A1 Team USA was the American team of

A1 Grand Prix A1 Grand Prix Operations Ltd. operated as A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themse ...

, an international racing series.

Management

Owner Rick Weidinger became interested in A1 Team USA and the

series when national franchises were being bid for the new series. Along with minority partners and friends Rusty Lewis and Bill Dean, Weidinger finalized the franchise acquisition in July 2005. The engineering side of the team was originally run by British squads

David Price Racing David Price Racing (commonly referred to as DPR) was a British motor racing team, founded by David Price. The team competed in various forms of motorsport from their foundation in 1976 until 2008. The team was sold in April 2009, but continued ...

, and then

West Surrey Racing West Surrey Racing is a UK-based motorsport team run by New Zealander Dick Bennetts. He is responsible for masterminding the careers of such names as Ayrton Senna, Mika Häkkinen, Jonathan Palmer, Rubens Barrichello, Maurício Gugelmin and Eddie ...

. For 2008–2009 the team was run by

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...

team

Andretti Green Racing Andretti Global is an American motorsports organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, Indy NXT, Formula E, and joint entries in IMSA and the Australian Supercars Championship. Starting in 2026, Andretti will also operate the Cad ...

and Andretti Green's IndyCar drivers, primarily

Marco Andretti Marco Michael Andretti (born March 13, 1987) is an American professional auto racing driver. He last competed part-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 98 Dallara- Chevrolet for Andretti Global. He formerly drove in the IndyCar Series fo ...

drove the majority of races.

History

2008–09 season

''Driver:

Charlie Kimball Charles Newton Kimball (born February 20, 1985) is an American former race car driver who most recently competed in the IndyCar Series with A. J. Foyt Enterprises. He has scored a win, six podiums, and 13 top 5s during his IndyCar career. His be ...

J. R. Hildebrand John Randal Hildebrand Jr. (born January 3, 1988) is an American race car driver. He last competed in the IndyCar Series driving part-time in the No. 11 Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Enterprises. Hildebrand won the 2009 Indy Lights championship and ca ...

'' 2008-09 marked the first season in which

ran Team USA. Following the Zandvoort race, it was announced that

and

Danica Patrick Danica Sue Patrick (; born March 25, 1982) is an American former professional racing driver and model. She is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel car racing—her victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only win ...

would race for Team USA at some point during the season.

2007–08 season

''Drivers:

Buddy Rice Albert Lee "Buddy" Rice (born January 31, 1976) is an American former race car driver. He is best known for winning the 2004 Indianapolis 500 while driving for Rahal Letterman Racing, and the 2009 24 Hours of Daytona for Brumos Racing. Career E ...

Jonathan Summerton Jonathan Summerton is an American race car driver. Early life Jonathan Summerton was born Kissimmee, Florida. Early racing Jonathan Summerton began racing karts at the age of 14 and by the end of the year had begun racing Skip Barber Series c ...

'' After a slow start to the season, Team USA gradually improved, peaking with the team's first victory. Along with 2 podiums, the team finished 12th in the championship.

2006–07 season

''Drivers:

Phil Giebler Philip Everett Giebler (born March 5, 1979, in Oxnard, California) is an American race car driver. Giebler was considered a top American prospect with an opportunity to race in Formula One early in his career. Following years in various Formul ...

Ryan Hunter-Reay Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay (born December 17, 1980) is an American professional racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 (2014) and the IndyCar Series championship in 2012. He currently competes part-time in the IndyC ...

'' Team USA scored two podiums, and other consistent scoring to finish in 9th place in the championship.

2005–06 season

''Drivers:

Bryan Herta Bryan John Herta (born May 23, 1970) is an American race strategist and former race car driver. He currently runs his own team, Bryan Herta Autosport in the NTT IndyCar Series and is the strategist for the #27 Andretti Autosport in the same se ...

Scott Speed Scott Andrew Speed (born January 24, 1983) is an American race car driver who has competed in numerous disciplines, including open-wheel racing, open-wheel, stock car racing, stock car, and rallycross racing. In , Speed became the first American ...

'' In the inaugural season, Team USA finished in 16th place in the championship.

2006 Indianapolis 500 entry

Wanting to continue the momentum of A1 Team USA and pursue the idea of celebrating American open-wheel racing, team owner Rick Weidinger decided to take the We The People livery to the 90th running of the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

. American racing icon Al Unser Jr. returned from retirement to join the effort. Al, along with his father and uncle, hold 9 Indianapolis 500 victories to their credit; 2 of those belonging to Al Jr. in 1992 and 1994. The 2006 Indy 500 was Al's 18th Indy start. With operational structure provided by

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Dreyer & Reinbold Racing is an American automotive racing organization that competes in the IndyCar Series and Nitrocross. The team is owned by Indianapolis, Indiana, Indianapolis BMW, Infiniti, Volkswagen, Mini (marque), MINI, and Subaru dealer D ...

, A1 Team USA brought U.S. insurance giant

GEICO The Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO ) is an American vehicle insurance company headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland. In addition to auto insurance, GEICO provides motorcycle, ATV, RV, boat, snowmobile, travel, pet, event, hom ...

to complete the American effort as the primary sponsorship partner. With everything in place, Al Unser Jr. took the We The People car out for its maiden laps around the historic

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and and formerly the home of the U ...

on May 7, 2006. At the

2006 Indianapolis 500 The 90th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 28, 2006. Sam Hornish Jr. won from the pole position. It was Hornish's first and only win at Indianapolis, and the record fourteenth Indy v ...

, "Little Al" qualified 27th of 33 cars, and was able to move up the field and race in the top half of the pack for most of the race. However, a crash ended his day, finishing 24th with 145 laps completed.

Drivers

Complete A1 Grand Prix results

( key), "spr" indicate a Sprint Race, "fea" indicate a Main Race.

References

External links

Official Team Web Site - A1 Team USAA1gp.com Official A1 Grand Prix Web Site
{{USNationalTeams American auto racing teams Men's national sports teams of the United States USA A1 team Auto racing teams established in 2005 Auto racing teams disestablished in 2009