Brian Bonner (born September 22, 1959) is a former driver in the

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

Championship Car American open-wheel car racing, generally and commonly known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2025, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar a ...

series. Bonner began his racing career on two wheels, racing motorcycles from 1975 to 1985. He attended a racing school at

Lime Rock Park Lime Rock Park is a natural-terrain motorsport road racing venue located in Lakeville, Connecticut, United States, a hamlet in the town of Salisbury, Connecticut, Salisbury, in the state's northwest corner. Built in 1956, it is the nation's thi ...

in 1986 and quickly saw success in

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single-seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world have historically been an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...

competition. He then drove in the Firestone Firehawk Series and Barber Saab Pro Series. In 1990 and 1991 Bonner drove full-time in the

IMSA GT Championship IMSA GT was a sports car racing series organized by International Motor Sports Association. Races took place primarily in the United States and occasionally in Canada. History The series was founded in 1969 by John and Peggy Bishop, and Bill ...

for Essex Racing in 1990 and Tom Milner Racing in 1991. He also made 3 starts in 1989 and 1990 in the

American Racing Series Indy NXT (pronounced "Indy Next"), previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as INDY NXT by Firestone for sponsorship reasons. Indy NXT is the highest step on the Road t ...

.Brian Bonner
ChampCarStats.com In 1992 he moved to CART Champ Car and completed his rookie test at

Sebring Raceway Sebring International Raceway is a road course auto racing facility in the southeastern United States, located near Sebring, Florida. Sebring Raceway is one of the oldest continuously operating race tracks in the U.S., its first race being run ...

. He qualified for his first CART race, the

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

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 ...

driving for

Dale Coyne Racing Dale Coyne Racing (DCR) is an American professional open-wheel racing team that currently competes in the IndyCar Series and Indy NXT. The team was founded in 1984 and is owned by former driver Dale Coyne. From 1995 to 2000, the team was known ...

in the 26th position but was knocked out by a crash after 97 laps. His best CART finish came two weeks later and was 10th position at the 1992

Detroit Grand Prix The title of Detroit Grand Prix (United States Grand Prix – East) was applied to the Formula One races held at the Detroit street circuit in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, United States of America from 1982 through 1988. History In 1982, the U ...

driving for

Foyt Enterprises A. J. Foyt Racing, officially and historically known as A. J. Foyt Enterprises, is an American racing team in the IndyCar Series and formerly NASCAR. It is owned by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, 1972 Daytona 500 winner, 1967 24 Hours of L ...

. He made one other start in 1992 with

(

Mid-Ohio Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington, Ohio, Lexington. It hosts a number of racing series such as IndyCar Series, Indy ...

). he made his final start in 1993 with

Hemelgarn Racing 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 cu ...

at the Cleveland Grand Prix after failing to qualify for the

1993 Indianapolis 500 The 77th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 30, 1993. Emerson Fittipaldi took the lead with 16 laps to go, and won his second career Indy 500 victory. The race was sanctioned by the U ...

Racing record

American Open Wheel results

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IndyCar World Series

NASCAR

( key)

Winston Cup Series

References

1959 births Champ Car drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Indy Lights drivers Living people Sportspeople from Boston Racing drivers from Boston Barber Pro Series drivers Dale Coyne Racing drivers A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers {{US-autoracing-bio-stub