Ross Cheever (born April 12, 1964 in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy) is a retired American race car driver and is the younger brother of former

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

driver and

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 ...

champion

Eddie Cheever Edward McKay Cheever Jr. (born January 10, 1958) is an American former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to , CART between 1986 and 1995, and IndyCar between 1996 and 2006. In American open-wheel racing ...

. Born in

, Cheever spent most of his career in Japan, where he won the Japanese Formula Three championship in 1987 and raced successfully in the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship for eight years. Cheever started his career in

British Formula 3 The British Formula Three Championship was an international motor racing series that took place primarily in the United Kingdom with a small number of events in mainland Europe. It was a junior-level feeder formula that used small single sea ...

, with five wins between 1984 and 1985. He later competed in

Formula Atlantic Formula Atlantic is a specification of open-wheel racing car developed in the 1970s. It was used in professional racing through the IMSA Atlantic Championship until 2009 and is currently primarily used in amateur racing through Sports Car Club ...

in New Zealand during the winter of 1985 and 1986 winning the

New Zealand Grand Prix The New Zealand Grand Prix, sometimes known as the New Zealand International Grand Prix, is an annual motor racing event held in New Zealand. First held in 1950 New Zealand Grand Prix, 1950, it is best known for hosting rounds of the Tasman Seri ...

both years at the wheel of a

Ralt Ralt was a manufacturer of single-seater racing cars, founded by ex-Jack Brabham associate Ron Tauranac after he sold out his interest in Brabham to Bernie Ecclestone. Ron and his brother had built some specials in Australia in the 1950s under ...

RT4. After failing to qualify in his

International Formula 3000 The Formula 3000 International Championship was a motor racing series created by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in 1985 to become the final preparatory step for drivers hoping to enter Formula One. Formula Two had become to ...

debut at

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts ...

, and a brief foray in the United States' racing scene that included three starts in the new American Racing Series (current

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

), Cheever switched his attention to Japan in 1987. In his first season, Cheever won the Japanese Formula Three championship and signed a deal with

Dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

, racing at the All-Japan Sports Prototype Championship with Toyota and a half-season program in the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship, which became a full time seat for 1988. He narrowly lost the

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

title to

Hitoshi Ogawa was a Japanese racing car driver. Career During the 1980s, he competed in several Fuji Grand Champion Series races. Ogawa won the 1989 All Japan Formula 3000 Championship and finished 2nd in the same championship in 1990. In the same year, team ...

by three points, and again in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

at the last race to

Ukyo Katayama is a Japanese former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Katayama participated in 97 Grands Prix, debuting at the 1992 South African Grand Prix, making him the sport's most experienced Japanese driv ...

, finishing second both times. He also reached the final race of 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 ...

and

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

season with title chances, finally retiring at the end of the

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

season after finishing third in the standings for the third straight year. By then, Cheever had become a Suzuka specialist, with seven of his ten wins in Japanese F3000 coming at this track since 1991. After his first prototype experience in 1987, Cheever returned to a Toyota seat with Dome in 1989, which included a 24 Hour of Le Mans run that ended in an early retirement due to an engine failure. In the summer of 1992, Cheever dovetailed his F3000 season with his

Indy Car IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with the Indianapolis 5 ...

debut for

A. J. 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 Le ...

in 1992, racing against his brother Eddie. He finished 11th in his debut at

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, but suffered mechanical failures at

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

and

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, crashed at

Road America Road America is a motorsport Road racing, road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the IndyCar Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship, Sports Car Club ...

early in the race and withdrew from the

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

event due to a crash in practice. Cheever returned to the cockpit in 2000 as a test driver for Eddie's Cheever Racing, to help in their transition to

Infiniti (stylized in all caps) is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Nissan. The brand began on November 8, 1989, initially in North America. The marketing network for Infiniti vehicles included dealers in over 50 countries in the 201 ...

engines in the

Indy Racing League IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing Governing body, sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two Auto racing, racing series: the premier IndyCar Serie ...

. He was entered in a second Cheever Racing car for the

and completed rookie orientation. However, he was withdrawn by the team before Pole Day, as Eddie claimed that his crash during Opening Day had left the team without "the necessary resources to field a first-class effort for the car". Ross had only taken part in a single practice day, four days before being pulled out, and brushed the wall in an incident between Turns 1 and 2.

Racing record

Complete International Formula 3000 results

( key)

Complete Japanese Formula 3 results

( key)

Complete Japanese Formula 3000 results

( key)

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

American open–wheel racing results

( key)

Indy Lights

CART

Indy Racing League

References

External links

Ross Cheever can't shake racing bug, aiming for Indy spot
by Terry Callahan, ''The Auto Channel'' * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheever, Ross 1964 births American racing drivers Champ Car drivers Indy Lights drivers Japanese Formula 3000 Championship drivers Japanese Formula 3 Championship drivers Living people International Formula 3000 drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers American expatriate sportspeople in Italy American expatriate sportspeople in Japan Racing drivers from Rome World Sportscar Championship drivers Cheever Racing drivers Team LeMans drivers A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers TOM'S drivers