Forsythe/Pettit Racing is a racing team that competed in the Champ Car World Series

Champ Car

Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...

 owned by Gerald Forsythe

Gerald Forsythe

Gerald Forsythe is an American businessman and auto racing magnate, best known for being one of the three men that owned the Champ Car World Series...

 and Dan Pettit. The Champ Car effort ceased operations after the 2008 unification of North American open wheel racing.

History

The team first operated as Forsythe Racing from 1983 to 1985 with moderate success, most notably with rookie driver Teo Fabi

Teo Fabi

Teodorico Fabi , better known as Teo Fabi, is an Italian former racing driver.-Career:Fabi participated in 71 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on January 23, 1982. He achieved 2 podiums, and scored a total of 23 championship points...

 who won four races in 1983, and started on the pole position

Pole position

The term "pole position", as used in motorsports, comes from the horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole. The term made its way, along with several other customs, to auto racing. In circuit motorsports, a driver has pole position when he or she...

 at Indianapolis

1983 Indianapolis 500

Results of the 1983 Indianapolis 500 held at Indianapolis on Sunday, May 29, 1983.-Recap:Three-time runner up Tom Sneva is stuck behind the lapped car of Al Unser, Jr., who is helping protect the lead of his father Al Unser despite being shown the blue "move-over" flag...

. The team returned in 1994 as Forsythe-Green Racing with co-owner Barry Green

Barry Green

Barry Green is a U.S. orchestral and solo double bass player and teacher. He was the principal bassist for the Cincinnati Symphony. A contemporary of people such as Gary Karr, he has developed and publicized his own method for double bass....

, but by the next year the two had split and Green took their driver Jacques Villeneuve

Jacques Villeneuve

Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve, , is a Canadian musician and automobile racing driver. He is the son of the late Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve, and is the namesake of his uncle...

 to his new Team Green

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...

 and won the 1995 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...

 and CART championship. The team signed Greg Moore

Greg Moore (race car driver)

Greg Moore was a racecar driver who competed in the Indy Lights and CART World Series, where he had great success with several wins in both series and a championship in the 1995 Indy Lights series...

 in 1995 and he would drive with them for the next five seasons, one in Indy Lights where he would win 10 of 12 races, and four in Champ Car

Champ Car

Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...

 until his death at the end of the 1999 season. Along the way Moore would capture five wins and place fifth in the 1998 points standings.

In 1998 the team expanded to two cars by adding 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...

 to the all-Canadian squad. Carpentier would drive for Forsythe until 2004 (when he was hired by Cheever Racing

Cheever Racing

Cheever Racing was an auto racing team founded in 1996 by Eddie Cheever as Team Cheever in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series. They fielded a car for Cheever for much of its existence, but occasionally ran two cars, almost always for the Indianapolis 500...

 of the rival Indy Racing League for 2005) after capturing five wins with the team. In 2003, veteran Paul Tracy

Paul Tracy

Paul Tracy is a professional automobile racer who has competed in CART, the ChampCar World Series and the IndyCar Series...

 was brought on to replace Alex Tagliani

Alex Tagliani

Alexandre Tagliani is a Canadian auto racing driver from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He currently competes in the IZOD IndyCar Series, driving the #77 entry for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.-Champ Car career:...

. Tracy would win 7 races on his way to bringing Forsythe its first CART championship in CART's final year of operations. In 2006, Mario Dominguez

Mario Domínguez

Mario Domínguez is a Mexican racing driver. He has competed in the CART and CCWS Champ Car series and later the IndyCar Series.-Early career:Domínguez first began racing in 1987 driving go-karts...

, who had replaced Carpentier, was fired mid-season and Forsythe brought in displaced American A. J. Allmendinger

A. J. Allmendinger

Allmendinger again failed to qualify for the 2008 Daytona 500. After three failures to qualify in 2 attempts , he was replaced by veteran driver Mike Skinner on a temporary basis. Allmendinger returned to the Cup series at Talladega...

