Champ Car
Category	Open wheel racing
Country or region	International
Inaugural season	See text
Drivers	17[1]
Teams	9<ref name="entrylist2007" />
Constructors	Panoz
Engine suppliers	Cosworth
Drivers' champion	Sébastien Bourdais
Teams' champion	Newman/Haas Racing
Official website	champcarworldseries.com

Champ Car, an abbreviation of "Championship Car", has been the name for a class and specification of cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades. It is also commonly used to refer to the Champ Car World Series, an international open-wheel championship based largely in North America and formerly known as Championship Auto Racing Teams, or CART. Under the CART organization the series was officially known as the CART PPG IndyCar World Series, the CART FedEx Championship Series, and, in the organization's final year, the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered By Ford.

History

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. 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. USAC controlled the championship until 1979. In that year, CART began operating its own competing series, which quickly became dominant.

The split away 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. Gurney took his inspiration from the improvements Bernie Ecclestone had forced on Formula 1 with his creation of the Formula One Constructors Association. 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.

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. 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. This would allow the events to be listed on the International Motorsports Calendar.

Immediate Consequence of the Split

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.

Middle Years of CART

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 then-PPG IndyCar World Series. After former F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi won the series title in 1989, additional drivers from South America and Europe joined the series.

After British driving star Nigel Mansell's successful battle with Emerson Fittipaldi for the 1993 World Championship, a lot of people interpreted his victory as evidence of the superiority of non-US drivers. 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. 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.

George used the Indianapolis 500 as his trump card when he all but shut-out non IRL regulars by guaranteeing the bulk of the grid to full season IRL teams, leaving only a handful of grid positions available to CART regulars. In addition, the IRL had adopted a car formula very different than CART, requiring any CART team to purchase different cars if they wanted the chance to qualify for the Indy 500.

Later years of original series name

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 500, and many of the drivers were relative unknowns. In 1996 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 event lasted only one year, and in subsequent years, a different race was held the day before the Indy 500 at Gateway. The U.S. 500 name was, however, revived through 1999, and affixed to the existing July race at Michigan. Nevertheless, CART dominance seemed relatively unchallenged through 2001 despite 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. This was motivated by mismanagement, upset engine manufacturers, and sponsors that desired participation at Indianapolis 500. Team Rahal, Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske were among those that eventually found their way to the IRL permanently. Michael Andretti, who had been a successful CART driver and fan favorite, purchased the team operated by Barry Green and moved it to the IRL.

Several teams stayed with CART and later the Champ Car series, most notably Newman - Haas Racing. 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.

In 2000, Bobby Rahal stepped in as interim president of CART and designated the Vanderbilt Cup as the series championship trophy.

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 - turbocharged INDY engine at 241.428 mph (388.540 km/h) while qualifying for the season ending million-dollar (pursed to the winner) Marlboro 500. ^{[2] [3]}

It is claimed that the engine was producing nearly 1,000 hp in qualifying trim, and 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 record in qualifying.

Champ Car replaces CART

Following an announcement by FedEx that they would end their title sponsorship of the CART series following the 2002 season, CART decided to rebrand itself. Beginning in 2003, CART began to promote itself as Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford. CART declared bankruptcy during the 2003 off season and the assets of CART were liquidated. 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). George's offer was to purchase only select company assets which would have effectively ended the CART run. 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. In the end, 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. 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 is now simply the Champ Car World Series.

Specifications

• Engine Displacement: 2.65 L (162 in³) DOHC V8
• Gearbox: 7 Speed semi-automatic gearbox with paddle shifter (must have reverse)
• Weight: Approximately 714.4 kg (1,575 lbs.), without driver
• Power Output: 541-597 kw (725-800 hp)
• Torque: 475-576Nm (350-425ft·lb)
• Fuel: Methanol
• Fuel Capacity: 132 Liters (35 U.S. Gallons)
• Fuel Delivery: Fuel injection
• Aspiration: Turbocharged
• Manifold Pressure: 1.4 Bar (41.5 InHg) without "Power to Pass" 1.5 Bar (44.0 InHg) ^[4]
• Length: 4.8 m (190 inches)
• Width: 2 m (78.5 inches)
• Wheelbase: 3.1 m (122.75 inches)
• Steering: Manual, Rack and pinion
• 0-60 mph time: 2.6 sec (with traction control), 3.1 sec (without traction control)

