Hemelgarn Racing

Hemelgarn Racing
Founded	1985
Team principal(s)	Ron Hemelgarn; Lee Kunzman
Current series	USAC Silver Crown Series
Former series	CART, IndyCar
Noted drivers	Arie Luyendyk; Stan Fox; Buddy Lazier
Drivers'; Championships	2000 IRL; 2020 USAC Silver Crown

Hemelgarn Racing is an American auto racing team owned by Ron Hemelgarn. The team debuted in 1985, and competed in the CART and Indy Racing League ranks until the team originally shut down in 2010. The team returned to competition in 2015, and currently competes full-time in the USAC Silver Crown Series with driver Justin Grant. Grant won the 2020 championship for the team.^[2]

The team won the 1996 Indianapolis 500 and 2000 Indy Racing League Championship with driver Buddy Lazier.

The team had a best finish of 7th in the CART standings. Along with Lazier's Indy 500 win in 1996, the team also had two second-place finishes at the Indy 500 in 1998 and 2000.

Along with A. J. Foyt Enterprises, Hemelgarn was unique in having competed in at least one race in every season of the Indy Racing League's existence from 1996 through 2008.

CART series history

Early years

The team was founded in 1985 and participated part-time in the CART series with largely outdated equipment and three different drivers. In 1986 the team bought new March chassis and participated full-time with Jacques Villeneuve and part-time with Scott Brayton, putting both in the field of the team's first Indianapolis 500.

Arie Luyendyk replaced Villeneuve for 1987 and finished 7th in points. In 1988 Scott Brayton raced full-time for the team while three other drivers fielded part-time entries. For 1989, seven different drivers took turns behind the wheel, as the team struggled to find consistency. Buddy Lazier first joined the team in 1990 and competed in his first six CART races with the team. Lazier was bumped from the field and failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, while Billy Vukovich III did qualify his Hemelgarn machine for the 1990 Indy 500, finishing 24th in a two-year-old Lola-Buick.

1991

Hemelgarn teamed up with Dale Coyne Racing to field a car at Road America and Toronto for Lazier in 1991. The team fielded three cars at the 1991 Indianapolis 500. Indy legend Gordon Johncock, veteran Stan Fox, and Buddy Lazier, who made the race for the first time. Lazier was involved in a spin on the first lap and finished last. Johncock, however, charged from 33rd starting position, and battling an illness, came home in a surprising 6th place. Fox in 8th place gave the team two cars in the top ten.

1992-1995

In 1992 the team only participated at Indianapolis as costs to run the series full-time increased rapidly. In 1993 the team fielded a car for pay driver Brian Bonner in a pair of road races.

For 1994 and 1995, Hemelgarn ran Indianapolis only, with veteran Stan Fox as the primary driver. Jeff Andretti (1994) and Jim Crawford (1995), respectively, were entered as second drivers, but neither were able to qualify. Fox was running in the top ten late in the race in 1994, but spun out and crashed in turn one with four laps to go. In 1995 Fox qualified 11th, but was involved in a terrible crash at the start. He was critically injured, suffering a closed-head injury, which ended his driving career.

Indy Racing League success

1996-2001

With the founding of the Indy Racing League in 1996, the team was eager to return to full-time racing and re-signed former Hemelgarn stalwart Buddy Lazier to pilot their full-time entry and fielded additional cars for Brad Murphey and Stéphan Grégoire in the Indy 500.

Buddy Lazier scored the team's first pole position at the 1996 IRL season opener at Walt Disney World Speedway.

Lazier scored the first win of his Indy car career and Hemelgarn's first as a team in a gutsy drive while recovering from a back injury in the 1996 Indianapolis 500. This win cemented Lazier and sponsor Delta Faucet with the team for years to come. Lazier was one of the top drivers in the league, consistently scoring top-tens and finishing in the top-ten in points every year.

In 2000, Lazier and Hemelgarn captured the Indy Racing League championship and finished second in the Indy 500 behind the dominant "500" rookie Juan Pablo Montoya. The team nearly repeated their championship ways in 2001, with Lazier capturing four wins and finishing second in points, albeit well back from champion Sam Hornish Jr.

With Lazier behind the wheel, Hemelgarn posted eight wins, and 18 top three finishes over six seasons.

