| Team |
Driver 1 |
Driver 2 |
Driver 3 |
Chassis |
Sponsors |
American Spirit Team Johansson |
Ryan Hunter-Reay |
Guy Smith
Jimmy Vasser |
|
Reynard |
|
|---|
 |
December 11: The team has closed its shop, Stephan Johansson has moved onto other projects and Nick Hunter-Reay, Ryan's father, has initiated liquidation proceedings. RIP ASTJ. |
| December 3: Robin Miller, writing on ESPN.com, says the team is dead. He cites this as the primary reason OWRS has been able to pull out of its proposed purchase of CART, which required a similar car count to 2003. |
| December 2: Stephan Johansson has resigned as director of the team that bears his name. Autosport reports that Ryan Hunter-Reay's family, who largely bankrolled it this year, has withdrawn their support. |
| November 6: Seventh Gear reports from the CART Awards Ceremony that American Spirit is closing down. Ryan Hunter-Reay has signed to another team, but Jimmy Vasser is still looking for a ride. |
| November 2: The team prefers American drivers, but Guy Smith, who is linked with a test drive at PK Racing, is managed by Stefan Johansson. |
| October 23: AutoWeek suggests the team is at risk of losing at least one car. |
| August 22: Jimmy says he will only settle for the best equipment next year: "Reynard for me is a deal-breaker". Unless American Spirit can afford to switch to the Lola, it seems unlikely Vasser will be back next year. |
| June 30: Have struggled with the Reynard chassis this year. Can they afford to keep Jimmy Vasser? He brings great experience, but demands a big salary. |
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Arden International |
Bjorn Wirdheim |
Townsend Bell |
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September 10: The new owners of CART are unlikely to continue to fund excursions to Europe, where this team is based and sponsored, effectively ending any possibility of them racing in CART in 2004. |
| July 18: This Formula 3000 team was rumored to be prepared to run the European Champ Car rounds this year, but this never materialized. With more European races in 2004, could this become more likely? |
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Brand Motorsport |
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| July 18: Caused a stir when they entered Formula 3000 in 2003 and said they would run the European Champ Car races too as a stepping stone to the IRL! But they dropped out of F3000 after the first race, getting into a fight with Nicolas Minassian along the way. Probably the last we have heard of them? |
|
|---|
| Conquest Racing |
Justin Wilson
Patrick Carpentier |
Alex Sperafico
Mario Haberfeld
Townsend Bell
Laurent Redon
Nelson Philippe
Giorgio Pantano |
|
Lola
Reynard |
Mi-Jack |
|---|
|
March 26: Hot on the heels of the Justin Wilson announcement, Conquest has confirmed Alex Sperafico for its second car. This Brazilian graduate of Barber Dodge and F3000 will start the season with a Reynard chassis. |
| March 25: Justin Wilson has been confirmed as a driver for the team in a Lola chassis. Eric hopes to have the deal for a second driver concluded by the end of the week. The second car will be a Reynard, at least initially. |
| March 24: Eric Bachelart will announce the team's plans for the season tomorrow (Thursday). Justin Wilson is expected to be the driver. It is looking like just a single entry. |
| March 24: Autosport says former Minardi and Jaguar F1 driver and F3000 champion Justin Wilson is close to signing with Conquest. Team owner Eric Bachelart and Wilson's manager Jonathan Palmer are both quoted as saying they hope the deal will be announced this week. The magazine also says the team is switching from Reynard to Lola. |
| March 19: AutoWeek suggests Conquest as a home for Patrick Carpentier. Forsythe is offering Lola chassis with Patrick, so this could add up. |
| March 16: Robin Miller makes the connection to Conquest for Justin Wilson, the British former Jaguar and Minardi Formula One driver, and former European F3000 champion, who is competing at Sebring this weekend in preparation for a season in US open-wheels. |
| March 8: Rumors at the Long Beach Season Premiere suggest that Townsend Bell may partner Mario Haberfeld in a second car for the team. Meanwhile, Robin Miller thinks Patrick Carpentier will land here or at Rahal. |
| February 25: Nelson Philippe is now expected to sign for Rocketsports. Haberfeld will probably stay with Conquest. |
| February 13: Giorgio Pantano has signed to race for Jordan in F1. |
| February 4: Nelson Philippe and Mario Haberfeld are testing for the team at Sebring this week. They look to be the only team still running Reynards. |
| January 15: A nice update on motorsport.com indicates Nelson Philippe's test in October was for a seat with Conquest, not sister team Fittipaldi-Dingman. He is due to test again at Sebring next week. Will we really see a 17-year-old in a Champ Car seat this season? |
| June 30: Happy with their move to Champ Cars. Able to step up to a two-car effort? They ran Redon in the IRL in 2002. |
|
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|---|
| Dale Coyne Racing |
Oriol Servia
Roberto Gonzalez |
Gaston Mazzacane
