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105-485: The Atlantic Championship Series is an American open-wheel racing series with races throughout North America. It has previously been called Champ Car Atlantics , Toyota Atlantics (after its then engine supplier for sponsorship reasons), or just Atlantics . The series began in 1974 as a professional version of the Sports Car Club of America 's amateur Formula Atlantic classification and typically served as

210-681: A consortium called Open Wheel Racing Series (OWRS) in 2004 and the series was renamed the Champ Car Open Wheel Racing Series, later renaming it to the Champ Car World Series . However, the sanctioning body continued to be plagued by financial difficulties, In 2007, CCWS's presenting sponsors Bridgestone and Ford Motor Company withdrew. During this time, the IRL was now operating under the moniker IndyCar Series, and slowly beginning to establish itself as

315-528: A driver will compete before moving to Champ Car , or the highest levels of sports car racing such as American Le Mans . A US$ 2 million prize was announced for the winner of the 2006 racing season and future seasons, with the restriction that it can only be used towards the cost of racing in the Champ Car World Series . Simon Pagenaud became champion in 2006 and claimed the first such prize. He promptly moved to Champ Car in 2007 to race for Walker Racing . The series champion for 2007, Raphael Matos , also won

420-479: A hiatus during WWII ). As such, for many years, the category of racing was known as Championship car racing (or Champ car racing for short). That name has fallen from use, and the term Indy car racing (derived from the Indy 500 ) has become the preferred moniker. The machines, typically referred to as "Indy cars", are a formula of single-seat, open cockpit , open-wheel , purpose-built race cars. They compete on

525-620: A long line of television celebrities to enter this series—starting with Dick Smothers at the very first race in 1968—was Frankie Muniz of the Fox Network comedy Malcolm in the Middle , making his debut in 2007. Sharing the dream of many American open wheel racers, Muniz stated his intention to use Champ Car Atlantics as a direct path to racing in the Champ Car World Series . A few women have chosen to participate in Atlantic racing under

630-537: A modern IndyCar is more physically exerting to drive than a modern Formula One car but that the Formula One car was more mentally taxing due to all its additional complexity, horsepower, and downforce levels compared to the IndyCar as well as the need to manage fuel levels given that Formula One cars do not refuel during the race while IndyCar racing allows refueling during races. The American National Championship

735-443: A monetary pole position reward. Starting in 2006, the series has been run exclusively with Swift 016.a chassis powered by Mazda - Cosworth MZR 2300 cm (2.3 L) DOHC inline-4 engines producing 300 bhp (224 kW). The cars are capable of speeds in excess of 175 mph (280 km/h). The new formula has lowered the costs of running a full Atlantic season to around $ 500,000–$ 600,000. This reduction in costs, plus

840-477: A new high-definition television package was announced on HDNet , which features live coverage of certain events and replays of others. Web video of events has also historically been available on the series website, and the series also has its own official YouTube channel under the username "AtlanticRacingSeries." American open-wheel racing American open-wheel car racing , generally known as Indy car racing , or more formally Indianapolis car racing ,

945-602: A popular historic category in Australia and New Zealand with the Tasman Revival Series running races in both countries. The S5000 Australian Drivers' Championship is marketed as a modern interpretation of Formula 5000, featuring a modern European-built open wheeler chassis fitted with a large-capacity V8 engine. The South African Formula One Championship was opened to Formula 5000 cars in 1968, with these racing against Formula One and Formula Two cars until

1050-558: A race in Toronto, Canada and finished eleventh in points. Stephen Simpson competed in three races with his best finish of fifth place in Monterrey, Mexico. Christal was also the owner of sponsor Roadblock Protective Systems and Team Manager for BMW of Sterling Motorsports. Simona de Silvestro was an Atlantic Championship contender who led a large portion 2009 Atlantic Championship season , ultimately finishing third. In three years in

1155-533: A rival BP backed series appearing in 1973. 1974 saw the BP series changing sponsor to John Player and the Yellow Pages series becoming backed by John Webb's MCD organisation and Southern Organs. In practice most top drivers competed in both series and there were no date clashes. Only one series ran in 1975–76, in the final year taking the title ' Indylantic and adopting Indianapolis-style single-car qualifying. But

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1260-481: A road or street course the Formula One car would be significantly faster than an IndyCar. There is debate on which series is more demanding. Some point out that champions that retired from F1 have won CART championships: e.g., Emerson Fittipaldi and Nigel Mansell. Drivers who did not excel in F1 have continued their careers in IndyCar with varying levels of success. Some successful IndyCar drivers have tried but failed to get

1365-638: A season. In 2005, she became the first woman in history to win a professional open wheel race in North America, at Long Beach, California . She then amassed two more wins in the same season and finished third overall in season results. Christal Waddy was the first African American female Motorsport Director in the United States for a professional motorsport team. In 2006 Christal campaigned a two car entry for car owner Bob Gelles of Gelles Racing sponsored by Western Union. Driver Robbie Pecorari won

1470-489: A seat in even a low level Formula One team. A handful of notable IndyCar drivers, however, found subsequent success in F1, including Mario Andretti and Jacques Villeneuve, who became Formula One champions, and Juan Pablo Montoya, who won several F1 races. Conversely, some point to the different track designs of IndyCar (see below) as a bigger challenge to the drivers. Former Haas F1 driver Romain Grosjean stated in 2021 that

