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Eddie Cheever | |
|---|---|
 Cheever at the2009 Indianapolis 500 | |
| Born | Edward McKay Cheever Jr. (1958-01-10)January 10, 1958 (age 67) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |
| Children | 4, includingEddie III |
| Relatives |
|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  American |
| Active years | 1978,1980–1989 |
| Teams | Theodore,Hesketh,Osella,Tyrrell,Ligier,Renault,Alfa Romeo,Haas Lola,Arrows |
| Entries | 143 (132 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 9 |
| Careerpoints | 70 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1978 Argentine Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1989 Australian Grand Prix |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans career | |
| Years | 1980–1981,1986–1987 |
| Teams | Lancia,Martini,Jaguar |
| Best finish | 5th(1987) |
| Class wins | 0 |
Edward McKayCheever Jr. (born January 10, 1958) is an American formerracing driver andmotorsport executive, who competed inFormula One from1978 to1989,CART between1986 and1995,[a] andIndyCar between1996 and2006.[b] InAmerican open-wheel racing, Cheever won theIndianapolis 500 in1998 withTeam Cheever.
Cheever raced for almost thirty years inFormula One,sports cars,CART, and theIndy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 Formula One World Championship races and started 132,more than any other American, driving for nine different teams from 1978 through 1989. In 1996, he formed his own IRL team,Team Cheever, and won the1998 Indianapolis 500 as both owner and driver. The team later competed in sports cars.
His younger brotherRoss Cheever, nephewRichard Antinucci and sonEddie Cheever III also became racing drivers.
Though born inPhoenix, Arizona, Cheever lived inRome, Italy, as a child and attendedSt. George's British International School and laterThe New School of Rome. He was introduced to motorsports at age eight when his father took him to a sports car race inMonza. He soon began racinggo-karts and won both the Italian and European Karting Championships at the age of fifteen. He worked his way up through the levels of European Formula racing, teaming with fellow AmericanDanny Sullivan inFormula Three in 1975. He scored a significant win againstGunnar Nilsson andRupert Keegan at the end of 1975 and then driving forRon Dennis'Project Four team inFormula Two in 1976, 1977, and 1978, finishing runner-up toRené Arnoux in the 1977 championship. By the end of 1977, he was considered the most promising driver in the world outside F1,[citation needed] scoring wins in 1977 in F2 at Nurburgring and Rouen.
Cheever first enteredFormula One in1978, shortly after his twentieth birthday. After failing to qualify for the first two races of the year inArgentina andBrazil in aTheodore, he made the grid inSouth Africa in aHesketh, but retired early. He then concentrated on Formula Two for the rest of 1978 and 1979.
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For the 1979 F2 championship, Cheever left Project Four and joined the ItalianOsella team, taking three wins and fourth overall in their BMW-powered FA2. In1980 Osella moved up to Formula One, Cheever piloting the team's Cosworth-powered FA1. However, the car was unreliable and Cheever managed just one finish all year, twelfth place at the team's home race inItaly. Switching teams repeatedly as he tried to climb his way up the grid, Cheever had five points-scoring finishes for theTyrrell team in1981, and three podiums forLigierthe following year, including a second-place at the1982 Detroit Grand Prix.[1]
The1983 season proved to be Cheever's high point in Formula One. He signed with the factoryEquipe Renault team alongsideFrenchmanAlain Prost, both of whom were among the year's Championship favorites. Cheever earned four more podiums and 22 Championship points driving theRenault RE30C for the first two races before driving its much better replacement, theRE40, for the remainder of the season. But the team's disappointment after losing both the Drivers' (Prost) and Constructors' titles late in the season brought about the replacement of both Cheever and Prost. His best finish for Renault was second in theCanadian Grand Prix at theCircuit Gilles Villeneuve inMontreal, while earlier in the season he achieved his highest career qualifying position when he was second to teammate Prost at theFrench Grand Prix at thePaul Ricard Circuit. Unconfirmed rumors had Renault signing Cheever as the French manufacturer was looking to sell more cars in North America, and having an American driver in the factory-backed Formula One team would help that cause (there were three F1 races in North America in 1983 –Long Beach,Detroit and Canada).