Comparison with Formula One

A Champ Car is a single-seat (commonly called open-wheel) racing car. 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 Cars 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 are 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 lbs based on the weight of the driver compared to the field average; with the driver included, all cars have a minimum weight of 1741 lbs. A Champ Car piloted by 195 lb Paul Tracy (the heaviest driver in the series and 29 lbs heavier than the field average) must weigh at least 1,546 lbs when empty. The minimum weight of a Formula One Car, including the driver, is 605 kg (1,334 lbs). This difference of 407 lbs (184.6 kg) is just over 30% of the F1 car's weight.

Since the late 1960s Champ Cars have used turbocharged engines. 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 (597 kW) on demand and F1 cars having about 775 hp (578 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, and refuelling has always been permitted during the race. This is a legacy of a crash at the 1964 Indianapolis 500 in which a crash involving cars filled with more than 75 US gallons (285 L) of gasoline killed Dave MacDonald and Eddie Sachs. Until 1994, when refuelling was re-introduced to F1, the coupling for the refuelling hose was a notable difference between Champ Cars and Formula cars.

Champ Cars continue to have sculpted undersides to create ground effect. This innovation was originally created in Formula One by Lotus in 1978, and was immediately used on the Chaparral Champ Car in 1979. 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 use grooved tires to limit performance, Champ Cars remain using tread-less "slick" racing tires. To make races more unpredictable, drivers are permitted to use one set of higher performance softer compound "alternate" tires. Informally called "reds", as these tires 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. one of the grooves have a white color on the softer tire which enables the spectators to distinguish between the soft and the harder compound tire

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. The most notable exception was Penske Racing, although they also bought other cars when their own chassis was uncompetitive. Starting in 2007, Champ Car will feature only a single, "spec" chassis, the Panoz DP01, created by Elan Technologies, a racing equipment manufacturer owned by Don Panoz. The spec chassis was introduced to reduce costs for race teams, however Champ Car had essentially been a spec series since 2004, with all teams favoring the Lola chassis.

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. 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.^[5]

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. 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. Champ Car added this circuit to their tour in 2002, making a direct comparison possible.

During the inaugural Champ Car visit in 2002. Former Champ Car Champion Juan Pablo Montoya won the pole position in the Formula One race with a lap time of 1'12.836. Several weeks later, Cristiano Da Matta won the pole position in the Champ Car race with a lap time of 1'18.959.

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 1m 18.959s 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.'"

However this does not take into consideration the fact that the big F1 teams build their own chassis and engines. It is estimated that the big teams spend €100 to €200 million ($125-$250 million) per year per manufacturer on engines alone.[1]

In 2006, the latest and currently 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 1'14.942, while Sébastien Bourdais took the pole in 1'20.005 in Champ Car. The fastest lap in the Formula 1 race was 1'15.841 by Kimi Räikkönen, while Sébastien Bourdais' fastest lap was 1'22.325 in the Champ Car race.

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 1'06.309, 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. The Toyota record was eclipsed on March 10, 2007 by Sébastien Bourdais, who lapped in 1'05.880 piloting the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Panoz DP-01 during Champ Car Spring Training.

2007 Champ Car Season

Main article: 2007 Champ Car World Series season

In 2007 Champ Car will undergo some major changes.

The opening race of the season will be changed from the Long Beach Grand Prix to Las Vegas for the first running of the Vegas Grand Prix. The Long Beach Grand Prix will be the second race of the season, followed by the Grand Prix of Houston. Also, the entire schedule will be held on road and street courses, and the events will be timed races instead of races for a set number of laps. The full 2007 schedule was announced Wednesday, September 27, 2006. Champ Car officials confirmed that Panoz will be the sole chassis supplier for Champ Car for three years beginning in 2007. The Panoz DP01 will be built by sister company Elan Motorsports Technologies and will be powered by a turbo-charged Cosworth engine. The new formula is expected to significantly lower the costs of competing in the series, which in turn is expected to increase car counts for the 2007 Champ Car season.

