2008 Champ Car season
The 2008 Champ Car World Series season would have been the 30th season of the series and the fifth instance of the Champ Car World Series. It was scheduled to begin on April 20, 2008 and end on November 9 had the open wheel unification not occurred. The season, with the sole exception of the Long Beach Grand Prix, was canceled on February 21, 2008 because of the buyout of Champ Car by the rival IndyCar.
The Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton and the Gold Coast Indy 300 were retained and transferred to the IndyCar Series schedule. The schedule included what would have been the first Monterey Grand Prix since 2004 and the supposed debut of the Champ Car Grand Prix of Spain. Some of the Champ Car races were scrapped.
Later on, Toronto, Houston, Road America, Portland, and Laguna Seca would also be revived by the unified series.
Races
The 2008 Champ Car schedule was announced in November 2007 before the unification announcementRnd | Date | Race Name | Circuit | City/Location |
1 | April 20 | Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach | Streets of Long Beach | Long Beach, California |
2 | April 27 | Grand Prix of Houston | JAGFlo Speedway at Reliant Park | Houston, Texas |
3 | May 18 | Champ Car Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca | Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca | Monterey, California |
4 | June 1 | Champ Car Grand Prix of Belgium at Circuit Zolder | Circuit Zolder | Heusden-Zolder, Belgium |
5 | June 8 | Champ Car Grand Prix of Spain at Circuito Permanente de Jerez | Circuito de Jerez | Jerez de la Frontera, Spain |
6 | June 22 | Champ Car Grand Prix of Cleveland | Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport | Cleveland, Ohio |
7 | June 29 | Champ Car Mont-Tremblant | Circuit Mont-Tremblant | Mont-Tremblant, Quebec |
8 | July 6 | Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto | Exhibition Place | Toronto, Ontario |
9 | July 20 | Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton | Edmonton City Centre Airport | Edmonton, Alberta |
10 | July 27 | Champ Car Grand Prix of Portland | Portland International Raceway | Portland, Oregon |
11 | August 10 | Road America Grand Prix | Road America | Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin |
12 | September 14 | Champ Car Grand Prix of Holland at TT Circuit Assen | TT Circuit Assen | Assen, Netherlands |
13 | October 26 | Gold Coast Indy 300 | Surfers Paradise Street Circuit | Surfers Paradise, Australia |
14 | November 9 | Gran Premio Tecate Presentado por Banamex | Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez | Mexico City, Mexico |
- All 2008 Champ Car races were going to be run on road courses and street circuits.
- The Champ Car Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca was set to return on May 18.
- The Champ Car Grand Prix of Spain was going to debut on June 8 at the Circuito Permanente de Jerez in Spain.
Team and driver lineup
Team | No. | Driver | Primary Sponsors |
Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing | 1 | Justin Wilson | McDonald's |
Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing | 2 | Graham Rahal | Hole in the Wall Camps |
Forsythe/Pettit Racing | 3 | Paul Tracy | Indeck |
Forsythe/Pettit Racing | 7 | Franck Montagny | Indeck |
Minardi Team USA | 4 | E. J. Viso | PDVSA |
Minardi Team USA | 14 | Robert Doornbos | OzJet |
Team Australia | 5 | Will Power | Aussie Vineyards |
Team Australia | 15 | Matt Halliday | Walker Racing |
Rocketsports Racing | 8 | Enrique Bernoldi | Sangari |
Dale Coyne Racing | 11 | Bruno Junqueira | Dale Coyne Racing |
Dale Coyne Racing | 19 | Mario Moraes | Sonny's BBQ |
KV Racing Technology | 21 | Alex Tagliani | PKV Racing |
KV Racing Technology | 22 | Oriol Servià | PKV Racing |
Pacific Coast Motorsports | 29 | Alex Figge | Pacific Coast Motorsports |
Pacific Coast Motorsports | 96 | Mario Domínguez | Visit Mexico City |
Conquest Racing | 24 | Franck Perera | ARES |
Conquest Racing | 34 | Nelson Philippe | ARES |
- The driver line-up represents the entry list for the Sebring Test.
- David Martínez was a test driver for Pacific Coast Motorsports.