Tarso Marques
Tomas Enge
Michael Keohane
Geoff Boss
Gualter Salles
Jaime Melo
Alex Yoong
Mario Haberfeld
Joel Camathias
Alex Sperafico
Ralph Firman
Justin Wilson
Jon Fogarty |
|
Lola |
American Medical Response
yokeTV.com |
|---|
|
June 3: Dale Coyne announced today that Gaston Mazzacane has replaced Tarso Marques in the #19 car. |
| June 1: Gaston Mazzacane had his second opportunity to test for the team today at Road America, after an initial test last week at Putnam Park in Indianapolis. |
| April 19: Michael Keohane will be driving for Carlin Motorsports in the Nissan World Series this weekend. He says it is a temporary arrangement while he waits to see if he can find a ride in Champ Car. If he does, it will not be with Coyne. |
| April 16: Dale Coyne has announced Oriol Servia and Tarso Marques as drivers for the season. Coyne closed full-season sponsorship for Tarso with American Medical Response, while yokeTV.com comes to Oriol with assistance from Champ Car. |
| April 14: Oriol Servia and former Penske and Coyne driver Tarso Marques tested for Coyne at the California Speedway yesterday. |
| April 12: Coyne will announce its two drivers just before first practice on Friday at the Grand Prix of Long Beach. John Oreovicz at ESPN.com and Robin Miller at Speed Channel agree that Oriol Servia and Tomas Enge are the most likely drivers, with Michael Keohane still a possibility. Tarso Marques also enters the picture. |
| April 8: Haberfeld has signed with Walker. Speculation on the drivers at Coyne centers on Keohane and Servia. |
| March 29: Robin Miller tips Mario Haberfeld as the most likely to land at Coyne alongside Michael Keohane. Meanwhile, in an interview on his web site, Joel Camathias says "at the moment there is no chance to be present in the Series". |
| March 25: Internet speculation that Ralph Firman would drive for Coyne bore no substance. Autosport reports he has signed up for a team in the Dallara Nissan World Series. |
| March 22: ESPN's John Oreovicz agrees with Internet speculation that former Jordan F1 driver Ralph Firman is in line for a seat with Coyne. |
| March 19: Dale Coyne confirmed his plans to field two cars and says he will announce the drivers in the next five to ten days. |
| March 16: Autosport confirms that Tomas Enge is talking to the Ma-Con and Super Nova F3000 teams. |
| March 13: Dale Coyne says he still hopes to run two cars. Reports from Ireland suggest Michael Keohane will be in one of them. Meanwhile, TSN.ca believes Tomas Enge will return to Formula 3000. Past indiscretions forgotten? |
| February 18: Tomas Enge tells Autosport his priority is finding a Champ Car ride. He expects to test with a team in the next few weeks. Meanwhile, he has been helping the new Ma-Con F3000 team in tests at Jerez, Spain. |
| February 10: Tomas Enge will be running at least a few World Rally Championship races. |
| December 20: After losing his F1 seat at Jaguar and next to no chance of returning to Minardi, Justin Wilson says he is looking at Champ Cars. We saw likeable 2001 European F3000 champion in the pits at a couple of races in 2002 and he was close to securing a ride with an unknown team. Until we hear otherwise, we will put him down as possibly buying a seat at Coyne. |
| November 20: Alex Yoong has been talking to the team about returning. |
| November 7: Irish Formula 3 and Formula 3000 driver Michael Keohane is also set to test for Coyne. |
| November 5: Tomas Enge was due to replace Jeff Boss for the cancelled season finale at Fontana. Boss had other commitments that weekend. Now we hear he will test for the team at Sebring later in the month. |
| June 30: Dale Coyne should be back with two cars again this season, giving rides to anyone who can afford it! Joel Camathias is still with the team this year, but sitting out while others drive. |
|
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|---|
Fernández Racing |
Adrián Fernández |
Oriol Servia
Mario Haberfeld
Luis Díaz
Roger Yasukawa |
|
Lola |
Quaker State
Telmex
Tecate |
|---|
|
March 11: Adrián Fernández today shocked the racing world by announcing that his team will be moving to the IndyCar Series, starting at the next race, in Phoenix. |
| January 20: Ah, here we go... Spanish-language racing site sporcar.com reports that Scott Dixon will pair with Morales for the 24 Hours of Daytona, while "El Chapulín" will take Dixon's place for the remainder of the Grand-Am season. This puts real doubt on whether Fernandez has the budget for a second Champ Car. Additionally, Roger Yasukawa, Fernández IRL driver in 2003, has signed to drive in the Indy 500 and Indy Japan for Team Rahal. |
| January 19: We hear a whisper from Mexico that Luis Díaz will drive for Ganassi's new Grand-Am team alongside Max Papis and Scott Pruett. Veteran Mexican driver Jimmy Morales is on board for the 24 Hours of Daytona, but we are not sure if all this adds up yet. |
| October 23: AutoWeek says Adrián Fernández is still optimistic about running a second car. Luis Diaz has been most strongly tipped for the ride. |
| June 30: Will the team return to two cars and will they continue to run IndyCars too? |
|
|
|
|---|
| Fittipaldi Racing? |
Gaston Mazzacane?
