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2000 CART season facts for kids

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2000 CART season
FedEx Championship Series
CART vertical logo (1997-2002).svg
Season
Races 20
Start date March 26
End date October 30
Awards
Drivers' champion Brazil Gil de Ferran
Constructors' Cup United Kingdom Reynard
Manufacturers' Cup United States / United Kingdom Ford-Cosworth
Nations' Cup Brazil Brazil
Rookie of the Year Sweden Kenny Bräck
← 1999
2001 →

The 2000 FedEx Championship Series season was the twenty-second 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 26, 2000 and concluding in Fontana, California on October 30, 2000. The FedEx Championship Series Drivers' Champion was Gil de Ferran. The Rookie of the Year was Kenny Bräck.

The relative decline of Chip Ganassi Racing and an atypical parity among the major engine and chassis builders led to the most wide-open championship race in the history of the series, with seven different winners in the first seven races of the year and 11 drivers winning a race. From 1997–1999, only two drivers came within 50 points of the champion, 9 would do so in 2000.

Penske Racing returned to prominence using Honda engines and abandoning their house chassis for a Reynard 2KI. Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves (the latter signed following the death of Greg Moore), combined for 5 wins, 4 of which were on the road courses the team had not been competitive on in their previous chassis and engine. Veterans Michael Andretti and Paul Tracy, who were 1 and 2 in the championship after the Vancouver round, would fall short after poor finishes down the stretch. Most surprising of all to observers was the return to prominence of Patrick Racing, with veterans Adrian Fernandez and Roberto Moreno finishing second and third respectively in the championship.

Off the track, while CART remained fiscally strong, anxiety regarding the series' decline in prominence led to the ouster of CEO Andrew Craig at the midpoint of the season, leading to his replacement by Bobby Rahal. The series left open the traditional Indianapolis 500 date of Memorial Day, allowing teams to enter the Indy Racing League-sanctioned race for the first time since 1995. Chip Ganassi Racing did so, with their driver Juan Pablo Montoya winning the race handily with purchased IRL equipment. While a competitive triumph for CART, Ganassi's efforts showed the continuing allure of the 500 for CART teams and their sponsors. 2000 would also be the final season for DaimlerChrysler via the Mercedes-Benz brand as an engine manufacturer, after DaimlerChrysler decided to shut down their CART program and coincidentally defected to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series via the Dodge brand in 2001.

Drivers and constructors

The following teams and drivers competed in the 2000 CART Championship Series season. Five years after the return of Firestone, rival tire manufacturer Goodyear withdrew from CART and its rival the Indy Racing League. So all cars ran on Firestone Firehawk tires. All teams were based in the United States.