In six more seasons, he never drove another truly competitive F1 car. After leaving Renault, Cheever had two unsuccessful seasons withAlfa Romeo as a teammate to ItalianRiccardo Patrese. The thirsty and underpowered 890TV8 turbo engine used in the Alfas generally saw results few and far between, though it was generally believed Cheever outperformed his teammate despite failing to qualify for the1984 Monaco Grand Prix. Patrese, though, scored the only podium finish for the team in those two years when he finished third in the1984 Italian Grand Prix. Cheever had been third with six laps remaining but his Alfa ran out of fuel, handing the place to Patrese (the team had set Cheever's 890T engine for speed while setting Patrese for an economy run in the hope of a good finish).1985 was not helped by the team's car, theAlfa Romeo 185T, which proved to be extremely uncompetitive, forcing the team to upgrade its1984 car, the184T to 1985 specifications and use it for the last half of the season, though the old car did not improve results despite proving slightly faster as the fuel issue remained. Late in the 1985 season, Alfa announced they were pulling out of F1 at the end of the year, leaving Cheever without an F1 drive, while Patrese went back toBrabham in place ofNelson Piquet, who was moving toWilliams.
While racing in theWorld Sportscar Championship forTom Walkinshaw Racing'sJaguar team, Cheever raced in only one F1 Grand Prix in1986. This was for the American owned and sponsoredHaas Lola team atDetroit, as a replacement for the injuredPatrick Tambay. Cheever actually qualified the unfamiliarLola THL2 with its turbochargedFordV6 engine in tenth position. Regular team driver,1980 World ChampionAlan Jones, could only qualify his car 21st. Both Lolas retired with steering damage in the race, Jones on lap 33, Cheever 4 laps later. Cheever was only the third choice to replace Tambay for the race. Team ownerCarl Haas had originally asked the lead driver in hisCART team,1978 World ChampionMario Andretti to drive. Mario declined however but recommended his sonMichael as a replacement. However, when Michael was unable to obtain aFIASuperlicence for the race, Haas turned to the experienced Cheever, who quickly agreed to an F1 comeback.
For1987, he was signed byArrows team bossJackie Oliver to partner British driverDerek Warwick (Cheever's appointment coincided with the U.S.-basedUSF&G financial group becoming the team's major sponsor). Cheever and Warwick (who had been teammates at TWR the previous year) were evenly matched and would have many on-track battles throughout 1987 and1988. He secured third place at the1988 Italian Grand Prix atMonza; at one stage, he was almost disqualified when hisArrows A10B's 150-liter fuel tank was found to actually contain 151 liters. Luckily, further examination revealed the tank size to be 149 liters and his third-place stood. The podium cost him a new pair ofsunglasses for the chief mechanic. Monza, won by theFerrari ofGerhard Berger, was the only time theMcLaren-Hondas of Alain Prost and 1988 World ChampionAyrton Senna did not win a race in 1988. Cheever's third place in the 1988 Italian Grand Prix was also the final podium for the turbochargedI4BMW M12 engine (badged as "Megatron" in 1987 and 1988). At the time, it was the oldest turbo engine in use in Formula One, having been first used by the Brabham team in 1982.
His final podium finish came at the1989 United States Grand Prix in his birthplace ofPhoenix, where he was involved in a race-long battle with theWilliams-Renault of former Alfa Romeo teammate Riccardo Patrese for second place, but then had to give way at the later stages of the race when hisbrakes started to fade (he claimed that one of his front brakes had actually stopped working). Cheever's last race in Formula One was at the very wet1989 Australian Grand Prix inAdelaide. During the last seconds of qualifying, he got out of shape coming out of the Fosters Hairpin onto the pit straight and clouted the wall hard with hisArrows A11-Ford, destroying the rear of the car. In the race he was the last to retire, spinning off on lap 42 after driving for many laps with another car's front wing lodged in his Arrows' sidepod.
During hisfinal season in Formula One, Cheever remained competitive (when he finished, his average finishing place was seventh), but he became increasingly bemused by his inability to qualify well (his average qualifying position was 23rd, compared to Warwick's fourteenth). His best qualifying position for the season with sixteenth in bothCanada andHungary, and he even failed to qualify for theBritish Grand Prix atSilverstone and theItalian Grand Prix atMonza, where he had finished third the previous year.