Hoover Orsi?
Joao Paulo De Oliveira?
Mika Salo
Robbie Kerr
Pedro Lamy
Tomas Enge
Oriol Servia
Tiago Monteiro
Jimmy Vasser
Nelson Philippe
Rodolfo Lavín
Bjorn Wirdheim
Max Papis
Ricardo Zonta |
|
|
Lola |
O2 Diesel?
Childhood Foundation? |
|---|
|
June 1: Gaston Mazzacane tested today at Road America in a Dale Coyne car. |
| April 20: Emerson Fittipaldi may be working with Walker Racing to put Gaston Mazzacane in a seat. Gossip at Long Beach also suggested Emerson has been working hard on lining up a South American race that could materialize as early as this year, to fill one of the TBA spots on the schedule. |
| April 5: AutoWeek says "Emerson Fittipaldi's on-again, off-again entry for Gaston Mazzacane appears off". |
| March 5: Emerson Fittipaldi has announced he is close to signing former Formula One driver Gaston Mazzacane from Argentina to drive for him this year. |
| March 3: Tiago Monteiro has signed to the Minardi Formula One team as a test driver. |
| February 18: Autosport reports that it was Kalkhoven who bought Patrick's Lolas. Emerson Fittipaldi is still working on funding to run using at least some of the four Lolas now residing at PK Racing's shop. |
| February 11: Unable to complete the deal to buy all Patrick Racing's assets, Fittipaldi may settle to run one car in conjunction with RuSport, who are reported to have acquired a share of Patrick's equipment. |
| January 28: Autosport reports that Kevin Kalkhoven will purchase Patrick Racing for Emerson Fittipaldi (possibly sans Dingman) to use as the foundation of his team, independent of Conquest. This is contingent on OWRS succeeding in its bid for the Champ Car Series. |
| November 20: The team is in hiatus at the moment. Emerson Fittipaldi has expressed an interest in buying Patrick Racing. That would give him a real team of his own, as opposed to one run out of Conquest Racing. |
| November 12: Seventh Gear reports a rumor that Rodolfo Lavin may bring his Corona sponsorship to the team from Walker. |
| November 2: Veteran Portuguese Formula 1 driver Pedro Lamy is hoping to test with the team later in the year. |
| October 20: French Barber Dodge Pro Series driver Nelson Philippe had a successful test with the team at Sebring. Don't expect too much, though - he's only 17! |
| September 4: Seventh Gear places Joao Paulo De Oliveira, the Brazilian champion of this year's German Formula 3 series, in the mix for the second seat at FDR. |
| August 31: Max Papis spent time with the team over the Grand Prix of Denver weekend, fueling speculation that he is working on a ride here. |
| July 8: The team intends to expand to two cars in 2004. |
|
|
|
|---|
| Forsythe Racing |
Paul Tracy |
Patrick Carpentier |
Rodolfo Lavín
Alex Tagliani
Jimmy Vasser |
Lola |
Corona
Indeck
Procter & Gamble?
Pizza Hut?
