Hemelgarn Racing was an American auto racing team owned by Ron Hemelgarn. The team debuted in 1985, and competed in the CART and Indy Racing League ranks until the team originally shut down in 2010. The team returned to competition in 2015, and currently competes full-time in the USAC Silver Crown Series with driver Justin Grant. Grant won the 2020 championship for the team.

The team won the 1996 Indianapolis 500 and 2000 Indy Racing League Championship with driver Buddy Lazier.

The team had a best finish of 7th in the CART standings. Along with Lazier's Indy 500 win in 1996, the team also had two second-place finishes at the Indy 500 in 1998 and 2000.

Along with A. J. Foyt Enterprises, Hemelgarn was unique in having competed in at least one race in every season of the Indy Racing League's existence from 1996 through 2008.

CART series history Early years

The team was founded in 1985 and participated part-time in the CART series with largely outdated equipment and three different drivers. In 1986 the team bought new March chassis and participated full-time with Jacques Villeneuve and part-time with Scott Brayton, putting both in the field of the team's first Indianapolis 500.

Arie Luyendyk replaced Villeneuve for 1987 and finished 7th in points. In 1988 Scott Brayton raced full-time for the team while three other drivers fielded part-time entries. For 1989, seven different drivers took turns behind the wheel, as the team struggled to find consistency. Buddy Lazier first joined the team in 1990 and competed in his first six CART races with the team. Lazier was bumped from the field and failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, while Billy Vukovich III did qualify his Hemelgarn machine for the 1990 Indy 500, finishing 24th in a two-year-old Lola-Buick.

1991 Hemelgarn teamed up with Dale Coyne Racing to field a car at Road America and Toronto for Lazier in 1991. The team fielded three cars at the 1991 Indianapolis 500. Indy legend Gordon Johncock, veteran Stan Fox, and Buddy Lazier, who made the race for the first time. Lazier was involved in a spin on the first lap and finished last. Johncock, however, charged from 33rd starting position, and battling an illness, came home in a surprising 6th place. Fox in 8th place gave the team two cars in the top ten.

1992–1995 In 1992 the team only participated at Indianapolis as costs to run the series full-time increased rapidly. In 1993 the team fielded a car for pay driver Brian Bonner in a pair of road races.

For 1994 and 1995, Hemelgarn ran Indianapolis only, with veteran Stan Fox as the primary driver. Jeff Andretti (1994) and Jim Crawford (1995), respectively, were entered as second drivers, but neither were able to qualify. Fox was running in the top ten late in the race in 1994, but spun out and crashed in turn one with four laps to go. In 1995 Fox qualified 11th, but was involved in a terrible crash at the start. He was critically injured, suffering a closed-head injury, which ended his driving career.

Indy Racing League success 1996–2001 With the founding of the Indy Racing League in 1996, the team was eager to return to full-time racing and re-signed former Hemelgarn stalwart Buddy Lazier to pilot their full-time entry and fielded additional cars for Brad Murphey and Stéphan Grégoire in the Indy 500.

Buddy Lazier scored the team's first pole position at the 1996 IRL season opener at Walt Disney World Speedway.

Lazier scored the first win of his Indy car career and Hemelgarn's first as a team in a gutsy drive while recovering from a back injury in the 1996 Indianapolis 500. This win cemented Lazier and sponsor Delta Faucet with the team for years to come. Lazier was one of the top drivers in the league, consistently scoring top-tens and finishing in the top-ten in points every year.

In 2000, Lazier and Hemelgarn captured the Indy Racing League championship and finished second in the Indy 500 behind the dominant "500" rookie Juan Pablo Montoya. The team nearly repeated their championship ways in 2001, with Lazier capturing four wins and finishing second in points, albeit well back from champion Sam Hornish Jr.

With Lazier behind the wheel, Hemelgarn posted eight wins, and 18 top three finishes over six seasons.

Struggles and closure 2002–2005 As 2002 came, the team began to struggle. The influx of former CART teams had begun and Lazier only managed an 8th-place finish in points and only registered a pair of top five finishes. 2003 was even worse as the team struggled with under-powered Chevrolet engines compared to the new Honda and Toyota powerplants and Lazier finished a dismal 19th in series points, prompting Delta Faucets to leave the team.

