Cristiano Monteiro da Matta is a Brazilian former professional racing driver. He won the CART Championship in 2002, and drove in Formula One with the Toyota team from 2003 to 2004.
The 2004 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Hockenheim on 25 July 2004. It was Race 12 of 18 in the 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship.
The 2004 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 15 August 2004 at the Hungaroring, Mogyoród, Pest, Hungary. It was Race 13 of 18 in the 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship and the 20th Hungarian Grand Prix. The 70-lap race was won from pole position by Michael Schumacher, driving a Ferrari, with teammate Rubens Barrichello second and Fernando Alonso third in a Renault.
The 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 58th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It was the 55th FIA Formula One World Championship, and was contested over eighteen races from 7 March to 24 October 2004.
James Vasser Jr. is an American former racing driver. Vasser won the 1996 CART IndyCar championship with Chip Ganassi Racing, and scored ten victories in the series. Vasser was the last American to win the CART championship.
KV Racing Technology was an auto racing team that last competed in the IndyCar Series. The team was originally formed as PK Racing before the 2003 season by Australian businessman Kevin Kalkhoven and former Formula One team manager Craig Pollock from the remnants of the PacWest team.
The 2006 Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford season was the 28th overall and the third and penultimate season of the Champ Car World Series era of American open wheel racing. It began on April 9, 2006 in Long Beach, California and ended on November 12 in Mexico City, Mexico after 14 races. The Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford Drivers' Champion was Sébastien Bourdais, his third consecutive championship. He was the first driver to win three American open wheel National Championships in a row since Ted Horn in 1948. The Rookie of the Year was Will Power.
The 2006 Canary Foundation Grand Prix of San Jose was the ninth round of the 2006 Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford season, held on July 30, 2006 on the streets of San Jose, California. Sébastien Bourdais dominated the weekend, taking the pole, fastest lap and race win. Finishing second was 2002 CART champion Cristiano da Matta in what turned out to be his final Champ Car event. On August 3 da Matta was severely injured while testing at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin when he collided with a deer on the track. While da Matta recovered to return to racing in 2008, competing in the Rolex Sports Car Series, he has not competed in open wheel racing since. The race is also notable for a shoving match between Canadians Paul Tracy and Alex Tagliani in the pits after Tracy crashed into Tagliani while trying to return to the race course from an escape road, ending both their races.
The 2005 G.I. Joe's Presents the Champ Car Grand Prix of Portland was the fourth round of the 2005 Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford season, held on June 19, 2005 at the Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon. The pole sitter was Justin Wilson and the race was won by Cristiano da Matta. It marked the 12th and final Champ Car victory for the 2002 CART champion. It was also the first career Champ Car pole for Wilson, the first of eight in his American open wheel career.
Newman/Haas Racing was an auto racing team that competed in CART, Champ Car, and the IndyCar Series from 1983 to 2011. The team operations were based in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Newman/Haas Racing was formed as a partnership between actor, automotive enthusiast and semi-professional racer Paul Newman and long-time auto racing owner/driver Carl Haas. The duo were competitors in sports car racing during the 1970s and early 1980s. In 1983, they joined forces to enter the ranks of Indy car racing. Newman/Haas was one of the most successful teams in Indy car racing during the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. The team won 105 CART/Champ Car races and eight season championships, followed by two race wins in the IRL/IndyCar Series.
The 2002 Tecate/Telmex Monterrey Grand Prix was the first round of the 2002 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on March 10, 2002, at Parque Fundidora in Monterrey, Mexico.
The 2002 Bridgestone Grand Prix of Monterey was the fifth round of the 2002 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on June 9, 2002 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.
The 2002 G.I. Joe's 200 was the sixth round of the 2002 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on June 16, 2002 at Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon.
The 2002 CART Grand Prix of Chicago was the seventh round of the 2002 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on June 30, 2002 at the Chicago Motor Speedway in Cicero, Illinois, this was the fourth and final running of the event. 26,000 attended the race. Cristiano da Matta of Newman/Haas Racing, the championship leader going into the event, won the race from the third position. Chip Ganassi Racing's Bruno Junqueira finished in second and Team Green driver Dario Franchitti came in third after winning the eleventh pole position of his career in qualifying.
The 2002 Molson Indy Toronto was the eighth round of the 2002 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on July 7, 2002, on the streets of Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The 2002 Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland was the ninth round of the 2002 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on July 14, 2002 at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
The 2002 Molson Indy Vancouver was the tenth round of the 2002 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on July 28, 2002 on the streets of Concord Pacific Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
The 2002 Grand Prix at Road America was the twelfth round of the 2002 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on August 18, 2002, at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
The 2002 Molson Indy Montreal was the thirteenth round of the 2002 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on August 25, 2002 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was the first Champ Car event to take place on the circuit best known for hosting the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix.
The 2002 Gran Premio Telmex-Gigante was the nineteenth and final round of the 2002 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on November 17, 2002 at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, Mexico. It was the first Champ Car race at the track since the 1981 season. The race preceded a mass exodus of significant drivers and teams who all competed in their final Champ Car event, most of whom knew beforehand that they would not return. Most rued the fact that they were leaving for the rival Indy Racing League, wishing to continue in CART rather than endure a more stable future in the IRL. CART's winningest driver, Michael Andretti, along with Kenny Brack, Scott Dixon, Dario Franchitti, Tony Kanaan, and Japan's most successful driver in U.S. open wheel racing Tora Takagi would all bid CART adieu in favor of the IRL. Other entities leaving CART included 1996-1999 champions Chip Ganassi Racing, 1995 champions Team KOOL Green, and Mo Nunn Racing permanently switched to the IRL, and Japanese automotive industry giants Honda and Toyota likewise left CART for the IRL. Season champion Cristiano da Matta was set to leave CART for Formula One with his engine supplier's F1 team, and Christian Fittipaldi attempted a stock car career.