Team Chassis Engine No Drivers Races Primary Sponsors
Chip Ganassi Racing Lola B2K/00 Toyota RV8E 1 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya All Target
12 United States Jimmy Vasser All
Team Penske Reynard 2KI Honda HR-0 2 Brazil Gil de Ferran All Marlboro
3 Brazil Hélio Castroneves All
Walker Motorsport Reynard 2KI Honda HR-0 5 Japan Shinji Nakano  R  1, 4–20 Avex
United States Bryan Herta 2–3
Newman/Haas Racing Lola B2K/00 Ford-Cosworth XF 6 United States Michael Andretti All Texaco-Havoline
11 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi All Big Kmart
Team Rahal Reynard 2KI Ford-Cosworth XF 7 Italy Max Papis All Miller Lite
8 Sweden Kenny Bräck  R  All Shell
91 United States Casey Mears  R  20 WorldCom
Della Penna Motorsports Reynard 2KI Toyota RV8E 10 Argentina Norberto Fontana  R  1–10 Video Match 9
DirecTV 11
United States Memo Gidley 11–18, 20
Australia Jason Bright  R  19
Bettenhausen Racing Lola B2K/00 Mercedes IC 108E 16 Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr. All Herdez
PacWest Racing Reynard 2KI Mercedes IC 108E 17 Brazil Maurício Gugelmin All Nextel
18 United Kingdom Mark Blundell All Motorola
Dale Coyne Racing Lola B2K/00 Ford-Cosworth XF 19 Japan Takuya Kurosawa  R  1–11 MTCI 6
Sports Today 14
Brazil Gualter Salles 12–14
United States Alex Barron 15–20
34 Brazil Gualter Salles 1–3 Dale Coyne Racing
Swift 011.c Brazil Tarso Marques 4–20 Panasonic
Patrick Racing Reynard 2KI Ford-Cosworth XF 20 Brazil Roberto Moreno All Visteon
40 Mexico Adrián Fernández All Tecate
Arciero Racing Reynard 2KI Mercedes IC 108E 25 Brazil Luiz Garcia Jr. All Hollywood Cigarettes
Team Green Reynard 2KI Honda HR-0 26 Canada Paul Tracy All KOOL
27 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti All
Forsythe Racing Reynard 2KI Ford-Cosworth XF 32 Canada Patrick Carpentier 1, 5–20 Player's
United States Memo Gidley 2–4
33 Canada Alex Tagliani  R  All
77 United States Bryan Herta 16 Rockingham Motor Speedway
Mo Nunn Racing Reynard 2KI Mercedes IC 108E 55 Brazil Tony Kanaan 1–7, 11–20 Hollywood Cigarettes
United States Bryan Herta 8–10
PPI Motorsports Reynard 2KI Toyota RV8E 96 Spain Oriol Servià  R  All Telefónica
97 Brazil Cristiano da Matta All Pioneer

  R   Eligible for Rookie of the Year

Schedule

Rnd Race Name Circuit City/Location Date
1 United States Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami Presented by Toyota  O  Homestead-Miami Speedway Homestead, Florida March 26
2 United States Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach  R  Streets of Long Beach Long Beach, California April 16
3 Brazil Rio 200  O  Autódromo de Jacarepaguá Jacarepagua, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil April 30
4 Japan Firestone Firehawk 500  O  Twin Ring Motegi Motegi, Tochigi, Japan May 14
5 United States Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix Presented by Toyota  O  Nazareth Speedway Nazareth, Pennsylvania May 27
6 United States Miller Lite 225 Presented by Kmart  O  Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wisconsin June 5*
7 United States Tenneco Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit  R  The Raceway on Belle Isle Park Detroit, Michigan June 18
8 United States Freightliner/G. I. Joe's 200 Presented by Texaco  R  Portland International Raceway Portland, Oregon June 25
9 United States Firstar Presents the Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland  R  Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport Cleveland, Ohio July 2
10 Canada Molson Indy Toronto  R  Exhibition Place Toronto, Ontario July 16
11 United States Michigan 500 Presented by Toyota  O  Michigan Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan July 23
12 United States Target Grand Prix of Chicago Presented by Energizer  O  Chicago Motor Speedway Cicero, Illinois July 30
13 United States Miller Lite 200  R  Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio August 13
14 United States Motorola 220  R  Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin August 20
15 Canada Molson Indy Vancouver  R  Concord Pacific Place Vancouver, British Columbia September 3
16 United States Honda Grand Prix of Monterey Featuring the Shell 300  R  Laguna Seca Raceway Monterey, California September 10
17 United States Motorola 300  O  Gateway International Raceway Madison, Illinois September 17
18 United States Texaco/Havoline Grand Prix of Houston  R  George R. Brown Convention Center Houston, Texas October 1
19 Australia Honda Indy 300  R  Surfers Paradise Street Circuit Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia October 15
20 United States Marlboro 500 Presented by Toyota  O  California Speedway Fontana, California October 29–30*

 O  Oval/Speedway
 R  Road/Street course

The Nazareth round was initially scheduled to be the second round on April 9, 2000, but snow caused the race's postponement.

Milwaukee was scheduled to be on June 4, but was postponed due to rain.