HSBC? |
|---|
|
March 23: Forsythe confirms that it will run three cars this season, for Tracy, Carpentier and Lavín. |
| March 8: Forsythe has confirmed that it has three drivers under contract. Rodolfo Lavín joins the fold, but Patrick Carpentier will be farmed out to drive for another team. |
| February 13: Several reports link Jimmy Vasser with a ride for an Indianapolis-based team. TSN.ca thinks that means PK Racing, but rumors of a third car at Forsythe sound plausible. |
| February 2: Autosport suggests the team could run a third car for Rodolfo Lavín. |
| July 13: Paul and Patrick have contracts to race for Forsythe in 2004. The team is close to signing a major new sponsor, but Robin Miller says it won't be Molson or Labatts. |
| June 30: Players will be gone as sponsor at the end of 2003, due to Canadian cigarette advertising regulations. Will another major Canadian sponsor, such as Molson, step forward? Where does this leave Paul and Patrick? And will Tag be back? His salary is paid by Forsythe in 2003, even though he's driving for Rocketsports. |
|
|
|
|---|
| Herdez Competition |
Mario Dominguez |
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Roberto Gonzalez
David Martínez
Homero Richards
Roberto Moreno |
|
Lola |
Herdez
Nextel (Mexico) |
|---|
|
March 19: Today Herdez confirmed Ryan Hunter-Reay as its second driver. |
| March 8: Ryan Hunter-Reay expects to close his deal with the team in the next few days. |
| February 25: Autosport reports Ryan Hunter-Reay is close to signing with Herdez. |
| February 11: We thought Ryan Hunter-Reay was just helping out Herdez and getting some Lola experience, but reliable sources, including Autosport, insist that he is in line for a seat with the team. |
| February 3: Ryan Hunter-Reay tested in the second Lola at Sebring today, but is still expected to race for Rocketsports. Meanwhile, Roberto Gonzalez is expected to test for PK Racing tomorrow. |
| December 16: We hear Roberto Gonzalez has been signed to the second seat, but we are waiting for confirmation from the team. |
| December 3: Our Mexican sources say Roberto Moreno will not be back. Mexican drivers Roberto Gonzalez, David Martínez and Homero Richards are tipped as his replacement. |
| September 18: Mexican driver Roberto Gonzalez will take over Moreno's car for one race at Mexico City with Nextel sponsorship. Could this lead to a full-time drive next season? |
| June 30: The team claims to be very happy with the progress they are making, now they have two cars. Some good results in the second half of the season should ensure both drivers stay for another year. |
|
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|
|---|
| Hemelgarn Racing |
Michael Valiante
Michael Keohane? |
|
|
Reynard |
Delta Faucet |
|---|
|
May 21: The Indy Star reports that Hemelgarn has taken delivery of its Champ Cars, but does not expect to be ready to race until Portland. |
| April 20: Several reports, including Robin Miller and AutoWeek, originate from Hemelgarn team managers present at Long Beach saying they are more than 50% certain to get their Champ Car effort off the ground soon. Michael Valiante is most tipped for the driver. |
| April 5: AutoWeek says that, in addition to the Indy 500 entry, Hemelgarn is rumored to be assembling a Champ Car team with sponsor Delta. The launch is targeted for the Monterrey, Mexico race. |
| March 31: Hemelgarn has filed an entry for the Indy 500. |
| March 29: Robin Miller says this is less likely now. Hemelgarn is being lured back into the IRL fold with a possible run at the Indy 500. |
| March 20: Robin Miller says Ron Hemelgarn is being courted by Champ Car. |
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|
|---|
JAG Racing |
Andre Lotterer |
|
|
Lola |
|
|---|
|
February 3: Andre Lotterer is racing Honda sports cars in Japan for Epson Nakajima Racing this year. |
| January 19: JAG Racing did not even field a team in Germany for V8Star in 2003, so we can knock this one on the head. |
| September 10: The new owners of CART are unlikely to continue to fund excursions to Europe, where this team is based and sponsored, effectively ending any possibility of them racing in CART in 2004. |
| July 18: Ran one race for Lotterer in conjunction with Coyne in 2002. Four European rounds would be an attraction for the team. Lotterer has been racing in the Japanese Formula Nippon this year. |
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|---|
Jensen MotorSport |
Eric Jensen |
Philip Fayer |
|
|
Starwood
PaySystems |
|---|
|
February 4: The team will concentrate on Toyota Atlantic in 2004, with forays into Europe for some select F3000 races. |
| July 18: The long term objective for the team has always been to move up from Toyota Atlantic to Champ Cars. We hear a rumor they are buying some Lolas. Could this be the year? |
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|---|
| Leberle? |
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| April 25: Robin Miller says Gerry Forsythe is working with Andreas Leberle to found a new team. |
|
|---|
Michael Shank Racing |
Matt Green |
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|---|
|
February 4: Concentrating on the Grand-Am series in 2004. |
| July 18: The team that ran Sam Hornish Jr. for the Toyota Atlantic championship is running Matt Green in Fran-Am this year. There are rumors again this year of Champ Car chassis being bought, but this seems like a very big step-up. |
|
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|
|---|
Mo Nunn Racing |
Hoover Orsi?
Jimmy Vasser
Felipe Giaffone |
|
|
Lola |
Pioneer?
Hollywood? |
|---|
|
December 26: Jimmy Vasser to drive for Mo Nunn in Champ Cars, with a run in the Indy 500 too? Maybe... |
| November 20: However, Robin Miller reports that Hollywood is reducing its IRL sponsorship after all and that Felipe Giaffone is out of the team. |
| October 11: The IRL has signed a five-year contract with Brazilian network TV, so there goes that incentive for Nunn to return to CART. |
| September 5: The Indianapolis Star reports that Brazilian cigarette brand Hollywood plans to cut its sponsorship next year because IRL races are shown only on cable in Brazil. Perhaps that is behind Mo Nunn's interest in returning to CART, whose races are shown on Brazilian network TV? |
| July 13: Mo Nunn was spotted in the paddock in Toronto. |
| June 30: Wanted to run one Champ Car last season, but could not afford the cost, so they ran an IndyCar paid for by Toyota. |
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|---|
| Newman/Haas Racing |
Bruno Junqueira |
Sébastien Bourdais |
Michel Jourdain Jr.
