Newman/Haas Racing Explained

Team Name:Newman / Haas Racing
Owner Names:Paul Newman
Carl Haas
Mike Lanigan
Base:Lincolnshire, Illinois, United States
Series:CART, IndyCar
Debut:1983 Kraco Dixie 200
Final:2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championships
Car Numbers:02, 06, 6, 11
Drivers Champ:8
Wins:107
Poles:109

Newman/Haas Racing was an auto racing team that competed in CART, Champ Car, and the IndyCar Series from 1983 to 2011. The team operations were based in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Newman/Haas Racing was formed as a partnership between actor, automotive enthusiast and semi-professional racer Paul Newman and long-time auto racing owner/driver Carl Haas. The duo were competitors in sports car racing during the 1970s and early 1980s. In 1983, they joined forces to enter the ranks of Indy car racing. Newman/Haas was one of the most successful teams in Indy car racing during the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. The team won 105 CART/Champ Car races and eight season championships, followed by two race wins in the IRL/IndyCar Series.

During the 1980s and for the better part of the 1990s, the team was closely aligned with the Andretti family. In 1983, Mario Andretti signed as the primary driver, an arrangement that would carry him through the remainder of his career, until his retirement in 1994. Michael Andretti drove for the team in 1989–1992 and again in 1995–2000. Both Mario and Michael won a CART championship driving for the team. Newman/Haas was also the team for which Nigel Mansell competed in CART, winning the 1993 title.

Despite their many years of success in Indy car racing, and their status as an elite team in the sport, the team never achieved a victory of any sort at the Indianapolis 500. Their best finishes were second places by Mario Andretti (1985) and by Michael Andretti in (1991). Mansell managed a third in his rookie year (1993).

From 2007 to 2010, Mike Lanigan became a partner in the company and the team became known during that time as Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. After the 2011 season, Carl Haas announced that the team would not run in the IndyCar Series in 2012 due to the economic climate. Lanigan became a part-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.[1] The team closed its doors and sold off its equipment. Both of the team's original owners have since died; Newman in 2008 and Haas in 2016.

CART / Champ Car

Newman/Haas was one of the most successful teams in the history of CART, its drivers winning eight championships and over 100 individual races. The team's drivers over the years included Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Paul Tracy, Cristiano da Matta, Sébastien Bourdais, Justin Wilson, and Graham Rahal.

1983–1988

At its inception, the team was a single-car outfit with championship veteran Mario Andretti, the Formula One World Champion, hired as lead driver. Team co-owner Carl Haas brought in Lola as chassis manufacturer for the team, re-introducing the constructor to the sport. Haas spearheaded Lola's first full-time, full-scale assault on the Indy car market and the car was quickly picked up by other teams. By the end of the decade, Lola would be one of dominating chassis manufacturers in the paddock displacing March.

Andretti won two races in 1983 and finished a strong third in points for the first-year team. In 1984, Andretti won six races, nine poles and scored a total of 10 top-ten finishes to win Newman/Haas's first CART season championship.

In 1985, Andretti started off with three wins and a second place in the first four races of the season. He became mired in a mid-season slump and later suffered a broken collarbone, dropping him to fifth in points at the end of the season. While Andretti recovered from injury, F1 World Champion Alan Jones drove one race in substitution finishing 3rd at Road America. Andretti's second place at the 1985 Indianapolis 500 would tie for the team's best result in that event but was widely overshadowed as a highly disappointing defeat. Andretti lost the race to Danny Sullivan.

In 1986, Andretti suffered a crash during practice at Indianapolis, forcing him to start in a back-up car. He dropped out and finished 32nd. Andretti went on to win two races and finished 5th in points. For 1987, the team switched to the Ilmor Chevy Indy V-8 powerplant. Andretti won the season opener at Long Beach, the powerplant's first Indy car victory. Andretti won one other race but suffered more disappointment than success, including another loss at Indy.