In all, he participated in 143 Grands Prix, achieved nine podiums, and scored a total of seventy championship points. His best year was 1983, when he finished seventh in the championship, scored three podium finishes and one front row start for Renault.
| Eddie Cheever | |
|---|---|
| CART World Series | |
| Years active | 1986,1990–1995 |
| Teams | Arciero Racing Chip Ganassi Racing Team Menard King Racing Turley Motorsports A. J. Foyt Enterprises |
| Starts | 82 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Best finish | 9th in1990,1991 |
| Awards | |
| 1990 | CART Rookie of the Year[2] Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year |
From 1986 to 1988, while still driving in Formula One, Cheever won tensports car races forJaguar. In1990 he moved to theUS to drive forChip Ganassi Racing in theCART series. Inhis first attempt at theIndianapolis 500, he finished eighth and was named the race'sRookie of the Year, as well asCART's Rookie of the Year.[2] In1992, he qualified second forthe race and finished fourth. In total, he scored four podium finishes in the series but never won. Driving forA. J. Foyt'steam, Cheever came closest to victory atNazareth in1995: he was leadingthe race on the last lap when he ran out of fuel. In theIndy 500, Cheever was involved in a nasty first lap crash withStan Fox,Carlos Guerrero andLyn St. James. Fox was severely injured in the crash.
| Eddie Cheever | |
|---|---|
| Indy Racing LeagueIndyCar Series | |
| Years active | 1996–2002,2006 |
| Teams | Team Menard Cheever Racing |
| Starts | 77 |
| Wins | 5 |
| Poles | 1 |
| Best finish | 3rd in1996–1997,2000 |
| Championship titles | |
| 1998 | Indianapolis 500 Winner |
In1996 theIndy Racing League began, and Cheever moved there from CART. Cheever ran forTeam Menard for the three-race series, and at the1996 Indianapolis 500, he set thefastest race lap to date at 236.103 mph (379.971 km/h). Cheever then set uphis own team and had his first race as a driver/owner atNew Hampshire later that year in August, which was the first race ofthe next season.
In1998, all the pieces came together for Cheever when he took the biggest win of his career. He started from seventeenth position and led 76 of two-hundred laps to win the82nd Indianapolis 500, despite sliding in the first turn of the race's first lap, helping bring out the race's first caution period. He was the first owner/driver to win the race sinceA. J. Foyt (one of Cheever's former bosses) in1977.
Cheever's IRL team, active until July 2006, ran cars forAlex Barron andPatrick Carpentier in2005. Having hung up his helmet in2002, except for occasional instances such as the 200624 Hours of Daytona where he competed in the first race with his newGrand-Am series team, Cheever announced on February 21, 2006, he would come out of retirement to run his own car in the IRL's first four races, including theIndianapolis 500. He shut his team down after the eighth race ofthe season due to lack of sponsorship. The team continued to compete in the Grand-AmRolex Sports Car Series.
Cheever providedtelevision commentary onABC for the IndyCar Series and theIndianapolis 500 from 2008 to 2018 withAllen Bestwick andScott Goodyear, a former three-time runner-up in the Indy 500 who also drove for Team Cheever in2001.
In 2005 Cheever competed in theGP Masters series which is open to former Formula One drivers over the age of 45. In the championship's first-ever event atKyalami International Raceway inSouth Africa, Cheever finished in eighth position. Cheever finished fourth in the secondGP Masters race on April 29, 2006, at theLosail International Circuit inQatar.
In the third GP Masters race on August 13, 2006, at theSilverstone Circuit in England, he took the victory under wet track conditions.