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Dario Franchitti |
Lola |
PacifiCare
McDonald's
Lilly/Cialis |
|---|
|
March 29: Robin Miller says Jourdain will be announced at RuSport this Wednesday. |
| March 22: John Oreovicz tips Jourdain to land in a third car at Newman/Haas with Gigante, and possibly Tecate, sponsorship. |
| March 19: There is much speculation that Michel Jourdain Jr. will bring Gigante sponsorship to a third car at Newman/Haas or a second at RuSport. |
| March 9: Bruno's car will be sponsored by PacifiCare, while McDonald's embarks on a three-year deal with Sébastien. |
| February 12: Today's announcement of senior engineer Peter Gibbons leaving to join Andretti Green in the IRL confirms that the team will be back in the Champ Car World Series with Bruno and Sébastien this season. While rumors persist of a third Champ Car or an IndyCar entry, loss of a senior engineer suggests this is unlikely. |
| December 20: Rumors of Carl Haas splitting from Paul Newman to take Junqueira to IndyCars have gone quiet. But Ryan Hunter-Reay has signed somewhere and would be a logical replacement. |
| November 18: Andretti has confirmed that Franchitti will run in the IRL next year. |
| October 21: AutoWeek also believes negotiations to run Franchitti are over. In the unlikely event something does still come together, it would require some major new sponsorship. |
| September 12: Seventh Gear claims the deal for Dario did not pan out. |
| August 31: Robin Miller continues to believe Dario has signed to Newman/Haas, suggesting on RPM2Nite that a third car will be added. |
| August 11: Robin Miller gives us the wonderful rumor that Dario Franchitti has signed for Newman/Haas. Carl Haas has denied this. And which driver would he replace anyway? |
| July 1: Through a connection with Paul Newman, McDonalds has signed on as a sponsor for three races during the remainder of this season. Could this lead to bigger things in 2004? |
| June 30: This is the first season with Newman/Haas for both drivers. Expect them to stay and be even more competitive next year. |
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Nonnamaker Racing |
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February 4: No sign of the team making any attempt to field a car. |
| October 25: This Grand-Am team says it is currently looking for sponsorship packages for a Champ Car program. |
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|---|
Patrick Racing |
Oriol Servia
Pierre Kaffer |
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|
Lola |
Infineon
Visteon |
|---|
|
March 21: Pat Patrick will be running an IndyCar team for Al Unser Jr. after all, with Walker Racing providing the engineering. |
| February 27: The Indy Star reveals that Pat Patrick has abandoned his efforts to run an IndyCar team. |
| February 18: Autosport reports that it was Kalkhoven who bought Patrick's Lolas. Emerson Fittipaldi is still working on funding to run using them. |
| February 9: Robin Miller reports that Paul Gentilozzi has purchased Patrick's equipment. Rocketsports will be sharing it with RuSport to allow each team to field a second car. Meanwhile, Kevin Kalkhoven has hired most of Patrick's crew to run PK Racing's second car. That leaves Emerson Fittipaldi still looking for sponsorship and Lolas. |
| January 28: Autosport reports that Kevin Kalkhoven has agreed to buy the team, contingent upon OWRS succeeding in its bid for the Champ Car series, to be run as Emerson Fittipaldi's team under Jim McGee's management. |
| December 18: Gidley's management tells us Memo did some testing with GM a few weeks back, but not for the Corvette program. There has been no offer to race at Le Mans. They are still pursuing some other racing opportunities for 2004, so there is still a possibility of Memo returning to Champ Cars. |
| December 17: Autosport reports that Memo Gidley may have a chance to drive a Corvette for Chevy at Le Mans and in ALMS events. |
| December 17: Pierre Kaffer has signed up as an Audi works driver for the German DTM series and Le Mans program. |
| December 16: Bryan Herta has signed to drive a fourth IRL IndyCar for Michael Andretti. |
| December 6: Robin Miller reports Fittipaldi is close to acquiring the team, which will continue to be run by Jim McGee. Pat Patrick plans to start a new IRL team to run Al Unser Jr. |
| December 3: Rumor has it that Ryan Hunter-Reay has signed for the team. |
| November 20: Robin Miller says that Emerson Fittipaldi has expressed an interest in buying the team. Visteon will not be back as sponsor. |
| November 12: In other team news, Wirdheim's test at Arizona Motorsport Park last week went well. The 23-year-old was slightly faster than when Servia tested at the track earlier in the year. |
| November 12: Autosport carries an interesting story, claiming Jimmy Vasser has been offered an ownership role in the team as Pat Patrick, now 73, moves into retirement. Could that lead to an owner-driver role for Jimmy? |
| November 6: Darren has signed with Target in the IRL. |