Fontana was scheduled for October 29, but during a caution on lap 22 for Cristiano da Matta crashing, rain began to fall and the remainder of the race was postponed to the next day.

Season summary

Race results

Round Race Pole position Fastest lap Lead Most Laps Race Winner Race
Time
Report
Driver Team Chassis Engine
1 United States Homestead Brazil Gil de Ferran Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Brazil Gil de Ferran Italy Max Papis Team Rahal Reynard 2KI Ford-Cosworth XF 1:22:01 Report
2 United States Long Beach Brazil Gil de Ferran Brazil Gil de Ferran Brazil Gil de Ferran Canada Paul Tracy Team Green Reynard 2KI Honda HR-0 1:57:11 Report
3 Brazil Rio Canada Alex Tagliani Canada Alex Tagliani Canada Alex Tagliani Mexico Adrián Fernández Patrick Racing Reynard 2KI Ford-Cosworth XF 1:37:12 Report
4 Japan Motegi Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola B2K/00 Ford-Cosworth XF 1:58:52 Report
5 United States Nazareth Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Brazil Hélio Castroneves Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Brazil Gil de Ferran Team Penske Reynard 2KI Honda HR-0 2:06:10 Report
6 United States Milwaukee Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Chip Ganassi Racing Lola B2K/00 Toyota RV8E 1:37:38 Report
7 United States Belle Isle Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Brazil Hélio Castroneves Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Brazil Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Reynard 2KI Honda HR-0 2:01:23 Report
8 United States Portland Brazil Hélio Castroneves Sweden Kenny Bräck Brazil Hélio Castroneves Brazil Gil de Ferran Team Penske Reynard 2KI Honda HR-0 2:00:46 Report
9 United States Cleveland Brazil Roberto Moreno Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Brazil Roberto Moreno Brazil Roberto Moreno Patrick Racing Reynard 2KI Ford-Cosworth XF 1:52:12 Report
10 Canada Toronto Brazil Hélio Castroneves United States Michael Andretti Brazil Cristiano da Matta United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola B2K/00 Ford-Cosworth XF 2:00:02 Report
11 United States Michigan Canada Paul Tracy Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Brazil Hélio Castroneves Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Chip Ganassi Racing Lola B2K/00 Toyota RV8E 2:48:49 Report
12 United States Chicago Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Mexico Adrián Fernández Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Brazil Cristiano da Matta PPI Motorsports Reynard 2KI Toyota RV8E 2:01:23 Report
13 United States Mid-Ohio Brazil Gil de Ferran United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Brazil Hélio Castroneves Brazil Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Reynard 2KI Honda HR-0 1:44:59 Report
14 United States Road America United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Canada Paul Tracy Canada Alex Tagliani Canada Paul Tracy Team Green Reynard 2KI Honda HR-0 1:37:53 Report
15 Canada Vancouver United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Canada Paul Tracy Team Green Reynard 2KI Honda HR-0 1:53:06 Report
16 United States Laguna Seca Brazil Hélio Castroneves Brazil Gil de Ferran Brazil Hélio Castroneves Brazil Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Reynard 2KI Honda HR-0 1:46:11 Report
17 United States Gateway Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Canada Patrick Carpentier United States Michael Andretti Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Chip Ganassi Racing Lola B2K/00 Toyota RV8E 1:55:38 Report
18 United States Houston Brazil Gil de Ferran United States Michael Andretti Brazil Gil de Ferran United States Jimmy Vasser Chip Ganassi Racing Lola B2K/00 Toyota RV8E 1:59:02 Report
19 Australia Surfers Paradise Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya United States Jimmy Vasser Mexico Adrián Fernández Mexico Adrián Fernández Patrick Racing Reynard 2KI Ford-Cosworth XF 2:01:14 Report
20 United States Fontana Brazil Gil de Ferran Brazil Hélio Castroneves Sweden Kenny Bräck Brazil Christian Fittipaldi Newman/Haas Racing Lola B2K/00 Ford-Cosworth XF 3:38:04 Report

