Cheever Racing was an auto racing team founded in 1996

1996 in IRL

The first season of Indy Racing League competition consisted of only three races. Walt Disney World Speedway was completed in time to host the first race of the season, and the first ever event of the IRL. Phoenix International Raceway switched alliances from CART to IRL and hosted the second event...

 by Eddie Cheever

Eddie Cheever

Edward "Eddie" McKay Cheever, Jr. is an American racing driver who raced for almost thirty years in Formula One, Sports cars, CART and the Indy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 World Championship Formula One races and started 132, more than any other American, driving for nine different...

 as Team Cheever in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series

IndyCar Series

The IZOD IndyCar Series is the premier level of American open wheel racing. The current championship, founded by Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George, began in 1996 as a competitor to CART known as the Indy Racing League . Citing CART's increasing reliance on expensive machinery and...

. They fielded a car for Cheever for much of its existence, but occasionally ran two cars, almost always for the Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...

. The team won the 1998 Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...

 with Cheever driving and then switched to Infiniti

Infiniti

is the luxury division of automaker Nissan. Infiniti officially started selling vehicles on November 8, 1989 in North America. Marketing operations have since grown to include the Middle East, South Korea, Russia, Taiwan, China, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Infiniti began sales in additional...

 engines and gained sponsorship from Excite

Excite

Excite is a collection of Internet sites and services owned by IAC Search & Media, which is a subsidiary of InterActive Corporation . Launched in 1994, it is an online service offering a variety of content, including an Internet portal, a search engine, a web-based email, instant messaging, stock...

 for 2000

2000 in IRL

The 2000 Indy Racing Northern Light Series season was another season that saw a high level of parity as only one driver, champion Buddy Lazier, won more than a single race. It also saw the beginning of the jump from CART as Al Unser Jr. moved to the series full time and Chip Ganassi Racing came...

. The team continued to be moderately successful and gained Infiniti's first series win. When Infiniti left the series in 2003

2003 in IRL

The 2003 IRL IndyCar Series season brought some of the biggest changes in its history. The league adopted the name IndyCar Series, after a settlement with CART prohibiting its use, had expired...

 the team, which by then was sponsored by Red Bull

Red Bull

Red Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already...

 switched to Chevrolet

Chevrolet

Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...

 engines and then switched to Toyota in 2005

2005 in IRL

The 2005 IRL IndyCar Series season began on Sunday, March 6 and ended on Sunday, October 16. The season, which consisted of 17 races, was the 10th season of the IRL since it split from CART in 1995....

, after Chevrolet's departure. Despite some of the most talented drivers in the league, a long string of bad luck and underpowered engines rendered the team little more than mid-pack. With no sponsor for the 2006 season

2006 in IRL

The 2006 IRL IndyCar Series season began on March 26 and concluded on September 10. Sam Hornish, Jr. won his third IndyCar Series championship. Hornish also won the 90th Indianapolis 500, passing rookie Marco Andretti on the final lap less than from the finish line.- 2006 IndyCar Series schedule...

, Eddie decided to trim the team to a single car and return to the cockpit as both a cost cutting move and to seize the opportunity to return to racing before he felt he got too old to be competitive. Cheever only committed to drive until the Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...

 but continued until the 8th race of the season. The IRL operation shut down after the Kansas Speedway

Kansas Speedway

Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in Kansas City, Kansas. The speedway was built in 2001 and currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also raced at the speedway until 2011...

 race when it could not find a sponsor or pay driver

Pay driver

A pay driver is a driver for a professional auto racing team who, instead of being paid by their car owner, drives for free and brings with him either personal sponsorship or personal or family funding to finance the team's operations...

 to continue.

Cheever Racing also ran a Daytona Prototype car in the Grand-Am

Grand American Road Racing Association

GRAND-AM Road Racing or GRAND-AM is an auto racing sanctioning body that was established in 1999 to organize road racing competitions in North America...

 Rolex Sports Car Series

Rolex Sports Car Series

The Rolex Sports Car Series is the premier series run by the Grand American Road Racing Association. It is a North American-based sports car series that was founded in 2000 under the name Grand American Road Racing Championship to replace the failed United States Road Racing Championship...

. In 2007 Cheever purchased the intellectual property rights to the Fabcar chassis and has renewed its development and begun offering the chassis to other teams in the series. The car was subsequently renamed the Coyote chassis

Coyote (chassis)

The Coyote was a brand of racing chassis designed and built for the use of A.J. Foyt's race team in USAC Championship Car racing including the Indianapolis 500. It was used from 1966 to 1983 with Foyt himself making 141 starts in the car winning 25 times. George Snider had the second most starts...