| November 5: Darren Manning is expected to sign with Target in the IRL, but reports also link him with Patrick. |
| October 31: Al Unser Jr. has been talking to the team, but about running in a single IndyCar effort. |
| October 28: FIA International Formula 3000 champion Bjorn Wirdheim from Sweden will test for the team at Arizona Motorsports Park next Wednesday and Thursday. He has already tested with several Formula One teams, including on Friday morning of the US Grand Prix for Jordan. |
| October 23: AutoWeek believes Oriol Servia will not be back. |
| September 28: Robin Miller says Al Unser Jr. has been sounding out CART teams about a drive for next year, prior to his expected retirement. Could Patrick offer him a farewell tour? |
| September 12: The team tested Porsche Supercup driver Pierre Kaffer and British F3 pilot Robbie Kerr on the short course at Sebring for two days this week. |
| August 31: Seventh Gear spotted Joel Camathias chatting to Jim McGee at Denver and suggests some new personal sponsorship could lead to a seat here next year. Joel still has affiliations with Dale Coyne, so that would seem a more likely place for him. |
| June 30: Still seem happy with Oriol Servia, although they could do with some wins. Could expand to two cars in 2004. |
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| PKV Racing |
Jimmy Vasser
Mika Salo |
Roberto Gonzalez
Christian Murchison
Steven Watson
Alan van der Merwe
Jacques Villeneuve
Bjorn Wirdheim
Guy Smith
Bryan Herta
Max Papis |
Josh Hunt |
Lola |
Nextel (Mexico)
Gulfstream
KPLJ Ventures
Puma
Optium
Scientific Atlanta |
|---|
|
April 5: PKVR says it will run a third car for local lad Josh Hunt in Australia. |
| March 9: Primary sponsor NII Holdings will use their Nextel Mexico branding for races outside the USA. |
| March 8: Newly renamed as PKV Racing (for Pettit Kalkhoven Vasser Racing), the team has confirmed new co-owner Jimmy Vasser and Roberto Gonzalez as drivers. |
| February 18: Autosport tips Jimmy Vasser to land a seat at PK Racing. The latest issue also says it was Kalkhoven who bought Patrick's Champ Car assets and the four Lolas are now at PK Racing's shop. Emerson Fittipaldi is still working on funding to run at least a single driver. Reports coming out of Finland say that Salo will be moving to another team (speculation centers on Rocketsports) because PKR was not offering enough money. Meanwhile, South African driver Alan van der Merwe is out of the picture as he tests for a DTM seat with Mercedes. He never did get a Champ Car test. |
| February 17: Bjorn Wirdheim has landed the test driver role at the Jaguar F1 team. |
| February 13: Several reports link Jimmy Vasser with a ride for an Indianapolis-based team. TSN.ca thinks that means PK Racing, but that would contradict rumors that Gonzo is here with Mexican Nextel sponsorship. |
| February 4: Roberto Gonzalez is testing for the team at Sebring. |
| January 28: The PK Racing test has been delayed until next week at Sebring because Newman-Haas, who were leasing the Laguna Seca track, wanted to wait until after the CART court case. Bjorn Wirdheim will join the testing for a possible place in the second car, unless he secures the test driver role with Jaguar in F1. |
| January 9: In announcing a test at Laguna Seca at the end of January, PK Racing has confirmed Mika Salo will return to drive for the team in 2004. No word on whether other drivers will be tested for a second car. (CART-Racing.com says Steven Watson is the South African connection hoping for the second seat, but it seems a long shot to us.) |
| January 8: Like Pierre Kaffer, Guy Smith has signed to race in Europe for Audi Sport UK. |
| December 22: In last week's press conference PKR team owner and OWRS principle Kevin Kalkhoven talked about his desire to bring an Australian driver to the series, to support the Surfer's Paradise race. Christian Murchison's web site suggests he could be that driver. Christian competed for the DAMS team in EuroCup Formula Renault V6 last season. |
| December 20: We hear unconfirmed reports that PK will test South African driver Alan van der Merwe. He dominated and won this year's British Formula 3 series. |
| December 16: Bryan Herta has signed to drive a fourth IRL IndyCar for Michael Andretti. |
| December 13: Max Papis has signed with Ganassi to drive in the 2004 Grand Am series. |
| November 2: We have been hearing for a while that British driver Guy Smith has been looking for a Champ Car ride for 2004. The 1998 Indy Lights Rookie of the Year was a member of the winning Bentley team at this year's Le Mans 24 Hours. We now hear PK Racing plans a test drive for him before the end of the year. |
| September 15: Jacques Villeneuve has conceded that a return to Champ Cars is possible, if he is replaced by Japanese driver Takuma Sato at his Honda-sponsored BAR Formula One team next year. Craig Pollock, co-owner of PK Racing, is Villeneuve's manager. |
| August 29: Mika Salo has replaced Max Papis for the rest of the season. While the announcement sounded amicable, we suspect this puts paid to any hope Max had for driving for the team in 2004. |
