USAC remained the sole governing body until 1979 when a group of disenchanted race team owners established theChampionship Auto Racing Teams (CART) series, which would later become the dominant American open-wheel series by 1982. Despite this however, USAC would still sanction the Indy 500 until 1997, and would hold races outside the Indy 500 under the USAC Gold Crown championship from the 1981–82 season until the 1983–84 season, after which the USAC Gold Crown would consist of only the Indy 500 from the 1984–85 season until the 1994–95 season when the USAC Gold Crown was discontinued following the formation of theIndy Racing League (IRL). USAC would sanction the IRL until they were removed from their position by the IRL following a scoring error at the1997 True Value 500, after which they would not sanction any American open-wheel races again. As a result the Indy 500 winner was also the USAC Gold Crown champion during those seasons.[4]
A disagreement between CART andIndianapolis Motor Speedway presidentTony George resulted in the establishment of the IRL in 1996 and the series rivalled CART before the latter went bankrupt in 2003 and was renamed theChamp Car World Series (CCWS) in 2004.[5][6] The CCWS and the IRL merged in February 2008 to unify American open-wheel car racing and the merged body has run the sport under theIndyCar Series name since then.[7][8]
The season consists of a series of races held variously onpermanent road courses,closed city streets andoval tracks, usually in the United States and in a few cases abroad.[5][9] The Drivers' Championship is presented to the most successful open-wheel driver over the course of the season through apoints system based on individual race results.[5][10] The Drivers' Championship is won when it is no longer mathematically possible for another competitor to overtake their points total regardless of the outcome of the remaining races, although is not officially awarded until the Victory Lap Celebration banquet that takes place after the season has ended.[11] The winning driver and team owner are presented with a replica of the sterling silverAstor Cup and the driver's name is laser-etched into three black granite bases that support the permanent trophy on display in theIndianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.[12]
As of 2025[update], 67 drivers from 11 different countries have won a national American open-wheel championship.[a][15] The first national American open-wheel champion wasBarney Oldfield in the1905 AAA Championship Car season, and the current national title holder isÁlex Palou in the2025 IndyCar Series.A. J. Foyt holds the record for the most Drivers' Championships, having won the title on seven occasions.Scott Dixon is second with six titles, andMario Andretti,Sébastien Bourdais,Dario Franchitti, andÁlex Palou are joint third with four titles each.[15] Bourdais also holds the record for the most consecutive Drivers' Championships with four CCWS championships won between the2004 and2007 seasons,[16] which is also the record for the most overall CART/CCWS titles.[17]Louis Meyer andTed Horn hold the record for the most AAA titles, having won the sanctioning body's championship three times. Foyt was the most successful competitor of the USAC era with seven series titles.[18] Dixon is the most successful driver in the IndyCar Series with six series championships. As of 2025,Nigel Mansell remains the only driver to simultaneously hold both the Formula 1 World Championship and CART/IndyCar Championship doing so in 1993.[19]
^In 1927, AAA Contest Board members Arthur Means and Val Haresnape retrospectively namedBert Dingley (1909),Ray Harroun (1910),Ralph Mulford (1911),Ralph DePalma (1912),Earl Cooper (1913), DePalma (1914), Cooper (1915), Cooper (1917), Mulford (1918), andHowdy Wilcox (1919) as AAA national champions. Means and Haresnape also attempted to retroactively add six events to the five-race 1920 season, and declared thatTommy Milton, instead ofGaston Chevrolet, was the 1920 AAA champion. In 1951, sportswriter Russ Caitlin deemedHarry Harkness (1902),Barney Oldfield (1903),George Heath (1904),Victor Hémery (1905),Joe Tracy (1906),Eddie Bald (1907), andLewis Strang (1908) as AAA national champions. Disagreeing with Means and Haresnape, Catlin namedGeorge Robertson instead of Dingley to have been the 1909 champion. Catlin is not believed to have been aware of Oldfield's official 1905 AAA national championship. Accredited historians and statisticians do not consider the changes made by Means, Haresnape, and Catlin to be official.[13][14]
^abCalkins and Sharp share the1996 Indy Racing League title as the series had no tiebreaker rule in effect at the time.[21]
^Montoya andDario Franchitti ended the1999 CART season with the same number of points, but Montoya was declared champion because he had won seven races to Franchitti's three.[22]
^Hornish and Wheldon ended the2006 IndyCar Series with the same number of points, but Hornish won the title by virtue of him having won four races to Wheldon's two.[23]
^Dixon and Montoya finished the2015 IndyCar Series with the same number of points with Dixon winning the title by virtue of achieving three victories to Montoya's two.[24]
Whitaker, Sigur E. (2015).The Indy Car Wars: The 30 Year Fight for Control of American Open-Wheel Racing. North Carolina: McFarland and Company.ISBN978-1-4766-1980-4.
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