Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) was a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 1979 to 2003. It sanctioned the PPG Indy Car World Series from 1979 until dissolving after the 2003 season.
Gil de Ferran is a French-born Brazilian professional racing driver and team owner. De Ferran was the 2000 and 2001 Champ Car champion driving for Team Penske and the winner of the 2003 Indianapolis 500. He also finished runner-up in the American Le Mans Series LMP1 class in 2009, with his own de Ferran Motorsports.
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of Fort Worth, Texas in Denton County. The reconfigured track measures 1.500 mi (2.414 km) with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24° in turns 3 and 4. Texas Motor Speedway is a quad-oval design, where the front straightaway juts outward slightly. The track layout is similar to Atlanta Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway. The track is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Nicknamed “The Great American Speedway“ the racetrack facility is one of the largest motorsports venues in the world capable of hosting crowds in excess of 200,000 spectators.
Kenny Bräck is a Swedish former race car driver. Until his retirement from racing, he competed in the CART, Indy Racing League and the IROC series. He won the 1998 Indy Racing League championship and the 1999 Indianapolis 500, becoming the first Swedish driver to win the race.
Gregory Ray is an American former race car driver.
The 1996–97 Indy Racing League was the second season contested by the Indy Racing League. Tony Stewart was the champion, while Arie Luyendyk won the Indianapolis 500. The lengthy season was a result of the league abandoning the concept of ending each season with the Indianapolis 500. The 1996–97 season would ultimately consist of the two races that followed the Indy 500 in the calendar year of 1996, and all events contested in the calendar year of 1997. It also saw the introduction of a new chassis and engine package.
The 1998 Pep Boys Indy Racing League was one of relative stability compared to the previous two seasons. For the first time the season consisted of a single and complete spring, summer, and fall like all other forms of motorsport. 15 drivers completed the entire 11 race schedule, twice as many as the previous season. It was also the first complete season for the new Riley & Scott chassis, though it proved unpopular due to its late introduction. A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers captured 4 wins, the Indy 500 pole, and the championship, arguably the most successful year in the team's history.
The 1999 Pep Boys Indy Racing League was highly competitive and parity was the order of the year. Team Menard had a very good season with their driver Greg Ray capturing 3 race wins and the series championship. This was the last year before CART teams began to break ranks and jump to the IRL.
The 2003 IRL IndyCar Series brought some of the biggest changes in its history. The league adopted the name IndyCar Series, after a settlement with CART prohibiting its use had expired. Several former CART teams brought their full operations to the IRL, most notably major squads Chip Ganassi Racing and Andretti Green Racing, as well as former CART engine manufacturers Toyota and Honda, replacing Infiniti who shifted its efforts to the new feeder series Infiniti Pro Series. Many of the IRL's old guard including Robbie Buhl, Greg Ray, and Buddy Lazier had difficulty competing in this new manufacturer-driven landscape. The league also added its first international race this year, taking over the CART date at Twin Ring Motegi.
The IndyCar Series has held racing events at Texas Motor Speedway, near Fort Worth, Texas, since 1997. The races have had a variety of different title sponsors and distances over the years, and therefore the Texas round has changed names frequently. The latest event, held in 2023, was called the PPG 375.
The Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix was an IndyCar Series race held at the Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, United States. USAC moved the fall race and added a spring race to the newly built Phoenix International Raceway in 1964. The race became a CART event in 1979, and joined the Indy Racing League in 1996. It was held continuously through 2005.
The Firestone Firehawk 600 was a planned American open-wheel car race scheduled for April 29, 2001 at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. The event was sanctioned by Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) and was the third round of the 2001 CART season. It was scheduled for 248 laps around the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) oval track. However, the race was postponed and ultimately canceled due to concerns about driver safety, as the high speeds the cars sustained through the circuit's long corners could potentially have led to drivers experiencing g-force induced loss of consciousness. It was the only race in CART history that was canceled outright for safety reasons. Kenny Bräck was awarded one point for qualifying on pole position at an average speed of 233.344 miles per hour (375.531 km/h).
The 2001 FedEx Championship Series season was the twenty-third in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) era of American open-wheel car racing. It consisted of 20 of the 22 originally scheduled races, beginning in Monterrey, Mexico on March 11 and concluding in Fontana, California on November 4. What would have been the third race in the season, the Firestone Firehawk 600 in Fort Worth, Texas, was canceled after qualifying due to safety concerns. The FedEx Championship Series Drivers' Champion was Gil de Ferran, while the Rookie of the Year was Scott Dixon.
The 2000 FedEx Championship Series season was the twenty-second in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) era of American open-wheel car racing. It consisted of 20 races, beginning in Homestead, Florida on March 26, 2000 and concluding in Fontana, California on October 30, 2000. The FedEx Championship Series Drivers' Champion was Gil de Ferran. The Rookie of the Year was Kenny Bräck.
The IZOD IndyCar World Championship Presented by Honda was an IndyCar Series race on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) Las Vegas Motor Speedway, held from 1996 to 2000, and again in 2011. It was first known as the Las Vegas 500k. The Champ Car World Series held a race at the track during the 2004 and 2005 seasons as doubleheaders with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and a street race was held in Las Vegas at the Fremont Street Experience in 2007.
The MAVTV 500 was an IndyCar Series race held at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. The event represented a continuous lineage of open wheel oval racing in the Southern California-area that dates back to 1970. Since 2012, the event had been sponsored by MAVTV, a motorsports cable channel owned by Lucas Oil.
The 2003 Chevy 500 was a race held at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, October 12, 2003. The race was the last race of the season for the 2003 IndyCar Series. The race was won by Gil de Ferran in what would be his last race in IndyCar with Scott Dixon winning his first of 6 IndyCar Series championships. The race was shortened by 195 of the scheduled 200 laps and was most remembered for a horrific crash by Kenny Bräck that nearly cost him his life.
