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.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and formerly the home of the United States Grand Prix. It is located six miles (9.7 km) west of Downtown Indianapolis.
Auto Club Speedway is a 2.000 mi (3.219 km), D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It was also previously used for open wheel racing events. The racetrack is located 47 mi (76 km) east of Los Angeles and is near the former locations of Ontario Motor Speedway and Riverside International Raceway. The track is owned and operated by NASCAR. The speedway is served by the nearby Interstate 10 and Interstate 15 freeways as well as a Metrolink station located behind the backstretch.
Maurício Gugelmin is a Brazilian former racing driver. He took part in both Formula One and Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). He participated in 80 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting in 1988 for the March team. Gugelmin achieved one top-three finish and scored a total of ten championship points in the series. He competed in CART between 1993 and 2001, starting 147 races. Gugelmin won one race, in 1997 in Vancouver, finishing fourth in the championship that year. His best result in the Indianapolis 500 was in 1995 where he started and finished in sixth position, leading 59 laps. For a period, he held the world speed record for a closed race track, set at California Speedway in 1997 at a speed of 240.942 mph (387.759 km/h). Gugelmin retired at the end of 2001 after a year that included the death of his third child.
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.
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.
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.
The U.S. 500 was an automobile race sanctioned by CART, held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan, United States. The event was held from 1973 to 1986, and again in 1996 as an alternative to the Indianapolis 500 held by the rival Indy Racing League (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 85th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 27, 2001. Race rookie Hélio Castroneves, a three-year veteran of the CART series, led the final 52 laps and won his first of four Indy 500 victories. Penske Racing swept 1st-2nd with Gil de Ferran the runner-up. Winning car owner Roger Penske scored his 11th victory at the Indianapolis 500, and his first-ever 1-2 finish in the race. It was a redemption from the team's previous attempt at Indy (1995) in which both of his cars failed to qualify; subsequently followed by a five-year absence (1996-2000) due to the open wheel "split".
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 1999 Marlboro 500 Presented by Toyota was held on October 31, 1999, at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California as the final showdown of the 1999 CART World Series season. The race was marred by an accident in the early stages of the race which killed Forsythe Racing driver Greg Moore.
The 1996 U.S. 500 was a CART race at the Michigan International Speedway on May 26, 1996. It was the sixth round of the 1996 IndyCar season, and ran on the same day as the 1996 Indianapolis 500, which was the premier event on the 1996 Indy Racing League calendar.
The 2002 The 500 presented by Toyota was the eighteenth round of the 2002 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on November 3, 2002 at the California Speedway in Fontana, California, United States.
The 2012 MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships was the 15th and final showdown of the 2012 IndyCar Series season. The event took place on September 15, at the 2.000-mile (3.219 km) Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. It was the first IndyCar race at this facility since 2005, the first 500-mile open-wheel race outside Indianapolis since the CART-sanctioned 2002 The 500 at Fontana, and the first 500-mile IndyCar Series race outside Indianapolis.
The Grand Prix of Miami refers to an intermittent series of American open wheel races held in South Florida dating back to 1926. AAA held one board track race in 1926, and then the facility was destroyed by a hurricane. The popular CART IndyCar World Series debuted in the Miami area in the mid-1980s with a street circuit at Tamiami Park, then returned to race at Bicentennial Park in 1995.
The 2014 MAVTV 500 IndyCar World Championships was the 18th and final race of the 2014 IndyCar Series season. The event took place on August 30, at the 2.000-mile (3.219 km) Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.
The 2015 MAVTV 500 IndyCar race was an open-wheel motorsport event held on June 27, 2015, at the 2.000-mile (3.219 km) oval course at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. It marked the 11th round of the 2015 season and unlike the previous season, was not the championship's final race of the season.