1989–1992

Newman/Haas expanded to a two-car team starting in 1989, adding Michael Andretti. The father and son duo of Mario and Michael Andretti excelled as one of the top teams on the Indy car circuit over the next few years. In their first season as teammates, father and son finished 6th and 3rd in points, respectively. Michael Andretti won the 1991 CART championship and finished second in points in 1990 and 1992.

Starting in 1992, the team switched to the new Ford Cosworth XB engine.

Despite consistent success on the CART circuit, both Mario and Michael still failed to achieve victory for Newman/Haas at the Indy 500. Michael finished second in 1991, and dropped out while leading with 11 laps to go in 1992.

1993–1994

Michael Andretti left the team to drive for McLaren in Formula One for 1993 and was replaced by English driver Nigel Mansell who arrived on the CART circuit with much fanfare. In his rookie season, Mansell, the reigning Formula One World Champion, won five races and had ten top-3 finishes, clinching the 1993 CART title to become the only driver in history to hold both the Formula One and Champ Car titles at the same time. Mario Andretti also returned to victory lane, winning what would be his final Indy car victory at Phoenix. Both Mansell and Andretti were strong contenders at Indianapolis. Andretti led the most laps, but slipped to 5th due to a penalty and handling problems. Mansell, still largely unfamiliar with rolling re-starts after a safety car period (safety cars would not be introduced into F1 until), was passed for the lead on a restart with 16 laps. He later brushed the wall, and finished 3rd behind winner Emerson Fittipaldi and second-placed Arie Luyendyk.

In 1994, the attention focused on Mario Andretti who announced he would retire at the end of the season. He embarked on a year-long "Arrivederci Mario" tour which celebrated his career. The 1994 season, however, was more maligned for the team. Andretti scored no wins and only three top-five finishes. Mansell slumped as well, scoring no wins and with his contract till the end of 1995, eventually left Indy cars at season's end to return to Formula One after Bernie Ecclestone bought Mansell's contract out. Both Andretti and Mansell had miserable results at Indianapolis in 1994. Mario dropped out and finished 32nd in his final Indy 500 after only 23 laps due to a fuel system failure. Mansell was later knocked out of the race in a bizarre crash with Dennis Vitolo.

1995

Michael Andretti returned to the team in 1995. He experienced an unsuccessful season in Formula One (1993) and drove the 1994 season in CART for Ganassi. Paul Tracy took over the second team car for one season. Andretti scored one win and a 4th place finish in points. Tracy scored two wins and finished 6th in points. At the end of the season, the burgeoning open-wheel "split" saw Newman/Haas firmly taking the side of the CART contingent. Tracy departed to go back to Penske

1996–2002

Michael Andretti and Christian Fittipaldi represented the team together for five seasons with Roberto Moreno driving as an occasional substitute. Andretti won ten races during this period, finishing second in points in 1996 and continued to remain a top driver on the circuit. Fittipaldi scored two wins and the best finish of 5th in points in 1996.

In 1997–1999, the team utilized the Swift chassis but it did not prove to be very successful. The team went back to Lola in 2000.

Andretti parted ways with Newman/Haas after the 2000 season, in part due to the team's refusal to enter a car at Indianapolis of the rival Indy Racing League. He instead formed a team with Kim Green as a satellite to his brother Barry's Team Green.

The 2001 season saw another major change for Newman/Haas as they switched engine suppliers from Ford-Cosworth to Toyota. Cristiano da Matta was brought over from PPI Motorsports to take over for Andretti and in his very first race for the team, he recorded a victory at Monterrey. Fittipaldi, meanwhile, struggled and finished fifteenth in the points with no victories. Da Matta recorded two additional wins for a total of three on the year and would finish fifth.

