Sports television channelESPN dropped CART coverage for the 2002 season.CBS andSpeed Channel took its place for two seasons.[1] This reflected a continued decline for the series in a year saw which saw theGerman 500 cancelled due to the fact the planned host venue for that round,Eurospeedway Lausitz was at that time suffering from financial problems,[2] as well asa controversial round at Surfers Paradise where two drivers (Adrián Fernández andToranosuke Takagi) were injured in a start crash and as well as there being some contentious decisions from race officials in relation to the running of that race particularly regarding its' conclusion.[3][4] In additionChip Ganassi Racing would withdraw from the CART series at the end of the season just asTeam Penske had done at the end of the season prior, with the Ganassi operation choosing to completely defect to theIRL from2003 onwards having run entries in concurrently in CART and the IRL during 2002.[5]Michael Andretti would also complete a buyout ofTeam Green with that team also defecting to the rival IRL series for 2003.[6] In a further financial blow to the series, freight companyFedEx which had been title sponsor of the CART series since the1998 season ended their title sponsorship deal with CART at the end of the year.[7] Engine manufacturers Honda and Toyota would also pull out of CART and move across to the IRL at the end of the season leaving Ford-Cosworth as the sole engine supplier for 2003 . Cosworth would remain the sole supplier for the series ( which be formally rebranded as theChamp Car World Series from2004 to2007) until the series ended following the reunification of American-open wheel racing in 2008.[8]
Bridgestone became the exclusive tire supplier for CART, replacingFirestone, an association that would continue until the final Champ Car season in 2007.[9] The 2002 season was the last to feature multiple engine manufacturers.
The biggest change to the team lineup in the 2002 CART season was the defection ofTeam Penske to the rivalIndy Racing League.[10] The departure of Team Penske, a CART stalwart from its earliest days, was an early sign of a major shift in the CART-IRL rivalry. Several other major CART powers would follow Penske to the IRL for the2003 season.Target Chip Ganassi Racing andMo Nunn Racing both set up separate IRL teams in 2002, but continued to compete in CART for the time being, though Mo Nunn downsized his team to a single car. They would be among the teams to leave CART for the IRL in 2003.Blair Racing also left CART for IRL.[11]Patrick Racing downsized their effort to a single car, whileForsythe Racing shut down their third car driven byBryan Herta in 2001 for lack of sponsorship.[12]
The fifth race at Laguna Seca was the last appearance forSigma Autosport, which, like PWR earlier in the season, found their sponsorship well run dry, leavingMax Papis without a ride.[21]
A run of disappointing performances and a two probation sanctions from CART Chief StewardWally Dallenbach Sr. led to the firing ofTownsend Bell fromPatrick Racing after the ninth round atCleveland. Oriol Servià drove the #20 car for the remainder of the season.[22]
Adrián Fernández fractured his hip in a crash in the tenth race atVancouver and sat out the following race atMid-Ohio. Max Papis substituted for him.[23]
Dale Coyne helped put together what was described as an "all-England" team named Team St. George for a one shot effort for the fifteenth race atRockingham, England.Darren Manning was chosen to be the driver. The team used Coyne's traditional #19 car.[24]
After clinching the season championship by winning the sixteenth race inMiamiCristiano da Matta ran with #1 on his car for the rest of the season.
Adrian Fernández was involved in a crash in the seventeenth race atSurfer's Paradise, Australia and suffered two thoracic fractures, which forced him to sit out the final two races of the season. Max Papis sat in for him again atFontana andLuis Díaz substituted atMexico City.[25][26]
The biggest rule change was the implementation of mandatory pit windows.
A maximum pit window was established; meaning each car go no further than a specified number of laps without pitting. As a result, there were a minimum number of pit stops per race.
To count as a mandatory stop, all 4 tires had to be changed. Adding fuel on a pit stop was officially optional to encourage teams to go off sequence with an early stop.
Failure to pit within the specified number of laps resulted in a drive-through penalty in addition to the mandatory stop.
The rule closing pit road when a full course caution flag was displayed was eliminated to prevent teams from missing their window due to a caution flag coming out.
All mandated pit stops must be completed before the white flag lap.
The goal of the rule was to eliminate fuel economy runs and allow drivers to run as hard as they could the entire run as they had all the fuel needed to do so. However, teams ended up changing their strategy to conserve fuel so they could release the car from their pit stops as soon as the tire changes were complete. This led to a series of incidents where cars were being released back on track before the tire changes were complete and loose wheels coming off cars once back on track. To deter this CART instituted a mid-season 1-lap penalty and $5,000 fine for any car losing a wheel after a pit stop in addition to the time lost recovering the car to remount the tire.
Traction control was formally legalized after CART officials determined they could not successfully enforce a ban.[28]
After several controversies with changing turbo boost in recent years, CART and its engine manufacturers agreed to a reduction of the boost to 34" to remain in place for the entire 2002 season. While technically a reduction by 2" from where engines ended in 2001, lap times and horsepower numbers were still on par and in most cases faster and higher than last year.
Road & Street course qualifying was changed. The race weekend would feature two qualifying sessions, one on Friday and one on Saturday. The fastest driver in each session received one championship point and was guaranteed a front-row start regardless of the results of the other session (the front row guarantee was added at Long Beach).
For Rounds 1-12, Each session was 60 minutes in length with 45 minutes of guaranteed green flag running. Teams could complete a maximum of 15 green flag laps per session, though causing a yellow/red flag would result in the loss of your fastest lap.
Starting at Montreal for the rest of the season, following numerous events where cars waited until the second half of the session to go out, CART officials changed the 60 minute session to be a 15 minute practice, followed by a 10 minute break, followed by 35 minutes of qualifying with 30 minutes of green-flag running guaranteed.
In the event of a late-race caution, CART officials were allowed to use the red flag to stop the race, clean up the crash, and attempt a green-flag finish.
Starting at the Mid-Ohio round, cars that spun off track into the gravel trap were allowed to be pushed back on track by the safety team and get back into the race as long as there was not other significant race-ending damage to the car. Previously a car stuck in a gravel trap would be ruled out of the event.
Following suit with other motorsports series in the aftermath of thedeath of Dale Earnhardt, theHANS Device became mandatory at all events, and all pit crew members were required to wear helmets.
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