Misplaced Pages

#113886

43-490: The sanctioning body was formed in 1994 under the name Indy Racing League by Hulman & Company , which also owned the Indianapolis Motor Speedway complex, and began competition in 1996 . The trademark name INDYCAR was officially adopted on January 1, 2011. The sport of open-wheel car racing, also historically referred to as championship car racing or Indy car racing, traces its roots to as early as 1905. It

86-504: A de facto 'lock out' for its 26-car field. As a result, CART would later schedule a second 500-mile race at Michigan International Speedway in direct competition with the Indianapolis 500, and established that teams would be stripped of their voting rights in the Board of Directors if they competed in an IRL event. Therefore, almost all of CART's established drivers and teams stayed away from

129-485: A heavy emphasis has been placed on deemphasizing the IRL name and replacing it with "IndyCar". This became official on January 1, 2011, as Indy Racing League LLC adopted as its trade name INDYCAR. On November 1, 2013, the company's legal name was changed to INDYCAR LLC. The dispute between CART and IRL centered on the Indianapolis 500, long considered the flagship race of the sport. From 1980 until 1995, USAC continued to sanction

172-401: A lower-downforce philosophy for their new 1996 chassis that was similar to the delayed IRL rules (except for the initially planned engine downsizing), and announced a 1996 schedule that had multiple conflicts with the previously announced IRL dates. The race at Road America was scheduled for the same day as the IRL event at Loudon , while the races at Rio and Australia were bookended around

215-416: A main competitor in the wholesale grocery business, with the firm changing its name to Hulman & Cox. During this period, the firm incidentally employed future Socialist Presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs , himself the son of Terre Haute grocers, as a warehouse worker and clerk for five years, with Debs leaving to pursue a political career as elected Terre Haute city clerk in 1879. Hulman purchased

258-407: A more viable option in stock-car racing. Only 11 of the 33 starters from the 1995 Indianapolis 500 were featured in the 1996 event, which had one Indy 500 champion ( Arie Luyendyk ), two former race winners, and only two full-time teams and drivers from the 1995 season. The rest of the IRL field was composed of new entrants, part-time drivers and a large contingent of rookies, which amounted for half of

301-632: A new national championship racing series, the Indy Racing League . This resulted in a legal battle over the IndyCar trademark: In March 1996, CART filed a lawsuit against the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in an effort to protect their license to the IndyCar mark after the Indianapolis Motor Speedway had attempted to terminate it. In April, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway filed a separate lawsuit against CART to prevent them from further use of

344-591: A new oval track at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida . On April 3, the IRL announced that Phoenix International Raceway and the then-under construction Las Vegas Motor Speedway would be on the 1996 schedule, its dates being finalized 10 days later. On May 30, 1995, New Hampshire Motor Speedway also switched alliances from CART to IRL, completing the five races that would be held in 1996. Initially, IRL officials hoped that competitors from

387-494: A number of attempts at a compromise board failed, IMS formed the Indy Racing League in 1994 , with the series being slated to begin racing in 1996 . CART had primarily sanctioned Indy car racing since 1979 , when the organization broke away from USAC. George blueprinted the IRL as a lower-cost open-wheel alternative to CART, which in his view had become technology-driven and dominated by a few wealthy multi-car teams. The IRL

430-652: A proposal that included free cars and engine leases to Champ Car teams willing to run the entire 2008 IndyCar Series schedule in exchange for adding Champ Car's dates at Long Beach , Toronto , Edmonton , and Australia to the IndyCar Series schedule, effectively reuniting American open-wheel car racing . The offer was initially made in November 2007. On February 10, 2008, Tony George, along with IRL representatives Terry Angstadt and Brian Barnhart , plus former Honda executive Robert Clarke, traveled to Japan to discuss moving