2002 was a highly successful year for Newman/Haas. Fittipaldi managed to finish fifth in series points for new sponsor Eli Lilly (longtime sponsor Kmart had pulled out of all of its racing sponsorships, including Haas' NASCAR team, following its 2002 bankruptcy) but the season belonged to da Matta. After repeating his feat in Mexico in the season opener, he would later score four consecutive wins by taking the events at Laguna Seca, Portland, Chicago, and Toronto to take a commanding lead in the points. His later wins at Road America and Bayfront Park gave him seven for the year and he finished seventy-three points ahead of second-place Bruno Junqueira in the final points standings.

When the 2002 season ended, both drivers departed the team. Fittipaldi became a full-time NASCAR driver following the season while da Matta was offered a lucrative contract to drive one of two cars for Toyota's factory-backed effort in Formula 1.

Champ Car World Series (2003-2007)

2003 was a season of upheaval for CART as a whole. Following the lead of Team Penske the year before, several of the top teams in CART defected to the Indy Racing League. Newman/Haas did not and remained loyal to what was now called the Champ Car World Series.

Not only was there a significant amount of team turnover but both Honda and Toyota also departed for the IRL leaving Ford as the only manufacturer. Newman/Haas also needed a new sponsor as ChevronTexaco, the parent company of Havoline, chose not to continue sponsoring the team. They signed PacifiCare as a new sponsor and also brought in McDonald's as initially a secondary sponsor for their second car; the restaurant would eventually take over as primary sponsor the following year.

Needing to round out its driver lineup, Newman/Haas signed Bruno Junqueira and Sébastien Bourdais. Junqueira had driven for Chip Ganassi Racing in 2001 and 2002 but was not retained when the team elected to move over to the IRL, while Bourdais won the 2002 Formula 3000 championship driving for Super Nova Racing. Junqueira won twice at Road America and Denver on route to a second-place finish in the points while series Rookie of the Year Bourdais won at Brands Hatch, Lausitzring and Cleveland while finishing sixth.

2004 saw Bourdais have a breakout season and the team scored a 1-2 finish in the series standings. The Frenchman won seven times in the season, including three consecutive at Portland, Cleveland and Toronto, and won his first championship. Junqueira, meanwhile, scored wins at Montreal and Surfers' Paradise. He also was given a chance to run for Newman/Haas at Indianapolis in the team's return to the 500; Junqueira went on to finish fifth and lead 16 laps in the rain-shortened event.

2005 started out great for Newman/Haas as the team won the first two races. Bourdais took victory at Long Beach while Junqueira won at Monterrey. However, things took a bad turn as the team raced at Indianapolis. Junqueira crashed and suffered a fractured vertebra, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season. He would finish 30th while Bourdais finished 12th.

However, the team once again dominated the series as it had the year before. Bourdais again emerged as the champion, recording five additional victories. He won at Edmonton and San Jose, repeated his victories at Denver and Las Vegas and won at Surfers' Paradise. Oriol Servia ran the remaining events in place of Junqueira and won at Montreal, bringing his team home in second place.

2006 saw more of the same from Bourdais, as he recorded seven more wins. He won all of the first four races, then added victories at San Jose, Montreal and Mexico City on his way to a third consecutive series championship. Junqueira returned from his injury but failed to win a race, finishing fifth overall in the points.

The 2007 season would prove to be the final season for Champ Car and once again, Bourdais emerged as the champion. He recorded a career-high eight victories, including in five of the last seven events and easily took his fourth straight championship. Graham Rahal joined the team replacing Junqueira and finished fifth in the points, with the best finish of second behind his teammate at Houston. The Houston win was Newman/Haas' 100th in the series.

Before the season ended, Scuderia Toro Rosso of Formula 1 announced that Bourdais had signed to drive as teammate to Sebastian Vettel for the team beginning in 2008. Justin Wilson was tabbed to replace him, but he would do so in the IndyCar Series as the two organizations unified during the offseason.

