Beck Motorsports was a team in the
Indy Racing League
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsor (commercial), sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American American open-wheel car racing, open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United S ...
IndyCar Series
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...
owned by
Greg Beck. At times in its history the team was partnered with
Curb Agajanian Performance Group and 3G Racing owners
Stanton Barrett and Steve Sudler.
IndyCar
1995–2000
Beck Motorsports first arrived in 1995 to field an entry for Japanese driver
Hideshi Matsuda in the
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of India ...
and finished 15th. In 1996 with the split in major open-wheel racing, the team sided with the Indy Racing League and fielded a full-time entry for
Robbie Buhl
Robbie Buhl (born September 2, 1963) is an American former race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League. He was a color commentator for the IndyCar races on Versus. In 2016, Robbie, along with his brother Tom Buhl, starteBuhl Sport Det ...
who finished 3rd in the series' first race at
Walt Disney World Speedway
Walt Disney World Speedway was a racing facility located on the grounds of the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando.
It was built in 1995 by IMS Events, Inc., a subsidiary of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation, ...
and finished 3rd in points. They also fielded another Indy 500 entry for Matsuda who finished a career-best 8th. Buhl began the 1996 races of the
1996-1997 season but left for the powerhouse
Team Menard in 1997, leaving Beck to only field an entry for
Dennis Vitolo
Dennis Vitolo (born December 18, 1956) is an American former race driver who competed in the CART series. He raced in the 1988 and 1991-1999 seasons with 36 career starts, including the 1994 Indianapolis 500. He was involved in a crash in that ...
in the Indy 500. The team suffered from severely underpowered
Infiniti
is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Nissan. Infiniti officially started selling vehicles on November 8, 1989, in North America. The marketing network for Infiniti-branded vehicles included dealers in over 50 countries in ...
engines and had to controversially rely on a guaranteed starting position from the "25 and 8 rule" based on their points from the 1996 season in order to make the race. Vitolo finished 15th. Beck Motorsports did not return for the 1998 season.
They returned for a one-off entry for the 1999 Indianapolis 500, again with Matsuda who qualified and finished 10th. Matsuda returned in 2000 but failed to qualify.
2001: First partnership with Curb Agajanian
For the 2001 season, the team partnered with
Curb Agajanian Performance Group and returned to full-time competition with veteran driver
Billy Boat. Boat finished 2nd at
Nashville Superspeedway
Nashville Superspeedway is a motor racing complex located in Gladeville, Tennessee, United States (though the track has a Lebanon postal address), about southeast of Nashville. The track was built in 2001 and is currently hosting the Ally 40 ...
and finished 4th in points.
2002–2003
In 2002 Beck Motorsports fielded a car in 3 mid-season races for
Robby McGehee. Beck fielded a car at
Motegi and the Indy 500 for Japanese former F1 driver
Shinji Nakano
Shinji Nakano (中野 信治, born 1 April 1971) is a Japanese professional racing driver.
His father, Tsuneharu, was also a racing driver. He competed in the All-Japan Formula Three Championship.
Racing career
Pre Formula One Career
Formu ...
who finished 14th .
2004–2009: Second partnership with Curb Agajanian
In 2004 CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports came into being and
P. J. Jones drove their entry in the Indy 500 to a 28th place DNF. In 2005, the team fielded a last-minute Indy 500 entry for rookie
Arie Luyendyk Jr., however the car never handled properly and Luyendyk's best speed was easily bumped by
Felipe Giaffone, leaving Luyendyk and the C/A/B team the only entry bumped from the field that year.
The team merged with
Team Leader Motorsports to field 2 cars for the
2006 Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of India ...
. The first team with driver
P. J. Jones was Beck Motorsports owned by Greg Beck which was founded in 1995. The second team driven by
Stephan Gregoire was owned by
Kent Baker which was founded in 1988. Both Baker and Beck had many years experience working with their own and various other Indy Car teams. They were joined by Cary Agajanian and Mike Curb of
Curb Agajanian Motorsports. The two teams ended their partnership for 2007 with P. J. Jones competing for Team Leader Motorsports.
