CART Indy 500 entries

The team was founded in 1993 when the team purchased the CART

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...

 IndyCar equipment of Kenny Bernstein

Kenny Bernstein

Kenny Bernstein is an American drag racer and former NASCAR and IndyCar team owner. He is nicknamed the "Bud King" for his success in the Budweiser King dragster, he has also been nicknamed "The King of Speed," because he was the first driver to break 300 miles per hour in the standing-start...

's King Racing

King Racing

King Racing was the name of famed NHRA champion Kenny Bernstein's racing team which fielded cars in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series as well as in CART and the Indianapolis 500.-NASCAR:...

. The team fielded a car for Jeff Andretti

Jeff Andretti

Jeff Andretti is an American race car driver. He competed in CART, and was the series' Rookie of the Year in 1991.-Racing career:...

 for the 1993

1993 Indianapolis 500

The 77th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 30, 1993. Emerson Fittipaldi took the lead with 16 laps to go, and won his second career Indy 500 victory...

 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...

 who finished 29th after a crash. The following year they signed veteran Roberto Guerrero

Roberto Guerrero

Roberto José Guerrero Isaza is a former racing driver from Colombia. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982...

 to drive their car. Guerrero started 20th but was knocked out by a crash after only 20 laps. The team upgraded to Ilmor

Ilmor

Ilmor, founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in November 1983, is a British independent high-performance autosport engineering company. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and maintenance offices in Plymouth, Michigan, the company supplies engines and consultancy to the...

-Mercedes Benz engines in 1995 and Guerrero brought their car home 12th in the "500".

Full-time IRL entrant

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...

 the open wheel racing world was rocked by "the split" and Pagan elected to stay with the Indy 500 and race in the Indy Racing League. Jack and his son, Allan, used the family's oil industry connections to obtain Pennzoil

Pennzoil

Pennzoil is an American oil company founded in Los Angeles, California in 1913. In 1955, it was acquired by Oil City, Pennsylvania company South Penn Oil, a former branch of Standard Oil. In 1963, South Penn Oil merged with Zapata Petroleum; the merged company took the Pennzoil name. During the...

 sponsorship to race in the 1996 Indianapolis 500

1996 Indianapolis 500

The 80th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 26, 1996. This was the first Indy 500 contested by the Indy Racing League, under the overall sanctioning umbrella of USAC. It was the third and final race of the 1996 IRL season. Buddy Lazier won the race, his...

 with Guerrero. Guerrero was one of the few veterans in the race and was one of the favorites to win on raceday and while he did not win he registered a respectable 5th place finish. The team also participated in the other two IRL races of the season and Guerrero finished tied for fourth in the short 1996 championship. The team launched a full-season attack on the championship for the 1996-1997 season

1996-1997 in IRL

The 1996-1997 Indy Racing League season was a result of the league abandoning the concept of ending each season with the Indianapolis 500. The 1996-97 season would ultimately comprise the events following the Indy 500 in 1996, and all events contested in the calendar year of 1997.The 1996-97 season...

 and the team selected the 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...

 engine to power their cars when the new cars came at the beginning of 1997. However, the Infiniti motors produced significantly less power than the 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...

 engines and the team switched engine manufacturers mid-season after poor results and an Indy 500 where Guerrero was unable to maintain a fast pace. By virtue of being one of only a handful of drivers to compete in all the races, Guerrero and the Pagan team finished 7th in the 1996-1997 championship.

Decline

Guerrero returned in 1998

1998 in IRL

The 1998 Pep Boys Indy Racing League season was one of relative stability compared to the previous two seasons. For the first time the season consisted of a single and complete spring, summer, and fall like all other forms of motorsport. 15 drivers completed the entire 11 race schedule, twice as...

. The team's sponsorship from Pennzoil had left for the new Panther Racing

Panther Racing

Panther Racing is an American open wheel auto racing team. It is one of the oldest continually operating teams in Indy Racing League LLC's IZOD IndyCar Series....

 founded by former Pagan crew chief John Barnes. Despite a lack of funding Guerrero ran respectably in the first four races of the season. That lack of funds brought Stevie Reeves

Stevie Reeves

Stevie Reeves born on May 16, 1967 in Speedway, Indiana is an American auto racing driver.After several seasons racing on the bullrings of Indiana, Reeves traveled nationally with the United States Automobile Club and wound up winning back-to-back USAC National Midget titles in 1992 for the Wilke...

 on board for the fifth race of the season. Reeves finished 10th, but prize money did not allow for the team to continue and it ceased operations for the rest of the season. The team returned in 1999

1999 in IRL

The 1999 Pep Boys Indy Racing League season was highly competitive and parity was the order of the year. Team Menard had a very good season with their driver Greg Ray capturing 3 race wins in a row and the series championship...

 with Jeff Ward

Jeff Ward (motocross)

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

 and minor sponsorship beginning with the Indy 500. Ward finished in Pagan Racing's best finish of second place. However, Ward had few other good finishes that season and finished 11th in points. Funding uncertainties returned at season's end and the team was again without sponsorship. It fielded an entry for Richie Hearn

Richie Hearn

Richie Hearn , is an American IndyCar racing driver.Hearn was born in Glendale, California. He ran in the Toyota Atlantic championship for two seasons, winning the title in 1995. In 1996, he began driving for John Della Penna in both the IRL and Champ Car ranks...

 in the 2000 Indianapolis 500

2000 Indianapolis 500

The 2000 Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 28, 2000.-Recap:Chip Ganassi Racing became the first regular CART series team to break ranks and compete at Indianapolis since the CART/IRL split in 1996, entering 1996 CART series champion Jimmy Vasser and reigning...

where Hearn was knocked out by an electrical problem. The race was the team's last as rising costs finally put an end to the small team from Texas.