Firestone Indy 200
Encyclopedia
The Firestone Indy 200 was an Indy Racing League IndyCar Series
race held at Nashville Superspeedway
in Lebanon, Tennessee
.
In 2001, it marked the first American open wheel event in the Nashville
area. In later years it was held as a Saturday night race. The 2007 event was postponed until Sunday after a series of rain showers at the track. It marked the track's first postponement and was only the second time in series history an event had to be postponed due to weather.
Following the 2008 event, Indy Racing League officials decided to end their association with Nashville Superspeedway
. The event was removed from the 2009 schedule, and it is not expected to return.
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...
race held at Nashville Superspeedway
Nashville Superspeedway
Nashville Superspeedway is a motor racing complex located in Gladeville, Tennessee , United States, about 30 miles southeast of Nashville. On August 2, 2011, it was announced that Nashville Superspeedway will not host any NASCAR events in 2012. It is a concrete oval track 1 1/3 miles in...
in Lebanon, Tennessee
Lebanon, Tennessee
Lebanon is a city in Wilson County, Tennessee, in the United States. The population was 20,235 at the 2000 census. It serves as the county seat of Wilson County. Lebanon is located in middle Tennessee, approximately 25 miles east of downtown Nashville. Local residents have also called it...
.
In 2001, it marked the first American open wheel event in the Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
area. In later years it was held as a Saturday night race. The 2007 event was postponed until Sunday after a series of rain showers at the track. It marked the track's first postponement and was only the second time in series history an event had to be postponed due to weather.
Following the 2008 event, Indy Racing League officials decided to end their association with Nashville Superspeedway
Nashville Superspeedway
Nashville Superspeedway is a motor racing complex located in Gladeville, Tennessee , United States, about 30 miles southeast of Nashville. On August 2, 2011, it was announced that Nashville Superspeedway will not host any NASCAR events in 2012. It is a concrete oval track 1 1/3 miles in...
. The event was removed from the 2009 schedule, and it is not expected to return.
Past winners
As is a Nashville-area racing tradition, the winner wins a hand-made and painted Gibson Les Paul guitar (trophies in short-track racing are traditionally guitars).| IRL IndyCar Series history | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Date | Winning Driver | Chassis | Engine | Team |
| 2001 2001 in IRL The 2001 Indy Racing Northern Light Series season saw the addition of five races and loss of one to bring the total to 13. Chip Ganassi Racing returned to the Indy 500 with four cars and were joined on the grid by Penske Racing and Team Kool Green. Many other CART teams made clear their intention... |
July 21 |  Buddy LazierBuddy Lazier Robert Buddy Lazier is an American Indycar driver. He won the 1996 Indianapolis 500 and has finished in the Top Ten in that race six times... |
Dallara Dallara Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993... |
Oldsmobile Oldsmobile Oldsmobile was a brand of American automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. It was founded by Ransom E. Olds in 1897. In its 107-year history, it produced 35.2 million cars, including at least 14 million built at its Lansing, Michigan factory... |
Hemelgarn Racing Hemelgarn Racing Hemelgarn Racing was a racing team in the Indy Racing League owned by Ron Hemelgarn. The team won the 1996 Indianapolis 500 and 2000 Series Championship with driver Buddy Lazier. Along with A.J... |
| 2002 2002 in IRL The 2002 Indy Racing League season was one of transition, with many CART teams participating in a partial IRL schedule while retaining "lame duck" status in their original series with their CART engine suppliers Toyota and Honda... |
July 20 | 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.... |
Dallara Dallara Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993... |
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... |
Blair Racing |
| 2003 | July 19 |  Gil de FerranGil de Ferran Gil de Ferran , is a professional racing driver and team owner. De Ferran was the 2000 and 2001 Champ Car champion driving for the Penske Honda Team and the winner of the 2003 Indianapolis 500.Inspired by the success of fellow Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi, de Ferran began his career in kart racing... |
Dallara Dallara Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993... |
Toyota | Team Penske |
| 2004 | July 17 | Tony Kanaan Tony Kanaan Antoine Rizkallah Kanaan Filho, commonly known as Tony Kanaan is a Brazilian race car driver of Lebanese heritage. Kanaan won the 2004 Indy Racing League IndyCar Series championship driving Andretti Green Racing's 7-Eleven sponsored car, winning three times in his Honda-powered Dallara... |
Dallara Dallara Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993... |
Honda Honda is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than... |
Andretti Green Racing Andretti Green Racing Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Firestone Indy Lights, Star Mazda Championship, and U.S. F2000 National Championship.-Current IndyCar Drivers and Cars:*7 Danica Patrick, GoDaddy.com*26 Marco Andretti... |