The team made a surprise entry into the
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...
XM Satellite Radio Indy 300 at
Homestead-Miami Speedway and participated in it, the
Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 2011 ...
race and the Indy 500.
Alex Barron drove in all 3 races and finished 15th in the Indy 500, 1 lap down.
The team made its 2008 debut at Twin Ring Motegi with
Roger Yasukawa at the controls. Yasukawa also attempted to qualify the Curb Records car in the Indianapolis 500 as well but was bumped from the field.
In 2009, the team fielded a full-time
IndyCar Series
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...
entry, beginning the season with NASCAR driver
Stanton Barrett behind the wheel. Barrett and sports marketer Steve Sudler both joined as partners of the team and the new name was CURB/Agajanian/3G Racing (3 Guys Racing).
Jaques Lazier
Jaques Lazier (born January 25, 1971) is an American former race car driver. He is the younger brother of 1996 Indianapolis 500 champion Buddy Lazier and son of former Indy racer Bob Lazier.
Racing career
The younger Lazier ran in U.S. Formula ...
was brought on to replace Barrett at
Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 2 ...
after the team went home after a practice crash the previous week at the
Milwaukee Mile
The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectator ...
. Lazier drove the next three oval races and
Richard Antinucci
Richard Antinucci (born January 26, 1981) is an American race car driver.
Career
In 1998 he competed in Italian Formula Ford, moving to the British Formula Renault Winter Series in 1999 and to Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup in 2000, where he stay ...
was brought in to drive the remaining road and street course races of the schedule. Barrett drove at Twin Ring Motegi, where he had sponsorship, and Lazier drove on all other remaining ovals.
2010
The team did not announce any plans for 2010, but Sudler indicated in an interview that they hoped to find sponsorship to run a full schedule for Antinucci and a part-time schedule for Barrett.
The team did not appear at any races in 2010.
Past drivers
CART/IRL IndyCar Series
Beck Motorsports
*
Robbie Buhl
Robbie Buhl (born September 2, 1963) is an American former race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League. He was a color commentator for the IndyCar races on Versus. In 2016, Robbie, along with his brother Tom Buhl, starteBuhl Sport Det ...
(1996-1997)
*
Hideshi Matsuda (1995-1996, 1998-1999)
*
Robby McGehee (2002)
*
Shinji Nakano
Shinji Nakano (中野 信治, born 1 April 1971) is a Japanese professional racing driver.
His father, Tsuneharu, was also a racing driver. He competed in the All-Japan Formula Three Championship.
Racing career
Pre Formula One Career
Formu ...
(2003)
*
Dennis Vitolo
Dennis Vitolo (born December 18, 1956) is an American former race driver who competed in the CART series. He raced in the 1988 and 1991-1999 seasons with 36 career starts, including the 1994 Indianapolis 500. He was involved in a crash in that ...
(1997)
CURB/Agajanian/Beck
*
Alex Barron (2007)
*
Billy Boat (2001-2002)
*
P. J. Jones (2004)
*
Roger Yasukawa (2008)
Team Leader Motorsports
*
Stephan Gregoire (2006)
*
P. J. Jones (2006)
CURB/Agaganian/3G Racing
*
Richard Antinucci
Richard Antinucci (born January 26, 1981) is an American race car driver.
Career
In 1998 he competed in Italian Formula Ford, moving to the British Formula Renault Winter Series in 1999 and to Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup in 2000, where he stay ...
(2009)
*
Stanton Barrett (2009)
*
Jaques Lazier
Jaques Lazier (born January 25, 1971) is an American former race car driver. He is the younger brother of 1996 Indianapolis 500 champion Buddy Lazier and son of former Indy racer Bob Lazier.
Racing career
The younger Lazier ran in U.S. Formula ...
(2009)
Race Results
CART FedEx Championship Results
(
key) (results in bold indicate pole position) (results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Indy Racing League Results
(
key) (Results in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
References
{{IndyCar Series teams
IndyCar Series teams
American auto racing teams