CTE-HVM Racing
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CTE-HVM Racing is an auto racing team that competes in the Champ Car World Series co-owned by actor/comedian Cedric the Entertainer and Keith Wiggins.
The team has had a long history of names, first as Bettenhausen Motorsports under the leadership of Tony Bettenhausen Jr. The cars were primarily dark blue, white and red with Alumax Aluminum sponsorship and ran several drivers of note, Stefan Johansson, Helio Castroneves and Patrick Carpentier among them. It was a difficult 1999 season as the team ran three drivers and Shigeaki Hattori had his competitor's license revoked by chief steward Wally Dallenbach, Sr. before the race at Laguna Seca.
Tragically, before the 2000 season started, Bettenhausen, his wife and two business associates were killed in a plane crash en route to spring training in Homestead, Florida. The team was renamed Herdez Competition as Michel Jourdain Jr. came aboard with Wiggins taking over as team manager. Two uncompetitive seasons followed and Mario Dominguez came into the team in 2002. A rather fortunate victory came at Surfer's Paradise in a water-logged event, as Dominguez started last and failed to pass a single car on track but benefitted from pit strategy.
The win boosted his confidence and a 1-2 result at Miami, Dominguez leading Roberto Moreno, was the highlight of a much-improved 2003 season. Ryan Hunter-Reay came into the team in 2004 and led all 250 laps at The Milwaukee Mile. Herdez sponsorship faded at the end of the year and for 2005, with the team now called HVM Inc., Wiggins was forced to take on pay-drivers Björn Wirdheim and Ronnie Bremer. Both of their funds dried up before the end of the season and several other drivers had chances in the team's two cars.
Cedric the Entertainer became a co-owner late in the season and added a celebrity presence to the field. The cars this year run a distinctive gunmetal gray livery that is hard to miss, with Cedric's A Bird and A Bear entertainment company on the sidepods.
[edit] List of Drivers for CTE-HVM Racing
- Gary Bettenhausen
- Ronnie Bremer
- Patrick Carpentier
- Helio Castroneves
- Dan Clarke
- Fabrizio del Monte
- Mario Dominguez
- Roberto Gonzalez
- Shigeaki Hattori
- Ryan Hunter-Reay
- Stefan Johansson
- Michel Jourdain Jr.
- Rodolfo Lavin
- Roberto Moreno
- Nelson Philippe
- Homero Richards
- Gualter Salles
- Alex Sperafico
- Björn Wirdheim
| 2006 Champ Car World Series | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newman/Haas | Forsythe | CTE-HVM | Australia | PKV | Rocketsports | RuSPORT | Coyne | Conquest | |
| 1 Bourdais 2 Junqueira |
3 Tracy 7 Rice |
4 Philippe 14 Clarke |
5 Power 15 Tagliani |
6 Servia 20 Legge |
8 Dominguez 18 Pizzonia |
9 Wilson 10 Briscoe |
11 Heylen 19 Wirth |
27 Ranger 34 Zwolsman |
|
| Long Beach - Houston - Monterrey - Milwaukee - Portland - Cleveland - Toronto - Edmonton - San Jose - Denver - Montreal - Road America - Surfers Paradise - Mexico City | |||||||||