Struggles and closure

2002-2005

As 2002 came, the team began to struggle. The influx of former CART teams had begun and Lazier only managed an 8th-place finish in points and only registered a pair of top five finishes. 2003 was even worse as the team struggled with under-powered Chevrolet engines compared to the new Honda and Toyota powerplants and Lazier finished a dismal 19th in series points, prompting Delta Faucets to leave the team.

In 2004 the team was only able to field a car for Lazier in the Indy 500. In 2005 the team returned to full-time competition with new ethanol sponsorship brought by driver Paul Dana who was injured after three races and replaced by Jimmy Kite.

2006

Hemelgarn's 2008 Indy 500 entry for Buddy Lazier

The team hit rock bottom in 2006. The team was able to broker a deal with driver P. J. Chesson, with financial backing from NBA star Carmelo Anthony. Jeff Bucknum joined the team as a second team car, and under the moniker "Car-Melo", the two cars qualified for the 2006 Indianapolis 500. On the second lap, however, the two cars tangled in turn two and crashed out together, finishing 32nd and 33rd (last and second-to-last). Following the devastating result, Ron Hemelgarn let his crew go and suspended the team's operations, leaving Chesson without a ride for the rest of the year.

2007-2009

It was unknown if and when Hemelgarn Racing would return to the track until the team filed an entry for the 2007 Indianapolis 500. Little was heard of the entry until a deal was put together on the Friday before the final weekend of qualifying with Racing Professionals to jointly field a former Hemelgarn chassis (bought by RP) for Richie Hearn. Hearn solidly put the car in the field after only 26 laps of practice on Bump Day and finished the race in the 23rd position.

In 2008 Buddy Lazier returned to the team for the Indianapolis 500 and made a last minute run on Bump Day to put the car into the field. With little practice, Lazier struggled with the handling of the car and finished 17th five laps down. The team attempted to repeat 2008's relative success in 2009, but despite running lap times similar to what they had run the previous year, Lazier was not able to wring enough speed from the car to make the field.

In April 2010, SPEED TV's Robin Miller reported that Hemelgarn Racing had ceased operations.^[3] Ron Hemelgarn was inducted into the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame (www.mmshof.org) in 2013.

Return (2015-present)

The team reopened at the start of 2015, and began competing full-time in the USAC Silver Crown Series. Austin Nemire raced for the team in 2015 and 2016. Nemire had two top 5s (Iowa - 2015 and Gateway - 2016), and finished 8th in points standings during both seasons.

Hemelgarn joined forces with Chris Carli Motorsports & driver Justin Grant for the 2017 season. The combination had success as they finished 4th in the points standings & won the Bettenhausen 100 at Illinois State Fairgrounds.^[4]

Grant returned to the team for the 2018 season and won at Terre Haute Action Track.^[5] Grant won the 2020 championship without winning a race that season.

List of Hemelgarn drivers

Complete Racing Results

Complete PPG CART Indycar World Series results

(key)

