"INDYCAR Racing Series 1996"

[Spafranco]

PS I grew up calling the cars "champ cars" -- right through the 1970s.

I'm sure you meant that you called them CART in the 70's since CHAMP cars only became an entity in when the bankruptcy took hold.

I enjoyed your post and feel your pain.

Ever been to Road America?

[champcarray]

A quick summary from Wikipedia follows. This is why those of us in our 40s and older called the cars that competed at Indy, etc. "champ cars." They were the top of the line AOWR cars and they raced on the championship trail. The term "Indy car" became popular in the 1980s. Does anyone happen to know when CART started officially using the term? All I know is that the IRL couldn't legally use "Indycar" until they got it back from CART in 2003.

"In 1905 the AAA established the national driving championship and became the first sanctioning body for auto racing in the United States. The AAA ceased sanctioning auto racing in the general outrage over motor racing safety that followed the 1955 Le Mans disaster. In response, Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony Hulman formed USAC to take over the sanctioning of what was called "championship" auto racing. USAC controlled the championship until 1978, when a split between USAC and some of its car owners prompted the formation of the rival CART series."