1575-502: A series of professional races for Atlantic cars on the U.S. west coast, with Al Brizzard as Chief Steward. WCAR had originally sprung up with the FIA's "Formula Mondial" championship and when that folded prematurely, WCAR became Atlantic racing in the United States. On the east coast, Vicki O'Connor decided to establish a similar series. Thus, East Coast Atlantic Racing - ECAR - was born. Simultaneously, Vicki established Pro-Motion Agency Ltd as

1680-573: A significant number of continental drivers. The weak pound (a result of the energy crisis) and the increasing cost of importing Chevrolet V8 engines caused some concern and engine regulations for European F5000 were revised to permit engines other than the 5.0 litre pushrod V8s - the DOHC Cosworth GA V6 (based on a unit used in Group 2 Capris was permitted to race at a capacity of 3500cc. March 75A and Chevron B30 cars were successful with

1785-412: A stepping stone to the original Indy Lights series under Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). After that series was ended in 2002, the Atlantic series became the official developmental series of CART successor Champ Car World Series until the merger of Champ Car with IndyCar in 2008. The series ran independently on 2009 under IMSA sanctioning but shut down following that season. Starting in 2012,

1890-613: A tribute to Formula 5000 in 2008. At that time, the Wine Country Classic was a sister event to the popular Monterey Historic Automobile Races held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California . In 2014, the Rolex Monterey Reunion featured Formula 5000 cars as a featured race to conclude the weekend and the 2015 get together included Formula 5000 cars as well. 1971 SCCA Formula A Champion

1995-780: A variety of circuits, including ovals , road courses , street circuits , and combined road courses . The most famous and most important event of the season is the Indianapolis 500 , held on Memorial Day weekend in late May. Over the decades, Indy cars have been generally similar to those in Formula One , though there are important differences. Though the IndyCar Series is U.S.-based, international races have occasionally been held; in such places as Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, Australia, as well as Europe. This form of racing experienced considerable growth and popularity in

2100-553: Is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States . As of 2024 , the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar . Competitive events for professional-level, open-wheel race cars have been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies, tracing its roots as far back as 1902. A season-long, points-based, National Championship of drivers has been officially recognized in 1905, 1916, and each year since 1920 (except for

2205-505: Is notable for the wide variety of racetracks it has used compared to other series, such as Formula One and the various forms of Endurance sports car racing . The mainstays of the championship are as follows: Until 1970 the championship frequently raced on dirt and clay tracks, but all such tracks were removed permanently by USAC before the 1971 season. From 1915 to 1931 board tracks were frequently used for championship races, however safety concerns and cost of maintenance, especially with

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2310-486: The 1955 Indianapolis 500 , and the 1955 Le Mans disaster . Through 1922 and again from 1930 to 1937, it was commonplace for the cars to be two-seaters, as opposed to the aforementioned standard single-seat form. The driver would be accompanied by a riding mechanic (or "mechanician" ). The national championship was taken over by the United States Auto Club (USAC), a new sanctioning body formed by

2415-857: The Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs (CASC) in Canada (now ASN Canada), drawing much attention and large fields due to its national CTV television coverage. IMSA in the United States took advantage of the large number of teams and organized its own series in 1976. During these years, the series attracted guest drivers from Europe, including Formula One, particularly at the Trois-Rivières street race in Quebec, Canada. Guest drivers included James Hunt , Jean-Pierre Jarier , Riccardo Patrese , Patrick Depailler , Jacques Laffite , Didier Pironi and Vittorio Brambilla . In 1977,

2520-652: The IMSA GT Championship in 1981, the old F5000 were now clumsy and slow compared to the new cars . In the UK, the arrival of the Cosworth DFV engine meant that many teams could now afford to build their own chassis around a good engine/transmission package, so Cooper , Lotus and Brabham stopped the production of customer Formula 1 cars. Unfortunately, smaller privateer teams and drivers that entered Britain's non-championship F1 events were left behind, and

2625-492: The Indy 500 ) has taken over as the preferred moniker. Apropos to that, when CART was founded in 1979, its acronym stood for Championship Auto Racing Teams , a reflection of the historical use of the term "Championship Car". From its onset, CART started marketed itself with the two-word "Indy Car" term, advertising itself as the "CART Indy Car World Series". Through the mid-1990s, the term "Indy car" referred to machines used to compete in events sanctioned by CART , as well as

2730-752: The RAC quickly adopted the American F5000 regulations. A European championship was first run in 1969 as the Guards Formula 5000 Championship. This was renamed to Guards European Formula 5000 Championship in 1970, to Rothmans European Formula 5000 Championship in 1971 and then to ShellSport European Formula 5000 Championship in 1975. Unlike the American series, the European championship didn't attract many star names from Formula 1 and sports cars, and

2835-530: The $ 2 million prize towards a Champ Car ride. However, he elected not to accept it as he felt that without other sponsorship, he would be driving for a non-competitive team. Matos instead accepted an offer from the Andretti Green Racing team in the developmental Firestone Indy Lights Series instead, where he was promised the chance to race in the Indy 500 and a future ride in the IndyCar Series . 2007 runner-up Franck Perera , who finished on

