The 1999 FedEx Championship Series season was the twenty-first in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) era of American open-wheel car racing. It consisted of 20 races, beginning in Homestead, Florida on March 21 and concluding in Fontana, California on October 31. The season was marred by the fatal accidents of Gonzalo Rodríguez during practice for the Laguna Seca round and Greg Moore at the final round, in addition to various injuries that took several drivers out of championship contention.
1999 CART season | |
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FedEx Championship Series | |
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Season | |
Races | 20 |
Start date | March 21 |
End date | October 31 |
Awards | |
Drivers' champion | ![]() |
Constructors' Cup | ![]() |
Manufacturers' Cup | ![]() |
Nations' Cup | ![]() |
Rookie of the Year | ![]() |
Juan Pablo Montoya, in his first CART season after two successful seasons in International Formula 3000, won the championship and the Rookie of the Year honors, the second and final driver to win both awards in the same season, after Nigel Mansell in 1993. The season ended in a tie, with Montoya and Dario Franchitti both having 212 championship points, though Montoya broke the tie-breaker due to having seven wins, over Franchitti's three.
With Al Unser Jr. running his final season in the series, 1999 was the last year in which the Al Unser name was on the CART grid. Also, this was the first season without Bobby Rahal on the grid. Mercedes-Benz scored their final pole and victory with Greg Moore at the season opener before they ended their participation in American open-wheel racing at the end of 2000.
Constructors
editThe following teams and drivers competed in the 1999 CART Championship Series season.[1][2][3]
Season summary
editZeitplan
edit– Cleveland was scheduled for 211 miles, but was shortened due to the 2-hour time limit.
– Detroit was scheduled for 176 miles, but was shortened due to the 2-hour time limit.
– Vancouver was scheduled for 160 miles, but was shortened due to the 2-hour time limit.
O Oval/Speedway
R Road/Street course
Race results
editFinal driver standings
edit
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Note:
- 1 Gonzalo Rodríguez died in qualifying at Laguna Seca Raceway after his car crashed into a barrier and flipped while trying to navigate the track's corkscrew turn, suffering a fatal basilar skull fracture. He was 28 years old.
- 2 Greg Moore died in the season finale at California Speedway after a crash in the early laps. His car lost control coming off Turn 2, flipped over, impacted the inside wall, and flipped several more times. Greg suffered fatal head and internal injuries from the violent accident. He was 24 years old.
Nations' Cup
edit- Top result per race counts towards Nations' Cup.
Pos | Land | MIA | MOT | LBH | NAZ | RIO | GAT | MIL | POR | CLE | ROA | TOR | MIC | DET | MDO | CHI | VAN | LAG | HOU | SUR | FON | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Brasilien | 6 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 264 |
2 | Vereinigte Staaten | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 258 |
3 | Kanada | 1 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 18 | 245 |
4 | Scotland | 3 | 22 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 25 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 207 |
5 | Kolumbien | 10 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 22 | 2 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 25 | 16 | 4 | 197 |
6 | Italien | 5 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 8 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 26 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 149 |
7 | Mexiko | 18 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 16 | 20 | 5 | 4 | 19 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 21 | 26 | 18 | 17 | 5 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 139 |
8 | England | 8 | 24 | 13 | 17 | 10 | 13 | 21 | 19 | 12 | 24 | 19 | 16 | 9 | ||||||||
9 | Dänemark | 18 | 14 | 24 | 7 | 17 | 13 | 11 | 8 | |||||||||||||
10 | Uruguay | 12 | Wth | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
11 | Japan | 25 | 20 | 26 | Wth | 15 | 23 | 28 | 23 | 16 | 19 | 17 | 27 | 14 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 0 | ||||
Pos | Land | MIA | MOT | LBH | NAZ | RIO | GAT | MIL | POR | CLE | ROA | TOR | MIC | DET | MDO | CHI | VAN | LAG | HOU | SUR | FON | Pts |
Pos | Chassis | Pts | Wins |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Reynard 99I/98I | 424 | 18 |
2 | Swift 010.c | 241 | 2 |
3 | Lola T9900 | 69 | 0 |
4 | Eagle 997 | 13 | 0 |
5 | Penske PC-27B-99 | 10 | 0 |
Pos | Engine | Pts | Wins |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Honda | 383 | 14 |
2 | Ford XB | 301 | 5 |
3 | Mercedes | 193 | 1 |
4 | Toyota | 80 | 0 |
Driver Breakdown
editMedia
editIn the United States, CART continued its coverage on ESPN, but the broadcast booth changed voices. Paul Page handled lap-by-lap commentary, taking over for Bob Varsha, who had departed for Speed Channel. Newly-retired racer Parker Johnstone joined him with color commentary. During his suspension from the first race of the season, Paul Tracy joined Page and Johnstone in the booth. Jon Beekhuis and Gary Gerould were pit reporters.
See also
editReferences
edit- Åberg, Andreas. "CART FedEx Champ Car World Series 1999". Driver Database. Archived from the original on 2009-02-04. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
- "1999 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series". Champ Car Stats. Archived from the original on 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
- "Standings after California". Champ Car World Series. Archived from the original on 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2009-05-19.