Rocketsports Racing was a motor racing team based in East Lansing, Michigan in the United States.
31-596: Rocketsports was founded in 1985 by racing driver Paul Gentilozzi to compete in the Trans-Am series. It competed in Trans-Am until 2004, when the championship was cancelled, and achieved 57 outright wins in 20 years. It has also raced in the IMSA sports car racing championship. Rocketsports joined Champ Car in 2003 with driver Alex Tagliani , who scored the team's only victory at Road America in 2004. In 2005 and 2006
62-527: A bid, calling their group the Open Wheel Racing Series (OWRS). George's offer was to purchase only select company assets, in an effort to eliminate any series that would rival his Indy Racing League. However, 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. Therefore, a judge ruled that
93-660: A deal to unify the two open-wheel American circuits, bringing them under the umbrella of the IRL IndyCar Series. A statement was released by the two sides, saying, "Owners of Champ Car and the Indy Racing League completed an agreement in principle Friday that will unify the sport for 2008." Champ Car liquidated its assets and the IRL bought almost all of them, thereby allowing the unification of IndyCar and Champ Car on track for 2008, as well as officially unifying
124-493: A driver he has won five drivers championships and nine manufacturers championships while holding the Trans Am record for wins, poles, top three finishes and prize money won. With 31 Trans Am wins, the most in series history, eclipsing the record held by Mark Donohue and 11 IMSA wins. He has run a number of different manufacturers including Oldsmobile, Ferrari, Ford, Nissan, Chevrolet, and most recently Jaguar. Previous to this he
155-662: A warm-up lane requested by many influential Speedway alumni), and a control tower. Before George's arrival, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (or "the Speedway") traditionally had only one race: the Indianapolis 500 . He changed that with the announcement that a NASCAR race would be held at the Speedway. The Brickyard 400 made its debut on August 6, 1994, with Jeff Gordon taking the checkered flag. Many Indianapolis purists despise stock car racing at
186-653: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Tony George Anton Hulman " Tony " George (born December 30, 1959) is the former Chairman, President, and CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Hulman & Company , serving from 1989 to 2009. He was also formerly on the Board of Directors of both entities. He founded the Indy Racing League and co-owned Vision Racing . Tony George's grandfather, Tony Hulman purchased
217-475: Is a race car driver and businessman. His non-racing business interests are real estate development , principally developing office buildings for institutions and government agencies. Prior to his involvement in motor racing, he received his Business Degree from Michigan State University . In 1985 he founded the successful Rocketsports Racing team that has competed in the Trans-Am series , Champ Car World Series , and The International Motorsports Association. As
248-553: The Brickyard 400 from 1997, 1999–2015. He delivered the command for the 2017–2019 Indy 500s. Tony George became president and CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation after the death of Joe Cloutier in 1989. During his first few years as Speedway head, he oversaw new projects such as an infield road-circuit, Tower Terrace Suites, pit lane reconstruction (including the addition of
279-445: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway at the end of World War II . George is a former driver, having competed in the 1989 Indy Lights championship, finishing 12th in points and capturing 5 top-tens. His mother (Tony Hulman's daughter), Mari Hulman George (1934–2018), formerly served as the speedway's Chairman and delivers its famed "(ladies and) gentlemen, start your engines" public address before every Indianapolis 500 from 1997–2015 and
310-774: The IndyCar Series . They did compete in the Champ Car finale at Long Beach Grand Prix , with drivers Antônio Pizzonia , who competed for Rocketsports at Long Beach in 2006, and Juho Annala . Since the demise of Champ Car, Rocketsports has competed in the revived Trans-Am Series with driver Tomy Drissi , winning the 2009 championship. Gentilozzi went on to form RSR Racing in 2009. ( key ) (results in bold indicate pole position) (results in italics indicate fastest lap) ( key ) Paul Gentilozzi Paul Gentilozzi (born February 6, 1950, in Lansing, Michigan )
341-491: The 33 spots in the Indianapolis 500 to be occupied by drivers in the IRL circuit. This meant that CART could not hold the Indianapolis 500 as a points scoring event on their calendar as not enough teams would be allowed to compete and earn points. CART decided to stage their own race on the same day, the U.S. 500 at Michigan International Speedway . Due to the lack of participation from the established CART teams, most of
