Champ Car World Series
Timeline

ONE YEAR LATER...

  • January 28, 2004: CART assets awarded to Open Wheel Racing Series LLC (OWRS) owners Gerald Forsythe, Kevin Kalkoven and Paul Gentilozzi by a federal bankruptcy judge.

  • March 8, 2004: Champ Car teams and drivers meet the media at the 2004 Season Premiere in Long Beach, California. The three-day event was highlighted by a fan event held at the Long Beach Convention Center which featured Jimmy Vasser exciting the crowd with a spirited pit stop demonstration.

  • March 18, 2004: Michel Jourdain Jr. announces his intention to remain in the Champ Car World Series, along with sponsor Gigante, despite the surprise departure of his former team.

  • March 2004: Cosworth tests “Push-to-Pass” button, allowing drivers to gain 50 extra horsepower at the press of a button. The drivers are given 60 seconds of extra boost at each race.

  • April 21, 2004: The Champ Car season gets off to a star-studded start in front of 75,000 fans on race day as Tom Cruise takes a spin in the Champ Car 2-Seater around the Long Beach temporary street circuit as part of the pre-race festivities for the Long Beach Grand Prix. Paul Tracy wins the first event run under the new ownership group. The race draws 170,000 fans for the weekend.

  • June 5, 2004: Ryan Hunter-Reay became the first driver in 12 seasons to lead every lap of a series event, pacing a Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford record 250 laps at the historic Milwaukee Mile. His teammate Mario Dominguez sets new Champ Car standard for Mexican-born drivers by finishing in the top-10 eight consecutive times.

  • June 18, 2004: A number of the Champ Car drivers get the opportunity to give their fathers a one-of-a-kind thrill ride in the Champ Car two seater at Portland. A.J. Allmendinger, Bruno Junqueira and Roberto Gonzalez were a few of the drivers that got to give a special Father’s Day gift to their dads.

  • July 14, 2004: Featherlite extends partnership with Champ Car as “Official Trailer” of the series

  • July 25, 2004: Paul Tracy moves up to eighth on the all-time Champ Car race winners list passing Johnny Rutherford with 28 career wins after taking the checkered flag at Vancouver.

  • August 7, 2004: Champ Car drivers and team members joined nearly 400 bicyclists for the Tour de Road America to raise nearly $20,000 in support of the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The bicycle event was run on the eve of the Grand Prix of Road America.

  • August 8, 2004: Alex Tagliani earns his first career Champ Car victory with a win at Road America. Rodolfo Lavin scores his first podium finish.

  • August 23, 2004: Bridgestone announces the use of the “alternate tire” for the final three permanent road course events of the year. With special markings on the sidewall of the Bridgestone Potenza, fans in attendance and watching on TV were able to easily identify which teams were using the special tire. The tire, which made its debut earlier in the year, was made of a softer compound and was designed as a way to put more strategy into a team’s race plan.

  • August 27, 2004: Champ Car announces a three-year contract with McDonald’s, making the fast food giant the “Official Fast Food Restaurant of Champ Car.” This increases McDonald’s role in the series as they are also the primary sponsor on the Newman/Haas championship winning entry driven by Sebastien Bourdais.

  • August 29, 2004: Jimmy Vasser makes his 193rd consecutive Champ Car start (1993-present) setting a new series record with his start in Montreal, eclipsing the mark set by Al Unser Jr. from 1983-1995.

  • September 24, 2004: Champ Car announces a multi-year contract with Roshfrans, making them the “Official Lubricant of Champ Car.” The deal marks the first time a Mexican company has become an official sponsor of the series.

  • September 25, 2004: Champ Car returns to Las Vegas for the first time since 1984 when the series raced around Caesars Palace. The 2004 edition saw Champ Cars race on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway oval with Sebastien Bourdais edging out his teammate Bruno Junqueira for the victory in the sixth closest finish in Champ Car history.

  • September 29, 2004: The Champ Car logo makes its first flight into space aboard SpaceShipOne as part of the ANSARI X PRIZE competition. As a sponsor of the competition the Champ Car logo was affixed to SpaceShipOne, which became the first private manned aircraft to fly into space and return safely.

  • October 28, 2004: 2005 schedule is announced with 14 race dates, including the addition of three new venues in the cities of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Silicon Valley, and Ansan, Korea and may see more additions before the beginning of the 2005 season

  • November 7, 2004: Sebastien Bourdais completes his championship winning season with his seventh pole and eighth win of the season at Mexico City. Bourdais tied for second in both the most wins and most poles in a season.

  • November 15, 2004: Series co-owners Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerald Forsythe purchase Cosworth Racing, which is the company that provides the engines for the Champ Car World Series.

  • November 20, 2004: San Jose, California is confirmed as the site of a new street race for 2005. The race is aligned with the Canary Fund, which becomes the Official Social Cause of Champ Car.

  • December 9, 2004: Champ Car signs an agreement with Eurosport to have all of its 2005 races carried live in Europe via Eurosport and Eurosport 2.

  • December 13, 2004: Champ Car announces a new domestic television deal that will see races broadcast live on NBC and CBS in 2005.

