Roth Racing
Encyclopedia
Marty Roth
Marty Roth is a former Canadian race car driver who most recently competed in the IndyCar Series where he owned his own team, Roth Racing....
. It competed 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...
.
2004-2005
The team was founded in 20042004 in IPS
The 2004 Menards IRL Infiniti Pro Series Season was the series' third. It consisted of 12 races and the champion was Thiago Medeiros. All teams used Dallara chassis and Infiniti engines.-Calendar:Note:...
when Marty Roth purchased the 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...
equipment of 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....
and a new 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...
IndyCar chassis and competed in three Pro Series events and 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...
with himself doing the driving. The team ran a full Pro Series schedule with Roth finishing 8th in points in 2005
2005 in IPS
The 2005 Menards IRL Infiniti Pro Series Season was the series' fourth. It consisted of 14 races and the champion was Wade Cunningham. It was the first IPS season to include road course races. All teams used Dallara chassis and Infiniti engines....
as well as the Indy 500 in conjunction with PDM Racing
PDM Racing
PDM Racing is a racing team in the Indy Racing League and USAC Silver Crown series owned by Paul Diatlovich. Almost always a low budget team and affectionately dubbed "Poor Dumb Mechanics" by one of its former owners, it is known to make the most out of mediocre equipment...
where Roth provided his chassis and funding and PDM provided their 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...
engine lease and technical expertise.
2006
Roth sold his Pro Series equipment following the St. Petersburg race in April 2006 to focus on IndyCars and specifically his attempt to qualify for the 2006 Indianapolis 5002006 Indianapolis 500
The 90th Indianapolis 500 was held on Sunday, May 28, 2006. Sam Hornish, Jr. won the race by passing rookie Marco Andretti on the final straightaway, about 450 feet from the finish line...
. However, the team never managed to hit on a comfortable set-up for the race car and Roth crashed on bump day trying to find the speed necessary to bump PDM Racing rookie Thiago Medeiros from the field. The team then regrouped and participated in several tests on intermediate and large ovals and returned to the series at Michigan International Speedway
Michigan International Speedway
Michigan International Speedway is a two-mile moderate-banked D-shaped superspeedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than in Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is sometimes known as a "sister track" to Texas...
in July and ran at Kentucky and Chicagoland
Chicagoland Speedway
Chicagoland Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, USA, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and currently hosts NASCAR racing including the opening event in the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup. Until 2011, the speedway also hosted the IZOD IndyCar Series, recording...
to close out the season. Sponsored by Barabco, Roth managed to finish all three of the races he competed in though his best finish was eighteenth. Roth ended up twenty second in points just behind P. J. Chesson.
2007
The team returned in 2007 to race on specific ovals and ran at Homestead and Kansas sponsored by Fountain Powerboats. Handling problems forced him to withdraw early from both races. Roth Racing returned to Indianapolis but wrecked the car on the 148th lap. Shortly after Indy, the team decided to participate in the IRL's new TEAM program to race full time. Roth then decided to purchase Sam Schmidt MotorsportsSam Schmidt Motorsports
Sam Schmidt Motorsports is an auto racing team in the IndyCar IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights Series owned by quadriplegic former driver Sam Schmidt....
' IndyCar equipment and move into a larger shop in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
with the goal of expanding to a two-car operation. The team returned to the series in the 2007 finale at Chicagoland Speedway
Chicagoland Speedway
Chicagoland Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, USA, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and currently hosts NASCAR racing including the opening event in the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup. Until 2011, the speedway also hosted the IZOD IndyCar Series, recording...
with the second car driven by P. J. Chesson
P. J. Chesson
Peter Lawrence Chesson, Jr is an American race car driver who most recently competed in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series.-Career:...
and both cars finished the race, although several laps down. The team was sponsored by Dussault Apparel's Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
"Moneybag" clothing line.
2008
The team announced on November 26, 2007 that they had signed Jay HowardJay 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...
to drive their second car for the 2008 IndyCar Series season
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....
and that Marty Roth would compete full-time in 2008 Sponsored by Cirrus Aircraft. Roth qualified well at Homestead starting eighth but Howard crashed while qualifying. The team began to struggle with finding sponsors after a three race deal with Cirrus Aircraft ran out. Lids
Hat World
Hat World Inc. is an American retailer specializing in athletic headwear. It primarily operates under the LIDS and Hat World brands with stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada. The majority of the stores operate in shopping malls and factory outlet centers. The company was founded in 1995 and...
and 1-800-Las Vegas sponsored the 25 and 24 cars at Indy but the team was without sponsors until Men's Wearhouse
Men's Wearhouse
Men's Wearhouse is a men's dress apparel retailer in the United States. The company is based in the Westchase area of Houston, Texas, and it is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange...
came aboard at Infineon. The team engineer David Cripps left after the Kansas race and was replaced by Vision Racing
Vision Racing
Vision Racing was a racing team in the Indy Racing League founded in 2005 when Tony George purchased the assets of the defunct Kelley Racing and hired his stepson Ed Carpenter to be the driver. The team has previously raced in the Izod IndyCar Series, Firestone Indy Lights and the Grand-Am Sports...
's Larry Curry who left the team after Watkins Glen. On the morning of Pole Day Roth hired veteran John Andretti
John Andretti
John Andretti is an American race car driver. He has won in CART, IMSA GTP, Rolex Sports Car Series and NASCAR. He was the last NASCAR driver to win a Cup race for the famous Petty Enterprises team.-Andretti family:...
to drive the team's #24 car replacing Jay Howard and he quickly posted the team's highest speeds of the month. Team president Margaret Roth confirmed that Howard will return after the Indy 500. However, on May 30 it was announced that Andretti would continue in the #24 car in the Milwaukee Mile
Milwaukee Mile
The Milwaukee Mile is a -long oval race track in West Allis, Wisconsin that seats about 40,000 spectators. It operated as a dirt track until 1953. The track was paved in 1954....
and Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas....
races. Andretti also stayed to drive drive at Iowa and Richmond. Due to lack of sponsorship the team ran one car and the team only fielded Jay Howard in the 24 car at Watkins Glen. In Nashville Roth drove the 24 car and the #25 car did not make an appearance. Roth drove the #25 car in the majority of the season's remaining races. Following being informed that his league license would not be renewed in 2009, Roth placed the team up for sale in October 2008..
It was rumored that former Champ Car World Series driver Nelson Philippe
Nelson Philippe
-Early career:Philippe raced go-karts from 1998-2002. In 2003, he raced in the Barber Dodge Pro Series, finishing the season with one podium, and four top five finishes....
, brother Richard Philippe
Richard Philippe
Richard Philippe is a French racecar driver residing in Miami, Florida, and younger brother of Nelson Philippe....
and their family had bought the team's equipment and race shop and would continue the team as Team France. but this did not come to fruition.
2009
Roth Racing entered two cars in the 2009 Indianapolis 5002009 Indianapolis 500
The 93rd Indianapolis 500 was held on Sunday May 24, 2009, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It was the 14th Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and the premier event of the 2009 IndyCar Series season....
, number 25 and 52. Neither car actually appeared at the track, although Roth Racing banners had been placed above the garages.
In August 2009, the teams' race equipment was sold to the new FAZZT Race Team
FAZZT Race Team
FAZZT Race Team was an auto racing team started by Montreal entrepreneur Andre Azzi, race car driver Alex Tagliani, and former Kelley Racing co-owner Jim Freudenberg ....
.