473-525: A reported $ 300 million to the Penske Corporation . 1996 in IRL The 1996 Indy Racing League was the first season in the history of the series, which was created and announced on March 11, 1994 by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway , as a supplementary series to the established Indy Car World Series sanctioned by Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) since 1979. It consisted of only three races, as

SECTION 10

#1732848658114

516-656: Is the fourth major sanctioning body to govern the sport of Indy car racing, following the American Automobile Association 's AAA Contest Board , the United States Auto Club (USAC), and Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), and operated alongside the Champ Car World Series before acquiring the latter. Today, IndyCar is owned by Roger Penske via Penske Entertainment Corp., a subsidiary of Penske Corporation . Penske purchased IndyCar and

559-638: The Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi . Moving that race, or postponing it, would be required in order to accommodate the Long Beach Grand Prix , which was scheduled for the same weekend. Optimism following the meeting was high. In February 2008, Indy Racing League founder and CEO Tony George and owners of the Champ Car World Series completed an agreement to unify the sport for 2008. The result

602-648: The CART Board of Directors in January 1994 after disagreements over the direction of Indy car racing, and its potential effect on the Indianapolis 500 . The new championship would feature the marquee race, effectively removing it from the CART schedule, and was to be sanctioned by the United States Auto Club , racing exclusively on oval tracks as a response to its perceived decline in recent Indy Car seasons. The Indy Racing League name

645-472: The Hulman & Cox operation in 1879. Herman Hulman conducted the business without a partner from 1879 until 1884, formally establishing the firm under the name Hulman & Company in that latter year. Herman Hulman took a new generation in the persons of B. G. Cox and Anton Hulman into partnership in the firm in 1886. The firm continued to grow until its location at the corner of Fifth Street and Wabash Avenue

688-416: The IRL race at Phoenix, creating an impossible travel situation. In a controversial move, on July 3, 1995, it was announced that the top 25 drivers in IRL points would secure guaranteed starting positions for the 1996 Indianapolis 500. The '25/8 rule', intended to encourage participation at Orlando and Phoenix, left only eight positions open for at-large competitors, which was interpreted by most CART teams as

731-610: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway from Hulman & Co. in November 2019. The term "Indy Car" began as a nickname for the cars that competed in the USAC's Championship Division of open-wheel racing in the United States, deriving from the sport's most popular competition, the Indianapolis 500 . The division's link with Indianapolis soon resulted in the term surpassing the official term "championship car" (or its short form "champ car") in common use and promotions. The term continued to be used by

774-499: The Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Hulman %26 Company Hulman & Company is an American private, family-owned, company founded in 1850 by Francis T. Hulman as a wholesale foods supplier of groceries, tobacco, and liquor, headquartered in Terre Haute, Indiana . Throughout the early half of the 20th century, Hulman & Co. became nationally known for its Clabber Girl baking powder which it began producing in 1899. In 1945,

817-502: The Indy 500, although CART drivers predominantly competed in the race and points that drivers scored during the event counted towards the CART drivers' championship. George felt that his opinions regarding increasing costs and revenue sharing were being ignored, while CART team owners felt George used his influence over USAC to have a disproportionate impact on the general operation of the sport. After

860-420: The IndyCar Series for the 2003 racing season. CART, beset by team departures and other financial issues, filed for bankruptcy that year; a trio of former CART team owners were selected by the bankruptcy court to purchase CART's assets, which they used to reorganize the Champ Car World Series . The two series were unified for the 2008 season, with the unified series using the IndyCar Series name. Post-unification,

903-464: The McGregor & Co. distillery of Terre Haute shortly after forming his partnership with Cox, greatly enlarging the capacity and sales of the firm. He sold the firm in 1875 to Crawford Fairbacks and returned for a visit to Germany, rebuying a half interest upon his return, with the distillery operating as Hulman & Fairbanks for a time. This half interest was then traded to Robert Cox for his share of

SECTION 20

#1732848658114

946-576: The USAC's replacement as the dominant governing body for open-wheel racing, CART, which called its main series the "CART PPG Indy Car World Series" despite the body not sanctioning the 500. In 1992, during an attempt by CART to broaden their board membership, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway registered the camel case trademark IndyCar with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and licensed it to CART as their new trade name. In 1996, Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Tony George launched

989-471: The announced races at New Hampshire and Las Vegas would in fact open the 1996–97 season in late summer. This scheduling format went against the traditional motorsports grain, and the idea was eventually scrapped in October 1996, with the 1996–97 season being expanded in order to bring the schedule back in sync with the rest of the motorsports world for 1998. The IRL points system was to be staggered to adjust for

1032-565: The company purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway , in what many thought was an unusual investment for a company with a rich history in the food and beverage industry and owned the speedway until its sale to Roger Penske in 2019. In 1850, Francis T. Hulman, a native of Lingen, Germany , emigrated to the United States, settling in Terre Haute , Indiana , where he established a small grocery store. The small company proved successful and in 1854, Francis Hulman sent over for his younger brother, Herman Hulman Sr., who had himself been working in

1075-525: The death of Tony Renna in testing at Indianapolis, the IRL made additional changes to reduce speeds and increase safety. IndyCar was the first racing series to adopt the SAFER soft wall safety system, which debuted at the Indianapolis 500 and has now been installed at almost all major oval racing circuits. The SAFER system research and design was supported and funded in large part by the Hulman-George family and

1118-428: The degradation in quality especially apparent during the Indianapolis 500, which saw a dramatic decline in prestige. The IRL began to draw top teams from CART starting in 2002, contributing to the latter's bankruptcy , replacement by the Champ Car World Series in 2003, and ultimate demise and absorption by the IRL in 2008. After absorbing Champ Car, the IndyCar Series became what the CART series from which it separated

1161-506: The grocery business in the German town of Osnabrück . The brothers would work together as partners in the wholesale grocery business until in 1858, when Francis and his entire family died at sea aboard the SS Austria , which sank en route to Germany. Herman Hulman thereafter assumed control of the growing and prospering firm. In 1870, Hulman formed a partnership with Robert S. Cox, previously

1204-467: The lack of run-offs on oval tracks, coupled with higher speeds due to the long straights and banked turns, means that there is far less margin for error. Car design was attributed as a leading cause of early injuries, and the series made improvements to chassis design to address those safety concerns. Following a series of spectacular high-profile accidents in 2003 , including American racing legend Mario Andretti and former champion Kenny Bräck , as well as

1247-426: The mark. Eventually a settlement was reached in which CART agreed to give up the use of the IndyCar mark following the 1996 season and the IRL agreed not to use the name before the end of the 2002 season. CART returned to branding as simply CART for 1997, and resurrected the term "champ car" to describe their vehicles. Following a six-year hiatus, the Indy Racing League announced it would rename their premier series

1290-441: The number of races each driver entered. The number of points awarded per race would be multiplied by the number of events the driver had participated in. If a driver entered all three events, the points awarded for that third race were multiplied by three. Despite the short season, only fifteen drivers competed in all three events, but all of them had a decent number of entrants due to the pool of older chassis made available by some of

1333-415: The rival CART series would choose to race in some or all of the IRL events, since there were no foreseen conflicts in their respective schedules. Talks between both series in early 1995 resulted in the former delaying its new rules for 1997, instead adopting frozen regulations with 1995-and-older CART chassis with a fixed limit on how much a team could spend on its combination. However, CART would later adopt

IndyCar - Misplaced Pages Continue

1376-491: The season championship. With no tiebreaker rule in place, the two drivers were declared co-champions. Its creation, and the opposition of CART's teams and drivers to take part in it, marked the start of 'the Split', a 12-year period of competition between rival series at the top level of American open-wheel racing that had lasting negative effects in the sport. The series was the initiative of IMS president Tony George , who had left