2940-437: The 1960s, drivers and team owners with road racing backgrounds, both American and foreign, began creeping into the series and the paved oval track cars evolved from front-engine " roadsters " to rear-engine formula-style racers . Technology, speed, and expense climbed at a rapid rate. The schedule continued to be dominated by oval tracks, but a few road course races were added to assuage the newcomers. Dirt tracks were dropped from

3045-829: The 1970s Formula One had become more commercial and the Grand Prix stars no longer took part. The Tasman Series had become a competitive Australian/New Zealand local championship leaving the field to be dominated by the cream of "Down Under" drivers such as Frank Matich , Frank Gardner , Kevin Bartlett , Vern Schuppan , Graeme McRae , Graeme Lawrence , Warwick Brown , Johnnie Walker , John McCormack , Alan Jones , John Goss , Larry Perkins , John Bowe and Garrie Cooper racing against European and American drivers such as David Hobbs , Teddy Pilette , Mike Hailwood , Sam Posey , Richard Attwood and Peter Gethin . The four Australian Formula 5000 Tasman races continued (separate from

3150-647: The 1970s, the IndyCars were ready to fill the void. IndyCar was a combination road- and oval-racing championship from this time until the Split. Compared to F1 cars, IndyCars were partly specialized for oval-racing: they were larger and had other safety features, and were designed to run at the higher speeds necessary for oval racing. Because IndyCars were usually "customer" cars that the teams purchased from constructors, and because of rules to contain costs, they were considerably less expensive than F1 cars, each model of which

3255-662: The 1980s–1990s under the sanctioning of Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). Organizational disputes in 1979 and 1996 split participants and the fanbase among two separate sanctioning bodies. The sport was re-unified in 2008 , and in late 2019, IndyCar was bought by Roger Penske and Penske Entertainment . The national championship was sanctioned by the Contest Board of the American Automobile Association (AAA). The AAA first sanctioned automobile motorsports events in 1902. At first it used

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3360-487: The 1990s and early 2000s, international expansion reached overseas with events at Surfer's Paradise , Rio de Janeiro , Motegi , Lausitz , and Rockingham . Towards the end of its run, Champ Car ran races at European tracks such as TT Circuit Assen and Zolder Circuit , intentionally scheduled in regions and dates that would not compete with Formula One. In 2011 IndyCar revived the Astor Cup, first awarded in 1915 as

3465-508: The Atlantic Championship by extending an engine contract that covers the series through the year 2011. In early 2010, Atlantic Championship personnel publicized several features intended to attract new drivers and retain existing racers and teams. One was to brand the series as the "Road to F1", announcing that "at least one current European F1 team manager" would be in attendance to monitor a test for interested racers. Another

3570-545: The CART championship quickly became the more prestigious national championship. USAC ran a "rump" 1979 season, with few big name drivers — the only exception being A. J. Foyt . In 1979, USAC denied several of the entries from the CART teams at the 1979 Indianapolis 500 . The controversy saw a court injunction during the month, which allowed the CART-affiliated entrants to participate. In 1980 USAC and CART jointly formed

3675-467: The CART races and USAC-sanctioned Indy 500 were the same, with only relatively minor rules differences. The Indy 500 field would consist of the CART regulars, and numerous one-off ("Indy only") entries. On occasion, some of the "Indy only" entries also elected to participate in the Michigan 500 and Pocono 500 (both sanctioned by CART) given the increased stature and exposure of those two events. One of

3780-700: The Championship Racing League (CRL) to jointly run the national championship, but IMS management disliked the idea. USAC pulled out of the CRL arrangement in July. CART continued with the schedule for the remainder of the season. Both CART and USAC awarded separate national championship titles that year, and Johnny Rutherford happened to win both. In 1981–1982, the Indianapolis 500 remained sanctioned by USAC. The preeminent national championship

3885-563: The Indianapolis 500 would be the final race of the respective season. However, between the 1984–85 season and the 1994–95 season (its final season), the USAC Gold Crown Championship only had one points-paying race: the Indianapolis 500 . As a result, during that timespan, the winner of the Indy 500 would win that year's USAC Gold Crown Championship by default. In 1994, Tony Hulman 's grandson, Tony George , president of

3990-495: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway (the trademark owner) over the use of the moniker. Eventually a settlement was reached in which CART gave up use of the name, but the IRL in turn could not use it until 2003. CART rebranded themselves with the CART name, and began referring to their machines as Champ Cars. CART's existing national championship remained dominant after the split for some time, initially retaining

4095-475: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, founded the Indy Racing League (IRL), to begin competition in 1996. It would exist as a separate championship, and leveraged the fame of the Indianapolis 500, which was placed as its centerpiece. After the IRL announced that 25 teams that competed in IRL races would get automatic qualifications to the race, making it impossible for the majority of the CART field to make

4200-749: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, while in Europe, racing from point to point and around large circuits gained in popularity. Grand Prix racing (which became Formula One ) and rallying then diverged in Europe. Formula One was established after World War II as the World Championship for road racing, and F1 cars became increasingly specialized and high-tech. In the 1960s, road racing gained popularity in North America, and Formula One-style design ideas changed IndyCars, which until then had all been classic-styled front-engined roadsters. When North America's road racing championship, Can-Am Challenge , collapsed in