Final driver standings

Further information: List of American Championship car racing point scoring systems
Pos Driver MIA United States LBH United States RIO Brazil MOT Japan NAZ United States MIL United States DET United States POR United States CLE United States TOR Canada MIC United States CHI United States MDO United States ROA United States VAN Canada LAG United States GAT United States HOU United States SUR Australia FON United States Pts
1 Brazil Gil de Ferran 6* 7* 17 9 1 12 9 1 14 6 18 3 2 25 5 2 8 3* 23 3 168
2 Mexico Adrián Fernández 21 24 1 10 5 8 21 12 7 2 6 5 6 2 3 12 10 7 1* 5 158
3 Brazil Roberto Moreno 2 9 6 3 14 5 17 2 1* 13 23 6 11 4 10 25 3 11 19 2 147
4 Sweden Kenny Bräck  RY  18 17 10 5 3 4 24 6 2 10 22 4 5 3 9 5 11 15 2 13* 135
5 Canada Paul Tracy 3 1 3 6 10 15 DSQ 18 19 3 7 19 16 1 1 11 18 4 17 24 134
6 United States Jimmy Vasser 4 3 2 21 7 13 7 24 8 9 21 8 21 5 6 8 7 1 3 22 131
7 Brazil Hélio Castroneves 25 2 24 13 16 16 1 7* 21 16 5* 21 1* 9 20 1* 9 5 6 9 129
8 United States Michael Andretti 22 14 9 1 6 2 13 4 4 1 2 2 8 19 12 14 20* 13 20 19 127
9 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya 23 19 22 7* 4* 1* 18* 17 6 24 1 12* 24 16 17 6 1 2 24 10 126
10 Brazil Cristiano da Matta 12 25 4 4 13 14 23 5 3 4* 17 1 17 13 7 15 4 14 4 25 112
11 Canada Patrick Carpentier 5 21 3 5 10 5 7 4 14 7 21 24 9 2 19 5 14 101
12 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi 7 18 5 11 11 9 19 3 17 17 14 Wth 3 15 4 10 12 6 15 1 96
13 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti 11 23 11 2 23 6 4 9 13 25 3 20 22 12 2* 3 24 25 25 23 92
14 Italy Max Papis 1 20 16 8 22 7 2 25 18 8 9 24 4 7 8 16 6 24 16 12 88
15 Spain Oriol Servià  R  19 6 25 24 9 19 3 8 23 11 8 15 10 10 11 17 5 9 9 20 60
16 Canada Alex Tagliani  R  9 4 13* 15 19 22 6 13 16 5 16 9 9 14* 18 23 14 16 22 6 53
17 Brazil Maurício Gugelmin 16 10 21 22 2 11 16 19 10 15 13 7 20 17 21 7 19 23 10 17 39
18 United States Bryan Herta 5 20 16 9 18 4 26
19 Brazil Tony Kanaan 10 16 18 16 8 10 DNS 24 16 13 8 14 22 13 10 8 18 24
20 United States Memo Gidley 21 8 18 10 10 12 6 16 19 22 21 21 20
21 United Kingdom Mark Blundell 13 8 7 19 17 17 11 20 12 22 19 23 14 11 25 13 23 20 11 15 18
22 Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr. 14 11 15 12 18 18 8 23 22 19 15 11 15 18 23 24 16 18 7 11 18
23 United States Casey Mears  R  4 12
24 Japan Shinji Nakano  R  8 14 23 15 11 15 14 20 13 19 22 19 26 21 8 21 16 12
25 Brazil Tarso Marques 17 12 20 10 15 24 21 12 18 18 23 22 18 15 17 13 7 11
26 United States Alex Barron 13 21 17 12 14 8 6
27 Brazil Luiz Garcia Jr. 17 12 12 23 15 21 22 14 20 12 11 17 25 24 15 20 25 22 12 DNS 6
28 Argentina Norberto Fontana  R  15 15 23 Wth 20 14 21 11 20 2
29 Japan Takuya Kurosawa  R  24 13 19 20 DNS 12 22 25 23 DNS 1
30 Brazil Gualter Salles 20 22 14 22 23 20 0
31 Australia Jason Bright  R  18 0
Pos Driver MIA United States LBH United States RIO Brazil MOT Japan NAZ United States MIL United States DET United States POR United States CLE United States TOR Canada MIC United States CHI United States MDO United States ROA United States VAN Canada LAG United States GAT United States HOU United States SUR Australia FON United States Pts
Color Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green 4th–6th place
Light Blue 7th–12th place
Dark Blue Finished
(Outside Top 12)
Purple Did not finish
Red Did not qualify
(DNQ)
Brown Withdrawn
(Wth)
Black Disqualified
(DSQ)
White Did not start
(DNS)
Blank Did not
participate
(DNP)
Not competing
In-line notation
Bold Pole position
Italics Ran fastest race lap
* Led most race laps
 RY  Rookie of the Year
 R  Rookie
  1. Oriol Servià was penalized 4 points for rough driving in Surfers Paradise.

