Max Papis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Max Papis
Papis in 2016
Born	Massimiliano Papis (1969-10-03) 3 October 1969 (age 55) Como, Italy
Achievements	2004 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Daytona Prototype Co-Champion
NASCAR Cup Series career
36 races run over 4 years
2013 position	58th
Best finish	43rd (2009, 2010)
First race	2008 Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Sonoma)
Last race	2013 Cheez-It 355 at The Glen (Watkins Glen)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 1 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
14 races run over 8 years
2013 position	48th
Best finish	48th (2013)
First race	2006 Zippo 200 (Watkins Glen)
Last race	2013 Nationwide Children's Hospital 200 (Mid-Ohio)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 4 0
NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career
45 races run over 5 years
2013 position	92nd
Best finish	18th (2011)
First race	2008 Chevy Silverado 350K (Texas)
Last race	2013 Chevrolet Silverado 250 (Mosport)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 5 0
NASCAR Pinty's Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish	55th (2012)
First race	2012 Pinty's 250 (Kawartha)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
IndyCar Series career
3 races run over 2 years
Best finish	26th (2006)
First race	2002 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Last race	2006 Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis)
Wins Podiums Poles 0 0 0
Champ Car career
113 races run over 8 years
Best finish	5th (1999)
First race	1996 Miller 200 (Mid-Ohio)
Last race	2003 Molson Indy Montreal (Montreal)
First win	2000 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami (Homestead)
Last win	2001 Honda Grand Prix of Monterey (Laguna Seca)
Wins Podiums Poles 3 11 2
Statistics current as of November 17, 2013.
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Italian
Active years	1995
Teams	Footwork
Entries	7 (7 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1995 British Grand Prix
Last entry	1995 European Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	1997, 2003–2008
Teams	Moretti Racing, JML Team Panoz, Corvette Racing
Best finish	5th (2003)
Class wins	0

Massimiliano "Max" Papis (born October 3, 1969) is a famous Italian motorsport driver. He has raced in many big events like the Le Mans 24 Hours, Formula One, and Champ Car. Max has won three races in Champ Car. He is also the son-in-law of racing legend Emerson Fittipaldi. Papis currently races in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series.

Max Papis's Early Life

Max Papis was born on October 3, 1969, in Como, Italy. He grew up in Italy and became interested in car racing when he was young. He won many go-kart races and several club races in Italy.

Max is married to Tatiana Papis, who is the daughter of famous racing driver Emerson Fittipaldi. They have two children. His sons' godfathers are fellow racers Alex Zanardi and Dario Franchitti.

Max was part of a group of close friends who were also CART drivers. They called themselves the "brat pack." This group included Dario Franchitti, Tony Kanaan, and the late Greg Moore.

Max Papis's Racing Career

Formula One Racing

Papis made his Formula One debut for Footwork at the 1995 British Grand Prix.

Max Papis started as a test driver for the Lotus team in 1994. In 1995, he joined the Footwork team for seven races. He brought important sponsorship money to the team.

Even though he had won races in Formula 3000, he found the Formula One car difficult to drive. He also had some bad luck. In his first race at Silverstone, his tire burst and his car broke down after he hit the pit lane wall. At the Hockenheim race, his car had a problem and he couldn't start. In the Italian GP, he spun out on the first lap, causing a crash. He almost scored a point in that race, but another driver passed him on the last lap. After these races, he left Formula One and moved to America in 1996.

Champ Car Series

In 1996, Max Papis began racing in the CART series. He joined the Rahal team in 1999. He nearly won the US 500 but ran out of fuel. He finished fifth in the series that year.

In 2000, he won the first race of the season. In 2001, he won two more races and finished sixth overall. However, he left the team because he had two crashes with his teammate, Kenny Bräck. In 2002, he raced for Sigma Autosport and finished third twice. But the team closed due to money problems.

In 2003, Max raced part-time for PK Racing. His best finish was fourth at Road America. Max also competed in the 2002 and 2006 Indianapolis 500 races for Cheever Racing. He finished 14th in 2006.

