IndyCar: Newman-Haas IndyCar collection up for auction
With an overall record of 108 wins and 8 championship seasons, the Newman/Haas Racing team has amassed a history of winning that puts them in the top-tier of Indy Car teams. Fielding undisputed superstars like Michael and Mario Andretti, Nigel Mansell, and Sébastien Bourdais, the team founded by Carl Haas and Paul Newman dominated both the CART and Champ Car series between 1983 and 2011, and forever changed the history of motorsport. Now, the private team plans its most public outing in years, an international auction hosted by RM Sotheby’s of Newman/Haas Racing’s treasured, race-proven chassis and many artifacts from their history.
Without a doubt the most famous and longest-lasting collaboration in Haas history was when he joined forces with Paul Newman to create Newman/Haas Racing in 1983. Though Haas and Newman were fierce competitors in the Can-Am era, they shared a goal of rising to the top of the IndyCar leaderboard. The driving force pushing the team to victory was none other than Mario Andretti, a veteran of varied formats and a tireless competitor. While driving a 1984 Lola-Cosworth Ford, Andretti scored six first-place victories after six pole positions and went on to win the CART PPG Indy Car World Series.
Mario was not to be the only Andretti to drive for Newman/Haas Racing. In 1991, in Michael Andretti’s second year with the team, he won the Indy Car World Series. Known for giving the second generation of many noteworthy drivers their first shot at racing on a grand stage, Newman/Haas Racing also was the first to field Emerson Fittipaldi’s nephew Christian, as well as Bobby Rahal’s son Graham.
The success continued in 1993, when Haas managed a miracle, signing Nigel Mansell away from F1 after his winning season with Williams. After winning five races outright, Mansell took home the PPG Indy Car World Series trophy after the penultimate race, becoming the only person in history to have won back-to-back championships in the same year in F1 and Indy car.
Haas’ skill as a talent scout did not stop there. Nine years later, after seven races and seven pole positions, upstart racer Cristiano da Matta became the 2002 IndyCar world champion. One year later, the most-awarded driver in Champ Car history, Sébastien Bourdais, started his ascendancy for the Newman/Haas team. The result was historic, with Bourdais taking home the championship four years in a row, from 2004 to 2007. The Champ Car format itself folded the following year, meaning Bourdais’ record will never be broken.
The house that Haas built still stands strong today. Having been described as the largest importer of race components on the American continent, Carl Haas forever altered the fabric of competitive driving in this country. With his keen eye for on-track ability matching his taste in fine art, Haas led a life that any enthusiast would aspire to. Now, the artifacts of Haas’ success are offered to the public for the first time. These race-proven chassis still tell a full story, one of dedication from every member of the Newman/Haas team and an undeniable pattern of victory; a foundation built on winning that will remain legendary forever. Long live the house that Haas built.
