Checkered Flag for Newman/Haas

Newman/Haas Racing will close down operations at the beginning of the 2012 calendar year.  As first reported by Marshall Pruett of Speed.com, the long-time IndyCar powerhouse will not compete in next year's IZOD IndyCar Season.  The Lincolnshire, Illinois based team has long been considered one of the most competitive in the series.  Fielding drivers like Mario and Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell, Sebastien Bourdais, Cristiano da Matta, and Graham Rahal, the team was always found near the top of charts.

Newman/Haas was on the CART side of the 1996 split, and did not fully rejoin the IndyCar series until the re-unification in 2008.  In their first ever road course race in the new series, they broke through and won at St. Petersburg with the young Rahal.  Another win that year by Justin Wilson indicated the team was a force to reckon with no matter the car or series.  In this past year, the team powered veteran Oriol Servia to a fourth place finish in the points, and led rookie James Hinchcliffe to the Rookie of the Year award.

Update: Co-owner Carl Haas on why his team will not compete in next year's IZOD IndyCar Series, "The economic climate no longer enables Newman/Haas Racing to participate in open wheel racing at this time"