haas Racing Lola/Toyota
Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford
2003 Flag of Canada Paul Tracy Player's/Forsythe Racing Lola/Cosworth-Ford
2004 Flag of France Sébastien Bourdais Newman/Haas Racing Lola/Cosworth-Ford
2005 Flag of France Sébastien Bourdais Newman/Haas Racing Lola/Cosworth-Ford
2006 Flag of France Sébastien Bourdais Newman/Haas Racing Lola/Cosworth-Ford
Champ Car World Series
2007 Flag of France Sébastien Bourdais Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing Panoz/Cosworth

By team

Team Championships Last
Penske Racing 9 2001
Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing 8 2007
Chip Ganassi Racing 4 1999
Truesports 2 1986
Chaparral Racing 1 1980
Galles-Kraco Racing 1 1990
Team Green Racing 1 1995
Rahal/Hogan 1 1992
Patrick Racing 1 1989
Player's/Forsythe Racing 1 2003

Rookies of the Year

CART Rookies of the Year: (1979 to 2003)

Champ Car World Series Rookies of the Year: (2004 to 2007)

References

  1. ^ a b 2007 Entry List From speedsportmag. The 1979 CART World Series Season was the first CART World Series. Rick Ravon Mears (born December 3, 1951 in Wichita Kansas) is a retired American race car driver Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, ALMS, and NASCAR. Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, ALMS, and NASCAR. Cosworth is an Automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing (motorsport Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following The 1980 CART World Series Season was the second CART World Series. Chaparral Cars was a United States Automotive company which built prototype race cars from the 1960s through the early 1980s Chaparral Cars was a United States Automotive company which built prototype race cars from the 1960s through the early 1980s Cosworth is an Automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing (motorsport Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following The 1981 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season was the third CART World Series. Rick Ravon Mears (born December 3, 1951 in Wichita Kansas) is a retired American race car driver Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, ALMS, and NASCAR. Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, ALMS, and NASCAR. Cosworth is an Automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing (motorsport Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following The 1982 CART World Series Season was the fourth CART World Series. Rick Ravon Mears (born December 3, 1951 in Wichita Kansas) is a retired American race car driver Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, ALMS, and NASCAR. Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, ALMS, and NASCAR. Cosworth is an Automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing (motorsport Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following The 1983 CART World Series Season was the fifth CART World Series, a motor racing series Alfred Unser (born May 29, 1939 in Albuquerque New Mexico) is a former American automobile racing driver the younger brother of Bobby Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, ALMS, and NASCAR. Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, ALMS, and NASCAR. Cosworth is an Automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing (motorsport Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following The 1984 CART World Series Season was the sixth CART World Series, this year also known as the PPG IndyCar World Series Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian American former racecar driver and one of the most successful Americans in the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR is a motor racing team competing in the IndyCar Series. Lola Racing Cars (also Lola Cars International) is a Racing car Engineering company founded in 1961 by Eric Broadley and based in Huntingdon Cosworth is an Automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing (motorsport Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following The 1985 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season was the 1985 season of the CART championship Alfred Unser (born May 29, 1939 in Albuquerque New Mexico) is a former American automobile racing driver the younger brother of Bobby Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, ALMS, and NASCAR. March Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from Britain. Cosworth is an Automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing (motorsport Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following In the results of the Motor racing 1986 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season Robert "Bobby" Woodward Rahal (born January 10 1953 in Medina Ohio) is an American Auto racing team owner and former driver spending most of Truesports was an automobile racing team founded by Jim Trueman based in Hilliard Ohio. March Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from Britain. Cosworth is an Automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing (motorsport Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following The 1987 CART World Series Season was the ninth CART World Series. Robert "Bobby" Woodward Rahal (born January 10 1953 in Medina Ohio) is an American Auto racing team owner and former driver spending most of Truesports was an automobile racing team founded by Jim Trueman based in Hilliard Ohio. Lola Racing Cars (also Lola Cars International) is a Racing car Engineering company founded in 1961 by Eric Broadley and based in Huntingdon Cosworth is an Automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing (motorsport Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following The 1988 CART World Series Season was the tenth CART World Series. Daniel John "Danny" Sullivan III (Born March 9, 1950 in Louisville Kentucky) is a former racing driver from the United States. Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, ALMS, and NASCAR. Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, ALMS, and NASCAR. Chevrolet (ˌʃɛvroʊˈleɪ - French origin (also known as Chevy) is a Brand of Automobile, produced by General Motors (GM The 1989 CART World Series Season was the eleventh CART World Series. Emerson Fittipaldi (born December 12, 1946 in São Paulo, Brazil) is a highly successful Brazilian automobile racing driver winning world championships Patrick Racing was an Auto racing team in both Champ Car and the Indy Racing League. Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, ALMS, and NASCAR. Chevrolet (ˌʃɛvroʊˈleɪ - French origin (also known as Chevy) is a Brand of Automobile, produced by General Motors (GM The 1990 CART World Series Season was the twelfth CART World Series. Alfred Unser Jr (born April 19 1962 in Albuquerque New Mexico) nicknamed " Little Al " " Al Junior " or simply " Junior Galles Racing is a former auto racing team owned by Rick Galles that competed in the CART series and Indy Racing League, winning the 1990 CART Championship Lola Racing Cars (also Lola Cars International) is a Racing car Engineering company founded in 1961 by Eric Broadley and based in Huntingdon Chevrolet (ˌʃɛvroʊˈleɪ - French origin (also known as Chevy) is a Brand of Automobile, produced by General Motors (GM Michael Mario Andretti (born October 5, 1962 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) is an American retired CART and Formula One Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR is a motor racing team competing in the IndyCar Series. Lola Racing Cars (also Lola Cars International) is a Racing car Engineering company founded in 1961 by Eric Broadley and based in Huntingdon Chevrolet (ˌʃɛvroʊˈleɪ - French origin (also known as Chevy) is a Brand of Automobile, produced by General Motors (GM The 1992 CART World Series Season was the fourteenth CART World Series. Robert "Bobby" Woodward Rahal (born January 10 1953 in Medina Ohio) is an American Auto racing team owner and former driver spending most of Robert "Bobby" Woodward Rahal (born January 10 1953 in Medina Ohio) is an American Auto racing team owner and former driver spending most of Lola Racing Cars (also Lola Cars International) is a Racing car Engineering company founded in 1961 by Eric Broadley and based in Huntingdon Chevrolet (ˌʃɛvroʊˈleɪ - French origin (also known as Chevy) is a Brand of Automobile, produced by General Motors (GM The 1993 CART PPG IndyCar World Series Season was the fifteenth CART World Series. Biography Mansell was born in Upton-upon-Severn, a small Town in the English county of Worcestershire. Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR is a motor racing team competing in the IndyCar Series. Lola Racing Cars (also Lola Cars International) is a Racing car Engineering company founded in 1961 by Eric Broadley and based in Huntingdon Cosworth is an Automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing (motorsport Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following Alfred Unser Jr (born April 19 1962 in Albuquerque New Mexico) nicknamed " Little Al " " Al Junior " or simply " Junior Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, ALMS, and NASCAR. Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, ALMS, and NASCAR. Ilmor, founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in 1984 is a British independent high-performance autosport engineering company The 1995 CART PPG IndyCar World Series began on March 5, 1995 and ended on September 10 after 17 races Personal and early life Jacques Villeneuve was born in the Canadian city of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu to then soon to be Formula One driver Gilles Andretti Green Racing (AGR is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series and the American Le Mans Series. Reynard Motorsport was at one time the world's largest racing car manufacturer Cosworth is an Automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing (motorsport Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following The 1996 CART World Series Season was the eighteenth CART World Series. Jimmy Vasser (born November 20 1965 in Canoga Park, California) is an American racing driver and current race team owner Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is an automotive racing organization with teams competing in NASCAR, IRL, and Grand-Am racing Reynard Motorsport was at one time the world's largest racing car manufacturer () is a Multinational corporation, engine Manufacturer and engineering corporation headquartered in Japan. The 1997 CART World Series Season was the nineteenth CART World Series. Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi (born October 23, 1966 in Bologna Italy) is an Italian racing driver Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is an automotive racing organization with teams competing in NASCAR, IRL, and Grand-Am racing Reynard Motorsport was at one time the world's largest racing car manufacturer () is a Multinational corporation, engine Manufacturer and engineering corporation headquartered in Japan. The 1998 CART Championship Series Season was the twentieth CART Championship Series. Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi (born October 23, 1966 in Bologna Italy) is an Italian racing driver Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is an automotive racing organization with teams competing in NASCAR, IRL, and Grand-Am racing Reynard Motorsport was at one time the world's largest racing car manufacturer () is a Multinational corporation, engine Manufacturer and engineering corporation headquartered in Japan. The 1999 CART Championship Series Season was the twenty first CART Championship Series. Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (born September 20, 1975, in Bogotá, Colombia) is a Race car driver in NASCAR for Chip Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is an automotive racing organization with teams competing in NASCAR, IRL, and Grand-Am racing Reynard Motorsport was at one time the world's largest racing car manufacturer () is a Multinational corporation, engine Manufacturer and engineering corporation headquartered in Japan. The 2000 CART Championship Series was the twenty-second season Gil de Ferran (born November 11, 1967 in Paris, France) to Brazilian parents is a racing driver Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, ALMS, and NASCAR. Reynard Motorsport was at one time the world's largest racing car manufacturer () is a Multinational corporation, engine Manufacturer and engineering corporation headquartered in Japan. The 2001 CART Championship Series was the twenty-third season Gil de Ferran (born November 11, 1967 in Paris, France) to Brazilian parents is a racing driver Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, ALMS, and NASCAR. Reynard Motorsport was at one time the world's largest racing car manufacturer () is a Multinational corporation, engine Manufacturer and engineering corporation headquartered in Japan. The 2002 CART Championship Series Season was the twenty fourth CART Championship Series. Cristiano Monteiro da Matta (born September 19, 1973, in Belo Horizonte, MG Brazil is an Auto racing driver winner of the American Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR is a motor racing team competing in the IndyCar Series. Lola Racing Cars (also Lola Cars International) is a Racing car Engineering company founded in 1961 by Eric Broadley and based in Huntingdon (pronounced) is a Multinational corporation headquartered in Japan, and is currently the world's largest Automaker. The 2003 CART World Series Season was the twenty-fifth and final season for the CART World Series. Paul Tracy (born December 17, 1968 in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada is a professional automobile racer who competed Forsythe/Pettit Racing is a racing team that competed in the Champ Car World Series owned by Gerald Forsythe and Dan Pettit. Lola Racing Cars (also Lola Cars International) is a Racing car Engineering company founded in 1961 by Eric Broadley and based in Huntingdon Cosworth is an Automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing (motorsport Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following The 2004 Champ Car World Series season was the inaugural season for the Champ Car World Series. Sébastien Bourdais (born February 28, 1979 in Le Mans) is a French Formula One race car driver Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR is a motor racing team competing in the IndyCar Series. Lola Racing Cars (also Lola Cars International) is a Racing car Engineering company founded in 1961 by Eric Broadley and based in Huntingdon Cosworth is an Automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing (motorsport Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following The 2005 Champ Car World Series season was the second season of the Champ Car World Series. Sébastien Bourdais (born February 28, 1979 in Le Mans) is a French Formula One race car driver Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR is a motor racing team competing in the IndyCar Series. Lola Racing Cars (also Lola Cars International) is a