| June 30: The rumored participation of Craig Pollock and Kevin Kalkhoven in the buyout of CART could see the team increase their commitment to two cars. Rumors persist that this will happen this season, with Mika Salo in the seat. |
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Protostar |
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November 2: A press release from SunTrust on the Grand-Am web site announces a partnership to run prototypes in that series next year. |
| October 16: Wayne Taylor's team never materialized for 2003, but rumors are surfacing again for 2004. |
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Red Bull Cheever Racing |
Tomas Enge |
Eddie Cheever |
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Lola |
Red Bull |
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December 3: The team has confirmed it will be back in the IRL next year, having signed Alex Barron as one of two drivers. |
| November 11: This is the sort of rumor we just love: it has Eddie Cheever returning to the driving seat as an owner-driver in CART, with Tomas Enge in the other car and Red Bull sponsorship. Cool! |
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| Rocketsports |
Alex Tagliani |
Nelson Philippe
Mika Salo
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Memo Gidley
Dario Franchitti |
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Lola |
Johnson Controls
LeasePlan |
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March 8: Alex Tagliani and Nelson Philippe have been confirmed as drivers at today's Season Premiere. |
| February 25: Autosport reports that Nelson Philippe is tipped to join Rocketsports alongside Alex Tagliani. |
| January 26: Memo Gidley will be driving a Ford Focus in the 2004 Speed World Challenge. |
| December 18: Gidley's management tells us Memo did some testing with GM a few weeks back, but not for the Corvette program. There has been no offer to race at Le Mans. They are still pursuing some other racing opportunities for 2004, so there is still a possibility of Memo returning to Champ Cars. |
| December 17: Paul Gentilozzi has confirmed that Alex Tagliani will be returning as one of the drivers in his two car team. Memo Gidley is not expected in the second seat - he will probably drive a Corvette for Chevy at Le Mans and in 2004 ALMS events. Gentilozzi was complimentary about Hunter-Reay in today's press conference. |
| November 18: Andretti has confirmed that Franchitti will run in the IRL next year. |
| October 21: AutoWeek believes negotiations to run Franchitti have fallen through. The problem is money... |
| July 27: A rumor that Franchitti will drive for the team next year is attributed to Eurosport's Stefan Heinrich. |
| June 30: Tag's salary is paid by Forsythe this year, but that's very unlikely for 2004. Will Paul Gentilozzi chose another driver, such as Memo Gidley, who recently had a one-off drive in his Trans-Am team. This might also be time for the team to expand to two cars. |
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| RuSport |
A. J. Allmendinger |
Michel Jourdain Jr. |
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Lola |
BG Products
Gigante
Tecate? |
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March 30: Champ Car has scheduled a conference call for tomorrow with RuSport owner Carl Russo and Michel Jourdain Jr. to announce their plans for the season. |
| March 21: Speed News tips RuSport as the team to take Jourdain. |
| March 19: There is much speculation that Michel Jourdain Jr. will bring Gigante sponsorship to a third car at Newman/Haas or a second at RuSport. |
| February 19: In today's official announcement the team said it will focus on a one car effort, with an eye to two cars in 2005. |
| January 2: Autosport reports that A. J. Allmendinger tested a RuSport Lola-Ford at Button Willow before Christmas. |
| December 17: RuSport will run A. J. Allmendinger in a Champ Car, along with Toyota Atlantic entries for Aaron Justus and Leo Maia. |
| September 30: But dropping out of the consortium buying CART could mean the team had to make a business decision to take A. J. to the IRL! |
| September 21: Carl Russo tells ESPN "we're not going to keep him here [Toyota Atlantic]". A move up to Champ Cars is looking more and more likely. |
| August 5: Interviewed on Speed Channel's Wind Tunnel, A. J. Allmendinger said he is signed to RuSport for next year, but does not yet know if they will be in Champ Car or Toyota Atlantic. |
| July 13: Tommy Kendall says this Toyota Atlantic team will step up to Champ Cars in 2004 or 2005. |
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Team Rahal |
Michel Jourdain Jr. |
Patrick Carpentier
Justin Wilson
Oriol Servia
Jimmy Vasser
Danica Patrick
Memo Gidley
Jon Fogarty
Pierre Kaffer
Memo Rojas
Kenny Bräck |
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Lola |
Gigante
Infineon
Canon
Norwalk Furniture |