4305-472: The National Championship . The term "Big Cars" saw some limited use; a term that identified the machines as larger and faster than junior formulae such as sprints and midgets . That term disappeared from use and was instead largely used for Sprint cars . However, some promoters continued to advertise their championship events with the term "Big Cars", which leads to some inconsistencies. In

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4410-767: The New Zealand races) as the Rothmans International Series from 1976 until 1979. Formula 5000 was also the main component of Australian Formula 1 from 1971 to 1981 and this formula was the primary category contesting the Australian Drivers' Championship during those years and the Australian Grand Prix until 1980. Although still called Australian Formula 1 until 1983, F5000 was replaced by Formula Pacific and Formula Mondial after 1981. While European cars such as

4515-770: The SCCA Formula Continental Championship in 1968 (when they were largely overshadowed by the V8-powered Formula 5000 cars) and then as an independent series from 1969 to 1972. Formula Atlantic as a class evolved in the United Kingdom in 1971 from the US Formula B rules, with 1600 cm production-based twin-cam engines (initially dominated by Lotus-Ford Twin Cam -based dry-sump Cosworth Mk.XIII, then by Cosworth BDD when

4620-758: The SCCA sanctioned the US events and in 1978 the CASC and SCCA series merged and conducted the series jointly until 1983, when it ran as the Formula Mondial North American Cup ; Michael Andretti won the championship. The series could not sustain the success of earlier seasons and was cancelled for 1984. In its place a "Pacific" series was conducted exclusively on the US West Coast in 1985. This rebirth expanded to an East Coast "Atlantic" series

4725-549: The Toyota Atlantic or Atlantic Championship powered by Mazda banner. As mentioned in the list of former drivers, Danica Patrick was an Atlantic competitor in 2003 and 2004. She was the first woman to score a pole position in the series and the first woman to finish on the podium. She also led the 2004 season briefly before finishing third overall in season results, but did not score a win in two years of Atlantic competition. Katherine Legge also competed in Atlantic for

4830-425: The U.S. government primarily on account of rationing . Racing resumed in full in 1946. The 1946 season is unique, in that it included six Champ Car events, and 71 " Big Car " races, as organizers were initially unsure about the availability of cars and participation. AAA ceased participation in auto racing at the end of the 1955 season. It cited a series of high-profile fatal accidents, namely Bill Vukovich during

4935-579: The U.S. took place in 1967 at Mosport and Saint-Jovite in Canada . In 1971 , the USAC season-opening race was held at Rafaela . In the autumn of 1978, two races were held in England , the first at Silverstone , then a week later at Brands Hatch . Beginning in the mid-1980s, CART expanded throughout North America , venturing into Mexico ( Mexico City ) and Canada ( Sanair , Toronto and Vancouver ). In

5040-577: The US Formula Atlantic Pacific Championship) and races were run in Australia and New Zealand , where Formula Pacific became the top class of racing. For a few years the prestigious Macau Grand Prix was run to Formula Pacific rules before becoming a Formula Three race. South Africa also adopted Formula Atlantic rules, but later mandated that the cars were fitted with Mazda Wankel engines. In recognition of

5145-524: The United States during WWI , but the official national championship was suspended. The Indianapolis 500 itself was voluntarily suspended for 1917–1918 due to the war. In 1920, the championship officially resumed, and despite the difficult economic climate that would later follow, ran continuously throughout the Depression . Shortly after Pearl Harbor , all auto racing was suspended during World War II. From 1942 to 1945 no events were contested, banned by

5250-647: The V6, the March in particular being little more than a 751 Formula One car with minor modifications for the new engine. However, the same problem that befell US F5000 happened in Europe, and in 1976 the European F5000 Championship evolved into the Shellsport Group 8 Championship. This was a British-based series for Formula 1 , Formula 2 , Formula 5000 and Formula Atlantic cars, forming

5355-475: The addition of the aforementioned $ 2 million prize, had an immediate effect on increasing the number of competitors in the series (car count), which had dwindled over the previous few seasons. For example, the 2007 season featured 30 drivers. Although the series had been run on Yokohama tires since 1991, the Japanese company elected to end its relationship with the series after the 2006 series, at which point it

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5460-703: The basis of what would become the Aurora F1 Championship in 1978. The F1 Championship was open to Formula 1 and Formula 2 cars only, with Formula 5000 cars no longer eligible. Older F5000 cars continued to be used in the British Sprint Championship and were common in Formula Libre races well into the 1980s. In Australia and New Zealand, the Tasman Formula, defining cars eligible for the annual Tasman Series ,

5565-587: The cars will race exclusively on Hoosier tires. On December 21, 2012, it was announced that the 2013 schedule had been suspended. On October 1, 2013, it was announced that the series would return in 2014 with a twelve race, six weekend race calendar. For the 2017 Atlantic Championship , sanctioning transitioned from the SCCA to the United States Auto Club but Formula Race Promotions continued in their role as promoter. The series returned to SCCA sanctioning in 2019. Atlantic Championship races have previously been shown on multiple networks, including SPEED . For 2009,