In 2004 the team was only able to field a car for Lazier in the Indy 500. In 2005 the team returned to full-time competition with new ethanol sponsorship brought by driver Paul Dana who was injured after three races and replaced by Jimmy Kite.

2006

The team hit rock bottom in 2006. The team was able to broker a deal with driver P. J. Chesson, with financial backing from NBA star Carmelo Anthony. Jeff Bucknum joined the team as a second team car, and under the moniker "Car-Melo", the two cars qualified for the 2006 Indianapolis 500. On the second lap, however, the two cars tangled in turn two and crashed out together, finishing 32nd and 33rd (last and second-to-last). Following the devastating result, Ron Hemelgarn let his crew go and suspended the team's operations, leaving Chesson without a ride for the rest of the year.

2007–2009 It was unknown if and when Hemelgarn Racing would return to the track until the team filed an entry for the 2007 Indianapolis 500. Little was heard of the entry until a deal was put together on the Friday before the final weekend of qualifying with Racing Professionals to jointly field a former Hemelgarn chassis (bought by RP) for Richie Hearn. Hearn solidly put the car in the field after only 26 laps of practice on Bump Day and finished the race in the 23rd position.

In 2008 Buddy Lazier returned to the team for the Indianapolis 500 and made a last minute run on Bump Day to put the car into the field. With little practice, Lazier struggled with the handling of the car and finished 17th five laps down. The team attempted to repeat 2008's relative success in 2009, but despite running lap times similar to what they had run the previous year, Lazier was not able to wring enough speed from the car to make the field.

In April 2010, SPEED TV's Robin Miller reported that Hemelgarn Racing had ceased operations.SPEEDtv.com – Robin Miller's Open-Wheel Mailbag: 4/22/2010 / Ron Hemelgarn was inducted into the Michigan Motorsports Hall of Fame (www.mmshof.org) in 2013.

Return (2015–present) The team reopened at the start of 2015, and began competing full-time in the USAC Silver Crown Series. Austin Nemire raced for the team in 2015 and 2016. Nemire had two top 5s (Iowa – 2015 and Gateway – 2016), and finished 8th in points standings during both seasons.

Hemelgarn joined forces with Chris Carli Motorsports & driver Justin Grant for the 2017 season. The combination had success as they finished 4th in the points standings & won the Bettenhausen 100 at Illinois State Fairgrounds.

Grant returned to the team for the 2018 season and won at Terre Haute Action Track. Grant won the 2020 championship without winning a race that season.

List of Hemelgarn drivers

CART Brian Bonner 1993 Scott Brayton 1986–1989 Stan Fox 1991–1995 Spike Gehlhausen 1985 Scott Goodyear 1989–1990 Davey Hamilton 1991; 1995 Ludwig Heimrath 1988–1989 Gordon Johncock 1988–1989; 1991–1992 Ken Johnson 1988 Buddy Lazier 1990–1991; 1994 Arie Luyendyk 1987 Enrique Mansilla 1985 Tero Palmroth 1989 Michael Roe 1985 Dick Simon (sponsored car) 1978–1979 Tom Sneva 1988–1989 Didier Theys 1989 Robby Unser 1989 Jacques Villeneuve 1986 Rich Vogler 1987 Billy Vukovich III 1989–1990

IndyCar / Indy Racing League Jeff Bucknum 2006 P. J. Chesson 2006 Paul Dana 2005 Stephan Gregoire 1996 Richie Hearn 2003, 2007 Jimmy Kite 2005 Buddy Lazier 1996–2003; 2008 Chris Menninga 2001 Brad Murphey 1996–1997 Lyn St. James 1997 Johnny Unser 1997–1999 Stan Wattles 2000–2001