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#1732800977488372-653: The American market. Michael Schumacher became the first driver to win five races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway by winning the 2006 race on July 2. Lewis Hamilton won the 2007 event, which turned out to be the last running. George and Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone could not reach an agreement to continue the US Grand Prix at the Brickyard for 2008 and beyond. The Speedway hosted its first MotoGP event in 2008. The motorcycles could not safely race through
403-728: The Board of Hulman & Company, which owns IMS and the IndyCar Series. Shortly after being removed from the CART Board of Directors, George announced the creation of the Indy Racing League , which began racing in 1996. He claimed to create the IRL to challenge the already established CART series, and to encourage a more even playing field in open wheel racing. He claimed he wanted a series to run entirely on oval tracks, making it distinct from CART, which raced on road and street courses in addition to short ovals and superspeedways. George angered many CART participants by requiring 25 of
434-406: The IRL IndyCar Series. Road courses entered the IRL schedule in 2005. Adding road courses added significant costs to the increasingly expensive league, because modifications to the chassis and engines (which were initially designed solely for the stresses of oval racing) would be required. This caused much criticism of George, and debate amongst fans, some of whom argued it went against what the IRL
465-424: The IRL to start his own team, Vision Racing , with his wife Laura George and actor Patrick Dempsey . The team was formed from the remnants of Kelley Racing , which disbanded after the 2004 season. George's stepson, Ed Carpenter , began driving for the team in 2005. Vision Racing shut down operations on January 28, 2009 due to a lack of sponsorship. On February 22, 2008, the IRL and Champ Car World Series signed
496-536: The Indianapolis 500 in 2000. The concern over CART's future, financial stability, and the attraction to the sponsorship draw of the Indy 500 saw teams slowly moving over to the IRL from 2001 to 2003. CART declared bankruptcy in the 2003 off season. 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
527-626: The MotoGP series added the oval circuit to its schedule. However the IndyCar series had trouble drawing fans, plus it lost IndyCar drivers to NASCAR such as Sam Hornish , Dario Franchitti , and Danica Patrick . Despite the absorption of the Champ Car World Series (the successor to CART) to IndyCar series, the merged series is nowhere as popular or commercially successful as CART in the early 1990s. (see Indy Racing League ) The IRL
558-468: 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 . Prior to 2003 the IRL was unable to use the term "IndyCar" since that was licensed to CART. In 1992, The Speedway trademarked the term "IndyCar" which had been widely used by CART in championship branding and promotion. The Speedway then leased
589-531: The U.S. with the United States Grand Prix held at the Speedway in 2000. This project involved building a road course inside the oval. The inaugural event in 2000 set an F1 attendance record. Controversy surrounded the 2005 United States Grand Prix , where only 6 of the 20 cars took the green due to problems with Michelin tires, which likely damaged the reputation of the event and the F1 in general in
620-579: The assets of Champ Car following a financially difficult 2003 season. Judge Frank Otte ruled in favor of the trio, known as Open Wheel Racing Series LLC, over rival bidder Tony George , the chairman/CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy Racing League . In 2008, the series was merged with the Indy Racing League. ( key ) ( Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led. ) This biographical article related to United States auto racing
651-445: The banked turns at high speed, so a portion of the infield was plowed and paved to provide a bypass to Turn 13 of the original road course. George resigned on June 30, 2009 as President and CEO of IMS and Hulman & Company claiming it to be so he could focus more time on the Indy Racing League . It has been reported that while George's mother Mari Hulman George (who is also chairman of the board) supported him, his sisters (who are