5670-476: The class became Atlantic in the United States, however other engines like Alfa Romeo and BMW were also eligible). Conceived by John Webb of Brands Hatch (who would later also develop the Sports 2000 class) as a category for national competitors with the performance near a Formula Two car but running costs at or below that of a contemporary Formula Three car. A single ( Yellow Pages championship ran in 1971–72, with

5775-554: The course, however, they lead back to streets for the rest of the lap. For the majority of the national championship, the races have been held inside the United States. American championship cars raced at the Monza oval in 1957 and 1958 alongside Formula One and sports cars in the non-championship Race of Two Worlds . Also, in 1966 there was a non-championship USAC race at Fuji Speedway in Japan. The first championship events outside

5880-470: The decades after World War II . The " Golden Era " of the front-engined roadsters was followed by a decade of innovation and transition in the 1960s. By the late-1960s and early-1970s, the cars had rapidly evolved to rear-engined , formula-style machines. Speeds climbed on the superspeedways to over 200 miles per hour (320 km/h), while international participation also increased. The sport saw much success, exposure, and popularity particularly during

5985-696: The down time in order to deliver an unparalleled racing offering when economic conditions allow." On December 29, 2011, Mike Rand, Bob Wright and Al Guibord Jr. of Formula Race Promotions, which operates the F1600 and F2000 Championship Series sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America 's Pro Racing Division, announced the Atlantic Championship would be revived for the 2012 season with a schedule that will be held during three of their F1600 and F2000 series weekends - Road Atlanta (May 10–12), New Jersey Motorsports Park (June 28-July 1) and Summit Point Raceway (August 24–26). SCCA engine and chassis rules will apply and

6090-583: The fall of 1977. A few months later, eight key USAC officials were killed in a plane crash . By the end of 1978, the owners had broken away and founded Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) to wrest control of Championship racing away from USAC. Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) was formed by most of the existing team owners, with some initial assistance from the SCCA (in order to be recognized by ACCUS ). Therefore, there were two national championships run each by USAC and CART. The Indianapolis 500 remained under USAC sanction. The top teams allied to CART, and

6195-409: The focus was changed to the Australian Supercars Championship in 2010. Some of the other races from the Champ Car schedule were dropped or put on hiatus for a few seasons. All historical record and property of CART/CCWS was assumed by the IRL. Randy Bernard was announced as the new IRL CEO in February 2010. In 2011, the sanctioning body dropped the Indy Racing League name, becoming IndyCar to reflect

6300-446: The following year and the two ran concurrently through 1990. From 1990 to 2005, the series was sponsored by Toyota and the cars were powered by 1600 cc Toyota 4A-GE engines available in kit form from Toyota Racing Development . With the support of Toyota, the two US series were reunited into a single North American championship and have remained so to this date. The same rules were adopted as Formula Pacific (not to be confused with

6405-436: The formula quickly lost its appeal after 1975. Older cars continued to be used in the SCCA national races, but the most competitive teams reconverted their cars with sports car bodyworks, in the resurrected Can-Am championship, starting in 1977. The formula worked initially, with a number of European drivers crossing the Atlantic to attend the SCCA-run championship, but when IMSA introduced the new GTP prototype regulations for

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6510-433: The formula was under threat from Formula 3 and no series ran in 1977–78. The series returned in 1979 with backing (for one season only) from Hitachi and continued to 1983, with diminishing grids and few new cars appearing. As a result of its similarity to Formula 2 and Formula 3 in terms of chassis regulations, Formula Atlantic typically used chassis closely related to these cars — with performance somewhere in between

6615-467: The global acceptance of the formula it was briefly renamed Formula Mondial in 1983, but this series failed to materialize. Among Atlantic drivers in races through 1982 were Keke Rosberg , Gilles Villeneuve, Michael Andretti, Bobby Rahal , Howdy Holmes, Tom Gloy, Dave McMikllan, Kevin Cogan, Jacques Villeneuve Sr, Chris Kneifel and Roberto Moreno. In 1983, Jon Norman, Gudrun and Rick Shea and Tim Fortner, formed West Coast Atlantic Racing - WCAR - and ran

6720-403: The machines competing in the Indianapolis 500 (sanctioned singly by USAC ). In 1992, the CamelCase term "IndyCar" was trademarked by IMS, Inc. It was licensed to CART from 1992 through 1996. After the inception of the Indy Racing League in 1996, the terms of the contract were voided after a lawsuit. As part of the settlement, the term was shelved by a six-year non-use agreement. Following

6825-405: The management of the Atlantic series the many years of experience she'd accumulated while working for Carl Haas in his Lola, Hewland and other racing equipment import business, and more directly, her involvement in Carl's race team management in the CanAm and other series. Vicki's biography as a member of the Road Racing Drivers Club reads in part "… the Toyota Atlantic Series which developed into

6930-426: The marketing power of the Indy 500 name for their events, even though the Champ Car series they were promoting no longer had any ties to that race. The exceptions created confusion, and Champ Car gradually phased out the usage to distance itself further from the IRL. After the settlement expired in 2003, the term IndyCar was brought back. The Indy Racing League was re-branded as the "IRL IndyCar Series". The machines in