Year	Chassis	Engine	Drivers	No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Pts Pos	Pos
Longhorn Racing
1979					PHX	ATL		INDY	TRT		MCH		WGL	TRT	ONT	MCH	ATL	PHX
	Penske PC-6/7	Cosworth DFX	Tom Bagley	11	8	8	7	9	8	4	6	6	6	7	32	5		9				8th	1,208
	Penske PC-6/7	Cosworth DFX	Steve Krisiloff	71											23							19th	279
1980					ONT	INDY	MIL	POC	MDO	MCH	WGL	MIL	ONT	MCH	MXC	PHX
1980	Longhorn LR-01	Cosworth DFX	Al Unser	5	16	27	20	24	13	7	19	13	4	5	3	15						8th	1,153
1981					PHX	MIL	ATL		MCH	RIV	MIL	MCH	WGL	MXC	PHX
1981	Longhorn LR-02	Cosworth DFX	Al Unser	8	17	5	6	7	11	14	5	3	14	2	22							10th	90
1982					PHX	ATL	MIL	CLE	MCH	MIL	POC	RIV	ROA	MCH	PHX
1982	Longhorn LR-03/B	Cosworth DFX	Al Unser	10	21	8	17	3	4	DNQ	23	17	2	18								7th	125
Primus Motor Sports
1983					ATL	INDY	MIL	CLE	MCH	ROA	POC	RIV	MDO	MCH	CPL	LAG	PHX
1983	Longhorn LR-03	Cosworth DFX	Chris Kneifel (R)	72		12		27	9	26	8	22	13	24	8	9	15					17th	19
1984					LBH	PHX	INDY	MIL	POR	MEA	CLE	MCH	ROA	POC	MDO	SAN	MCH	PHX	LAG	CPL
	Primus 84	Cosworth DFX	Chris Kneifel	72	DNQ	9	15	23	8	DNQ	15	DNS	25									29th	9
	Primus 84	Cosworth DFX	John Paul Jr.	72										17								17th	28
Hemelgarn Racing
1985					LBH	INDY	MIL	POR	MEA	CLE	MCH	ROA	POC	MDO	SAN	MCH	LAG	PHX	MIA
	Lola T900	Cosworth DFX	Michael Roe (R)	71	21	DNQ		7	8	26												27th	11
			Spike Gehlhausen				14				18											42nd	0
			Enrique Mansilla									9		10	12							31st	8
			Scott Brayton														26	18	DNQ			22nd	15
1986					PHX	LBH	INDY	MIL	POR	MEA	CLE	TOR	MCH	POC	MDO	SAN	MCH	ROA	LAG	PHX	MIA
	March 86C	Cosworth DFX	Scott Brayton	71	24								13	27			19					39th	0
		Buick 3300 V6 tc	Scott Brayton				30															39th	0
		Cosworth DFX	Jacques Villeneuve Sr.			8		15	5	5	19	24			11	19		10	19	16	6	15th	38
		Cosworth DFX	Jacques Villeneuve Sr.	81			20															15th	38
1987					LBH	PHX	INDY	MIL	POR	MEA	CLE	TOR	MCH	POC	ROA	MDO	NAZ	LAG	MIA
	March 87C	Cosworth DFX	Arie Luyendyk	71	14	3	18	4	16	6	19	7	5	4	4	11	4	6	11			7th	98
	March 87C	Cosworth DFX	Rich Vogler	81			20															43rd	0
	March 86C	Buick 330 V6 tc	Rich Vogler				DNQ															43rd	0
	March 86C	Buick 330 V6 tc	Johnny Parsons				DNQ															NC	—
	March 87C	Cosworth DFX	Scott Brayton	91			12		5	10			22	25								22nd	14
1988					PHX	LBH	INDY	MIL	POR	CLE	TOR	MEA	MCH	POC	MDO	ROA	NAZ	LAG	MIA
	Lola T88/00	Cosworth DFX	Ludwig Heimrath	71		14	25		23	26	19	12							7			28th	7
		Judd AV	Ludwig Heimrath												19	21						28th	7
		Cosworth DFX	Ken Johnson (R)															12				36th	1
		Cosworth DFX	Tom Sneva										22									45th	0
		Judd AV	Tom Sneva	81			27															45th	0
		Cosworth DFX	Gordon Johncock	71										6								21st	16
