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Michael Lanigan (born September 1, 1950 inVinita, Oklahoma) is an entrepreneur andIndyCar Series team owner. He won the2007Champ Car championship withSébastien Bourdais and the2020 Indianapolis 500 withTakuma Sato.
In 1973, Lanigan founded a division of his father's company,Mi-Jack Construction Equipment, in Indianapolis. He returned to his hometown ofChicago, Illinois in 1989 to become the company's president. Mi-Jack produces rubber-tiregantry cranes, and in 1992, began sponsoring cars inCART and the Indianapolis 500.[1] In 1993, Lanigan co-foundedWalter Payton Power Equipment, a crane and heavy equipment distributor.[2] He currently leads the Lanco Group, a conglomerate involved in cranes, industrial equipment, entertainment, motorsport interests, and a joint venture that operates thePanama Canal Railway.
Lanigan expanded into team ownership in 2001 by partnering withÉric Bachelart to co-ownConquest Racing, which competed in the IndyCar Series in 2001 and 2002, and in the Champ Car World Series from 2003 to 2006. After the 2007 season, he sold his interest in Conquest and joinedNewman/Haas Racing, which was renamed Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. The team transitioned to the IndyCar Series following the unification of Champ Car and IndyCar in 2008. In 2007, Lanigan also held partial ownership ofCarl A. Haas Motorsports inNASCAR.[3] He left Newman/Haas in 2010[citation needed] and, in December of that year, joined Rahal Letterman Racing, which was subsequently renamedRahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. The team competes in both IndyCar and theWeatherTech SportsCar Championship.[4]
Lanigan took over promoting Champ Car's Grand Prix of Houston in 2006 and the Grand Prix of Cleveland in 2007, though neither survived the merger to appear on the IndyCar Series schedule.[3]
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