7035-413: The merged series. The new Dallara DW12 racecar was introduced for the 2012 season. Bernard was replaced by Mark Miles in 2012. The series operated under the name IZOD IndyCar Series from 2010 to 2013, then became known as the Verizon IndyCar Series from 2014 to 2018, and the NTT IndyCar Series since 2019. In 2020, the IndyCar Series, as well as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and other holdings,

7140-406: The modern Dallara DW12 spec car used in the IndyCar Series sits in between a Formula 2 and a Formula One car on road and street courses in terms of performance. Both Ilott and Lundgaard have stated that the IndyCar's lack of power steering combined with the lower downforce levels and roughly 100 horsepower advantage make the IndyCar harder to drive than a Formula 2 car. Both noted however that around

7245-447: The more noticeable rule differences by USAC was allowing " stock block " engines a higher level of turbocharger boost. While most full-time CART-based teams utilized their V-8 quadcam engines at Indy, some of the smaller and "Indy only" teams elected to run stock block engines at Indy, attracted by the boost rules. USAC's Gold Crown Championship continued, settling into an unusual June through May schedule calendar. This provided that

7350-406: The more preeminent national championship trail. In 2005, the IRL added road/street courses, and began picking up several former CART venues. And in 2007, Champ Car raced in Europe for the first time since 2003, with races in The Netherlands and Belgium and a planned round in Spain in 2008 before the unification. Prior to the start of the 2008 season, the CCWS Board authorized bankruptcy and Champ Car

7455-579: The most successful and longest-running open-wheel driver development series in North America". The Toyota Atlantic Series ran on road courses, ovals, street courses and airports in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The success of the series brought it the sponsorship and engine development of Toyota Motor Corporation in 1989 under its North American competition division, Toyota Racing Development , led by Les Unger. Later races were sanctioned by CART (Championship Auto Racing Teams) when CART bought Pro-Motion Agency Ltd. When Champ Car succeeded CART in 2004,

7560-429: The national championship after 1970. During the 1970s, the increasing costs began to drive some of the traditional USAC car owners out of the sport. The dominant teams became Penske, Patrick, Gurney, and McLaren, all run by people with road racing backgrounds. There was a growing dissent between these teams and USAC management. Events outside Indianapolis were suffering from low attendance, and poor promotion. The Indy 500

7665-542: The new owners also bought Pro-Motion Agency, and Toyota Atlantic continued under their sanctioning. The series ended with the bankruptcy of Champ Car in 2007. The series raised to prominence a great number of drivers including Michael Andretti, Jacques Vlleneuve, Scott Goodyear, Joey Hand, Buddy Rice, Sam Hornish, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Brian Till, Dan Wheldon, Alex Tagliani, Calvin Fish, Danica Patrick, Simon Pagenaud, A. J. Allmendinger, Graham Rahal and Katherine Legge. The latest in

7770-652: The onset of the Great Depression , and nearly all were demolished in the 1930s. The Pikes Peak Hillclimb was a round of the championship in the years 1947—1955 and 1965–1969. In 1909 a point-to-point race from Los Angeles to Phoenix was included in the championship. Airport runways have also been used to create temporary circuits. The most notable used for open-wheel racing was the Cleveland Grand Prix at Burke Lakefront Airport . St. Pete and Edmonton also utilize airport runways for parts of

7875-530: The organizing and managing body to run the series and had SCCA as the sanctioning body. The first ECAR race was at Summit Point Motorsports Park in West Virginia on 07 Jul 1985. Incidentally, this race and all subsequent Atlantic series races except those on ovals, used a series signature standing start following a group warm-up lap. Both WCAR and ECAR ran races for a while until the two series were merged under Vicki's management in 1991. Vicki brought to

7980-560: The other at different times. But for the foreseeable future, F1 cars will have considerably more power than the spec IndyCar. Alex Zanardi , who drove both in F1 and CART, said that the lighter, naturally aspirated F1 car was more responsive and accelerated off the turns faster, while the turbocharged CART car was more stable and accelerated to top speed faster. More recently Formula 2 drivers Callum Ilott and Christian Lundgaard , who are both also test and reserve drivers for Alpine F1 and Scuderia Ferrari respectively, have stated that

8085-548: The podium eight times during the season and won three races ultimately signed to race with Champ Car team Conquest Racing . When Champ Car was purchased by IndyCar prior to the 2008 season, Conquest joined IndyCar with Perera. As of 2009, the series offers an unrestricted $ 1 million prize to the season champion, $ 500,000 to the runner-up, and $ 250,000 to the third-place finisher on the season. These season rewards are part of total of $ 3 million in total prize money, which also features $ 50,000 for each race win, and other bonuses such as

8190-499: The post- World War II era, the term "Speedway Cars" saw limited use; a loosely descriptive term, distinguishing the machines as those driven at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and other major speedways , as opposed to those driven at smaller tracks, for instance. Nevertheless, the term "Championship/Champ Cars" prevailed as the preferred moniker. In most years since the USAC era, the term "Indy cars" (after