Points are awarded based on race finishing position, from 31 points for 1st down to 1 point for 20th. In addition, bonus points are given for top qualifying time day 1, top qualifying time day 2, fastest race day lap, and most positions gained during the race. The maximum number of points a driver can earn per race weekend is thus 35 points. ^[8]

ESPN has announced a new, multiyear agreement that will mark the return of the Champ Car World Series to the network in 2007.^[9]

At present there is also some chatter regarding the reunification of Champ Car with its rival series, the IndyCar Series. It is hoped by many open-wheel racing fans that this merger of the two series (in respect of field sizes and television ratings) will secure the future of open-wheel racing in North America, whose racing landscape is currently ruled by the massively popular and more financially stable NASCAR. Moreover, the open-wheel series are no longer looked at as the top feeder to Formula One as they once were. A merger for the 2007 season will not happen; however, there is still speculation both sides will hopefully look again for future opportunities to resolve outstanding differences. Champ Car moving to the same network as the IndyCar Series could help to this end.

On January 16, 2007, Champ Car announced their return to Europe, for the first time since 2003, with races scheduled for September 2, 2007 at the TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands, and August 26, 2007 at the historic Zolder circuit in Belgium.[2]

On January 23, 2007, Champ Car unveiled its new logo for the Champ Car World Series and the Atlantic Series. According to its website^[10], it is a sleeker design with the new Panoz DP01 chassis on the right with an emphasis on a chicane-style layout, representing the street track racing that dominates Champ Car.

As of Sunday July 8, after the Grand Prix of Toronto, rookie driver Robert Doornbos has the championship lead with 164 points. Last season's Rookie of the year, Will Power is close behind in 2nd place with 162 points, followed by three time champion Sébastien Bourdais in 3rd with 161 points.

Champions

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

By Team

Team	Championships	Last
Penske Racing	9	2001
Newman/Haas Racing	7	2006
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)

• 1979 - Bill Alsup
• 1980 - Dennis Firestone
• 1981 - Bob Lazier
• 1982 - Bobby Rahal
• 1983 - Teo Fabi
• 1984 - Roberto Guerrero
• 1985 - Arie Luyendyk
• 1986 - Dominic Dobson
• 1987 - Fabrizio Barbazza
• 1988 - John Jones
• 1989 - Bernard Jourdain
• 1990 - Eddie Cheever
• 1991 - Jeff Andretti
• 1992 - Stefan Johansson
• 1993 - Nigel Mansell
• 1994 - Jacques Villeneuve
• 1995 - Gil de Ferran
• 1996 - Alex Zanardi
• 1997 - Patrick Carpentier
• 1998 - Tony Kanaan
• 1999 - Juan Pablo Montoya
• 2000 - Kenny Bräck
• 2001 - Scott Dixon
• 2002 - Mario Dominguez
• 2003 - Sébastien Bourdais

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

• 2004 - A. J. Allmendinger
• 2005 - Timo Glock
• 2006 - Will Power

References

See also

• List of Champ Car drivers
• List of Champ Car teams
• List of Champ Car pole positions
• List of Champ Car winners
• List of Champ Car circuits
• List of Champ Car fatal accidents

External links

• Official website of Champ Car World Series
• Champ Car racing statistics from 1909 to present
• Inner Circle Champions, the official Champ Car fan community

•  • [ e] Champ Car World Series Seasons
1979 • 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007

2007 Champ Car season
NHL	Forsythe	Minardi	Australia	RSPORTS	Coyne	PKV	PCM	Conquest
1 Bourdais 2 Rahal	3 Tracy 7 Servia	4 Clarke 14 Doornbos	5 Power 15 Pagenaud	8 Tagliani 9 Wilson	11 Legge 19 Junqueira	21 Jani 22 Gommendy	28 Dalziel 29 Figge	34 Heylen
Las Vegas - Long Beach - Houston - Portland - Cleveland - Mont-Tremblant - Toronto - Edmonton - San Jose - Road America - Zolder - Assen - Surfers Paradise - Mexico City