		Cosworth DFX	Gordon Johncock	85									6									21st	16
		Judd AV	Scott Brayton	91	15	23		10	9	16	14	11	26	10					24			23rd	12
		Cosworth DFX															18
		Buick 3300 V6 tc					31
1989					PHX	LBH	INDY	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	MEA	TOR	MCH	POC	MDO	ROA	NAZ	LAG
	Lola T89/00	Judd AV	Ludwig Heimrath	71		24		DNS						DNQ				17	DNQ			26th	4
	Lola T88/00		Ludwig Heimrath		9		13						22			25	17					26th	4
			Tero Palmroth						27													43rd	0
			Billy Vukovich III	81			12															34th	1
		Buick 3300 V6 tc	Gordon Johncock	91			31															40	0
	Lola T89/00	Judd AV	Gordon Johncock											21	15							40	0
	Lola T89/00		Didier Theys						9		12											21st	9
	Lola T88/00		Didier Theys							20		26										21st	9
	Lola T88/00		Scott Goodyear										23									48th	0
	Lola T89/00		Scott Goodyear														23					48th	0
1990					PHX	LBH	INDY	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	MEA	TOR	MCH	DEN	VAN	MDO	ROA	NAZ	LAG
	Lola T88/00	Buick 3300 V6 tc	Billy Vukovich III	81			24															34th	0
		Cosworth DFS	Billy Vukovich III	81										13								34th	0
		Cosworth DFS	Buddy Lazier (R)	91			DNQ															30th	1
		Judd AV					DNQ
		Buick 3300 V6 tc					DNQ		DNQ	13	24		DNS	26	DNQ	12	23	DNS	14
1991					SFR	LBH	PHX	INDY	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	MEA	TOR	MCH	DEN	VAN	MDO	ROA	NAZ	LAG
	Lola T90/00	Buick 3300 V6 tc	Buddy Lazier	71				33														22nd	6
	Lola T88/00		Davey Hamilton	81				DNQ														NC	—
	Lola T91/00		Stan Fox	91				8														24th	5
	Lola T90/00	Cosworth DFS	Gordon Johncock	92				6														20th	8
1992					SFR	PHX	LBH	INDY	DET	POR	MIL	NHA	TOR	MCH	CLE	ROA	VAN	MDO	NAZ	LAG
	Lola T91/00	Buick 3300 V6 tc	Pancho Carter	81				DNQ														31st	2
			Stan Fox	91				27														59th	0
			Gordon Johncock	92				29														61st	0
1993					SFR	PHX	LBH	INDY	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	TOR	MCH	NHA	ROA	VAN	MDO	NAZ	LAG
	Lola T91/00	Buick 3300 V6 tc	Stan Fox	91				31														54th	0
	Lola T92/00	Buick 3300 V6 tc	Didier Theys	92				22														42nd	0
1994					SFR	PHX	LBH	INDY	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	TOR	MCH	MDO	NHA	VAN	ROA	NAZ	LAG
	Reynard 94i	Ford XB V8 t	Stan Fox	91				13														37th	0
	Lola T92/00	Buick 3300 V6 tc	Buddy Lazier	94				DNQ														36th	0
	Lola T92/00	Buick 3300 V6 tc	Jeff Andretti	94				DNQ														44th	0
1995					MIA	SFR	PHX	LBH	NAZ	INDY	MIL	DET	POR	ROA	TOR	CLE	MCH	MDO	NHA	VAN	LAG
	Reynard 95i	Ford XB V8 t	Stan Fox	91						30												46th	0
	Reynard 94i	Ford XB V8 t	Davey Hamilton	95						DNQ												NC	—
	Lola T92/00	Buick 3300 V6 tc	Jim Crawford	96						DNQ												NC	—