8295-405: The race, CART teams boycotted the 1996 Indy 500. It was the beginning of the second open-wheel "split". Initially, USAC sanctioned the IRL, however after officiating controversies in 1997 at Indianapolis and Texas , the USAC was replaced by the IRL's in-house officiating. CART, which had been licensing the trademarked "IndyCar" name for several seasons, subsequently entered into a legal battle with

8400-673: The rules of the Automobile Club of America (ACA), but it formed its own rules in 1903. It introduced the first track season championship for racing cars in 1905 . Barney Oldfield was the first champion. No official season championship was recognized from 1906 to 1915, however, many races were held. Official records regard 1916 as the next contested championship season. Years later, retroactive titles were named back to 1902. These post factum seasons (1902–1904, 1906–1915, and 1917–1919) are considered unofficial and revisionist history by accredited historians. Racing did not cease in

8505-592: The series championship trophy. A black granite base has been added displaying the names of all the American Championship car racing series winners since 1909. The 1916, 1936 and 1937 Vanderbilt Cup races were included in the national championship. The 1909–1915 races were retrospectively added to the championship in 1926. CART resurrected the Cup in 1996 as the winner's trophy for the US500 race. When that race

8610-543: The series switched to Formula Atlantic from 1976 onwards. The category was revived in the late 2000s in New Zealand as an amateur historic racing category. In 2009/2010, a five round race series was held, the final round as a support race for the 2010 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, Australia. The annual Wine Country Classic, a historic automobile racing event held at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California , had

8715-406: The series was revived by Formula Race Promotions with SCCA Pro Racing sanctioning. FRP switched to USAC sanctioning in 2017, though in 2019 it returned to being sanctioned by SCCA Pro Racing. The Atlantics series is a developmental open-wheel racing series in North America, also called a "ladder series". In 2005, a new factor was announced to solidify this reputation as the last series in which

8820-437: The series were also referred to as "Indy cars". Despite the official acknowledgment, media and fans alike would continue to use the term "IRL" to describe the series, and to a lesser extent, "IRL cars" to describe the machines. Removing the "IRL" term from use proved difficult. With two series ( IndyCar and Champ Car ) still competing parallel, the umbrella terms "Open Wheel Cars" and "Open Wheel Racing" saw increased use during

8925-439: The series, she has bettered Katherine Legge's career mark of three wins, with one in 2008 and four in 2009. On October 31, 2008, an official announcement was made that the Atlantic Championship series had been purchased by Ben Johnston, an Atlanta area businessman and one-time Atlantic racer. At the same time, Mazda and Cooper Tires also announced a continuing commitment to the series. Then, in 2009, Mazda recommitted its support to

9030-512: The settlement, and the lack of connection to the Indy 500 , CART decided to revert to the former term. It re-assumed the name CART , and the machines would be referred to again as "Champ cars". This continued after CART was reorganized into CCWS . Complicating the situation resulting from the open-wheel split, CART/Champ Car races held outside the United States were still permitted to use the Indy moniker (e.g., Molson Indy Toronto and Lexmark Indy 300 ). Foreign venue promoters took advantage of

9135-491: The split and post-split era. Many drivers had logged starts in both series at one time or another during their careers. The term was used as a way to combine a driver's career accomplishments without being series/machine specific. It also served to link the lineage of events, teams, drivers, etc., even as they switched sanctioning bodies. In 2008, when Champ Car World Series was merged into the Indy Racing League,

9240-795: The term "Champ Car" was permanently retired. The unified racing series fell under the "IndyCar" name, and the machines would be known as "Indy cars". On January 1, 2011, the names "Indy Racing League" and "IRL" were officially retired. The sanction body was re-branded as INDYCAR LLC , and the premier touring series was named the IndyCar Series (currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons). At first, American and European open-wheel racing were not distinct disciplines. Races on both continents were mostly point-to-point races, and large ovals tracks emerged on both continents. But in America, racing took off at horse-race tracks and at

9345-497: The then-owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway , Tony Hulman . Championship racing continued to grow in popularity in a stabilized environment for over two decades, with the two traditional disciplines of paved oval tracks and dirt oval tracks. During the 1950s, front-engined "roadsters" became the dominant cars on the paved oval tracks, while "upright" Champ Dirt Cars continued to dominate on dirt tracks. In

9450-422: The top drivers, teams, and sponsors. However, in 2000, CART teams began to return to the Indy 500, eventually defecting permanently to the IRL. For 2003, it lost title sponsor FedEx and engine providers Honda and Toyota to the IRL. After steadily losing teams and drivers, sponsors, and manufacturers, and after a series of major financial setbacks, CART filed for bankruptcy in 2003. The assets were purchased by

9555-478: The two — so most of the manufacturers were familiar from those classes, particularly the likes of Brabham , Lotus , March , Chevron early on, with Ralt and then Reynard later. US manufacturer Swift came to displace the British imports and dominate in North America. Several smaller marques also appeared. The first professional races run under Formula Atlantic rules in North America were conducted in 1974 by

9660-594: The various Lolas , McLarens and Chevrons were popular, locally made cars from Matich (Matich A50, A51, A52 and A53), Elfin ( Elfin MR5 , MR6, MR8 and the MR9, the only ground effects F5000 ever built) and McRae were also successful. The most popular engine used was the 5.0 L Chevrolet V8 , with the Australian made Repco Holden , based on the 5.0 L Holden V8 engine , also popular and successful. Formula 5000 remains