Racing car Engineering company founded in 1961 by Eric Broadley and based in Huntingdon Cosworth is an Automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing (motorsport Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following The 2006 Champ Car World Series season was the twenty-eighth Champ Car World Series, however only its third season under the Champ Car title Sébastien Bourdais (born February 28, 1979 in Le Mans) is a French Formula One race car driver Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR is a motor racing team competing in the IndyCar Series. Lola Racing Cars (also Lola Cars International) is a Racing car Engineering company founded in 1961 by Eric Broadley and based in Huntingdon Cosworth is an Automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing (motorsport Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following The 2007 Champ Car World Series Season was the twenty-ninth Champ Car World Series, however only its fourth season under the Champ Car title Sébastien Bourdais (born February 28, 1979 in Le Mans) is a French Formula One race car driver Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR is a motor racing team competing in the IndyCar Series. Panoz Auto Development is an American manufacturer of high-performance automobiles founded in 1989 by Dan Panoz, son of pharmaceutical and motorsport mogul Don Panoz Cosworth is an Automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing (motorsport Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, ALMS, and NASCAR. Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (NHLR is a motor racing team competing in the IndyCar Series. Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is an automotive racing organization with teams competing in NASCAR, IRL, and Grand-Am racing Truesports was an automobile racing team founded by Jim Trueman based in Hilliard Ohio. Chaparral Cars was a United States Automotive company which built prototype race cars from the 1960s through the early 1980s Galles Racing is a former auto racing team owned by Rick Galles that competed in the CART series and Indy Racing League, winning the 1990 CART Championship Andretti Green Racing (AGR is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series and the American Le Mans Series. Robert "Bobby" Woodward Rahal (born January 10 1953 in Medina Ohio) is an American Auto racing team owner and former driver spending most of Patrick Racing was an Auto racing team in both Champ Car and the Indy Racing League. Forsythe/Pettit Racing is a racing team that competed in the Champ Car World Series owned by Gerald Forsythe and Dan Pettit. The 1979 CART World Series Season was the first CART World Series. Bill Alsup (born July 15, 1938 in Honolulu) was a race car driver The 1980 CART World Series Season was the second CART World Series. Dennis Firestone (born July 22, 1944 in Townsville, Australia) is a former CART driver from 1979 to 1987 The 1981 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season was the third CART World Series. Bob Lazier (born December 22, 1938 in Minneapolis Minnesota) is an American former race car driver The 1982 CART World Series Season was the fourth CART World Series. Robert "Bobby" Woodward Rahal (born January 10 1953 in Medina Ohio) is an American Auto racing team owner and former driver spending most of The 1983 CART World Series Season was the fifth CART World Series, a motor racing series Teodorico Fabi (born March 9, 1955) better known as Teo Fabi, is an Italian former Racing driver. The 1984 CART World Series Season was the sixth CART World Series, this year also known as the PPG IndyCar World Series Roberto José Guerrero Isaza (born November 16, 1958, in Medellín) is a former Racing driver from Colombia. The 1985 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season was the 1985 season of the CART championship Arie Luyendyk, originally Arie Luijendijk (born September 21, 1953) is a Dutch auto racing driver twice winner of the Indianapolis In the results of the Motor racing 1986 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season Dominic Dobson (born September 14, 1957 in Stuttgart) is a German -born former CART and Craftsman Truck Series driver who The 1987 CART World Series Season was the ninth CART World Series. Fabrizio Barbazza (born April 2 1963 in Monza, Lombardy) is an Italian former Formula One driver who raced for the The 1988 CART World Series Season was the tenth CART World Series. John Jones (born October 19, 1965, Thunder Bay Ontario) is a former driver in the CART Championship Car series The 1989 CART World Series Season was the eleventh CART World Series. Bernard Jourdain (born August 16 1950 in Brussels) is a Belgian born Mexican former race car driver The 1990 CART World Series Season was the twelfth CART World Series. Edward "Eddie" McKay Cheever Jr (born January 10, 1958) is an American racing driver who raced for almost thirty years in Formula One Jeff Andretti (born April 14 1964 in Bethlehem Pennsylvania) is an American Race car driver with