USAC Silver Crown Series Justin Grant 2017–present Austin Nemire 2015–2016

Complete Racing Results Complete PPG CART Indycar World Series results (key) YearChassisEngineDrivers No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Longhorn Racing 1979PHXATLINDY Penske PC-6/7 Cosworth DFX Tom Bagley11 8 8 7 9 8 4 6 6 6 7 32 5 9 8th1,208 Steve Krisiloff71 23 279 1980 INDYLonghorn LR-01Cosworth DFX Al Unser5 16 27 20 24 13 7 19 13 4 5 3 15 8th1,153 1981Longhorn LR-02Cosworth DFX Al Unser8 17 5 6 7 11 14 5 3 14 2 22 10th90 1982Longhorn LR-03/BCosworth DFX Al Unser10 21 8 17 3 4 DNQ 23 17 2 18 7th125Primus Motor Sports 1983 INDYLonghorn LR-03Cosworth DFX Chris Kneifel (R)72 12 27 9 26 8 22 13 24 8 9 15 17th19 1984 INDY Primus 84 Cosworth DFX Chris Kneifel72 DNQ 9 15 23 8 DNQ 15 DNS 2529th9 John Paul Jr. 17 28Hemelgarn Racing 1985 INDY Lola T900 Cosworth DFX Michael Roe (R)71 21 DNQ 7 8 26 27th11 Spike Gehlhausen 14 18 42nd0 Enrique Mansilla 9 10 12 31st8 Scott Brayton 26 18 DNQ 15 1986 INDYMarch 86CCosworth DFX Scott Brayton71 24 13 27 1939th0Buick 3300 V6 tc 30Cosworth DFX 8 15 5 5 19 24 11 19 10 19 16 615th3881 20 1987 INDYMarch 87CCosworth DFX Arie Luyendyk71 14 3 18 4 16 6 19 7 5 4 4 11 4 6 11 7th98 Rich Vogler81 20 43rd0March 86CBuick 330 V6 tc DNQ Johnny Parsons DNQ NC—March 87CCosworth DFX Scott Brayton91 12 5 10 22 25 22nd14 1988 INDYLola T88/00Cosworth DFX Ludwig Heimrath71 14 25 23 26 19 12 7 28th7Judd AV 19 21 Cosworth DFX Ken Johnson (R) 12 36th1 Tom Sneva 22 45th0Judd AV81 27 Cosworth DFX Gordon Johncock71 6 21st1685 6 Judd AV Scott Brayton91 15 23 10 9 16 14 11 26 10 24 23rd12Cosworth DFX 18 Buick 3300 V6 tc 31 1989 INDYLola T89/00Judd AV Ludwig Heimrath71 24 DNS DNQ 17 DNQ 26th4Lola T88/00 9 13 22 25 17 Tero Palmroth 27 0 Billy Vukovich III81 12 34th1Buick 3300 V6 tc Gordon Johncock91 31 400Lola T89/00Judd AV 21 15 Didier Theys 9 12 9Lola T88/00 20 26 Scott Goodyear 23 48th0Lola T89/00 23 1990 INDYLola T88/00Buick 3300 V6 tc Billy Vukovich III81 2434th0Cosworth DFS 13 Buddy Lazier (R)91 DNQ30th1Judd AV DNQBuick 3300 V6 tc DNQ DNQ 13 24 DNS 26 DNQ 12 23 DNS 14 1991 SFR INDYLola T90/00Buick 3300 V6 tc Buddy Lazier71 336Lola T88/00 Davey Hamilton81 DNQNC—Lola T91/00 Stan Fox91 824th5Lola T90/00Cosworth DFS Gordon Johncock92 620th8 1992 SFR INDY TORLola T91/00Buick 3300 V6 tc Pancho Carter81 DNQ2 Stan Fox91 2759th0 Gordon Johncock92 2961st0 1993 SFR INDYLola T91/00Buick 3300 V6 tc Stan Fox91 3154th0Lola T92/00 Didier Theys92 2242nd0 1994 SFR INDYReynard 94iFord XB V8t Stan Fox91 13 37th0Lola T92/00Buick 3300 V6 tc Buddy Lazier94 DNQ 0 Jeff Andretti DNQ 44th0 1995 SFR INDYReynard 95iFord XB V8t Stan Fox91 3046th0Reynard 94i Davey Hamilton95 DNQNC—Lola T92/00Buick 3300 V6 tc Jim Crawford96 DNQNC—

IRL/IndyCar Series (key) (Results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)