Legendary motorsports team owner Carl Haas has passed away. Today we remember the man who helped change America’s profile in racing.
Reports came out today from the Haas Auto Business that former IndyCar, Formula One, and NASCAR team owner Carl Haas passed away back on June 29 after a battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. The 86 year old will be remembered for his many accomplishments on the global motorsports platform, bringing the red, white, and blue to new heights in racing.
Before he was a star motorsports owner, Carl Haas was a racer himself. His focus was sports car racing, driving throughout in the 1950s with cars like Ferrari, MG, Porsche, and Jaguar. Retiring and beginning to focus on his businesses in the 1960s, he would become the exclusive importer of Lola Cars in 1967. He is also widely credited for the company’s rise to motorsports prominence on an international scale.
Perhaps what Haas would become most well known for would be his team ownership in open wheel racing. He would partner with actor Paul Newman to create Newman-Haas Racing, which competed originally in the CART Championship, followed by the Champ Car World Series and the IndyCar Series.
His team would win championships in CART with Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell, and Cristiano da Matta, and in Champ Car with Sebastien Bourdais.
Through his partnership with Lola, Haas would earn the distinction of being the last American owner in Formula One until this year when Gene Haas (no relation) entered the world championship.
The Haas Lola Formula One team would compete from 1984 to 1986, earning a best finish of fourth at the 1986 Austrian Grand Prix. While the team would not win a F1 race, they would be able to attract top talent including former world champion Alan Jones and Eddie Cheever.
Outside of open wheel and formula racing, Carl Haas was active with teams in NASCAR, Formula 5000, and the Can-Am Series. He also served on several motorsports boards, including for CART, the SCCA, and Road America.
Of course, while his appearances at the track dwindled in his later years, Haas’s trademark appearance to many racing fans is sitting on top of a pit box, chewing on a cigar. He was not allowed to smoke it on pit road, but it would get some air at least once, when he threw it at rival owner Chip Ganassi at the Motegi circuit in Japan.
Many drivers from around the world of racing have turned to social media to express their condolences on the loss of Carl Haas:
Very saddened 2 hear of the passing of Carl Haas.He was truly 1 of the icons of our sport. I owe a gr8 deal of my success to NHR. RIPCarl
— Michael Andretti (@michaelandretti) July 7, 2016
#RIP Carl Haas, your legacy is more than 16 Championships & 140 wins; you unselfishly & repeatedly helped me from 1st mtg in'74 forward.
— Mike Hull (@IndyMHull) July 7, 2016
#tbt In honor of Carl Haas, the #3 @NewmanHaas car driven by @MarioAndretti to win the 1st LB @IndyCar race in '84. pic.twitter.com/JKRlEPGKAB
— Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach (@GPLongBeach) July 7, 2016
R.I.P. Carl Haas. You were a mentor, a leader, and a great friend to many including me. You will be missed my friend.
— Chip Ganassi (@GanassiChip) July 7, 2016
Ron Dennis pays tribute to the great American racer and team owner, Carl Haas, who has sadly passed away. pic.twitter.com/b5AAoPMaQo
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) July 7, 2016
I'm very sorry to hear that Carl Haas has passed. He was a true legend in Motorsport.
— jimmy vasser (@jimmyvasser) July 7, 2016
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The Verizon IndyCar Series also posted a video tribute to Carl Haas on Thursday:
From all of us at Beyond The Flag, we express our condolences on the loss of a true racing legend, Carl Haas. The racing world and all of its fans are better for knowing him, and he will be surely missed. Rest in peace.