Tweet
Carl Haas, an important figure in American motorsports for nearly 50 years, died June 29 at the age of 86, it was revealed Thursday. A quirky character who became famous for chomping on a huge cigar that he rarely lit, Haas built a business as the North American distributor for Lola cars and Hewland gearboxes in the 1960s and branched into racing team ownership in the early '70s. After dominating the Sports Car Club of America's Formula 5000 and Can-Am championships (his drivers included the likes of Masten Gregory, Peter Revson, Jackie Stewart, Brian Redman, Alan Jones, Patrick Tambay, Jacky Ickx, Paul Tracy, and David Hobbs), Haas joined forces with actor (and rival Can-Am team owner) Paul Newman to form Newman/Haas Racing in 1983 with driver Mario Andretti. NHR immediately developed into one of the top teams in the CART IndyCar series and expanded to run two cars in 1989 when Andretti's son Michael joined. The Andrettis combined to score 57 of the team's 107 race wins, a total that ranks second only to Team Penske's 183, and each won a CART championship during their time at NHR. Newman/Haas won a total of eight Indy car championships with drivers including Nigel Mansell, Cristiano da Matta and Sebastien Bourdais. The team competed in the Verizon IndyCar Series through the end of 2011, at which time Haas withdrew from public life due to the effects of Alzheimer's disease. In 1985 and '86, Haas was the last American Formula 1 team owner prior to Gene Haas' (no relation) entry this year. Carl Haas also served as the chairman of the board of the SCCA and was presented with the Woolf Barnato Award in 2007, when he was inducted into the SCCA Hall of Fame. In all, Haas-owned cars won a total of 147 races.
The only thing missing from Haas' record as an Indy Car team owner is a win at the Indianapolis 500. His cars finished second in 1985 and '91. Haas also co-owned a NASCAR Winston Cup Series team with Travis Carter for eight seasons with drivers such as Jimmy Spencer, Rick Mast, Hut Stricklin, Butch Miller and Ted Musgrave.
The only thing missing from Haas' record as an Indy Car team owner is a win at the Indianapolis 500. His cars finished second in 1985 and '91. Haas also co-owned a NASCAR Winston Cup Series team with Travis Carter for eight seasons with drivers such as Jimmy Spencer, Rick Mast, Hut Stricklin, Butch Miller and Ted Musgrave.
Attached Files