2008 IndyCar Series Season
The 2008 IndyCar Series was the 13th season of the IndyCar Series. It was the 97th recognized season of top-level American open wheel racing. On February 26, 2008, the managements of Indy Racing League and Champ Car came to an agreement to become a single entity, ending a twelve-year split and resulting in the cancellation of the 2008 Champ Car World Series. The first race was held March 29, at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The premier event was the 92nd Indianapolis 500 on May 25. All races were televised on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPN Classic. All IndyCar Series broadcasts continued to use the Side-By-Side format in their first year of HD broadcasts. Races were also broadcast on the IMS Radio Network and XM for the radios. Scott Dixon driving for Chip Ganassi Racing won the first unified title for 13 years after completing the IndyCar–Indy 500 double. Dixon took six victories over the course of the season but had to fend off a consistent championship challenge from Hélio Ca ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2008 In Sports
2008 in sports describes the year's events in world sport. American football * Super Bowl XLII – the New York Giants (NFC) won 17–14 over the heavily favored New England Patriots (AFC) **Location: University of Phoenix Stadium **Attendance: 71,101 **MVP: Eli Manning, QB (New York) * BCS National Championship Game at Sugar Bowl ( 2007 season): ** The Louisiana State Tigers won 38–24 over the Ohio State Buckeyes to win the BCS National Championship, thus becoming the first two-time BCS National Champions, and the first BCS titlists with two losses in a single season. * September 7 – In the New England Patriots' season opener, quarterback Tom Brady suffers a torn ACL that ruled him out for the season, a year after he led the Patriots to a 16–0 record (the first undefeated team since the NFL's 16-game expansion in 1978) and a Super Bowl XLII appearance. * September 21 – The New England Patriots lost to the Miami Dolphins to end their NFL-record 21-game regular-season ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially formatted as a younger-skewing counterpart to its parent network ESPN, with a focus on sports popular among young adult audiences (ranging from mainstream events to other unconventional sports), and carrying a more informal and youthful presentation than the main network. By the late 1990s, this mandate was phased out, as the channel increasingly became a second outlet for ESPN's mainstream sports coverage. As of November 2021, ESPN2 reaches approximately 76 million television households in the United States - a drop of 24% from nearly a decade ago. History ESPN2 launched on October 1, 1993, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Its inaugural program was the premiere of ''SportsNight'', a sports news program originally hosted by Keith Olbermann and Suzy K ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gran Premio De México
The Gran Premio Tecate was a round of the Champ Car World Series held on the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit in Mexico City, Mexico. It was first held in 1980, and in its first two years of competition was the penultimate round of the championship. After its re-inception in 2002, it was the season-ending round. It was to have been the penultimate round of the 2007 season, but became the final round when the Grand Prix Arizona was cancelled. 2007 race During the 2007 race, three drivers failed to get going off the grid. Also, Robert Doornbos — placed 3rd in the Champ Car point standings entering the race — had car problems early and was out of the race by lap 10, although he returned later to trying and accomplish the fastest lap of the race and secure an extra bonus point toward the championship. The top three results of the race were Sébastien Bourdais, Will Power and Oriol Servià. It concluded the final Champ Car season, as the series was absorbed by the Ind ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Grand Prix Of Edmonton
The Edmonton Indy was a round of the IndyCar Series held at a temporary circuit set up at the Edmonton City Centre Airport near the downtown area of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was formerly called the ''Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton'' and was a round of the Champ Car World Series. It was one of three Champ Car races added to the 2008 IndyCar Series following the merger of the two American open-wheel racing series. History The inaugural race was held in 2005 and was known as the ''West Edmonton Mall Grand Prix''. It was known in 2006 as the ''West Edmonton Mall Grand Prix Presented by The Brick''. In 2007, Katz Group signed with the Grand Prix of Edmonton as the race's lead sponsor. In 2010, Honda Canada Inc. was the title sponsor of the race. There was no title sponsor in 2011. During the 2010 race weekend, it was announced that Octane Motorsports Events from Montreal, promoter of the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix and the NASCAR Nationwide race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Steelback Grand Prix Of Toronto
The Grand Prix of Toronto (known for sponsorship reasons as the Honda Indy Toronto) is an annual IndyCar Series, Indy Car race, held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally known as the Molson Indy Toronto, it was part of the Champ Car, Champ Car World Series from 1986 to 2007. After a one-year hiatus, it has been part of the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series schedule since 2009. The race takes place on a , 11 turn, temporary street circuit through Exhibition Place and on Lake Shore Boulevard. Toronto is classified as an Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA List of motor racing circuits by FIA Grade#Grade Two, Grade Two circuit. It is IndyCar's second-longest running street race, only behind the Grand Prix of Long Beach and is the third oldest race on the current schedule (tied with the Honda Indy 200, Mid-Ohio 200) in terms of number of List of Indycar races#Current IndyCar races and locations, races run. The Toronto Indy is one of seven List of auto racing tracks ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Long Beach Grand Prix