IRL/IndyCar Series

(key) (Results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Chassis	Engine	Drivers	No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Pts Pos	Pos
1996					WDW	PHX	INDY
	Reynard T95i	Ford XB V8 t	Stéphan Grégoire	9	16	7	27																	13th	165
	Reynard T94i		Brad Murphey	10			23																	34th	12
	Reynard T95i		Buddy Lazier	91	17	Wth	1																	14th	159
1996–97					NHA	LSV	WDW	PHX	INDY	TXS	PPIR	CLT	NHA	LSV
	Reynard T94i	Ford XB V8 t	Brad Murphey	9	18	27																		38th	25
	Dallara IR7	Infiniti VRH35ADE V8	Johnny Unser	9					18					19										24th	107
	Dallara IR7	Infiniti VRH35ADE V8	Lyn St. James	90					13															42nd	22
	Reynard T95i	Ford XB V8 t	Buddy Lazier	91	19	24																		8th	209
	Dallara IR7	Infiniti VRH35ADE V8					5	21
	Dallara IR7	Oldsmobile Aurora V8							4	17	8	1	12	31
1998					WDW	PHX	INDY	TXS	NHA	DOV	CLT	PPIR	ATL	TXS	LSV
	Dallara IR8	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	Johnny Unser	9			25																	40th	5
	Dallara IR8	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	Buddy Lazier	91	15	28	2	11	7	2	13	7	17	6	3									5th	262
1999					WDW	PHX	CLT	INDY	TXS	PPIR	ATL	DOV	PPIR	LSV	TXS
	Dallara IR9	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	Buddy Lazier	91	10	18	C¹	7	14	5	21	2	4	11	10									6th	224
	Dallara IR9	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	Johnny Unser	92			C¹	32	15	13	13			23										27th	57
2000					WDW	PHX	LSV	INDY	TXS	PPIR	ATL	KTY	TXS
	Riley & Scott Mk VII	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	Buddy Lazier	91	2	1	22	DNQ																1st	290
	Dallara IR-00		Buddy Lazier	91				2	7	26	2	1	4											1st	290
	Dallara IR-00		Stan Wattles	92				23																43rd	7
2001					PHX	HMS	ATL	INDY	TXS	PPIR	RIR	KAN	NSH	KTY	GAT	CHI	TXS
	Dallara IR-01	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	Buddy Lazier	91	3	20	6	18	4	1	1*	5	1	1	13	11	17							2nd	398
			Stan Wattles	92	16	26	12																	32nd	36
			Stan Wattles	94				DNQ																32nd	36
			Chris Menninga (R)	92											19	16	19							33rd	36
			Steve Knapp	93				DNQ																NC	—
2002					HMS	PHX	FON	NAZ	INDY	TXS	PPIR	RIR	KAN	NSH	MCH	KTY	GAT	CHI	TXS
2002	Dallara IR-02	Chevrolet Indy V8	Buddy Lazier	91	22	7	7	23	15	8	15	18	7	12	13	3	15	3	7					8th	305
2003					HMS	PHX	MOT	INDY	TXS	PPIR	RIR	KAN	NSH	MCH	GAT	KTY	NAZ	CHI	FON	TXS
	Dallara IR-03	Chevrolet Indy V8	Buddy Lazier	91		11	19	21	13	10	20	13	14	12	11	16	13	16						19th	201
	Dallara IR-03	Chevrolet Indy V8	Richie Hearn	91															21	18				28th	39
2004					HMS	PHX	MOT	INDY	TXS	RIR	KAN	NSH	MIL	MCH	KTY	PPIR	NAZ	CHI	FON	TXS
2004	Dallara IR-04	Chevrolet Indy V8	Buddy Lazier	91				23																33rd	12
2005					HMS	PHX	STP	MOT	INDY	TXS	RIR	KAN	NSH	MIL	MCH	KTY	PPIR	SNM	CHI	WGL	FON
	Dallara IR-05	Toyota Indy V8	Paul Dana (R)	91	10	21		20																27th	44
	Dallara IR-05	Toyota Indy V8	Jimmy Kite	91					32	22	13	19	13	14	13	10	17		18		13			22nd	163
2006					HMS	STP	MOT	INDY	WGL	TXS	RIR	KAN	NSH	MIL	MCH	KTY	SNM	CHI
	Dallara IR-05	Honda HI6R V8	P. J. Chesson (R)	91	12	17	17	33																22nd	54
	Dallara IR-05	Honda HI6R V8	Jeff Bucknum	92				32																20th	97
2007					HMS	STP	MOT	KAN	INDY	MIL	TXS	IOW	RIR	WGL	NSH	MDO	MCH	KTY	SNM	DET	CHI
2007	Dallara IR-05	Honda HI7R V8	Richie Hearn	91					23²															31st	12
2008					HMS	STP	MOT	LBH	KAN	INDY	MIL	TXS	IOW	RIR	WGL	NSH	MDO	EDM	KTY	SNM	DET	CHI	SRF
2008	Dallara IR-05	Honda HI7R V8	Buddy Lazier	91						17														37th	13
2009					STP	LBH	KAN	INDY	MIL	TXS	IOW	RIR	WGL	TOR	EDM	KTY	MDO	SNM	CHI	MOT	HMS
2009	Dallara IR-05	Honda HI7R V8	Buddy Lazier	91				DNQ																NC	—

^ The 1999 VisionAire 500K at Charlotte was cancelled after 79 laps due to spectator fatalities.
^ In conjunction with Racing Professionals.

References

^ "Bettenhausen 100". USAC Silvercrown. October 18, 2020. Event occurs at 15:36. FloRacing.
^ "Bettenhausen 100". USAC Silvercrown. October 18, 2020. Event occurs at 15:36. FloRacing.
^ SPEEDtv.com - Robin Miller's Open-Wheel Mailbag: 4/22/2010 Archived 2010-04-25 at the Wayback Machine/
^ "2017 USAC SILVER CROWN STORIES.PDF".
^ "GLORY GOES TO GRANT IN SUMAR SILVER CROWN SCORE - USAC Racing".

External links

Official Site

[1] "Bettenhausen 100". USAC Silvercrown. October 18, 2020. Event occurs at 15:36. FloRacing.

[2] "Bettenhausen 100". USAC Silvercrown. October 18, 2020. Event occurs at 15:36. FloRacing.

[3] SPEEDtv.com - Robin Miller's Open-Wheel Mailbag: 4/22/2010 Archived 2010-04-25 at the Wayback Machine/

[4] "2017 USAC SILVER CROWN STORIES.PDF".

[5] "GLORY GOES TO GRANT IN SUMAR SILVER CROWN SCORE - USAC Racing".

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