Hemelgarn Racing

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Hemelgarn Racing is a racing team in the Indy Racing League owned by Ron Hemelgarn. It was founded in the early 1990's and competed only in the Indianapolis 500, for which it often failed to qualify. However, with the founding of the IRL in 1996, the team ran a full time schedule and won the first Indianapolis 500 of that era with driver Buddy Lazier. Buddy Lazier and sponsor Delta Faucets became a staple at Hemelgarn, usually only a single car team, and Hemelgarn was one of the top teams in the IRL, winning the 2000 championship and coming just short of repeating in 2001. However, in 2002, the team struggled with the influx of former CART teams and was only able to run a partial schedule the following 2 years due to lack of sponsorship. In 2005 the team returned to full-time competition with new ethanol sponsorship and driver Paul Dana who was injured after 3 races and replaced by Jimmy Kite. In 2006 the ethanol sponsorship left and it appeared unlikely that the team would return until late in the off-season when a deal was brokered to bring P.J. Chesson to the team with financial backing from NBA star Carmelo Anthony. Following the 2006 Indianapolis 500 where Hemelgarn drivers Chesson and Jeff Bucknum tangled on the second lap and finished in the last two positions, Ron Hemelgarn let his crew go and shutting the team down for the time being leaving Chesson and his backers scrambling for a ride for the rest of the year. It is unknown if and when Hemelgarn Racing will return to the track.