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IndyCar
INDYCAR: End Of The Road For Newman/Haas
SPEED.com breaks the unfortunate news that Newman/Haas Racing, one of the most successful teams in open-wheel racing, is closing its doors.
The happy times for James Hinchcliffe and Oriol Servia at Newman/Haas will not carry forward into 2012, and an entire team is now looking for employment (LAT)
Newman/Haas Racing, one of the most successful teams in open-wheel racing, is closing the its doors.
The Lincolnshire, Il.-based CART, Champ Car and IZOD IndyCar Series team, formed by Carl Haas and the late Paul Newman, joined CART in 1983, went on to take eight championships and won more than 100 wins and poles with drivers like Mario and Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Sebastien Bourdais and many others.
NHR, which led Oriol Servia to a fourth-place finish in the 2011 championship and delivered Rookie of the Year honors for James Hinchcliffe, informed its 33 employees on Thursday they would be released effective immediately--with severance pay through December 31st, at which point the team will then close its doors for good.
“The economic climate no longer enables Newman/Haas Racing to participate in open wheel racing at this time,” said Haas, in a statement released by the team. Prior to the team's press release, multiple sources within the team
News shot through the Indy car community quickly on Thursday as many struggled to grasp the loss of one of open-wheel's most tenured teams.
"This is really sad news for me," said Sebastien Bourdais, who won four consecutive Champ Car titles with the team.
"I'm really sad for Carl and Bernie [Haas], and all of the team members. They are like family to me and I can [only] hope the engineers and mechanics find new work immediately. If you look at all the success we had together, and what they did last season with Oriol and James, you know they are some of the best anywhere."
"I don't know if I can say it was expected," Indy car legend Mario Andretti told SPEED.com, "but they tried to hang on as long as they could and it's a shame."
Andretti, who served as NHR's original driver back in 1983, says the loss of the storied team closes another chapter in open-wheel history.
"The only way you can characterize it is this is the end of a wonderful era that included so many wins and wonderful times with Newman/Haas. I will miss the team tremendously."
PHOTOS: Click Here or on the image below to view INDYCAR: Newman/Haas Racing Throughout The Years
Graham Rahal, who won his first race with NHR at St. Petersburg in 2008, had similar feelings.
"Newman/Haas is a fantastic team and a fantastic organization," he said after hearing the news while in England.
"More than anything, I loved the people and loved racing with them for four years. There was no doubt we always had a great time working together. A lot of them are still good friends of mine. The history speaks for itself. When you walk in that building, the people there were always 100 percent committed to winning races, not to make big money or whatever else. It's a shame to see it come to an end. It's unexpected and hard to believe."
With an abundance of talent amongst its loyal managers, engineers and mechanics, the dozens of newly-available NHR employees aren't expected to be out of work for very long.
The fate of Hinchcliffe and Servia--and what IndyCar opportunities might be available for next season--isn't as clear-cut.
The Lincolnshire, Il.-based CART, Champ Car and IZOD IndyCar Series team, formed by Carl Haas and the late Paul Newman, joined CART in 1983, went on to take eight championships and won more than 100 wins and poles with drivers like Mario and Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Sebastien Bourdais and many others.
NHR, which led Oriol Servia to a fourth-place finish in the 2011 championship and delivered Rookie of the Year honors for James Hinchcliffe, informed its 33 employees on Thursday they would be released effective immediately--with severance pay through December 31st, at which point the team will then close its doors for good.
“The economic climate no longer enables Newman/Haas Racing to participate in open wheel racing at this time,” said Haas, in a statement released by the team. Prior to the team's press release, multiple sources within the team
News shot through the Indy car community quickly on Thursday as many struggled to grasp the loss of one of open-wheel's most tenured teams.
"This is really sad news for me," said Sebastien Bourdais, who won four consecutive Champ Car titles with the team.
"I'm really sad for Carl and Bernie [Haas], and all of the team members. They are like family to me and I can [only] hope the engineers and mechanics find new work immediately. If you look at all the success we had together, and what they did last season with Oriol and James, you know they are some of the best anywhere."
"I don't know if I can say it was expected," Indy car legend Mario Andretti told SPEED.com, "but they tried to hang on as long as they could and it's a shame."
Andretti, who served as NHR's original driver back in 1983, says the loss of the storied team closes another chapter in open-wheel history.
"The only way you can characterize it is this is the end of a wonderful era that included so many wins and wonderful times with Newman/Haas. I will miss the team tremendously."
PHOTOS: Click Here or on the image below to view INDYCAR: Newman/Haas Racing Throughout The Years
Graham Rahal, who won his first race with NHR at St. Petersburg in 2008, had similar feelings.
"Newman/Haas is a fantastic team and a fantastic organization," he said after hearing the news while in England.
"More than anything, I loved the people and loved racing with them for four years. There was no doubt we always had a great time working together. A lot of them are still good friends of mine. The history speaks for itself. When you walk in that building, the people there were always 100 percent committed to winning races, not to make big money or whatever else. It's a shame to see it come to an end. It's unexpected and hard to believe."
With an abundance of talent amongst its loyal managers, engineers and mechanics, the dozens of newly-available NHR employees aren't expected to be out of work for very long.
The fate of Hinchcliffe and Servia--and what IndyCar opportunities might be available for next season--isn't as clear-cut.
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