CART

CART is an acronym for Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc, a company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana in the United States. It was founded in November 1978[?] by Roger Penske[?], Pat Patrick[?], Dan Gurney[?] and several other team owners who had been participating in USAC Champ Car (Indycar). They oversaw the day-to-day business and sanctioning of Champ Car racing at locations that today include the United States, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia.

Originally, from 1909 until 1956 the American Automobile Association (AAA) acted as the first sanctioning body for auto racing in the United States. They established the national driving championship in 1909. In 1956, the U. S. Auto Club (USAC) was founded to take over sanctioning from the American Automobile Association which wanted to focus on its membership program. USAC continued the driver championship until 1979 when USAC was supplanted by Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc.

A CART Champ car runs a Turbocharged, 2.65-liter (161.703 cubic inch) V-8 engine generating approximately 800 horsepower. It has a top speed of approximately 240 mph. The car is 190 - 199 inches long, weighs 1,550 pounds, and sits on a 120 - 126 inch wheelbase.

In the end of the 1980s the CART begin to be dominated by former Formula One drivers like Mario Andretti[?], Bobby Rahal[?], and Danny Sullivan[?]. But until the participation of the former Formula One champion Emerson Fittipaldi who won the championship in 1989 the CART, like its predecessor, the USAC, was dominated by North American drivers. After 1989 the team managers discovered that European and South American drivers could be competitive and non-US drivers discovered that participation in the CART championship could be lucrative (and often more lucrative than an average career in Formula One). This led to an increased presence of non US drivers, former Formula One drivers and drivers issuing from the European Formula 3000. The victory of the Formula One champion Nigel Mansell in 1992 confirmed the increasing competitiveness of non-US drivers.

This lead to a split of the series: it split in two in 1994 due to a dispute between CART and the owners of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The new breakaway series, Indy Racing League (IRL), focusses almost exclusively on superspeedways and bases itself entirely within the United States, with a much higher proportion of American drivers.

AAA Season Champions: (1909-1955)

• 1909 - George Robertson[?]
• 1910 - Ray Harroun
• 1911 - Ralph Mulford[?]
• 1912 - Ralph DePalma[?]
• 1913 - Earl Cooper[?]
• 1914 - Ralph DePalma[?]
• 1915 - Earl Cooper[?]
• 1916 - Dario Resta[?]
• 1917 - Earl Cooper[?]
• 1918 - Ralph Mulford[?]
• 1919 - Howard Wilcox[?]
• 1920 - Tommy Milton[?]
• 1921 - Tommy Milton[?]
• 1922 - Jimmy Murphy[?]
• 1923 - Eddie Hearne[?]
• 1924 - Jimmy Murphy[?]
• 1925 - Peter DePaolo[?]
• 1926 - Harry Hartz[?]
• 1927 - Peter DePaolo[?]
• 1928 - Louie Meyer[?]
• 1929 - Louie Meyer[?]
• 1930 - Billy Arnold[?]
• 1931 - Louis Schneider[?]
• 1932 - Bob Carey[?]
• 1933 - Louie Meyer[?]
• 1934 - Bill Cummings[?]
• 1935 - Kelly Petillo[?]
• 1936 - Mauri Rose[?]
• 1937 - Wilbur Shaw[?]
• 1938 - Floyd Roberts[?]
• 1939 - Wilbur Shaw[?]
• 1940 - Rex Mays[?]
• 1941 - Rex Mays[?]
• 1942 - 1945: No racing due to World War II
• 1946 - Ted Horn[?]
• 1947 - Ted Horn[?]
• 1948 - Ted Horn[?]
• 1949 - Johnnie Parsons[?]
• 1950 - Henry Banks[?]
• 1951 - Tony Bettenhausen[?]
• 1952 - Chuck Stevenson[?]
• 1953 - Sam Hanks[?]
• 1954 - Jimmy Bryan[?]
• 1955 - Bob Sweikert[?]

USAC Season Champions: (1956-1978)

• 1956 - Jimmy Bryan[?]
• 1957 - Jimmy Bryan[?]
• 1958 - Tony Bettenhausen[?]
• 1959 - Rodger Ward[?]
• 1960 - A.J. Foyt
• 1961 - A.J. Foyt
• 1962 - Rodger Ward[?]
• 1963 - A.J. Foyt
• 1964 - A.J. Foyt
• 1965 - Mario Andretti[?]
• 1966 - Mario Andretti[?]
• 1967 - A.J. Foyt
• 1968 - Bobby Unser[?]
• 1969 - Mario Andretti[?]
• 1970 - Al Unser[?]
• 1971 - Joe Leonard[?]
• 1972 - Joe Leonard[?]
• 1973 - Roger McCluskey[?]
• 1974 - Bobby Unser[?]
• 1975 - A.J. Foyt
• 1976 - Gordon Johncock[?]
• 1977 - Tom Sneva[?]
• 1978 - A.J. Foyt

CART Season Champions:

• 1979 - Rick Mears[?]
• 1980 - Johnny Rutherford[?]
• 1981 - Rick Mears[?]
• 1982 - Rick Mears[?]
• 1983 - Al Unser[?]
• 1984 - Mario Andretti[?]
• 1985 - Al Unser[?]
• 1986 - Bobby Rahal[?]
• 1987 - Bobby Rahal[?]
• 1988 - Danny Sullivan[?]
• 1989 - Emerson Fittipaldi
• 1990 - Al Unser Jr.[?]
• 1991 - Michael Andretti[?]
• 1992 - Bobby Rahal[?]
• 1993 - Nigel Mansell
• 1994 - Al Unser Jr.[?]
• 1995 - Jacques Villeneuve
• 1996 - Jimmy Vasser[?]
• 1997 - Alex Zanardi[?]
• 1998 - Alex Zanardi[?]
• 1999 - Juan Montoya
• 2000 - Gil de Ferran[?]
• 2001 - Gil de Ferran[?]
• 2002 - Cristiano da Matta[?]