. Allmendinger proceeded to win his first three races with the team, his first Champ Car victories. Allmendinger was teammates with Paul Tracy who finished fourth in points in 2004 and 2005 after his championship-winning season. However, Allmendinger and the team were not able to come to terms for 2007 and Allmendinger announced he would be going to NASCAR

NASCAR

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 Nextel Cup

NEXTEL Cup

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing . The series was originally known as the Strictly Stock Series and Grand National Series . While leasing its naming rights to R. J...

 with Team Red Bull

Team Red Bull

Red Bull Racing Team, also known as Team Red Bull, is a NASCAR team owned by Dietrich Mateschitz. The team is based in Mooresville, North Carolina in the United States and is managed by Jay Frye...

. Forsythe would later announce Dominguez's return to his team on March 30. Dominguez, however, was replaced by Oriol Servia

Oriol Servia

Oriol Servià i Imbers is a race car driver in the IndyCar Series, originally from Catalonia, Spain. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.-Early career:...

 on a race by race basis until Servia was hired full time. For the 2008 season, Jerry Forsythe and former RuSPORT

RuSPORT

RuSPORT was an auto racing team that competed in the Champ Car World Series. It was founded in September 2002 by Carl Russo.Russo drove for the team then known as Performance Development and Racing based in Fort Collins, Colorado which was owned by Steve Wulff...

 owner Dan Pettit, were to merge their teams into Forsythe/Pettit Racing to field at least two cars. However, changes brought about the unification of open wheel racing into the 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...

 made competitive racing financially unviable in the eyes of Forsythe and he elected not to race in the IndyCar Series in 2008. The team's Atlantic operation, Forsythe Racing continued to contest that series through the end of the 2008 season and the team fielded 3 of the team's Panoz DP01

Panoz DP01

The Panoz DP01 is an open-wheel car that was produced by Élan Motorsport Technologies near Road Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was developed for use in the 2007 Champ Car World Series season, replacing the aging de facto-spec Lola chassis. The DP01 was introduced to the world at the 2006 Grand...

 chassis in the 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

The 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was the third round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season, for teams who competed in the Champ Car World Series in 2007. This was because the 2008 Indy Japan 300 occurred on the same weekend and there was no way of changing dates to avoid the clash. It was held...

.

On July 15, 2008 Forsythe Racing announced that they would return to the Firestone Indy Lights Series grid in 2009. According to additional reports, Forsythe Racing were close to finalizing IRL IndyCar Series and American Le Mans Series programs for 2009, according to team manager Ken Swieck. Swieck confirmed that Forsythe intended to compete in both series rather than choosing one or the other. However, Forsythe has since not made any announcements or fielded any entries in either series.

Statistics

The Forsythe team and its derivatives have amassed 37 CART and Champ Car victories and single championship in 2003 with Canadian Paul Tracy

Paul Tracy

Paul Tracy is a professional automobile racer who has competed in CART, the ChampCar World Series and the IndyCar Series...

.

Drivers who competed for Forsythe

A. J. Allmendinger

A. J. Allmendinger

Allmendinger again failed to qualify for the 2008 Daytona 500. After three failures to qualify in 2 attempts , he was replaced by veteran driver Mike Skinner on a temporary basis. Allmendinger returned to the Cup series at Talladega...

 (2006) 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...

 (1998–2004) Kevin Cogan

Kevin Cogan

Kevin Cogan is a former racecar driver who drove in Formula One from to . Driving a RAM Williams in the 1980 Canadian Grand Prix, he failed to qualify, suffering the same result driving for Tyrrell at the 1981 US GP West...

 (1984) Mario Dominguez

Mario Domínguez

Mario Domínguez is a Mexican racing driver. He has competed in the CART and CCWS Champ Car series and later the IndyCar Series.-Early career:Domínguez first began racing in 1987 driving go-karts...

 (2005–2007) Corrado Fabi

Corrado Fabi

Corrado Fabi is a former racing driver from Italy. He participated in 18 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 13 March 1983, scoring no championship points. He was the 1982 European Formula Two Champion driving a March-BMW....