Indy Racing League / IndyCar Series

2004

Though several CART-based teams had returned to the Indianapolis 500 beginning in 2000, Newman/Haas resisted a return to the race until 2004. While maintaining a full-time effort in Champ Car, the team entered singly at Indy with driver Bruno Junqueira. He was leading the race on lap 150, hoping to stretch his fuel and be leading the race when impending rain arrived – which could have given him the race victory. He was forced to pit, and finished 5th when the race was called on lap 180.

2005

In the team's second post-"split" attempt at the Indy 500, both team drivers Bruno Junqueira and Sébastien Bourdais were factors early on but both drivers crashed out. The team would skip the 2006 and 2007 Indy 500 races.

2008

In the wake of the 2008 open-wheel unification, the team transitioned from the Champ Car World Series to the IndyCar Series full-time. The team retained the services of drivers Justin Wilson and Graham Rahal. Like many of the transitional teams, Newman/Haas experienced mixed results getting up to speed compared to some of the established IndyCar counterparts but did achieve two victories during the course of the season.

Justin Wilson led much of the race at St. Petersburg and Graham Rahal ended up winning the race. At the final Champ Car race at Long Beach, both cars dropped out. A month later, both cars crashed out at the Indianapolis 500.

Late in the season, Wilson won the race at Detroit, just weeks before the death of team co-owner Paul Newman. It was the team's 107th and final win in Indy car racing.

2009

Graham Rahal returned but Justin Wilson was replaced by former Champ Car driver Robert Doornbos. Milka Duno tested a third car during the offseason but a ride never materialized. Doornbos left the team in early August and Oriol Servià finished out the season in the car.

2010

Unable to find sponsorship at the beginning of the season, Graham Rahal was released and the team began the season with only one entry for Hideki Mutoh. Rahal rejoined the team later in the season at Toronto, finishing 5th. Rahal found sponsorship for five additional races.

2011

The team began the season with one car, driven by Oriol Servià. Prior to the second race of the season, James Hinchcliffe was added as a second driver for selected events, including Indianapolis.

2012-2013

The team initially planned to run the full 2012 season, going as far as purchasing two Dallara DW12 chassis. However, before the season started, the team announced that they would not compete due to a lack of sponsorship. After briefly entertaining a one-off entry for Jean Alesi at Indianapolis, they withdrew and sold off their cars to Fan Force United. A return in 2013 failed to materialize,[2] and the team formally disbanded.

Drivers

CART series

Champ Car World Series

IndyCar Series

CART/Champ Car driver championships

YearChampionWinsChassisEngineTyres
1984 Mario Andretti6Lola T800Cosworth DFXGoodyear
1991 Michael Andretti8Lola T91/00Chevrolet 265AGoodyear
1993 Nigel Mansell5Lola T93/00Ford XB V8tGoodyear
2002 Cristiano da Matta7Lola B02/00Toyota RV8FBridgestone
2004 Sébastien Bourdais7Lola B02/00Ford XFEBridgestone
2005 Sébastien Bourdais (2)6Lola B02/00Ford XFEBridgestone
2006 Sébastien Bourdais (3)7Lola B02/00Ford XFEBridgestone
2007 Sébastien Bourdais (4)8Panoz DP01Cosworth XFEBridgestone

Racing results

Complete CART / Champ Car World Series results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position) (results in italics indicate fastest lap)

YearChassisEngineTyresDriversNo.123456789101112131415161718192021
1983INDY
Lola T700Cosworth DFX V8t Mario Andretti3523181531716241*223rd133
1984INDY
Lola T800Cosworth DFX V8t Mario Andretti31*20178261*2111*191*7112221st176
1985INDY
Lola T900Cosworth DFX V8t Alan Jones1323rd14
Mario Andretti1*||style="background:#ffffbf;"| 1*|style="background:#ffffbf;"| 1|style="background:#efcfff;"| 26|style="background:#efcfff;"| 14*|style="background:#cfeaff;"| 10||style="background:#cfeaff;"| 7|style="background:#cfeaff;"| 7|style="background:#efcfff;"| 15|style="background:#efcfff;"| 21|style="background:#cfcfff;"| 11|style="background:#ffdf9f;"| 3|style="background:#efcfff;"| 27|||||||rowspan=2|5th|rowspan=2|114|-|3||style="background:#dfdfdf;"| 2*
1986INDY
Lola T86/00Cosworth DFX V8t Mario Andretti2325th136
5755124332112481094411
1987INDY
nowrapLola T87/00Chevrolet 265A V8t Mario Andretti51*|style="background:#dfffdf;"| 5|style="background:#cfeaff;"| 9*|style="background:#efcfff;"| 17|style="background:#cfeaff;"| 10|style="background:#dfdfdf;"| 2|style="background:#cfeaff;"| 10|style="background:#efcfff;"| 15|style="background:#efcfff;"| 19|style="background:#efcfff;"| 19|style="background:#ffffbf;"| 1*|style="background:#efcfff;"| 17|style="background:#efcfff;"| 19|style="background:#efcfff;"| 17*46th100
1988INDY
Lola T88/00nowrapChevrolet 265A V8t Mario Andretti61*1520175125212172333155th126
1989INDY
Lola T89/00Chevrolet 265A V8t Mario Andretti581847325220263577826th110
Michael Andretti64217213*61818*11*336*573rd150
1990INDY
Lola T90/00Chevrolet 265A V8t Michael Andretti3204205*1*1*251*2155201*1532nd181
Mario Andretti64527212524246343254267th136
1991SFRINDY
Lola T91/00Chevrolet 265A V8t Michael Andretti2141641*191*1161*14*31*1*1*3*1*1st234
102*
Mario Andretti61719973756152415473537th132
1992SFRINDYTOR
Lola T91/00
Lola T92/00
Ford XB V8t Michael Andretti117*101613*4*1*1*21*18241*21*2*1*2nd192
Mario Andretti271723236674155565526th105
Teo Fabi621st8
1993SFRINDY
Lola T93/00Ford XB V8t Nigel Mansell51Wth3311523201*126121*231st191
Mario Andretti641185*18365822015571396th117
1994SFRINDY
Lola T94/00Ford XB V8t Nigel Mansell19322252152232671810*132288th88
Mario Andretti6321532141892741810191116251914th45
1995SFRINDY
Lola T95/00Ford XB V8t Paul Tracy327142826241818282623223826th115
Michael Andretti620*9*292225344271*72519*22144th123
1996MIARIOSFRLBHNAZ500MILDETTOR
Lola T96/00Ford XD V8t Michael Andretti69221971*231111192222311*92nd132
Christian Fittipaldi116552191262*377107163105th110
1997FON
Swift 007.iFord XD V8t Michael Andretti61*32222111*228234218261627198th108
Christian Fittipaldi112628461116214921915th42
Roberto Moreno2414182510516
1998ROA
Swift 009.cFord XD V8t Michael Andretti61*142118*52*26101722621152102820188th108
Christian Fittipaldi1142526112111DNS1726111625133149273714th56
Roberto Moreno240
1999MOTLBHNAZRIOGATMILPORCLEROATORVANSRFFON
Swift 010.cFord XD V8t Michael Andretti62 576261*1510322644822141035214th151
Christian Fittipaldi119357396141213872537th121
Roberto Moreno14169 15258
2000DETMCHVAN
Lola B2K/00Ford XF V8t Michael Andretti622149162 13441228 1912 1420*1320198th127
Christian Fittipaldi1171851111919 3171714DNS31541012615112th96
2001TEXMOTMILDETPORCLETORMCHMDOROAVANLAGSRF
Lola B01/00Toyota RV8F V8t Cristiano da Matta61*2style-"background:#ffffff"C1102525710715419106202636 201 15th140
Christian Fittipaldi112024 style-"background:#ffffff"C1541853111218258 1811 19248981315th70
2002MTYLBHMOTMILLAGPORCHITORCLEVANMDOROAMTLDENROCMIASFRFONMXC
Lola B02/00Toyota RV8F V8t Cristiano da Matta18*112 1st237
61*813111*1*1*1*16121312 32 1*
Christian Fittipaldi1131312421314312132675172117155th122
2003STPMTYLBHBRHLAUMILLAGPORCLETORVANROAMDOMTLDENMIAMXCSFR
Lola B02/00Ford XFE V8t Bruno Junqueira13532417243321*13131*9715*2nd199
Sébastien Bourdais21117161*1*9171414325192172174th159
2004LBHMTYMILPORCLETORVANROADENMTLLAGLSVSFRMXC
Lola B02/00Ford XFE V8t231*181*1*1*53115*81*21*1st369
Bruno Junqueira622622184153122122nd341
2005LBHMTYMILPORCLETOREDMSJODENMTLLSVSRFMXC
Lola B02/00Ford XFE V8t Sébastien Bourdais11*56255*11*14*11*171st348
Bruno Junqueira23119th59
Oriol Servià316322341254288
2006LBHMTYMILPORCLETOREDMSJODENMTLROASRFMXC
Lola B02/00Ford XFE V8t Sébastien Bourdais11*11*1*31832*1*71*3*811st387
Bruno Junqueira21510101542815172122645th219
2007LSVLBHHOUPORCLEMTTTOREDMSJOROAZOLASNSFRMXC
Panoz DP01Cosworth XFE V8t Sébastien Bourdais1131*1*1122*91*51*1*71*1*1st364
Graham Rahal2178298711363391145th243