The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It was the premier race on the CART/Champ Car World Series calendar from 1996 to 2008, and the 2008 race was the final Champ Car series race prior to the formal unification and end of the open-wheel "split" between CART and IRL. Since 2009, the race has been part of the unified IndyCar Series. The race is typically held in April. It is one of the longest continuously running events in Indy car racing and is considered one of the most prestigious events on the circuit. The Long Beach Grand Prix is the longest running major street race held in North America. It started in 1975 as a Formula 5000 race, and became a Formula One event in . In an era when turbocharged engines were starting to come to prominence in Formula One, Long Beach remains one ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tony George
Anton Hulman "Tony" George (born December 30, 1959) is the former Chairman, President, and CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Hulman & Company, serving from 1989 to 2009. He was also formerly on the Board of Directors of both entities. He founded the Indy Racing League and co-owned Vision Racing. Tony George's grandfather, Tony Hulman purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at the end of World War II. George is a former driver, having competed in the 1989 Indy Lights championship, finishing 12th in points and capturing 5 top-tens. His mother (Tony Hulman's daughter), Mari Hulman George (1934–2018), formerly served as the speedway's Chairman and delivers its famed "ladies and gentlemen, start your engines" public address before every Indianapolis 500 from 1997–2015 and the Brickyard 400 from 1997, 1999–2015. He delivered the command for the 2017–2019 Indy 500s. Indianapolis Motor Speedway Leadership Tony George became president and CEO of the Indianapolis Mo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Robin Miller (journalist)
Robin Lee Miller (October 27, 1949 – August 25, 2021) was an American motorsports journalist. Miller was best known for being a writer at ''The Indianapolis Star'' from 1968–2001. He also wrote for ''Autoweek'', ''Car and Driver'', ''ESPN'' and ''Speed''. At the time of his death, he was a correspondent and senior writer for '' RACER'' magazine and website, while also reporting on IndyCar Series broadcasts for NBCSN. Racing career Miller first visited the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1957, and attended his first Indianapolis 500 in 1959. In 1968, at the age of 18, he got to "stooge" for his driving hero Jim Hurtubise at Indy. Miller was hired for free to do odd jobs with the pit crew, but was fired before the end of the month after he ruined the paint job on Hurtubise's car. Miller became friends with chief mechanic Bill Finley, and driver Art Pollard. From 1971–78 (concurrent to his work with ''The Star''), Miller began working on pit crews at the Indianapolis 500. It w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chicagoland Speedway
Chicagoland Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and actively hosted NASCAR racing including the NASCAR Cup Series until 2019. Until 2010, the speedway has also hosted the IndyCar Series, recording numerous close finishes including the closest finish in IndyCar history. The speedway is currently owned and operated by Nascar. History First discussions of building a major speedway near Chicago took place in an informal meeting between Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Tony George and International Speedway Corporation Chief Executive Officer Bill France Jr. in late 1995. Together they formed The Motorsports Alliance, a joint company owned by Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation and International Speedway Corporation. By 1995, a major racing facility had been built or was near completion near Las Vegas, Los Angeles and the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The Chicago area was an untapped market for motorsports ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, FIA World Endurance Championship, and Extreme E. They have formerly competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Cup and NASCAR Xfinity Series, Xfinity Series, Global Rallycross Championship and the Rolex Sports Car Series. It was founded in 1990 by businessman and former racecar driver Chip Ganassi, from the assets of Patrick Racing to compete in the ChampCar, CART IndyCar World Series. After winning four consecutive CART championships from 1996 to 1999 with drivers Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi and Juan Pablo Montoya, in 2000 Ganassi became the first CART organization to return to the Indianapolis 500 after the open-wheel "Split" between CART and the Indy Racing League in 1996. A dominant victory with Montoya would fore ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable television. Its service included 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional traffic and weather channels, and 23 play-by-play sports channels. XM channels were identified by Arbitron with the label "XM" (e.g., "XM32" for " The Bridge"). The company had its origins in the 1988 formation of the American Mobile Satellite Corporation (AMSC), a consortium of several organizations originally dedicated to satellite broadcasting of telephone, fax, and data signals. In 1992, AMSC established a unit called the American Mobile Radio Corporation dedicated to developing a satellite-based digital radio service; this was spun off as XM Satellite Radio Holdings, Inc. in 1999. The satellite service officially launched on Se ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network (known typically as the IMS Radio Network or the INDYCAR Radio Network), is an in-house radio syndication arrangement which broadcasts the Indianapolis 500, the NTT IndyCar Series, and Indy Lights to radio stations covering most of North America. The network, owned by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and headquartered in Speedway, Indiana, claims to be one of the largest of its kind in the world. It currently boasts over 350 terrestrial radio affiliates, plus shortwave transmissions through American Forces Network and World Harvest Radio. The network is carried on satellite radio through SiriusXM, and is also accessible through online streaming, and downloadable podcasts. For 2017, the broadcast reached 20.5 million listeners. The longtime flagship of the network is 1070/WFNI (formerly WIBC, currently broadcasting on WIBC-HD3 and its FM translators) in Indianapolis. Mark Jaynes is the current anchor and chief announcer for the network ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |