Champ Car, an abbreviation of "Championship Car", has been the name for a class and specification of cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades. It is also commonly used to refer to the Champ Car World Series, an international open-wheel championship based largely in North America and formerly known as Championship Auto Racing Teams, or CART. Under the CART organization the series was officially known as the CART PPG IndyCar World Series, the CART FedEx Championship Series, and, in the organization's final year, the Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered By Ford.
History
With the exception of Foyt's team, the more established teams joined CART. This meant that the front and mid-pack teams would be racing in the new CART series. Of the 20 races held that year, 13 were part of the 1979 CART Championship. Of the 10 tracks to host races, 5 would host CART events exclusively and one, Ontario Motor Speedway would host races from both series.
Immediate Consequence of the Split
CART, like its predecessor USAC, was dominated by North American drivers until the 1990s. Many road-racing stars, including Mario Andretti, Bobby Rahal, and Danny Sullivan found success in the then-PPG IndyCar World Series. After former F1 champion Emerson Fittipaldi won the series title in 1989, additional drivers from South America and Europe joined the series.
After British driving star Nigel Mansell's successful battle with Emerson Fittipaldi for the 1993 World Championship, a lot of people interpreted his victory as evidence of the superiority of non-US drivers. This, combined with CART's move to include more road racing on the schedule, led to a split of the series after the 1995 season due to a dispute between CART Owners and Tony George, owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. After being removed from the CART Board of Directors, George went on to form a new racing series, the Indy Racing League (IRL), which initially included an all-oval schedule, all races on US soil, and mostly American drivers.
George used the Indianapolis 500 as his trump card when he all but shut-out non IRL regulars by guaranteeing the bulk of the grid to full season IRL teams, leaving only a handful of grid positions available to CART regulars. In addition, the IRL had adopted a car formula very different than CART, requiring any CART team to purchase different cars if they wanted the chance to qualify for the Indy 500.
Middle Years of CART
In the early years of the split, CART seemed to be dominant. It controlled most of the races and most of the "name" drivers, while George's primary asset was Indianapolis Motor Speedway and its 500. The first IRL schedule consisted of only three races, including the 500, and many of the drivers were relative unknowns. In 1996 CART attempted to create a rival showcase event, the U.S. 500, at Michigan International Speedway on the same day as the Indy 500. The event lasted only one year, and in subsequent years, a different race was held the day before the Indy 500 at Gateway. The U.S. 500 name was, however, revived through 1999, and affixed to the existing July race at Michigan. Nevertheless, CART dominance seemed relatively unchallenged through 2001 despite a series of poor decisions and tension at the start of the millennium.
Beginning in 2000, some CART teams began to compete at the Indianapolis 500, and ultimately switched allegiance to the IRL for the entire season. This was motivated by mismanagement, upset engine manufacturers, and sponsors that desired participation at Indianapolis 500. Team Rahal, Chip Ganassi Racing and Team Penske were among those that eventually found their way to the IRL permanently. Ironically, as noted above, Roger Penske was one of the leaders of the split from USAC only years earlier and now was abandoning the series that he helped create. Michael Andretti, who had been a successful CART driver and fan favorite, purchased the team operated by Barry Green and moved it to the IRL.
Several teams stayed with CART and later the Champ Car series, most notably Newman - Haas Racing. The powerful and well-funded team owned by actor Paul Newman and Illinois businessman Carl Haas was adamant on its loyalty to the series and its direction. and despite the considerable drag on the car (inherent of the mandated Hanford MkII rear wing used in CART on the superspeedways at that time) the feat was accomplished on the first lap of record in qualifying.
Later years of original series nameFollowing an announcement by FedEx that they would end their title sponsorship of the CART series following the 2002 season, CART decided to rebrand itself. Beginning in 2003, CART began to promote itself as Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford. CART declared bankruptcy during the 2003 off season and the assets of CART were liquidated. Tony 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 a bid, calling their group the Open Wheel Racing Series (OWRS). George's offer was to purchase only select company assets which would have effectively ended the CART run. 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. In the end, a judge ruled that 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. In 2007, with the withdrawal of Bridgestone and Ford Motor Company as presenting sponsors, the official name of the top-tier series promoted by Champ Car is now simply the Champ Car World Series.
Champ Car replaces CART
Engine Displacement: 2.65 L (162 in³) DOHC V8
Gearbox: 7 Speed semi-automatic gearbox with paddle shifter (must have reverse)
Weight: Approximately 714.4 kg (1,575 lbs.), without driver
Power Output: 541-597 kw (725-800 hp)
Torque: 475-576Nm (350-425ft·lb)
Fuel: Methanol
Fuel Capacity: 132 Liters (35 U.S. Gallons)
Fuel Delivery: Fuel injection
Aspiration: Turbocharged
Manifold Pressure: 1.4 Bar (41.5 InHg) without "Power to Pass" 1.5 Bar (44.0 InHg)
Length: 4.8 m (190 inches)
Width: 2 m (78.5 inches)
Wheelbase: 3.1 m (122.75 inches)
Steering: Manual, Rack and pinion
0-60 mph time: 2.6 sec (with traction control), 3.1 sec (without traction control) Specifications
A Champ Car is a single-seat (commonly called open-wheel) racing car. For much of their history Champ Cars have been similar to Formula One cars, although there have traditionally been several key differences between the two.
Over the years, Champ Cars race schedule included high speed oval tracks. The increased stress and speed of these tracks mean that the cars tended to be heavier and have longer wheelbases than F1 cars (increasing stability but decreasing agility). In 2007, there will be no oval tracks on the schedule.
When the weight of the driver is factored in, a Champ Car weighs over 30% more than a Formula One Car. The minimum weight for a Champ Car is adjusted from 1,575 lbs based on the weight of the driver compared to the field average; with the driver included, all cars have a minimum weight of 1741 lbs. A Champ Car piloted by 195 lb Paul Tracy (the heaviest driver in the series and 29 lbs heavier than the field average) must weigh at least 1,546 lbs when empty. The minimum weight of a Formula One Car, including the driver, is 605 kg (1,334 lbs). This difference of 407 lbs (184.6 kg) is just over 30% of the F1 car's weight.
Since the late 1960s Champ Cars have used turbocharged engines. Turbos were banned in Formula One on safety grounds in 1989. For some periods of their history, notably in the early 1970s and late 1990s, turbocharging gave Champ Cars up to 300 horsepower (220 kW) more than F1 cars, in the 70s cars had in excess of 1,000 hp. Recently in 1999/2000 the Champ Cars approached 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) before regulations on turbo boost were tightened. The current generation of cars have less power than F1 cars, Champ Cars having 700 hp and F1 cars having 850 hp (since F1 switched to V8 engines for the 2006 season), with the turbo used mainly to improve the spectacle rather than lap-times with the so-called 'power-to-pass' or 'push-to-pass' system giving drivers an increased amount of power for a limited duration during the race. Another reason for retaining the turbocharger is the muffling effect it has on the exhaust note helps keep the cars inside noise-limits, particularly at the many city street races on the schedule.
Champ Cars use methanol for fuel rather than gasoline, and refuelling has always been permitted during the race. This is a legacy of a crash at the 1964 Indianapolis 500 in which a crash involving cars filled with more than 75 US gallons (285 L) of gasoline killed Dave MacDonald and Eddie Sachs. Until 1994, when refuelling was re-introduced to F1, the coupling for the refuelling hose was a notable difference between Champ Cars and Formula cars.
Champ Cars continue to have sculpted undersides to create ground effect. This innovation was originally created in Formula One by Lotus in 1978, and was immediately used on the Chaparral Champ Car in 1979. F1 banned sculpted undersides in a bid to lower cornering speeds for 1983. In an effort to create better passing opportunities, the new spec Champ Car chassis being introduced in 2007 will generate nearly 50% of the total downforce of the car with sculpted underside tunnels versus the front and rear wings. This will reduce turbulent air behind the cars, enabling easier overtaking.
While F1 use grooved tires to limit performance, Champ Cars remain using tread-less "slick" racing tires. To make races more unpredictable, drivers are permitted to use one set of higher performance softer compound "alternate" tires. Informally called "reds", as these tires are made visible to the spectators by their red sidewalls.
Unlike in F1, Champ Car teams are not obliged to construct their own chassis, and in recent times have tended to buy chassis constructed by independent suppliers such as Lola, Swift, Reynard, March and Dan Gurney's Eagle. The most notable exception was Penske Racing, although they also bought other cars when their own chassis was uncompetitive. Starting in 2007, Champ Car will feature only a single, "spec" chassis, the DP-01, created by Elan Technologies, a racing equipment manufacturer owned by Don Panoz. The spec chassis was introduced to reduce costs for race teams, however Champ Car had essentially been a spec series since 2004, with all teams favoring the Lola chassis.
The Formula One Car is a more expensive and technology-centric platform than a Champ Car. This was even the case during the CART PPG era during the mid to late 1990s. At this time global engine manufacturers Toyota, Honda, Mercedes and Ford vied for dominance. Since Champ Car's restructuring, a desire to keep costs down and the existence of one engine manufacturer has helped to create a series with far more parity than its European-based cousin. For instance, a competitive Champ Car team like Newman-Haas Racing team operates on approximately US$20 Million per season, while McLaren-Mercedes F1 team operates on US$400 Million.
Comparison with Formula One
In recent years it has been possible to compare the respective performance of the two series.
The performance superiority of the Formula One machines was first demonstrated in 1989 when Champ Car began to race on a street circuit in Detroit that had served as the Grand Prix of the United States just one year prior. There was no big discrepancy in lap times on this occasion, but this was partly due to a tight second gear chicane that was removed from the circuit for the Champ Car series.
Since 1978 Formula One has made an annual visit to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. Champ Car added this circuit to their tour in 2002, making a direct comparison possible.
During the inaugural Champ Car visit in 2002. Former Champ Car Champion Juan Pablo Montoya won the pole position in the Formula One race with a lap time of 1'12.836. Several weeks later, Cristiano Da Matta won the pole position in the Champ Car race with a lap time of 1'18.959.
In the Autocourse / CART "Official Champ Car Yearbook" for 2002, the following article appears on page 132, entitled "CART VS. F1":
"With the FedEx Championship Series making its first visit to the track that had hosted the Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix since 1978, there were inevitable comparisons between the world's two major open-wheel categories. Admittedly, it was rather like comparing apples and oranges, but it did represent the first opportunity in over two decades to get some idea of the relative performance of Champ Cars and their F1 cousins.
"On the face of it, there was no contest. Cristiano da Matta's pole time of 1m 18.959s was 6.123 seconds shy of 1999 CART champion Juan Pablo Montoya's stunning pole-winning effort aboard the BMW/Williams at the 2002 GP - which was exactly the sort of discrepancy da Matta had predicted in the run-up to the event.
"In CART, meanwhile, Bridgestone's position as sole tire supplier ensured production of a more conservative (i.e., harder) compound, prioritizing durability over ultimate pace. Granted, the F1 tire war was fought on grooved rubber rather than the slicks sported by Champ Cars. But bear in mind that a Champ Car weighed the best part of 400 pounds more that its F1 counterpart, and the general conclusion was that CART's machinery stacked up pretty respectably.
"And then there's the 'other' factor. As da Matta observed, 'It's a pretty unfair comparison, since one side spends £100 million more than the other! I think that our designers and engineers are pretty smart if they can get this close with ten percent of the budget.'"
However this does not take into consideration the fact that the big F1 teams build their own chassis and engines. It is estimated that the big teams spend €100 to €200 million ($125-$250 million) per year per manufacturer on engines alone.[1]
In 2006, the latest and currently last time both series raced on the same track, Formula One was 5 to 7 seconds faster than Champ Car. The pole position in formula 1 was taken by Fernando Alonso in a time of 1'14.942, while Sébastien Bourdais took the pole in 1'20.005 in Champ Car. The fastest lap in the Formula 1 race was 1'15.841 by Kimi Räikkönen, while Sébastien Bourdais' fastest lap was 1'22.325 in the Champ Car race.
At Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California on August 20, 2006, Toyota F1 test driver Ricardo Zonta set a new unofficial lap record of 1'06.309, however, this was in an exhibition- not a qualifying or race session. The official record time is 1'07.722, set by CART driver Helio Castroneves in a Penske Champ Car in qualifying for the 2000 CART Honda Grand Prix of Monterey. The Toyota record was eclipsed on March 10, 2007 by Sébastien Bourdais, who lapped in 1'05.880 piloting the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Panoz DP-01 during Champ Car Spring Training.
Direct comparison
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