The2008 Champ Car World Series season was originally have been the 5th season of theChamp Car World Series and 30th season of the series dating back to the 1979 formation ofChampionship Auto Racing Teams (CART). It was scheduled to begin on April 20, 2008, and end on November 9. However the planned season would never take place to due to the reunification of American open-wheel racing in 2008.
The season was canceled on February 22, 2008, because of the buyout of Champ Car by the rivalIndyCar Series, resulting in the unification ofAmerican open-wheel racing.[1] As per the conditions of the agreement between series, Champ Car was dissolved as an entity, with IndyCar acquiring the historical records of the series as part of the "non-tangible and tangible assets of Champ Car".[2][3] Some of the teams, drivers and events went on to compete in the unified series, and the remnants of the former Champ Car series filed for bankruptcy.[4] TheLong Beach round would eventually go head following unification being run under Champ Car rules with points scored towards the2008 IndyCar Series standings ( though only for drivers who had competed or intended to compete in other Indycar events in 2008) with the race featuring most of the teams who competed in the 2007 Champ Car World Series season and thePanoz DP01 chassis complete with theirCosworth XFE turbocharged V8 engines, thus serving as a farewell to the Champ Car World Series as whole. Race victory in the "Champ Car finale" held on the 20th April 2008 was taken byWill Power.[5]
The Champ Car off-season entered 2008 with a lot of unknowns and very few announcements in regards to driver lineups. In the wake of four-time series championSébastien Bourdais leaving the series to drive inFormula 1, the future was uncertain for most of the field's drivers and teams.Justin Wilson, out of a seat afterRuSPORT closed its doors, was eventually signed byNewman/Haas/Lanigan Racing to replace Bourdais, and was considered as the early favourite for the title.[6]
In late January, the yearly topic on a potential re-unification between Champ Car and theIndyCar Series was reignited, as it emerged that the Indy Racing League's CEOTony George had offered free cars and free engines to the Champ Car teams, as well as the addition of five Champ Car races to the IndyCar schedule, during talks held in the fall.[7] Shortly after, George claimed that the window of opportunity for 2008 had passed, while Champ Car owners said that a formal offer was never made.[8]
On January 17, the television schedule for the 2008 season was announced, withESPN as the sole partner. The deal called for four races to be broadcast onABC on same-day tape delay with a one-hour packaged format, and four other live broadcasts on ESPN. The remaining six races were scheduled to be aired onESPN2 on a same-day tape basis, except for the live broadcast of theMexico season finale.[9]
Only six drivers had been formally assigned at the time of the first Open Test atSebring on February 2–4, with just 14 drivers taking part afterTeam Australia decided not to participate in it. Just a few days before being confirmed byConquest Racing, rookieFranck Perera set the best time of the week, whileFranck Montagny impressed in his testing outing withForsythe/Pettit Racing by leading the short field in the first two days of testing. The next Open Test was due to be held inLaguna Seca on March 13–14.[10]
The wheels of unification were set in motion again on February 7, asRobin Miller reported that a deal had finally been reached between series on similar terms to George's previous offer.[11] Shortly after, Tony George travelled to Japan, in an attempt to convinceHonda execs to move the date of the2008 Indy Japan 300, which had been a key point of contention in merger talks as it fell of the same April 20 date as the2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.[12] This approach, however, was unsuccessful due to the different availability of dates for the different parties involved, includingKansas Speedway. Champ Car owners indicated that media leaks had led to a standstill in the negotiations, but rumblings over the series' impending bankruptcy made the rounds.[13][14]
Unification agreement between IndyCar and Champ Car
After a few days of negotiations amid new reports on a done deal,[15] the IndyCar Series and the Champ Car World Series announced a deal to unify the two series on February 22, 2008.[16] The new unified series was centered around IndyCar Series' existing schedule, car and engine/tires suppliers, signifying the end of the Champ Car World Series as a stand-alone series. It was also the end for thePanoz DP01 after just one year of service, and forCosworth as an engine supplier in Indy car racing.
Under the offer of free cars and engines, six of the nine teams scheduled to compete in Champ Car were able to continue operations in the IndyCar Series, withKV Racing'sOriol Servià as the highest finisher in the standings in ninth place. WhileForsythe/Pettit Racing[17] andRocketsports Racing[18] declined to join the new unified series,Walker Racing announced it had been unable to gather enough sponsorship to make the switch.[19] The decision was eventually revealed to be the result of an acrimonious end of the partnership withTeam Australia, who then paired up withKV Racing.[20][21] By 2017, all teams had folded with the exception ofDale Coyne Racing.
The date conflict between theIndy Japan 300 and theGrand Prix of Long Beach was dealt with a salomonic resolution, as both races would be run as scheduled. The Long Beach race was contested as a 'Champ Car finale' with teams that had been part of Champ Car in 2007, running under the Champ Car branding and using the same rules and vehicles as the previous season, but still receiving points towards IndyCar's standings.[22] The race was won byWill Power, and the event fully became part of the IndyCar schedule in 2009.
TheGrand Prix of Edmonton was added to the IndyCar Series schedule as a regular round, while theGold Coast Indy 300 was held as a non-championship race after the season finale before being discontinued.[1] TheToronto event was reinstated for 2009, but all other ten events on the aborted Champ Car schedule were not retained by the unified series. The races atHouston (2013),Road America (2016),Portland (2018), andLaguna Seca (2019), which was set to return to the schedule after a four-year absence, were eventually revived by IndyCar, but the events atCleveland,Mont-Tremblant, and theAutódromo Hermanos Rodríguez have not been held anymore as of 2025, as well as the European events atZolder,Assen and the aborted debut atJerez.
The following teams were expected to compete for the 2008Champ Car season. All teams would have used aCosworth 2.65-litreturbochargedV8 engine, aPanozDP01 chassis, andBridgestone tires. The driver line-up represents the drivers that had been confirmed as of February 22, 2008, plus additional drivers that had taken part in the Sebring Test earlier in the month.
On January 7, 2008,Paul Tracy confirmed he would remain inForsythe/Pettit Racing after discussions over the status of his 5-year deal.[24][36] Media reports had surfaced in December 2007 about Gerry Forsythe looking to renegotiate of terminate the deal.[37]
On January 26, 2008,Pacific Coast Motorsports confirmedAlex Figge, son of team founder Tom Figge, would continue to drive the #29 car after finishing 17th in his debut season.[32]
On November 5, 2007,RuSPORT announced that the team would be closed down at the end of the season after a four-year tenure in the series, leaving driverJustin Wilson without a ride. The team had recently dissolved its RSPORTS partnership withRocketsports Racing.[38] The decision was prompted by the loss of their primary sponsor, who lost confidence in the team after the departure of founder Paul Russo.[39] Shortly after, on November 26, 2007, team owner Dan Pettit announced RuSPORT would "merger" withForsythe Championship Racing, which would run as Forsythe/Pettit Racing for the 2008 season.[40]
Team Australia elected to miss pre-season testing at Sebring without having made any driver-related announcement for the 2008 season. Team ownerDerrick Walker declared he was considering moving the team to theIndyCar Series, due to rumours over Champ Car's potential bankruptcy and the talks between both series over the eventual merger.[28]
The 2008 Champ Car schedule was announced on November 5, 2007. For the second year, all Champ Car races were going to be run onroad courses andstreet circuits.
.svg){kind=logo}
Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing
Justin Wilson
Paul Tracy
TBA
Franck Montagny
E. J. Viso
Team Australia
Enrique Bernoldi
Oriol Servià
David Martínez