, in tribute to the racing cars built in the 1970s by A. J. Foyt Enterprises

A. J. Foyt Enterprises

A.J. Foyt Enterprises is a racing team in the IZOD Indycar Series and formerly NASCAR. It is owned by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner A. J. Foyt. Foyt Enterprises won IRL titles in 1996 with Scott Sharp and 1998 with Kenny Bräck, the latter driver also winning the Indianapolis 500 for the team...

.. Cheever Racing did not field any entries for the 2009 Rolex 24 at Daytona. The previous sponsor Crown Royal

Crown Royal

Crown Royal is a blended Canadian whisky, 40% alcohol by volume, 80 proof. The brand is currently owned by Diageo, who purchased it when the Seagram portfolio was dissolved in the year 2000. It is the top-selling Canadian whisky in the United States....

 now is sponsoring the entry from Penske Racing

Penske Racing

Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series and NASCAR. They also previously competed in road racing, and Formula One. Penske Racing is a division of Penske Corporation, and is owned and chaired by Roger Penske...

.http://www.grand-am.com/rolex/news/index.cfm?cid=20256

In 2006

2006 in IPS

The 2006 Indy Racing League Indy Pro Series started the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 26th and finished September 9th at Chicagoland Speedway.-Miami 100:* Date: March 26* Location: Homestead-Miami Speedway...

, Cheever also founded an Indy Pro Series

Indy Pro Series

Firestone Indy Lights is a developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar. Previously, another series named Indy Lights filled the same role for CART and ran from 1986 to 1993 as the American Racing Series and Dayton Indy Lights from 1991 to 2001...

 team. In 2006 its car was driven by Chris Festa

Chris Festa

Chris Festa, born in Atlanta on September 5, 1985, is an American auto racing driver.Chris raced the #9 Dallara for Chip Ganassi Racing in the Indy Pro Series in 2007. As of the end of the 2007 season he has made 39 IPS starts with a best finish of 2nd and won the pole for the first race of the...

. Their driver for the 2007

2007 in IPS

The 2007 Indy Racing League Indy Pro Series started on Saturday March 24 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The season's premiere race is the Freedom 100 on May 25 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The season finale was held at Chicagoland Speedway on September 9...

 season was Richard Antinucci

Richard Antinucci

Richard Antinucci is an American race car driver.-Career:In 1998 he competed in Italian Formula Ford, moving to the British Formula Renault Winter Series in 1999 and to Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup in 2000, where he stayed for one season .In 2002 he moved to the Manor team in British Formula Three,...

, Eddie's nephew, who captured two wins on a part-time schedule.

IRL IndyCar Series

Alex Barron

Alex Barron (driver)

Alex Barron in San Diego, California) is an American race car driver. He began racing CART FedEx World Series Championship cars in 1998 and made his first Indy Racing League Northern Lights Series start in 2001....

 (2003–2005) Ed Carpenter (2004) Patrick Carpentier

Patrick Carpentier

Patrick Carpentier is a retired Canadian race car driver. He is best known for his career in the Champ Car World Series and the IndyCar Series. In 2009, Patrick shared the #36 of Tommy Baldwin Racing with Mike Skinner and ran Michael Waltrip's #55 Toyota Camry in the road course races in the...

 (2005) Eddie Cheever

Eddie Cheever

Edward "Eddie" McKay Cheever, Jr. is an American racing driver who raced for almost thirty years in Formula One, Sports cars, CART and the Indy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 World Championship Formula One races and started 132, more than any other American, driving for nine different...

 (1996–2002, 2006) Tomáš Enge

Tomáš Enge

Tomáš Enge is a motor racing driver from the Czech Republic, who has competed in many classes of motorsport, including three races in Formula One.-Career:...

 (2006) Wim Eyckmans

Wim Eyckmans

Wim Eyckmans is a Belgian racecar driver who starting in karting in 1986 has been in prototype racing since 2003. He participated in Formula 3000 in 1994 and 1995 and ran the Indy Lights series in 1998. In 1999, he competed in the Indianapolis 500 on behalf of Cheever Racing, finishing 23rd...

 (1999) Scott Goodyear

Scott Goodyear

Scott Goodyear is a former race car driver from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Goodyear ran the IRL and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994...

 (2001) Robby McGehee

Robby McGehee

Robby McGehee is a Indy Racing League driver from St. Louis, Missouri. He won the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award in 1999 after finishing fifth and raced for veteran owner Fred Treadway the next few seasons...

 (2002) Max Papis

Max Papis

Massimiliano "Max" Papis is a racing driver who has competed in several top-level motorsports events such as Le Mans 24 Hours, Formula One and Champ Car. He has three Champ Car victories. He is the son-in-law of Emerson Fittipaldi. His son's godfather is fellow Italian Alex Zanardi...

