Champ Car Time Line

• Nov. 25, 1978 — Championship Auto Racing Teams, Inc. is formed by 18 team owners.

• 1979 — CART ran its first season with 12 races. However, USAC continued to sanction Indy car racing, holding seven races of its own, including the Indianapolis 500.

• 1979 — PPG Industries becomes CART title sponsor, a relationship that lasts 20 years.

• 1991 — CART holds its first race outside of North America, in Surfers Paradise, Australia.

• 1995 — Three different engine makers and three different chassis manufacturers post victories. Two different tire companies win races.

• 1996 — CART sanctions U.S. 500 as rival race to Indianapolis 500. Jimmy Vasser earns $1 million for winning the crash-marred race at Michigan Int’l Speedway.

• 1997 — IndyCar name is surrendered to IRL, and Champ Cars is the adapted brand name for CART Champ Car World Series race cars.

• 1998 — CART becomes a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. The company purchases the Indy Lights Championship and the Toyota Atlantic Championship.

• 2003 — Mounting financial difficulties force CART, Inc. to seek a buyer.

• 2004 — A U.S. bankruptcy court judge awards the racing assets of a bankrupt CART to Kevin Kalkhoven, Gerald Forsythe and Paul Gentilozzi despite a higher bid from IRL’s Tony George.

• 2007 — Champ Car loses sponsorship and support of Ford Motor Company.

• 2008 — With bankruptcy proceedings again in the offing, Champ Car officials reach agreement with Indy Racing League for Champ Car races and teams to join the IRL IndyCar Series.