9765-503: Was absorbed into the IRL, creating a unified series for the national championship for the first time since 1978. The unified series competed under the name IndyCar Series . The two calendars were merged into one schedule, with the top Champ Car races such as Long Beach (which was a CCWS-sanctioned event with IRL points before being an official round of the IRL in 2009), Edmonton and Surfers Paradise in Australia surviving, later being replaced with an A1GP event in 2009 that never happened before

9870-417: Was designed by the team that used it. After the Split in the 1990s, CART maintained the old formula while the IRL drifted toward the "spec" design that has been the only IndyCar model since 2003 (which changed in 2012, with specialized aero kits available from 2015 to 2017). As engine formulas have changed, and as engine technology has developed over time, F1 cars and IndyCars have each produced more power than

9975-500: Was discontinued in 2000, the Cup changed roles and became the championship trophy. Champ Car retained the rights to use the trophy after CART's bankruptcy, but use of the trophy was discontinued after Champ Car's merger with the Indy Racing League. Formula 5000 In its declining years in North America Formula 5000 was modified into a closed wheel, but still single-seat sports car racing category. Formula 5000

10080-482: Was dominated by drivers that were usually seen in Formula 2 or at the back of F1's World Championship grids. Peter Gethin managed to launch his F1 career thanks to his F5000 championship titles. While it was based in the United Kingdom, the series managed to spread across Europe, with races held at many international circuits, including Monza (Italy), Hockenheim (Germany) and Zandvoort (Netherlands), and attracted

10185-467: Was extended in 1970 to include Formula 5000 cars as well as the existing 2.5 litre cars. The Tasman Series ran during the Formula One off season in the European winter, and in the 1960s it had attracted the attention of the greatest names in Grand Prix racing, from locals Jack Brabham , Denny Hulme , Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon , to foreigners like Graham Hill , Jim Clark , Jackie Stewart , Phil Hill , Piers Courage and Jochen Rindt . However, by

10290-611: Was inspired by the success of the Can-Am Series, which featured unlimited formula sports cars fitted with very powerful engines derived from American V8s ; the idea was to replicate the concept using open wheel racing cars. F5000 enjoyed popularity in the early 1970s in the U.S. and featured drivers such as Mario Andretti , Al Unser , Bobby Unser , James Hunt , Jody Scheckter , Brian Redman , David Hobbs , Tony Adamowicz , Sam Posey , Ian Ashley , John Cannon and Eppie Wietzes . Increasing costs and Lola domination meant

10395-479: Was introduced in 1968 as a class within SCCA Formula A races, a series where single seaters from different origins were allowed to compete, but which rapidly came to be dominated by the cars equipped with production-based American V8s. The engines used were generally 5 litre, fuel injected Chevrolet engines with about 500 horsepower (370 kW) at 8000 rpm, although other makes were also used. The concept

10500-475: Was now the one being sanctioned by CART. The Indy 500 field would consist largely of CART teams, as well as numerous independent, "Indy-only" teams. Indianapolis was not included as a points-paying round of the CART national championship. In addition, by that time USAC had designated Indianapolis an "invitational" race, offering entries only to invited teams. That moved in part to prevent the uproar over denied entries which occurred in 1979. One further race in 1981

10605-443: Was replaced by Cooper Tire and became title sponsor for the series. The history of Formula Atlantic begins with the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) Formula B class, created in 1965 for single-seat formula cars with engines not exceeding 1600 cm in capacity. Prior to Formula Atlantic, professional Formula B races were held in the United States from 1965 to 1972, first with the SCCA's poorly supported Formula A, then as part of

10710-445: Was run by USAC at Pocono . This race was not supported by many CART teams, and featured a mixed field filled out by converted dirt track cars. USAC soon stopped sanctioning championship races outside the Indianapolis 500. Stability returned and the national championship was now run by CART full-time. The Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned singly by USAC, but points were paid towards the CART season championship. The cars and engines used in

10815-494: Was sold to Penske Entertainment Corp., a subsidiary of the Penske Corporation , owned by Roger Penske . The race cars participating in national championship events have been referred to by various names. Early nomenclature was to call the machines "Championship Cars", which was later shortened to "Champ Cars". This was a simple, yet descriptive term, which positively identified the machines as those that competed for

10920-429: Was televised on a same day tape delayed basis on ABC, however, most of the other races had little or no coverage on television. Towards the end of the decade, the growing dissent prompted several car owners to consider creating a new sanctioning body to conduct the races. Meanwhile, two events had a concomitant effect on the situation. Tony Hulman , president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and founder of USAC, died in

11025-519: Was to announce prize money that would be paid directly to drivers, rather than to teams. Another press release listed teams that were committed to the series. Despite these efforts, on March 3, 2010, series officials announced that the 2010 season had been put on hold. Robert Davis of Mazda North American Operations said: "All of us at Mazda are disappointed that the Atlantic Championship will be on hiatus this year." Series president Ben Johnston stated: "The Atlantic Championship office will be working during

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