Back to square one: after another mass exodus—including eight top drivers and two manufacturers—CART is reevaluating its business plan and goals - 2003 season preview: CART - Championship Auto Racing Teams

Auto Racing Digest, April-May, 2003 by Chris Dolack

Herdez Competition: Mario Dominguez clinched the top rookie award when he won in a monsoon at Surfers Paradise. A solid young driver, Dominguez will be helped by the addition of popular veteran Roberto Moreno as a teammate. Moreno, whose opinions are highly valued, will shorten Dominguez's learning curve while scoring championship points of his own.

Patrick Racing: Oriol Servia is a perfect fit here. He would be helped by a teammate--and he still could get one--but even though this is his first full season with Patrick, Servia could be a pleasant surprise.

Walker Racing: Derrick Walker is back, this time with rookie Roberto Gonzalez, a native of Mexico who competed in the Telefonica World Series in 2002.

Fernandez Racing: After suffering broken vertebrae in the melee at Surfers Paradise and missing the final two events last season, driver-owner Adrian Fernandez returns to the cockpit He hasn't had much success since creating this team, but based on his history, it's difficult to discount him from the championship race. He should have a teammate by the start of the season.

Dale Coyne Racing: After reinventing his team last season, Dale Coyne returns to CART full time and will run rookie Joel Camathias, a 22-year-old from Switzerland and a veteran of the FIA F3000 Championship.

Mi-Jack/Conquest Racing: Reversing the popular trend, team owners Eric Bachelart--a former Champ Car driver--and Mike Lanigan are departing the IRL to race in CART. Piloting the team's Ford/Reynard will be rookie Mario Haberfeld who has competed in the FIA F3000 Championship since 1998.

"Racing in CART this year is a logical step for us," says Bachelart. "We've been involved in the series in the past, and we were presented a good opportuniy to put together a quality Champ Car program."

American Spirit Team Johansson: Former driver Stefan Johansson takes a shot at CART ownership, fielding a two-car team with American drivers. With a small pool of proven drivers from which to choose, Johansson selected 1996 champion Jimmy Vasser and Toyota Atlantic star Ryan Hunter-Reay.

Rocketsports Racing: A veteran of the Trans-Am Series, Paul Gentilozzi is expected to field a one-car team. A boost to this start-up team would be a proven veteran behind the wheel, namely Alex Tagliani.

The Manufacturer

With Honda and Toyota headed to the IRL, the Ford-Cosworth XFE engine will be the only one supplied to the teams. It seems unfortunate that only one engine will power the series, but it will help create an even playing field, control costs, and give lesser-funded teams a fighting chance. In the end, it should prevent one driver from running away with the series as da Matta did last year.

The Constructors

Once on the brink of extinction, Lola now is the chassis of choice. There will still be a few Reynards in the field, but don't expect too many to put drivers on the top of the podium.

The Tires

Like the engines, there is only one tire supplier: Bridgestone. Again, it helps to control costs and create a level balance of competition, which in turn forces the drivers to decide the outcome of races rather than the cars.