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March 18: Bobby Rahal has pulled the plug on his Champ Car operation. He will continue to run two cars in Toyota Atlantic, one for his son in the new Formula BMW and at least two IndyCars. Michel Jourdain Jr. and his Gigante sponsorship will switch to another team. |
| March 15: Justin Wilson is competing in a Lola/Judd prototype at Sebring this weekend. "I am treating this race as an opportunity to get race sharp for the upcoming season in open-wheel cars," he says. Speculation is that Jonathan Palmer, his manager, is still talking to Champ Car teams. Best guesses would be Rahal, Walker or Conquest. |
| March 12: Robin Miller suggests that Rahal may follow Fernández by moving Jourdain to the IRL. |
| March 8: Robin Miller thinks Patrick Carpentier will land here or at Conquest. |
| March 8: Danica Patrick will spend another season in Toyota Atlantic with Team Rahal. |
| January 27: The Toyota Atlantic web site announces that Jon Fogarty will be driving for the Pacific Motorsports Atlantic team in 2004. |
| December 22: Several web sites are connecting Justin Wilson with Rahal, although we have seen nothing definitive on this yet. |
| December 18: Gidley's management tells us Memo did some testing with GM a few weeks back, but not for the Corvette program. There has been no offer to race at Le Mans. They are still pursuing some other racing opportunities for 2004, so there is still a possibility of Memo returning to Champ Cars. |
| December 17: Pierre Kaffer will not join Rahal - he has signed for Audi in the German DTM series. Memo Rojas will race for DAMS in Eurocup Formula Renault V6. Memo Gidley has a chance to drive a Corvette for Chevy at Le Mans and in ALMS events. |
| October 23: AutoWeek says Bobby Rahal is still optimistic about running a second car. This could be Pierre Kaffer in conjunction with JAG Racing. |
| October 16: German Porsche Supercup driver Pierre Kaffer had a second Champ Car test for the team at Sebring at the beginning of the month. |
| August 22: Team Rahal announced today that Jon Fogarty would join Danica Patrick in its Toyota Atlantic team for the remaining two races of the season. This has to put the 2002 Atlantic champion head of the line for the second Rahal Champ Car next year. |
| July 15: At the CART Town Hall meeting in Columbus, OH tonight, Bobby Rahal phoned in from the West Coast, where he was meeting with a potential sponsor for a second car next year. |
| June 30: Could return to two cars, but unlikely to let Danica step up to Champ Cars just yet. |
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| Walker Racing |
Mario Haberfeld
Patrick Carpentier
Darren Manning |
Gaston Mazzacane?
Michael Valiante?
Jonathan Macri?
Tomas Enge
Rodolfo Lavín
Timo Glock
Ryan Dalziel |
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Reynard
Lola? |
Cummins
Holset Turbochargers
Fleetguard
Onan
LaunchPoint
Air China?
Sportsbook.com?
Corona |
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April 20: Walker may run a car for Emerson Fittipaldi's nascent team. |
| April 8: Walker has announced its seat for Mario Haberfeld. The chassis is still a Reynard, at least for the time being. |
| April 5: AutoWeek says Walker is expected to announce a one car effort this week. The three drivers being pondered are Tomas Enge, Michael Valiante and Mario Haberfeld. |
| March 8: Walker could be the team to run Patrick Carpentier. Rodolfo Lavín has signed for Forsythe, taking Patrick's race seat. |
| February 11: Timo Glock is about to sign on as test driver for the Jordan F1 team. Ryan Dalziel has re-signed for Toyota Atlantic team Sierra Sierra. |
| December 4: Walker is undertaking a two-day test for four drivers this week. They are Michael Valiante, Ryan Dalziel and Jonathan Macri, who competed in Atlantic this season, and Timo Glock, a recent winner in the German F3 series. This should help set the second seat for the team. |
| November 12: Seventh Gear reports a rumor that Rodolfo Lavin may be taking his Corona sponsorship to Fittipaldi-Dingman. |
| November 6: Darren has indeed signed with Target to run in the oval-only IRL. |
| November 5: Derrick Walker says Darren Manning has declined his offer to stay with the team and believes he is close to a deal with another CART or IRL team. Reports suggest he is about to take the second IndyCar seat at Target. |
| October 23: The team intends to run a third car for Valiante at Fontana, so maybe some of the funding they are seeking came in early? |
| July 26: Walker Racing confirmed its commitment to Valiante in a press conference at Vancouver in an effort to attract local sponsors - Valiante is from Vancouver. Will there be a third car next year, or will Manning switch to another team? |
| July 13: Toyota Atlantic driver Michael Valiante has signed with Walker for next year, contingent upon the team finding the right sponsorship package. |
| June 30: Derrick Walker seems very impressed with Darren Manning and pretty happy with Rodolfo's progress. As long as the Corona partnership continues, Rodolfo should be assured a ride. Darren may be looking to step up to a bigger team. |
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