IndyCar Series

Max Papis also raced in the IndyCar Series earlier in his career. He drove for teams like Roger Penske, Andretti-Green Racing, and Panther Racing between 2001 and 2009. Max is a close friend of drivers Tony Kanaan and Alex Zanardi. In 2013, Max and Zanardi were there to celebrate when Kanaan won his first Indy 500.

In 2016, Max Papis became a race steward for the IndyCar Series. He worked with Arie Luyendyk and Dan Davis to make sure races were fair.

ASCAR Racing

On June 8, 2003, Max Papis raced in the ASCAR Racing Series in Britain. He drove a Pontiac for Team HTML. He finished 14th at Rockingham Motor Speedway. This was his only race in that series.

NASCAR Racing

Max Papis's 2011 Nationwide car at Road America.

Max Papis started racing in NASCAR in August 2006. He competed in a Busch Series race at Watkins Glen International Raceway. He tried to race in the NASCAR Cup Series but did not qualify.

In 2007, Max raced two more times for James Finch's Phoenix Racing. At Montreal, he finished third after avoiding a crash. The next week at Watkins Glen, his engine broke.

In 2008, Max made his Cup Series debut at Infineon Raceway. He drove for Haas CNC Racing. He also drove in three road course races in the 2008 Nationwide Series. Haas CNC Racing hired him for another Cup Series race at Watkins Glen. He was then announced as a driver for the No. 13 GEICO Toyota in 2009 and full-time in 2010.

In 2009, Max had his best Cup Series finish, coming in 8th place at Watkins Glen. In 2010, he almost won his first Truck Series race at Daytona. He led for many laps but was caught in a crash near the end.

After the Watkins Glen race in 2010, his team announced that Casey Mears would replace him. Max would then race in the Truck Series for the team.

In 2010, Max also finished in the top 30 at the Daytona 500. At Montreal in the Nationwide Series, he drove for Richard Childress Racing. He was leading on the final lap but hit a curb and was passed, finishing second.

In 2011, Max raced in the Truck Series and finished 18th in the standings. From 2011 to 2013, Max had good races on road courses but did not win. In 2011 at Road America, another driver, Jacques Villeneuve, spun him out. After the race, Max blocked Villeneuve's car and they argued. In 2012, Max finished fourth at Road America. He also raced in one NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race.

In 2013 at Road America, Max was spun out twice. After the race, he went up to Billy Johnson and slapped him. Officials separated them, and Max later apologized for the slap.

In August 2013, Max Papis filled in for Tony Stewart in the No. 14 Chevrolet at Watkins Glen International. Stewart had broken his leg in a sprint car accident. Max finished a strong 15th. Max also competed in the Nationwide Children's Hospital 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, finishing fourth.

In September 2013, Max drove for NTS Motorsports in a Truck Series race in Canada. He finished 6th. After the race, he was slapped by the girlfriend of driver Mike Skeen, with whom he had crashed on the final lap. Max suffered a dislocated jaw.

Also in 2013, Max raced in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Elite 1 Division. He had a best finish of 2nd at Tours Speedway. In 2014, Max's team raced in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series with Kevin Gilardoni. In 2017, Max raced one more time in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East at Watkins Glen.

Other Racing Events

In 2016, Max Papis raced in the Stadium Super Trucks series. He competed in the Honda Indy Toronto races, finishing eleventh and seventh.

Why Max Papis is Called "Mad Max"

Max Papis got the nickname "Mad Max" at the 1996 24 Hours of Daytona race. In the final part of the race, his car was damaged from crashes. But Max drove incredibly fast, even passing the race leader. He was setting some of the fastest laps of the whole race! The leader was driving carefully because his car was overheating. Max's speed was amazing, but it used a lot of fuel. At one point, he raced into the pits at nearly full speed to get fuel. (Rules for pit lane speed were put in place the next year). Even with Max's incredible driving, the leader still won by 64 seconds.

Images for kids

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  Papis in 2016

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  Papis made his Formula One debut for Footwork at the 1995 British Grand Prix.

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  Max Papis's 2011 Nationwide car at Road America.