Participating Organizations
NEWMAN/HAAS RACING
When Paul Newman and Carl Haas decided to combine their talents in 1983, they established one of the best Indy car teams ever. While Paul Newman may be the most famous Indy car owner in the world, Carl Haas has been called one of the most powerful. Since its inception, Newman/Haas Racing has won 51 Indy car events and has had some of the world's best-known drivers race for them.
The team is headquartered in Lincolnshire, Illinois in a 32,000- square-foot state-of-the-art facility. Among the milestones for Newman/Haas Racing are three PPG Cups won: one in 1984 by Mario Andretti, one in 1991 by Michael Andretti and one in 1993 by F-1 Champion and rookie Indy driver Nigel Mansell.
Paul Newman
Paul Newman first took an interest in auto racing while filming the 1968 motion picture Winning, in which he played the role of an Indy 500 driver. He has been active in auto racing ever since, competing as a driver and fielding teams. His first professional race came in 1972 when he drove a Lotus Elan at Thompson, Connecticut. Early in his driving career he competed in modified stock car races at Daytona.
In 1976, Newman won his first Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) national title in the D-Production category, and three years later was the C-Production champion. He won the GT-1 championship in both 1985 and 1986, and was a semi-regular in the Trans-Am series, where he won his first professional race at Brainerd, Minnesota, in 1982 and Lime Rock, Connecticut, in 1986. He drove to victory in the last race he entered-the 24 Hours of Daytona GTS Class.
Before joining forces with Carl Haas as a team owner, Newman had fielded cars in the Can-Am racing series for five years. During that time some of the world's best racers drove for him, including Danny Sullivan, Bobby Rahal and Al Unser.
Carl Haas
As a team owner, Carl Haas has won 11 championships in the past two decades of auto racing. As a driver, he competed in many races between 1952 and the early 1960s (several of which he won), piloting exotic cars like Ferraris, Porsches and Jaguars. He gave up driving, choosing to focus on team ownership instead. Presently, his time is spent managing his numerous racing interests, which include Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) and Winston Cup teams.
Other racing-related business includes sitting on the board of directors of the Road America race track and managing the Milwaukee Mile track. He is also chairman of the Pro Racing Division of SCCA Enterprises, a road racing grassroots organization that sanctions professional and club- level events. In addition, Haas is a member of the board of directors of CART, the sanctioning body for the PPG Cup championship, making him the only individual to hold executive positions with two sanctioning organizations. Recently, he retired after a record four terms as chairman of the board of directors of the SCCA, America's largest motorsports membership body. Haas is an avid collector of art and exotic automobiles.
Since 1917, Texaco has been a prominent name in racing. In 1989, the company joined Kmart in the sponsorship of Newman/Haas Racing, home of Indy car's first father-son team, Mario and Michael Andretti. Continuing in this tradition, Texaco is proud to be associated with the production of Super Speedway.
Texaco reaches a key audience by generating publicity in motorsports
arenas. In fact, racing enthusiasts are some of the company's most dedicated
customers. They are brand loyal, purchasing Texaco's gasolines and motor
oils, as well as other of the company's vehicle products. For Texaco, there
is no better place to showcase their premium goods than at the racetrack.
The drama of daring athletes in engineered racing machines competing against
each other in exciting contests of speed and skill is the perfect atmosphere
in which to demonstrate the superior quality of Texaco products.
Of all the sporting events and organizations sponsored by Kmart, none enjoyed
as long a relationship as the one shared by Kmart and Newman/Haas Racing.
The company's sponsorship of Newman/Haas Racing began in 1988, and continues
to strengthen with its participation in Super Speedway. Kmart stores
across North America support Kmart's racing teams by displaying banners,
hosting driver autograph sessions and coordinating in-store racing display
contests.
Using the racing theme as a conduit, Kmart created a drug awareness program
called Kmart Kids Race Against Drugs. Children participate in the program
by driving modified lawn tractors on specially designed tracks in Kmart
parking lots across North America. Each time a race participant crosses
the finish line, Kmart makes a donation to the local drug abuse prevention
charity. Organizations including D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education)
and RAD (Race Against Drugs) participate in the program by interacting with
the young racers and their families at the events. In 1996, Kmart Kids Race
Against Drugs, through The Kmart Family Foundation, donated a half- million
dollars to local drug abuse prevention charities.
Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART)
President and Chief Executive Officer: Andrew Craig
Founded: November 25, 1978
First President: U.E. "Pat" Patrick
First Event: March 11, 1979 at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway (won by Gordon Johncock)
Type of Racing: Open-wheel. Powered by turbocharged, four-cycle, overhead camshaft, eight-cylinder engines, CART cars are capable of producing 800 horsepower and traveling at speeds in excessof 230 mph.
Types of venues: CART events are held at four different types of venues: Superspeedways, short ovals, temporary street circuits and permanent road courses.
Chassis Manufacturers: Eagle, Lola, Penske, Reynard, Swift
Engine Manufacturers: Ford Cosworth, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota
Tire Manufacturers: Firestone, Goodyear
Official Sponsors: PPG (title sponsor of the PPG CART World Series), MCI, Budweiser, Craftsman, Domaine Chandon, Featherlite, Ford SVO Technology, Holmatro, Honda Motorcycle, Honda Power Equipment, Marathon Coach, Mercedes-Benz, Motorola Racing Radios, Omega, Toyota Trucks and Valvoline.
Broadcast Reach: CART events are seen on a live or tape-delay basis in 197 countries.
1997 Schedule: The PPG CART World Series includes 17 events in four countries (United States, Canada, Brazil and Australia) on three continents (North America, South America, and Australia). The season opens with the Malboro Grand Prix of Miami presented by Toyota on March 2 at the Metro- Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex in Homestead, Fla.
CART will debut in Asia in 1998 with the recent announcement of a new event at the Twin Ring Motegi in Japan.
Championship: Drivers compete in the PPG Cup championship. The winning driver receives a $ 1 million cash bonus at the conclusion of the CART season, as well as the PPG Cup from PPG Industries. Jimmy Vasser of Las Vegas, Nev., won the 1996 PPG Cup championship, driving a Target/Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda on Firestone tires.
Participating Pre-Lease
Theatres
Albuquerque, New Mexico Baltimore, Maryland Brussels, Belgium Calgary, Alberta Cape Town, South Africa Chicago, Illinois Dallas, Texas Detroit, Michigan Edmonton, Alberta Fort Worth, Texas Hampton, Virginia Hutchinson, Kansas Jersey City, New Jersey Katoomba New South Wales, Australia Louisville, Kentucky Lubbock, Texas Memphis, Tennessee Montreal, Quebec |
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Paris, France Phoenix, Arizona Quebec City, Quebec Regina, Saskatchewan Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rotterdam, The Netherlands SanBernadino, California San Diego, California Seattle, Washington Spokane, Washington St. Louis, Missouri Sudbury, Ontario Syracuse, New York Toronto, Ontario Vancouver, British Columbia Winnipeg, Manitoba |