Pagan Racing

Pagan Racing was a racing team owned by Texas businessmen Jack and Allan Pagan.

CART Indy 500 entries

The team was founded in 1993 when the team purchased the CART IndyCar equipment of Kenny Bernstein's King Racing.^[1] The team fielded a car for Jeff Andretti for the 1993 Indianapolis 500 who finished 29th after a crash. The following year they signed veteran Roberto Guerrero to drive their car. Guerrero started 20th but was knocked out by a crash after only 20 laps. The team upgraded to Ilmor-Mercedes Benz engines in 1995 and Guerrero brought their car home 12th in the "500".

Full-time IRL entrant

In 1996 the open wheel racing world was rocked by "the split" and Pagan elected to stay with the Indy 500 and race in the Indy Racing League. Jack and his son, Allan, used the family's oil industry connections to obtain Pennzoil sponsorship to race in the 1996 Indianapolis 500 with Guerrero. Guerrero was one of the few veterans in the race and was one of the favorites to win on raceday and while he did not win he registered a respectable 5th place finish. The team also participated in the other two IRL races of the season and Guerrero finished tied for fourth in the short 1996 championship. The team launched a full-season attack on the championship for the 1996–1997 season and the team selected the Infiniti engine to power their cars when the new cars came at the beginning of 1997. However, the Infiniti motors produced significantly less power than the Oldsmobile engines and the team switched engine manufacturers mid-season after poor results and an Indy 500 where Guerrero was unable to maintain a fast pace. By virtue of being one of only a handful of drivers to compete in all the races, Guerrero and the Pagan team finished 7th in the 1996-1997 championship.

Decline

Guerrero returned in 1998. The team's sponsorship from Pennzoil had left for the new Panther Racing founded by former Pagan crew chief John Barnes. Despite a lack of funding Guerrero ran respectably in the first four races of the season. That lack of funds brought Stevie Reeves on board for the fifth race of the season. Reeves finished 10th, but prize money did not allow for the team to continue and it ceased operations for the rest of the season. The team returned in 1999 with Jeff Ward and minor sponsorship beginning with the Indy 500. Ward finished in Pagan Racing's best finish of second place. However, Ward had few other good finishes that season and finished 11th in points. Funding uncertainties returned at season's end and the team was again without sponsorship. It fielded an entry for Richie Hearn in the 2000 Indianapolis 500 where Hearn was knocked out by an electrical problem. The race was the team's last as rising costs finally put an end to the small team from Texas.

Drivers

• Roberto Guerrero (1994-1998; CART & IRL)
• Stevie Reeves (1998)
• Jeff Ward (1999)
• Richie Hearn (2000)

Racing results

Complete CART Indy Car World Series results

(key)

Year	Chassis	Engine	Drivers	No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17
1993	Lola T92/00	Buick 3300 V6t			SFR	PHX	LBH	INDY	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	TOR	MCH	NHA	ROA	VAN	MDO	NAZ	LAG
			Jeff Andretti	21				29
1994	Lola T92/00	Buick 3300 V6t			SFR	PHX	LBH	INDY	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	TOR	MCH	MDO	NHA	VAN	ROA	NAZ	LAG
			Roberto Guerrero	21				33
1995	Reynard 94i	Mercedes-Benz IC108D V8t			MIA	SFR	PHX	LBH	NAZ	INDY	MIL	DET	POR	ROA	TOR	CLE	MCH	MDO	NHA	VAN	LAG
			Dennis Vitolo	21	18
			Roberto Guerrero				16			12

Complete Indy Racing League results

(key)

Year	Chassis	Engine	Drivers	No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
1996	Lola T94/00 Lola T95/00	Ford XB V8t			WDW	PHX	INDY
			Roberto Guerrero	21	5	16	5*
	Reynard 94i		Billy Boat	99			DNQ
	Lola T92/00	Buick 3300 V6t		87			DNQ
1996–1997	Reynard 95i Reynard 94i	Ford XB V8t			NHA	LSV	WDW	PHX	INDY	TXS	PPIR	CLT	NHA	LSV
			Roberto Guerrero	21	6	4
	Dallara IR7	Infiniti VRH35ADE V8					17	7	27	13
		Oldsmobile Aurora V8									18	17	6	14
1998	Dallara IR8	Oldsmobile Aurora V8			WDW	PHX	INDY	TXS	NHA	DOV	CLT	PPIR	ATL	TXS	LSV
			Roberto Guerrero	21	26	27	22	24
			Stevie Reeves								10
1999	Dallara IR9	Oldsmobile Aurora V8			WDW	PHX	INDY	TXS	PPIR	ATL	DOV	PPIR	LSV	TXS
			Jeff Ward	21		2	2	18	9	26	13	23	10	21
2000	Dallara IR-00	Oldsmobile Aurora V8			WDW	PHX	LVS	INDY	TXS	PPIR	ATL	KTY	TXS
			Richie Hearn	75				27

References