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#1732800977488682-498: The biggest names did not enter the Indianapolis 500 for several years. Tony George became a figure of derision among some racing fans, and he is blamed for open wheel racing losing fans, sponsors and drivers to NASCAR. George was successful in increasing the visibility of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Indy 500 remains one of the highlights of the IRL race season and maintained a strong attendance. George also attracted NASCAR and Formula One (from 2000 to 2007) to Indianapolis. In 2008,
713-525: The most famous circuit in North American open-wheel lore. Some fans believe the configuration of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as well as the diamond cutting of the track surface makes it a poor facility for stock car racing, traditionally exhibited on high banked ovals. In 1998, the IROC series came to the track, to little fanfare, and less success. Later, George helped bring Formula One back to
744-527: The other directors) wanted him out. The board also rejected George's request to continue funding Vision Racing. George had spent hundreds of millions of dollars on IRL teams, drivers, entry fees, marketing plans, airplanes, personnel and his own team. However the IRL has been said to be continually losing money, and after the estimated $ 60 million overhaul of the Speedway to accommodate Formula One in 2000, George's sisters, Nancy George, Josie George and Kathi Conforti-George, voiced their concern to their mother over
775-520: The series that saw American open-wheel racing reach its peak (popularity, manufacturer and sponsor interest) with a diverse schedule, technical package, manufacturer involvement, and large costs. In addition, Champ Car, the successor to CART, had failed at providing as diverse a schedule as in the CART era. Becoming CART-like in its season schedule was suggested as a way to help grow the IRL fan base. In 2005, George stepped down from his operational duties in
806-459: The spending habits of their brother, finally convincing Mari Hulman George to take unchecked power away from him in June 2009. In January 2010, George resigned from the board of directors. In February 2011, however George again became a director of Hulman & Company when the board was expanded. At a July 2016 NASCAR event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Tony George was described as Chairman of
837-477: The team fielded cars for pay drivers and frequently changed drivers. In 2007, Tagliani returned full-time and the team shared technical information with RuSPORT . This alliance was dubbed RSPORTS , and took a race win with RuSPORT's Justin Wilson . However, the alliance ended at the end of the season. In 2008, following the unification of Champ Car and the IRL, Rocketsports announced that it would not transition to
868-510: The term to CART through 1997. With the inception of the IRL, a lawsuit, and a six-year non-use agreement, formal use of the term disappeared. Widespread confusion ensued with CART still competing at "Indy" branded events in Canada and Australia, and both CART/Champ Car and IRL cars being popularly referred to as "IndyCars". In 2003 the non-use agreement expired and the IRL was able to adopt the recognized IndyCar moniker once again, thereafter becoming
899-571: Was founded in 1994 and began racing in 1996 claiming to offer a cost-effective, all-oval alternative to the PPG CART Indycar World Series. The basic beliefs behind the creation of the series were: However, as the series evolved, it moved away from these principles, with more foreign drivers, increased costs and, eventually, racing on road courses and street circuits. The IRL ("The League") struggled initially, until CART faced financial turmoil and CART teams began to return to
930-407: Was founded. The fans opined that oval racing was more exciting than road and street racing, better represented the heritage of open-wheel, paid homage to the Indianapolis 500, was more cost effective and better allotted American drivers with the opportunity of success in open-wheel racing. The other side of the debate argued it was best for the IRL to adopt more road racing, and become similar to CART,
961-919: Was involved in NHRA Drag Racing, successfully driving many Plymouth and Dodge vehicles. In 2009 he formed RSR Racing with his sons Anthony and John Gentilozzi. He teamed up with three other drivers to win the 1994 24 Hours of Daytona , his biggest win as a driver. He and Scott Pruett won the GTS class at the 2002 Daytona 24 hour event. He has fielded Champ Cars for rookie of the year Timo Glock , Alex Tagliani, Mario Dominguez, Antonio Pizzonia and 2004 Star Mazda series champion Michael McDowell , while running three Trans-Am cars for himself, Hollywood advertising executive/racer Tomy Drissi and that year's series champion Klaus Graf of Germany and Television star Craig T. Nelson. Gentilozzi and fellow Champ Car owners Gerald Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven purchased