| 2005 | July 16 |  Dario FranchittiDario Franchitti George Dario Marino Franchitti is a Scottish racing driver. He formerly competed in the CART series before switching to the IndyCar Series where he was 2007 champion, and won the rain-shortened 2007 Indianapolis 500. Franchitti is also a former NASCAR driver for Chip Ganassi Racing, competing... |
Dallara Dallara Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993... |
Honda Honda is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than... |
Andretti Green Racing Andretti Green Racing Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Firestone Indy Lights, Star Mazda Championship, and U.S. F2000 National Championship.-Current IndyCar Drivers and Cars:*7 Danica Patrick, GoDaddy.com*26 Marco Andretti... |
| 2006 | July 15 |  Scott DixonScott Dixon Scott Ronald Dixon, MNZM is a New Zealand motor racer who became the most successful all-time driver in the Indy Racing League championship in the United States when he won the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio in August 2009. This took his total to 21 wins... |
Dallara Dallara Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993... |
Honda Honda is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than... |
Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is an automotive racing organization with teams competing in the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Rolex Sports Car Series. It is owned by businessmen Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates. They have won 4 Champ Car, 3 Indy Racing League and 1 Grand-Am championships... |
| 2007 | July 15 | Scott Dixon Scott Dixon Scott Ronald Dixon, MNZM is a New Zealand motor racer who became the most successful all-time driver in the Indy Racing League championship in the United States when he won the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio in August 2009. This took his total to 21 wins... |
Dallara Dallara Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993... |
Honda Honda is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than... |
Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is an automotive racing organization with teams competing in the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Rolex Sports Car Series. It is owned by businessmen Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates. They have won 4 Champ Car, 3 Indy Racing League and 1 Grand-Am championships... |
| 2008 2008 IndyCar Series season The 2008 IndyCar Series season was the 13th season of the IndyCar Series. Its premier event was the 92nd Indianapolis 500 on May 25. The first race was held March 29 at Homestead. It was the 97th recognized season of top-level American open wheel racing.... |
July 12 | Scott Dixon Scott Dixon Scott Ronald Dixon, MNZM is a New Zealand motor racer who became the most successful all-time driver in the Indy Racing League championship in the United States when he won the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio in August 2009. This took his total to 21 wins... |
Dallara Dallara Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993... |
Honda Honda is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than... |
Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is an automotive racing organization with teams competing in the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Rolex Sports Car Series. It is owned by businessmen Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates. They have won 4 Champ Car, 3 Indy Racing League and 1 Grand-Am championships... |
| Indy Lights winners | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | July 20 | Cory Witherill Cory Witherill Cory Witherill is a native American Navajo race car driver from Los Angeles in the Infiniti Pro Series, Indy Racing League, and ARCA series. He made an improbable bump day run on a brand new engine to qualify for the 2001 Indianapolis 500, becoming the only full-blooded native American to race in... |
| 2003 | July 18 | Mark Taylor Mark Taylor (driver) Mark Taylor is a racing driver who drove in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series. He drove the entire 2004 season for two different teams, but could not find a seat for the 2005 season.... |
| 2004 | July 17 | Thiago Medeiros |
| 2005 | July 16 | Jaime Camara Jaime Camara Jaime Camara is a Brazilian race car driver, who most recently competed in the IndyCar Series for Conquest Racing.-Indy Racing League:... |
| 2006 | July 15 | Jay Howard Jay Howard Jay Howard is an English professional race car driver who competes in the IZOD IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 and resides in Indianapolis, Indiana. Howard was the 2005 U.S... |
| 2007 | July 14 | Robbie Pecorari Robbie Pecorari Roberto "Robbie" Pecorari is an American racing driver from Aston, Pennsylvania.One of America's most successful young karters, he won numerous regional and national World Karting Association and Stars of Karting championships before moving up to cars in late 2003... |
| 2008 2008 Indy Lights season The 2008 Indy Racing League Firestone Indy Lights Series season, formerly the Indy Pro Series, began on March 29, 2008 and consisted of 16 races. Due to the discontinuation of the United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the series lost its Liberty Challenge double header... |
July 12 | Ana Beatriz |