Cheever shares a daughter and a son, driverEddie Cheever III, with ex-wife Rita Cheever. He has a son from his previous relationship with Heather Handley. In 2013, Cheever married his wife, Dianna, and their daughter was born later that same year.[citation needed]
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Project Four Racing | March 752 | Lancia-Ferrari | HOC DNQ | 9th | 10 | ||||||||||||
| Hart 420R | THR 4 | VLL DSQ | SAL Ret | PAU Ret | HOC Ret | ROU Ret | MUG | EST 5 | ||||||||||
| March 762 | PER 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Ralt RT1 | NOG 8 | HOC 15 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1977 | Project Four Racing | Ralt RT1 | BMW | SIL 7 | THR 2 | HOC Ret | NÜR 1 | VLL 3 | PAU Ret | MUG 17 | ROU 1 | NOG 5 | PER Ret | MIS 2 | EST 3 | DON | 2nd | 40 |
| 1978 | Project Four Racing | March 782 | BMW | THR 4 | HOC Ret | NÜR 3 | PAU 5 | MUG 7 | VLL Ret | ROU 2 | DON Ret | NOG 9 | PER 2 | MIS 6 | HOC Ret | 4th | 22 | |
| 1979 | Osella Squadra Corse | OsellaFA2/79 | BMW | SIL 1 | HOC 5 | THR Ret | NÜR 8 | VLL Ret | MUG Ret | PAU 1 | HOC Ret | ZAN 1 | PER 5 | MIS 6 | DON 7 | 4th | 32 | |
(key)
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 |  Jolly Club -Lancia Corse | Carlo Facetti Martino Finotto | Lancia Beta Monte Carlo | Gr.5 | 272 | 19th* | 2nd* |
| 1981 | Martini Racing | Michele AlboretoCarlo Facetti | Lancia Beta Monte Carlo | Gr.5 | 322 | 8th | 2nd |
| 1986 |  Silk CutJaguarTom Walkinshaw Racing | Derek Warwick Jean-Louis Schlesser | Jaguar XJR-6 | C1 | 239 | DNF | DNF |
| 1987 | Silk CutJaguarTom Walkinshaw Racing |  Raul Boesel Jan Lammers | Jaguar XJR-8LM | C1 | 325 | 5th | 5th |
* Cheever was listed as DNS
(key)
| Year | Team | No. | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Rank | Points | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Arciero Racing | 27 | March 86C | FordCosworth DFX | PHX | LBH | INDY | MIL | POR | MEA | CLE | TOR | MIS | POC | MDO | SAN | MIS2 | ROA | LS | PHX2 | MIA 27 | NC | 0 | [3] |
| 1990 | Chip Ganassi Racing | 15 | Penske PC-18 | Chevrolet265A | PHX 7 | LBH 13 | INDY 8 | MIL 11 | DET 3 | POR 19 | CLE 16 | MEA 21 | TOR 3 | MIS 4 | DEN 20 | VAN 14 | MDO 4 | ROA 9 | NAZ 6 | LS 10 | 9th | 80 | [4] | |
| 1991 | Chip Ganassi Racing | 8 | Lola T91/00 | Chevrolet265A | SRF 15 | LBH 3 | PHX 8 | INDY 31 | MIL 7 | DET 12 | POR 9 | CLE 8 | MEA 5 | TOR 17 | MIS 7 | DEN 4 | VAN 12 | MDO 8 | ROA 7 | NAZ 6 | LS 6 | 9th | 91 | [5] |
| 1992 | Chip Ganassi Racing | 9 | Lola T91/00 | Ford XB | SRF 8 | 10th | 80 | [6] | ||||||||||||||||
| Lola T92/00 | PHX 2 | LBH 22 | INDY 4 | DET 11 | POR 4 | MIL 5 | NHA 16 | TOR 9 | MIS 20 | CLE 11 | ROA 23 | VAN 16 | MDO 12 | NAZ 9 | LS 4 | |||||||||
| 1993 | Turley | 69 | Penske PC-21 | Chevrolet265B | SRF 7 | PHX 24 | LBH 9 | DET 21 | POR | CLE | TOR | MIS | NHA | 17th | 21 | [7] | ||||||||
| Team Menard | 59 | Lola T92/00 | BuickV6(t/c) | INDY 16 | MIL | |||||||||||||||||||
| Dick Simon Racing | 90 | Lola T93/00 | Ford XB | ROA 6 | VAN | |||||||||||||||||||
| King Racing | 40 | Chevrolet265C | MDO 28 | NAZ 10 | LS 14 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1994 | Team Menard | 27 | Lola T93/00 | MenardV6(t/c) | SRF | PHX | LBH | INDY 8 | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | TOR | 27th | 5 | [8] | ||||||||
| A. J. Foyt Enterprises | 14 | Lola T94/00 | Ford XB | MIS 21 | MDO 17 | NHA 21 | VAN 17 | ROA 27 | NAZ 24 | LS 25 | ||||||||||||||
