Treadway Racing is a former auto racing team that competed in the early seasons of the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series. The team was owned by Indianapolis business man Fred Treadway. Prior to the IRL's inaugural season in 1996, Treadway was able to sign former Indianapolis 500 Champion Arie Luyendyk to drive for his freshman team. Additionally, two long time backers of IndyCar teams, Bryant Heating & Cooling Systems and Jonathan Byrd's Cafeteria, were secured as sponsors.
Luyendyk brought home the team's first win in their second race together, winning the Dura-Lube 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. Later that season Luyendyk would set two qualifying records at the Indianapolis 500. Luyendyk would run 236.986 mph (381.392 km/h) over the four lap run, [1] during this run he also set the one-lap record of 237.498-mph. [2] This run would not put Luyendyk on the pole position however, as the run was on the second day of time trials. Luyendyk's attempt on the first day of qualifications was disallowed when he failed technical inspection although it was good enough for the pole. His day two attempt was faster than his day one attempt. Ultimately Luyendyk was knocked out of the race in an accident.
The following year, good fortunes would continue to the race into the race as Luyendyk would win the 1997 Indianapolis 500 for Treadway Racing from the pole; new teammate Scott Goodyear finished second, making it a 1-2 sweep for Treadway Racing. Luyendyk would follow up by winning the True Value 500 at Texas Motor Speedway a fortnight later. The race is best remembered for the scoring controversy [3] that would lead to USAC being removed from sanctioning duties by the IRL. [4] Goodyear's more consistent results would put him one spot ahead of Luyendyk in the final season standings for 1997 despite not collecting a win.
For 1998 Goodyear left Treadway Racing, leaving Luyendyk as the sole driver. Luyendyk won the final race of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway before retiring from full-time racing.
Sam Schmidt was signed to replace Luyendyk for 1999 season. He would deliver the team a win at Las Vegas as Luyendyk had the prior season. This late season win combined with finishing 5th in the final season standings gave the team high hopes for 2000. An opportunity to achieve this success would not occur as a devastating pre-season testing injury [5] at Walt Disney World Speedway would leave Schmidt paralyzed. The accident would leave Robby McGehee who had been signed to partner Schmidt as the team's sole driver. McGehee would only last one season.
Felipe Giaffone would take the team's seat in 2001, bringing with him personal sponsorship from Hollywood Cigarettes. Ross & Diana Hubbard also joined the team as partners to Fred Treadway. Giaffone and the Hubbards would also last only one season.
For 2002 Treadway's son Rick Treadway drove for the team for the first half of the season with Will Langhorne competing select events at the season's end. As teams from the CART World Series began to enter the IRL costs began to rise and squeeze out small teams such as Treadway Racing. The 2002 Chevy 500 at Texas Motor Speedway was Treadway Racing's final race in the Indy Racing League's top series.
Full-Time Drivers
Felipe Giaffone (2001)
Scott Goodyear (1997)
Arie Luyendyk (1996-'98)
Robby McGehee (2000) Sam Schmidt (1999) Rick Treadway (2002)
Part-Time/Indy-Only Drivers
Raul Boesel (2000) Will Langhorne (2002) Jason Leffler (2000) Arie Luyendyk (1999, 2001-'02)(key) (Results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
| # | Season | Date | Sanction | Track / Race | No. | Winning Driver | Chassis | Engine | Tire | Grid | Laps Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1996 | March 24 | IRL | Phoenix International Raceway (O) | 5 | Arie Luyendyk | Reynard 95i | Ford-Cosworth XB | Firestone | Pole | 122 |
| 2 | 1996-97 | May 27 | IRL | Indianapolis 500 (O) | 5 | Arie Luyendyk (2) | G-Force GF01 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | Firestone | Pole | 61 |
| 3 | June 7 | IRL | Texas Motor Speedway (O) | 5 | Arie Luyendyk (3) | G-Force GF01 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | Firestone | 11 | 20 | |
| 4 | 1998 | October 11 | IRL | Las Vegas Motor Speedway (O) | 5 | Arie Luyendyk (4) | G-Force GF01B | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | Goodyear | 14 | 88 |
| 5 | 1999 | September 26 | IRL | Las Vegas Motor Speedway (O) | 99 | Sam Schmidt | G-Force GF01C | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | Firestone | Pole | 35 |
Arie Luijendijk, nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman," is a Dutch former auto racing driver, and winner of the 1990 and 1997 Indianapolis 500 races. He was inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in 2009, and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2014.
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.
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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.
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The 2002 Indy Racing League (IRL) was one of transition, with two reigning CART championship teams, Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi Racing, joining the series with full time entries. The Oldsmobile engine was rebranded as a Chevrolet, and both Honda and Toyota announced their participation in the series starting in 2003 while Infiniti announced its withdrawal.
The 89th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 29, 2005. It was the premier event of the 2005 IndyCar Series season and the tenth Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League. Dan Wheldon won the race, his first of two Indy victories. Wheldon became the first British-born winner since Graham Hill in 1966. It was the second consecutive Indy victory for Honda, and the first victory for the Dallara chassis since 2002. It was also the long-awaited first Indianapolis 500 victory for car owner Michael Andretti of Andretti-Green Racing. After many years of failing to win the race as a driver, Andretti finally achieved victory at Indianapolis as an owner.
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The 82nd Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 24, 1998. This was the third Indianapolis 500 run as part of the Indy Racing League, but the first fully-sanctioned by the IRL after they relied on USAC to sanction the 1996–1997 races. The race was part of the 1998 Pep Boys Indy Racing League season.
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The 80th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 26, 1996. This was the first Indy 500 contested as part of the new Indy Racing League, under the overall sanctioning umbrella of USAC. It was the third and final race of the 1996 IRL season. Veteran driver and former AIS champion Buddy Lazier won the race, his first career victory in top-level Indy car competition. Lazier's victory came just over two months after he suffered a broken back in a crash at Phoenix. Lazier's victory marks the last Indy victory for Ford, the second of two all-time victories for Reynard, and was the first victory for Firestone since 1971.
Beck Motorsports was a team in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series owned by Greg Beck. At times in its history the team was partnered with Curb Agajanian Performance Group and 3G Racing owners Stanton Barrett and Steve Sudler.
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