- Hemelgarn Racing
Hemelgarn Racing is a racing team in the
Indy Racing League owned byRon Hemelgarn . The team won the1996 Indianapolis 500 and 2000 Series Championship with driverBuddy Lazier . Hemelgarn andA.J. Foyt Enterprises are the only teams to complete in at least one race in every season of the Indy Racing League's existenceEarly Days
The team was founded in 1985 and participated part time in the
CART series with largely outdated equipment and 3 different drivers. In 1986 the team bought newMarch Engineering chassis and participated full-time with Jacques Villeneuve and part-time withScott Brayton , putting both in the field of the team's firstIndianapolis 500 .Arie Luyendyk replaced Villeneuve in 1987 and finished 7th in CART points. In 1988 Brayton raced full-time for the team while 3 other drivers competed in partial schedules. 1989 saw 7 different drivers behind the wheel of a Hemelgarn car as the team struggled to find consistency. Buddy Lazier joined the team in 1990 and competed in his first 6 CART races with the team, but failed to qualify for the Indy 500, howeverBilly Vukovich III did qualify his Hemelgarn car for the "500", finishing 24th in a 2 year-old Lola-Buick . Hemelgarn teamed up withDale Coyne Racing to field a car atRoad America and theMolson Indy Toronto for Lazier in 1991. However, that was the team's only races other than the Indy 500, where it fielded cars for Lazier, Indy legendGordon Johncock , andStan Fox . In 1992 the team only participated in the Indy 500 as costs to run the series rapidly increased. 1993 saw the team only field a car forpay driver Brian Bonner in a pair of road races. 1994 and 1995 again saw Hemegarn only run the Indy 500, fielding a pair of cars for Fox both years andJeff Andretti in '94 and Jim Crawford in '95, although Crawford failed to make the field.IRL Glory Years
With the founding of the Indy Racing League in 1996, the team was eager to return to full time racing and re-signed former Hemelgarn stalwart Buddy Lazier to pilot their full-time entry and fielded additional cars for
Brad Murphey andStephan Gregoire in the Indy 500. Lazier scored the first win of his Championship Car career and Hemelgarn's first as a team in a gutsy drive while recovering from a back injury in the1996 Indianapolis 500 . This win solidified Lazier andDelta Faucet with the team for years to come. Lazier was one of the top drivers in the league, consistently scoring top-tens and finishing in the top-ten in points every year. In 2000, Lazier and Hemelgarn put together a dream season, capturing the IRL championship and finishing second in the Indy 500 behind the dominantJuan Montoya . The team nearly repeated their championship ways the in 2001 season, with Lazier capturing 4 wins and finishing 2nd in points, albeit well back from championSam Hornish, Jr. .truggles
As 2002 came, the team began to struggle. The influx of former
CART teams had begun and Lazier only managed an 8th place finish in points and only registered a pair of top 5 finishes. 2003 was even worse as the team struggled with underpoweredChevrolet engines compared to the newHonda andToyota powerplants and Lazier finished a dismal 19th in series points, prompting Delta Faucets to leave the team. In 2004 the team was only able to field a car for Lazier in the Indy 500. In 2005 the team returned to full-time competition with new ethanol sponsorship brought by driverPaul Dana who was injured after 3 races and replaced byJimmy Kite . In 2006 the ethanol sponsorship left and it appeared unlikely that the team would return until late in the off-season when a deal was brokered to bringP.J. Chesson to the team with financial backing fromNBA starCarmelo Anthony . Following the2006 Indianapolis 500 where Hemelgarn drivers Chesson andJeff Bucknum tangled on the second lap and finished in the last two positions, Ron Hemelgarn let his crew go and suspended the team's operations, leaving Chesson without a ride for the rest of the year. It was unknown if and when Hemelgarn Racing would return to the track until the team filed an entry for the2007 Indianapolis 500 . Little was heard of the entry until a deal was put together on the Friday before the final weekend of qualifying withRacing Professionals to jointly field a former Hemelgarn chassis (bought by RP) forRichie Hearn . Hearn solidly put the car in the field after only 26 laps of practice on Bump Day and finished the race in the 23rd position. In 2008 Buddy Lazier returned to the team for the Indianapolis 500 and made a last minute run on Bump Day to put the car into the field. With little practice, Lazier struggled with the handling of the car and finished 17th five laps down.Drivers that have competed for Hemelgarn Racing
*flagicon|USA
Brian Bonner 1993
*flagicon|USAScott Brayton 1986-1989
*flagicon|USAJeff Bucknum 2006
*flagicon|USAP.J. Chesson 2006
*flagicon|USAPaul Dana 2005
*flagicon|USAStan Fox 1991-1995
*flagicon|USASpike Gehlhausen 1985
*flagicon|CANScott Goodyear 1989-1990
*flagicon|FRAStephan Gregoire 1996
*flagicon|USADavey Hamilton 1991; 1995
*flagicon|USARichie Hearn 2003, 2007
*flagicon|CANLudwig Heimrath 1988-1989
*flagicon|USAGordon Johncock 1988-1989; 1991-1992
*flagicon|USAKen Johnson 1988
*flagicon|USAJimmy Kite 2005
*flagicon|USABuddy Lazier 1990-2003; 2008
*flagicon|NEDArie Luyendyk , Sr. 1987
*flagicon|ARGEnrique Mansilla 1985
*flagicon|USAChris Menninga 2001
*flagicon|USABrad Murphey 1996
*flagicon|FINTero Palmroth 1989
*flagicon|IRL Michael Roe 1985
*flagicon|USADick Simon (sponsored car) 1978-1979
*flagicon|USATom Sneva 1988-1989
*flagicon|USALyn St. James 1997
*flagicon|BELDidier Theys 1989
*flagicon|USAJohnny Unser 1997-1999
*flagicon|USARobby Unser 1989
*flagicon|CAN Jacques Villeneuve (1986)
*flagicon|USARich Vogler 1987
*flagicon|USABilly Vukovich, III 1989-1990
*flagicon|USAStan Wattles 2000-2001External links
* [http://www.hemelgarnracing.com] Official Site
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