(born
January 10 ,
1958 ) was an
American Racing Driver for almost thirty years in
Formula One ,
Sports Cars ,
CART and the
Indy Racing League , and now owns an IRL team. Cheever participated in 132 Formula One races, more than any other American, driving for nine different teams from
1978 through
1989 . In
1997 , he formed his own IRL team and won the
Indianapolis 500 as both an owner and driver in
1998 .
Born in
Phoenix, Arizona , Cheever lived in
Rome as a child and was introduced to motorsports at age eight when his father took him to a sports car race in
Monza, Italy . He soon began racing
Go Karts and won both Italian and European Karting championships at age 15. He worked his way up through the levels of
European Formula racing, teaming with American
Danny Sullivan in Formula Three and driving for
Ron Dennis in Formula Two.
He made his F1 debut at age 20 in 1978. After failing to qualify in
Argentina , he made the grid at
Kyalami for the
South African Grand Prix in a
Hesketh -
Ford . An engine problem forced him to retire after just eight laps. Two seasons later, he became a regular driver for the
Osella team, but finished only once in ten races. Switching teams repeatedly as he tried to climb his way up the grid, Cheever had five points-scoring finishes for the
Tyrrell team in
1981 , and three podiums for
Ligier the following year, including a second place at the
1982 United States Grand Prix East in
Detroit .
The
1983 season proved to be Cheever's high point in Formula One. He signed with the
Renault team alongside Frenchman
Alain Prost , both of whom were among the year's Championship favorites. Cheever drove well in support of team number one Prost, earning four more podiums and 22 Championship points, but the team's disappointment after losing both the Driver's and Constructor's titles late in the season brought about the replacement of both Cheever and Prost. In six more seasons, he never drove another truly competitive F1 car. His final podium finish in Formula One came in his hometown of Phoenix at the first USGP event there when he finished third for the
Arrows team.
In all, he participated in 143 grands prix, achieved 9 podiums, and scored a total of 70 championship points.
From
1986 to
1988 , while still driving in Formula One, Cheever won ten sports car races for
Jaguar . In
1990 he moved to the US to drive in the Indy Car series and to race at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway . In his first attempt at the Indianapolis 500, he finished eighth and was named Rookie of the Year. In
1992 , he qualified second for the race and finished fourth. In total he scored 4 top-3 finishes in the series, although never winning.
In 1996 the
Indy Racing League was formed, and Cheever switched to this, soon setting up his own team. Then in 1998, all the pieces came together for Cheever when he took the biggest win of his career as both a driver and owner. He started from 17th position and led 76 of 200 laps to win the Indianapolis 500. His team is still active today, and he ran cars for
Alex Barron and
Patrick Carpentier in 2005, having hung up his helmet in 2002 except for occasional instances, such as the 2006
24 Hours Of Daytona where he competed in the first race with his new
Grand-Am series team. He announced on
February 21 he would come out of retirement to run his own car in the IRL the first four races, including the Indianapolis 500.
In 2005 Cheever competed in the GP Masters series which is open to former Formula One drivers over the age of 45. In the championship's first ever event in Kyalami, South Africa, Cheever finished in 8th position.
(Note: grands prix in denote '''points scoring''' races.)