  • January 13, 2005: Champ Car announces that it will return to SPEED Channel in 2005, with seven events carried on the cable motorsports network. The series also announces that the event in Monterrey, Mexico will be carried live on NBC, marking the first time in eight years that the first six races of the year will be carried live on network television.

  • February 1, 2005 2002 Champ Car titlist Cristiano da Matta signs with PKV Racing, returning to the Champ Car paddock after two seasons in Formula 1. Da Matta becomes the fourth former champion to compete during the 2005 season

  • February 23, 2005 Bridgestone expands its marketing relationship with Champ Car signing on again as a series presenting sponsor and creating the $10,000 Bridgestone Pole Award at each Champ Car World Series event.

  • March 16, 2005 Champ Car announces its return to network television in the United States as CBS, NBC and SPEED are signed to broadcast Champ Car events.

  • April 5, 2005 Ford and Champ Car announce a multi-year agreement for the American automaker to continue as a presenting sponsor of the Champ Car World Series. The agreement also includes provisions for increased support of the Champ Car Fast Lap program.

  • April 15, 2005 Sebastien Bourdais wins in only his second International Race of Champions start. Bourdais claimed his IROC victory at Texas Motor Speedway and became the first Champ Car driver in eight years to win an IROC race.

  • May 22, 2005 Andrew Ranger becomes the youngest Champ Car driver to score a podium finish with his runner-up result in Monterrey, Mexico.

  • May 24, 2005 Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerry Forsythe complete purchase of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach insuring the famed event will remain the crown jewel of the Champ Car schedule.

  • June 4, 2005 Jimmy Vasser makes his 200th consecutive Champ Car start after earning the Bridgestone Pole at Milwaukee.

  • June 20, 2005 The Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland announces it will grant admission to ticket holders from the ill-fated Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix. Nearly 1,000 fans made the trip from Indianapolis to Cleveland for the offer.

  • July 15-17, 2005 Champ Car makes a raucous debut in Edmonton, Alberta Canada as the inaugural event draws more than 200,000 fans during the three days. In its first year, the Grand Prix of Edmonton becomes the highest-attended Champ Car event ever held in Canada.

  • July 29-30, 2005 On the heels of the tremendous debut in Edmonton, Champ Car stages another incredible event on the streets of San Jose. More than 150,000 fans attended the three-day festival of speed in the Silicon Valley that also saw the one-millionth Champ Car fan come through the turnstile in 2005, just eight events into the season.

  • July 29, 2005 Champ Car announces a new chassis and engine combination for the 2006 Champ Car Atlantic Championship Presented by Yokohama. The announcement drew rave reviews with 40 new cars ordered. A $2 million award was also announced for the 2006 Atlantic Champion to use to secure a ride in the Champ Car World Series.

  • August 3, 2005 Toyota Motor Sales, USA announces Toyota will continue as the title sponsor of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach through 2010.

  • August 13, 2005 Champ Car announces a 15-race schedule for the 2006 season. A Saturday-night street race in Houston is added to the schedule.

  • August 16, 2005 Champ Car announces it senior management succession plan with the hiring of Steve Johnson as new Champ Car President. Dick Eidswick moves into the new role of Chairman.

  • September 7, 2005 The Champ Car reality series "Race Car Driver" debuts on Superstation WGN. The 30-minute show features behind-the-scenes action of the Champ Car World Series with most of its focus on the Forsythe Championship Racing team and its flamboyant driver Paul Tracy.

  • September 15, 2005 Champ Car announces its intention to help the victims of two devastating hurricanes over the summer by renaming its Las Vegas event to the Champ Car Hurricane Relief 400. The event and Champ Car's online auction raised nearly $50,000 for the American Red Cross and CARA Charities to use to benefit the hurricane victims.

  • October 11, 2005 Champ Car announces Élan Motorsports Technology will produce the 2007 Champ Car chassis to be paired with a Cosworth V8 engine. The Panoz DP01 will be an All-American built chassis. The announcement means the retirement of the current Lola chassis after the 2006 season.

  • October 23, 2005 Sebastien Bourdais clinches his second consecutive Champ Car World Series title making him the first repeat champion since Gil de Ferran in 2000-2001.

  • November 3, 2005 Kevin Kalkhoven and Gerry Forsythe complete purchase of the Molson Indy Toronto insuring the future of the exciting street race. Molson will continue to sponsor the event which will be called the Molson Grand Prix of Toronto.

  • November 4, 2005 Champ Car announces its 2006 television schedule which includes an increased presence on network television in the United States and also and increased presence on cable partner SPEED. CBS and NBC continue on as Champ Car's network partners.

  • November 8, 2005 Brandi Latimer becomes the first "Face of Champ Car" beating out four other finalists for the honor of official spokesmodel of Champ Car.

  • November 17, 2005 After a very successful debut on the Champ Car schedule, officials from Champ Car and the Grand Prix of Edmonton announce an extension on the sanctioning agreement until the year 2010.

  • November 29, 2005 Champ Car announces it will return to the historic Road America race course in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Listed by many drivers as the best road course in North America, Champ Car will return to the 4.048-mile in September 2006.