1419-458: The season concluded with the 80th Indianapolis 500 in May. Walt Disney World Speedway was completed in time to host the first ever event of the Indy Racing League (IRL), and Phoenix International Raceway switched alliances from CART to the IRL, in order to host the second event of the season. At the conclusion of the three-race schedule, Scott Sharp and Buzz Calkins ended up tied for first place in

1462-404: The starters (17 out of 33) at the Indianapolis 500, while leading detractors and most of the media to describe the event as a 'watered-down' affair. On August 28, 1995, it was announced that the inaugural 1996 season would end at the Indianapolis 500, the plan being to spread subsequent seasons over two calendar years and award the IRL championships at the conclusion of every Indy 500. As a result,

1505-439: The teams with previous Indy 500 experience, as well as spare machinery being acquired from some CART teams. Ford Cosworth supplied most of the field with its V8 engines, with the rest relying on stock-block V6 units, either Buick or Menard -branded. All races were run on Oval/Speedway. ABC Sports televised all three races. IMS Radio Network was the broadcaster for all races on the radio. Note: Scott Brayton , 37, won

1548-456: The upstart series, with Galles and Walker fielding additional cars at the Indy 500 without its regular drivers, in deference to their sponsors. The IRL, nonetheless, had its sights on becoming a low-cost alternative for American drivers over the influx of foreign drivers attracted by CART's increasing road racing focus, and for short-track open-wheel stars that had found the sport too expensive to compete in previous seasons, or had searched for

1591-415: Was and its related European open-wheel formula counterparts: former prominent CART teams such as Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske are frequent race winners, there is a strong contingent of foreign-born drivers, the cars are increasingly electronic and aero dependent and the schedule includes more road and street courses than oval tracks. On January 23, 2008, Tony George offered Champ Car management

1634-560: Was designed only to run on oval tracks, in order to promote American drivers from the midget and sprint car ranks to graduate to IndyCar racing, the same way that IndyCar legends A.J. Foyt , Mario Andretti , Johnny Rutherford , and the Unsers ( Al Unser, Sr. and Bobby Unser ) had in the 1960s. Starting with the first IRL season, the league proclaimed that 25 of the 33 spots in the Indy 500 starting grid would be reserved for cars from full-time IRL teams. In 1996, CART retaliated by scheduling what

1677-434: Was introduced for the 2012 season. IndyCar collaborated with DreamWorks Animation to launch comedy film Turbo in 2013. Bernard was fired in October 2012, and replaced by Mark Miles . Driver safety has also been a major point of concern, with a number of drivers seriously injured, particularly in the early years of the series. There have been five fatal crashes in the history of the series. Compared to road racing venues,

1720-456: Was outgrown. A new facility was constructed, a vast, multi-story building occupying an entire city block, which was opened with tours and a celebratory banquet attended by more than 2,000 people in September 1893. In May 2019, Hulman & Company sold Clabber Girl to B&G Foods for $ 80 million. In November 2019, Hulman & Company sold the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar for

1763-465: Was revealed on July 8, 1994, and its first set of rules was published later that year, but it encountered criticism and resistance from the established team owners that formed CART and its drivers, who derided the concept as a 'power grab' attempt from George. On January 23, 1995, the IRL announced that the Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway would host the first event of the series on January 27, 1996, on

IndyCar - Misplaced Pages Continue

1806-453: Was supposed to become its new showcase event, the U.S. 500 , at Michigan International Speedway on Memorial Day , the traditional date for the Indy 500. The new 1997 technical rules featured less expensive chassis and "production-based" engines that were purchased rather than leased, but most importantly, were technically incompatible with CART specifications. The IRL's early seasons consisted of sparse schedules and inexperienced teams, with

1849-454: Was that the Champ Car World Series was suspended except for the Long Beach Grand Prix . Many of the former Champ Car teams moved to the IndyCar Series using equipment provided 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 the merged series. The new Dallara DW12 racecar

#113886