 (1984) Teo Fabi

Teo Fabi

Teodorico Fabi , better known as Teo Fabi, is an Italian former racing driver.-Career:Fabi participated in 71 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on January 23, 1982. He achieved 2 podiums, and scored a total of 23 championship points...

 (1983–1984, 1995) Memo Gidley

Memo Gidley

José Guillermo "Memo" Gidley is a Mexican-American racing driver, of German and Canadian ancestry, born in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico in 1973. He holds dual citizenship - American and Mexican....

 (2000) Bryan Herta

Bryan Herta

Bryan John Herta is an American race car driver. He currently runs his own team, Bryan Herta Autosport in the Firestone Indy Lights Series...

 (2000–2001) Howdy Holmes

Howdy Holmes

Howdy S. Holmes , is a former driver in the CART Championship Car series. He began racing in the early 1970s and was based in Stockbridge, Michigan, about northeast of Chelsea....

 (1985) 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...

 (1999) Rodolfo Lavin

Rodolfo Lavin

Rodolfo Lavín is a Mexican racing driver from San Luis Potosí. He most notably raced in the Champ Car World Series.In Mexico, Lavín raced in Formula Azteca and Formula 3. With funding in the form of sponsorship from Corona, with whom his father is on the board, Lavin raced in Indy Lights from...

 (2004) David Martínez

David Martínez

David Martinez is a Mexican racing driver. He holds the record for the best debut ever by a Mexican driver in a premiere open-wheel series with his 9th place finish at the 2006 Gran Premio de Mexico.-IndyCar 2012:Martinez is currently in negotiations to become the only Mexican driver in the...

 (2006–2008) Franck Montagny

Franck Montagny

Franck Montagny is a French motor racing driver. He briefly raced for the Super Aguri Formula One team in 2006.-Early career:...

 (2008) Greg Moore

Greg Moore (race car driver)

Greg Moore was a racecar driver who competed in the Indy Lights and CART World Series, where he had great success with several wins in both series and a championship in the 1995 Indy Lights series...

 (1996–1999) Jan Lammers

Jan Lammers

Johannes "Jan" Lammers, , is a racing driver and team principal from the Netherlands. He participated in 41 Formula One Grand Prix races, debuting on January 21, 1979. He won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1988 and later participated in the race with his own team Racing for Holland...

 (1985) John Paul, Jr.

John Paul, Jr.

John Lee Paul, Jr. is a former race car driver in CART and the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series and winner of the 1982 12 Hours of Sebring while co-driving with his father John Paul, Sr....

 (1985) Hector Rebaque

Héctor Rebaque

Héctor Alonso Rebaque is a former racing driver from Mexico. He participated in 58 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 5 June 1977. He scored a total of 13 championship points...

 (1982) 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:...

 (2006) Oriol Servià

Oriol Servia

Oriol Servià i Imbers is a race car driver in the IndyCar Series, originally from Catalonia, Spain. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.-Early career:...

 (2007) Danny Sullivan

Danny Sullivan

Daniel John "Danny" Sullivan III is a former racing driver from the United States. He is best known for winning the 1985 Indianapolis 500.-Before racing:...

 (1982) Alex Tagliani

Alex Tagliani

Alexandre Tagliani is a Canadian auto racing driver from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He currently competes in the IZOD IndyCar Series, driving the #77 entry for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.-Champ Car career:...

 (2000–2002) Paul Tracy

Paul Tracy

Paul Tracy is a professional automobile racer who has competed in CART, the ChampCar World Series and the IndyCar Series...

 (2003–2008) Al Unser, Jr.

Al Unser, Jr.

Alfred Unser, Jr. , nicknamed "Little Al", "Al Junior" or simply "Junior" is a retired American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner.-History:...

 (1982) Jacques Villeneuve

Jacques Villeneuve

Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve, , is a Canadian musician and automobile racing driver. He is the son of the late Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve, and is the namesake of his uncle...

(1994)