Nations' Cup

  • Top result per race counts towards Nations' Cup.
Pos Country MIA United States LBH United States RIO Brazil MOT Japan NAZ United States MIL United States DET United States POR United States CLE United States TOR Canada MIC United States CHI United States MDO United States ROA United States VAN Canada LAG United States GAT United States HOU United States SUR Australia FON United States Pts
1 Brazil Brazil 2 2 4 3 1 5 1 1 1 4 5 1 1 4 5 1 3 3 4 1 332
2 United States United States 4 3 2 1 6 2 7 4 4 1 2 2 8 5 6 8 7 1 3 4 256
3 Canada Canada 3 1 3 6 10 3 5 10 5 3 4 9 7 1 1 9 2 4 5 6 226
4 Mexico Mexico 14 11 1 10 5 8 8 12 7 2 6 5 6 2 3 12 10 7 1 5 165
5 Sweden Sweden 18 17 10 5 3 4 24 6 2 10 22 4 5 3 9 5 11 15 2 13 135
6 Colombia Colombia 23 19 22 7 4 1 18 17 6 24 1 12 24 16 17 6 1 2 24 10 126
7 Scotland Scotland 11 23 11 2 23 6 4 9 13 25 3 20 22 12 2 3 24 25 25 23 92
8 Italy Italy 1 20 16 8 22 7 2 25 18 8 9 24 4 7 8 16 8 24 16 12 88
9 Spain Spain 19 6 25 24 9 19 3 8 23 11 8 15 10 10 11 17 5 9 9 20 64
10 England England 13 8 7 19 17 17 11 20 12 22 19 23 14 11 25 13 23 20 11 15 18
11 Japan Japan 8 13 19 14 DNS 23 12 11 15 14 20 13 19 22 19 26 21 8 21 16 13
12 Argentina Argentina 15 15 23 Wth 20 Wth 14 21 11 20 2
13 Australia Australia 18 0
Pos Country MIA United States LBH United States RIO Brazil MOT Japan NAZ United States MIL United States DET United States POR United States CLE United States TOR Canada MIC United States CHI United States MDO United States ROA United States VAN Canada LAG United States GAT United States HOU United States SUR Australia FON United States Pts

Chassis Constructors' Cup

Pos Chassis Pts Wins
1 United Kingdom Reynard 2KI 393 13
2 United Kingdom Lola B2K/00 313 7
Pos Chassis Pts Wins

Engine Manufacturers' Cup

Pos Engine Pts Wins
1 United States
United Kingdom Ford-Cosworth XF
334 7
2 Japan Honda HR-0 314 8
3 Japan Toyota RV8E 275 5
4 Germany Mercedes IC 108E 66 0
Pos Engine Pts Wins

See also

  • 2000 Toyota Atlantic Championship season
  • 2000 Indianapolis 500
  • 2000 Indy Racing League
  • 2000 Indy Lights season
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