 (2002, 2006) Buddy Rice

Buddy Rice

Buddy Rice is an American racecar driver. He is best known for winning the 2004 Indianapolis 500 while driving for Rahal Letterman Racing, and the 2009 24 Hours of Daytona for Brumos Racing.-Early career:...

 (2002–2003) Tomas Scheckter

Tomas Scheckter

Tomas Scheckter is a South African racing driver, born in Monte Carlo. He is the son of 1979 Formula One World Champion Jody Scheckter.-Early years:...

 (2002) Robby Unser

Robby Unser

Robby Unser is a former Indy Racing League driver and eight time winner of the Pikes Peak International Hillclimb. He was the IRL rookie of the year in 1998. Robby made two starts in the Indianapolis 500 with a best finish of 5th in 1998. He also finished second twice in the 1998 season, his best...

 (1998) Jeff Ward

Jeff Ward (motocross)

Jeff Ward is the first motocross rider in history to win every major AMA motocross national championship...

 (1997)

Grand Am

Fabio Babini

Fabio Babini

Fabio Babini is a race car driver, born in Faenza, Italy.He competed in the FIA GT Championship from 2000 until 2004 and in one race of the American Le Mans Series each year from 2001 to 2003....

 (2008) Matteo Bobbi

Matteo Bobbi

Matteo Bobbi is an Italian racing driver with experience in several motor sport categories, including three years as a Minardi test driver in Formula One....

 (2008) Harrison Brix (2007) Patrick Carpentier

Patrick Carpentier

Patrick Carpentier is a retired Canadian race car driver. He is best known for his career in the Champ Car World Series and the IndyCar Series. In 2009, Patrick shared the #36 of Tommy Baldwin Racing with Mike Skinner and ran Michael Waltrip's #55 Toyota Camry in the road course races in the...

 (2006) Eddie Cheever

Eddie Cheever

Edward "Eddie" McKay Cheever, Jr. is an American racing driver who raced for almost thirty years in Formula One, Sports cars, CART and the Indy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 World Championship Formula One races and started 132, more than any other American, driving for nine different...

 (2006–2007) Emmanuel Collard

Emmanuel Collard

Emmanuel Collard is a French racing driver. He is a member of the Porsche Junioren factory team, but drives also for other marques....

 (2007) Tommy Erdos (2007–2008) Christian Fittipaldi

Christian Fittipaldi

Christian Fittipaldi is a Brazilian racing driver who has competed in various forms of motorsport including Formula One, Champ Car and NASCAR...

 (2006–2008) Antonio García (2008) Stefan Johansson

Stefan Johansson

Stefan Nils Edwin Johansson is a former Formula One driver from who drove for among others both Ferrari and McLaren during his Grand Prix career. Since leaving Formula One he has raced in a number of categories, including CART, various kinds of Sports car racing, and Grand Prix Masters...

 (2006) Tom Kimber-Smith

Tom Kimber-Smith

Tom Kimber-Smith is a British race car driver.He was the 2003 British Formula Ford Champion. He is the son of Geoff Kimber-Smith.-Career summary:-Complete Formula Three Series results:...

 (2008) Lucas Luhr

Lucas Luhr

Lucas Luhr is a German race car driver, currently contracted by Audi.-Early career:Luhr began his career in karts in 1989. Throughout the early 1990s, he won several local and national karting trophies...

 (2006) Sascha Maassen

Sascha Maassen

Sascha Maassen, born September 28, 1969, in Aachen, Germany) is a veteran sports car driver. He is currently a Porsche factory driver, and drives the #6 Porsche RS Spyder for Penske Racing in the American Le Mans Series.-Early career:...

 (2007) Scott Mayer

Scott Mayer (driver)

Scott Mayer is a former driver in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series. He participated in the first three races of the 2003 IndyCar Series season for PDM Racing and crashed in all three races. He then failed to complete rookie orientation for the Indy 500. He entered the 2005 Indianapolis 500...

(2008) Mike Newton (2007–2008) Hoover Orsi

Hoover Orsi

Hoover Orsi Pereira Martins is a Brazilian race car driver. He began his professional career in 1998 in the European Formula Renault series where he captured 4th place. He returned to South America where he was the South American Formula 3 champion in 1999...

 (2006) Stephane Ortelli

Stéphane Ortelli

Stéphane Ortelli is a Monagasque motor racing driver who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in . He also won the GT1 Class at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2005, driving for Aston Martin.-2008 Monza Le Mans Series crash:...

 (2008) Brent Sherman

Brent Sherman

Brent Sherman , a resident of Wauconda, Illinois, is a former driver in the NASCAR Nationwide Series who later competed in the Firestone Indy Lights Series.-Biography:...

(2008)