1 The Firestone Firehawk 600 was canceled after qualifying due to excessive g-forces on the drivers.

Complete IndyCar Series results

(key)

YearChassisEngineTyresDriversNo.12345678910111213141516171819
2004INDY
G-Force GF09BHonda HI4R V8 Bruno Junqueira36528th30
2005INDY
Panoz GF09CHonda HI5R V8 Bruno Junqueira363036th10
Sébastien Bourdais371228th18
2008HMSSTPMOTLBHKANINDYMILTXSIOWRIRWGLNSHMDOEDMKTYSNMDETCHISRF
Dallara IR-05Honda HI7R V8 Justin Wilson0215992772712725181132491111211th340
Panoz DP01Cosworth XFE V8t19
Dallara IR-05Honda HI7R V8 Graham Rahal061*12332511101881216262581319917th288
Panoz DP01Cosworth XFE V8t13
2009STPLBHKANINDYMILTXSIOWRIRWGLTOREDMKTYMDOSNMCHIMOTHMS
Dallara IR-05Honda HI7R V8 Graham Rahal0271273142211313207582153117th385
0611912281411159923919283
Oriol Servià11674115
Alex Lloyd40202841
2010SAOSTPALALBHKANINDYTXSIOWWGLTOREDMMDOSNMCHIKTYMOTHMS
Dallara IR-05Honda HI7R V8 Graham Rahal02520910810235
Hideki Mutoh06201415132328122012121718171317142018th250
2011STPALALBHSAOINDYTXSMILIOWTOREDMMDONHASNMBALMOTKTYLSV
Dallara IR-05Honda HI7R V8 Oriol Servià295656211531412228211256C4th425
James Hinchcliffe062449292019691415204724154C12th302
  1. Race run to Champ Car specifications.
  2. Non-points-paying, exhibition race.
  3. The final race at Las Vegas was canceled due to Dan Wheldon's death.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Cavin. Curt. Farewell, Champions. AutoWeek. December 26, 2011. 61. 26. 80.
  2. http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-newman-haas-working-on-two-car-return-in-2013/ INDYCAR: Newman/Haas Working On Two-Car Return In 2013