Italian heritage The 1992 CART World Series Season was the fourteenth CART World Series. Stefan Nils Edwin Johansson (born September 8, 1956) is a former Formula One driver from Sweden. The 1993 CART PPG IndyCar World Series Season was the fifteenth CART World Series. Biography Mansell was born in Upton-upon-Severn, a small Town in the English county of Worcestershire. Personal and early life Jacques Villeneuve was born in the Canadian city of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu to then soon to be Formula One driver Gilles The 1995 CART PPG IndyCar World Series began on March 5, 1995 and ended on September 10 after 17 races Gil de Ferran (born November 11, 1967 in Paris, France) to Brazilian parents is a racing driver The 1996 CART World Series Season was the eighteenth CART World Series. Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi (born October 23, 1966 in Bologna Italy) is an Italian racing driver The 1997 CART World Series Season was the nineteenth CART World Series. Patrick Carpentier (born on August 13, 1971 in Ville Lasalle Quebec) is a Canadian race car driver The 1998 CART Championship Series Season was the twentieth CART Championship Series. Antoine Rizkallah Kanaan Filho, commonly known as Tony Kanaan (born December 31, 1974) is a Brazilian Race car driver of Lebanese The 1999 CART Championship Series Season was the twenty first CART Championship Series. Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (born September 20, 1975, in Bogotá, Colombia) is a Race car driver in NASCAR for Chip The 2000 CART Championship Series was the twenty-second season Kenneth "Kenny" Brack (born March 21, 1966 in Arvika, Värmland) is a Race car driver from Sweden. The 2001 CART Championship Series was the twenty-third season Scott Ronald Dixon (born July 22 1980 is a New Zealand motor racing driver who has twice won the Indy Racing League (IRL championship in the United States The 2002 CART Championship Series Season was the twenty fourth CART Championship Series. Mario Domínguez (born December 1, 1975 in Mexico City, Mexico) is a IndyCar Series racing driver currently driving for The 2003 CART World Series Season was the twenty-fifth and final season for the CART World Series. Sébastien Bourdais (born February 28, 1979 in Le Mans) is a French Formula One race car driver The 2004 Champ Car World Series season was the inaugural season for the Champ Car World Series. Anthony James Allmendinger (born December 16, 1981, in Los Gatos California) attended Leigh High School and is an American Racecar The 2005 Champ Car World Series season was the second season of the Champ Car World Series. Timo Glock (born March 18, 1982 in Lindenfels, Germany) is a Motor racing driver The 2006 Champ Car World Series season was the twenty-eighth Champ Car World Series, however only its third season under the Champ Car title Will Power (born March 1, 1981 in Toowoomba, Queensland) is an Australian Motorsport driver who currently competes The 2007 Champ Car World Series Season was the twenty-ninth Champ Car World Series, however only its fourth season under the Champ Car title Robert Michael Doornbos ( (born September 23 1981) is a Dutch Racing driver. com. Retrieved on August 28 2007. Events 475 - The Roman General Orestes forces western Roman Emperor Julius Nepos to flee his Capital
  2. ^ Champ Car > News Thursday, November 1, 2001
  3. ^ Champ Car > News Thursday, November 1, 2001
  4. ^ Champ Car > Dale Coyne Racing Profile
  5. ^ http://www.speedtv.com/articles/champcar/auto/33405
  6. ^ Zonta breaks the record, part three...
  7. ^ Videos of the event and record lap at toyota.com
  8. ^ Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca | Preseason Champ Car Testing Ends With Record-Shattering Performance By Bourdais
  9. ^ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE6475AbmdQ Video taken after Bourdais beat existing Laguna Seca track record
  10. ^ http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/formulaone/27851/
  11. ^ http://www.f1i.com/content/view/4377/0/
  12. ^ IndyCar.com
  13. ^ http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/champcar/42686/
  14. ^ George scraps offer to help merge series | IndyStar.com | The Indianapolis Star
  15. ^ Speedtv.com "Champ Car Heading for Bankruptcy?" 2/12/08
  16. ^ Thestar.com"Champ race in Toronto still possible"2/14/08
  17. ^ AUTO-RACING - UPDATE: Open-Wheel Unification Deal - SPEEDtv.com

See also

External links

This is an incomplete list of notable drivers that have made at least one start in Champ Car racing This is a list of teams contested the Champ Car World Series in 2007 the series' final year of operation Complete through 2007 Champ Car World Series season. Complete through end of 2007 Champ Car World Series season. This is a list of circuits which hosted a CART / Champ Car World Series race from 1979 to 2007. By year Other fatalities Lyle Kurtenbach (May 24 1987 Spectator Fatally injured by a wheel which flew off the car of Tony Bettenhausen
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