| 1995 | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Lola T95/00 | Ford XB | MIA 14 | SRF 7 | PHX 14 | LBH 4 | NAZ 5 | INDY 31 | DET 25 | POR 25 | ROA 17 | TOR 11 | CLE 22 | MIS 19 | MDO 10 | NHA 17 | VAN | LS | 18th | 33 | [9] | ||
| Lola T94/00 | MIL 26 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year | Team | No. | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Rank | Points | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Team Menard | 3 | Lola T95/00 | MenardV6(t/c) | WDW 10 | PHX Wth | INDY 11 | 16th | 147 | [10] | ||||||||||||
| 1996–97 | Team Cheever | 51 | NHM 15 | LVS 25 | 3rd | 230 | [11] | |||||||||||||||
| G-Force | Oldsmobile | WDW 1 | PHX 12 | INDY 23 | TXS 6 | PPIR 4 | CLT 6 | NH2 9 | LV2 21 | |||||||||||||
| 1998 | Dallara | WDW 24 | PHX 10 | INDY 1 | TXS 26 | NHM 9 | DOV 16 | CLT 20 | PPIR 8 | ATL 3 | TX2 25 | LVS 5 | 9th | 222 | [12] | |||||||
| 1999 | WDW 1 | PHX 17 | 7th | 222 | [13] | |||||||||||||||||
| Infiniti | CLT C1 | INDY 18 | TXS 16 | PPIR 4 | ATL 6 | DOV 21 | PPI2 11 | LVS 17 | TX2 4 | |||||||||||||
| 2000 | Riley & Scott | WDW 3 | PHX 10 | 3rd | 257 | [14] | ||||||||||||||||
| Dallara | LVS 11 | INDY 5 | TXS 9 | PPIR 1 | ATL 21 | KTY 4 | TX2 2 | |||||||||||||||
| 2001 | PHX 19 | HMS 9 | ATL 24 | INDY 26 | TXS 12 | PPIR 6 | RIR 13 | KAN 1 | NSH 15 | KTY 21 | STL 4 | CHI 3 | TX2 18 | 8th | 261 | [15] | ||||||
| 2002 | Red BullCheever Racing | HMS 25 | PHX 15 | FON 20 | NZR 7 | INDY 5 | TXS 19 | PPIR 8 | RIR 14 | KAN 16 | NSH 6 | MIS 22 | KTY 11 | STL 10 | CHI 5 | TX2 8 | 10th | 280 | [16] | |||
| 2006 | Cheever Racing | Honda | HMS 10 | STP 11 | MOT | INDY 13 | WGL 17 | TXS 17 | RIR 14 | KAN 14 | NSH | MIL | MIS | KTY | SNM | CHI | 19th | 114 | [17] | |||
| Year | Team | Wins | Points | Championship Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Arciero Racing | 0 | 0 | Unclassified |
| 1990 | Chip Ganassi Racing | 0 | 80 | 9th |
| 1991 | Chip Ganassi Racing | 0 | 91 | 9th |
| 1992 | Chip Ganassi Racing | 0 | 80 | 10th |
| 1993 | Turley/Menard/Simon/King | 0 | 21 | 17th |
| 1994 | Menard/Foyt | 0 | 5 | 27th |
| 1995 | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | 0 | 33 | 18th |
Best race finish: 2nd (Phoenix – 1992), best championship result: 9th
| Year | Team | Wins | Poles | Points | Championship Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Team Menard | 0 | 0 | 49 | 16th |
| 1996–1997 | Team Cheever | 1 | 0 | 230 | 3rd |
| 1998 | Team Cheever | 1 | 0 | 222 | 9th |
| 1999 | Team Cheever | 1 | 0 | 222 | 7th |
| 2000 | Team Cheever | 1 | 0 | 257 | 3rd |
| 2001 | Team Cheever | 1 | 0 | 261 | 8th |
| 2002 | Team Cheever | 0 | 1 | 280 | 10th |
| 2006 | Cheever Racing | 0 | 0 | 114 | 19th |
| Wins | Poles | Best Championship Finish | Career Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 1 | 3rd (1996–1997, 2000) | 1635 |
(key) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)
| International Race of Champions results | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Pos. | Points | Ref |
| 1999 | Pontiac | DAY 11 | TAL 8 | MCH 12 | IND 3 | 7th | 31 | [18] |
| 2000 | DAY 11 | TAL 10 | MCH 1 | IND 7 | 5th | 46 | [19] | |
| 2001 | DAY 3 | TAL 5 | MCH 4 | IND 7 | 4th | 47 | [20] | |
(key) Races inbold indicate pole position, races initalics indicate fastest lap.
| Year | Team | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Team Altech | Delta Motorsport GPM | Nicholson McLaren 3.5V8 | RSA 8 | ||||
| 2006 | Team Altech | Delta Motorsport GPM | Nicholson McLaren 3.5V8 | QAT 4 | ITA C | |||
| Team GPM | GBR 1 | MAL C | RSA C | |||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
