Legendary Racing Team Owner Carl Haas Dies Aged 86

Iconic CART/Champ Car and IndyCar team owner Carl Haas has sadly passed away at the age of 86, his Haas Auto business has confirmed. He had been battling with Alzheimer’s Disease and died on June 29.

Haas – known for the his love of cigars - started in motorsport as a racer in sportscars in the 1950s and enjoyed success at the wheel of Ferraris, Porsches, MGs and Jaguars. He then switched focus to his Carl Haas Automotive Imports Inc. business and became the sole importer of Lola Cars by 1967.

Teams were then entered in the likes of the Formula 5000, the Can-Am Series and the Super Vee series. In Can-Am drivers like Jackie Stewart, Jackie Ickx and Alan Jones raced for him.

Alongside his race teams in American single-seaters, Haas also co-owned a Nascar team and ran the Haas Lola Formula 1 team, which raced in the series in 1985 and 1986. It was the latest F1 outfit from the US until the unrelated Haas F1 team joined the series this season.

But of course he is best known for Newman/Haas Racing, which he co-owned alongside actor Paul Newman. The team achieved great success in the CART series, winning titles with Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell and Cristiano da Matta.

Following the end of CART, the team switched to its successor Champ Car and dominated its final years with Sebastien Bourdais, winning four consecutive titles from 2004 to 2007. It briefly became Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing after Mike Lanigan joined as a partner until 2010.

From 2008 to 2011 the team raced in the IndyCar series, following the merger of Champ Car and the Indy Racing League. Haas’ squad won several races and picked up podiums but failed to match its previous success. Attempts were made to race in 2012 and 2013 but they failed to materialise.

Under Haas’ leadership his team became the second most successful in CART/Champ Car history with eight drivers’ titles, one behind Team Penske. It also won 105 races in total.

Our thoughts were with the friends and family of Haas at this time. His death is a great loss to motorsport.