2000 CART FedEx Championship Series

The 2000 FedEx Championship Series season was the twenty-second in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) era of American open-wheel car racing. It consisted of 20 races, beginning in Homestead, Florida on March 26, 2000 and concluding in Fontana, California on October 30, 2000. The FedEx Championship Series Drivers' Champion was Gil de Ferran. The Rookie of the Year was Kenny Bräck.

The relative decline of Chip Ganassi Racing and an atypical parity among the major engine and chassis builders led to the most wide-open championship race in the history of the series, with seven different winners in the first seven races of the year and 11 drivers winning a race. From 1997–1999, only two drivers came within 50 points of the champion, 9 would do so in 2000.

Penske Racing returned to prominence using Honda engines and abandoning their house chassis for a Reynard 2KI. Gil de Ferran and Helio Castroneves (the latter signed following the death of Greg Moore), combined for 5 wins, 4 of which were on the road courses the team had not been competitive on in their previous chassis and engine. Veterans Michael Andretti and Paul Tracy, who were 1 and 2 in the championship after the Vancouver round, would fall short after poor finishes down the stretch. Most surprising of all to observers was the return to prominence of Patrick Racing, with veterans Adrian Fernandez and Roberto Moreno finishing second and third respectively in the championship.

Off the track, while CART remained fiscally strong, anxiety regarding the series' decline in prominence led to the ouster of CEO Andrew Craig at the midpoint of the season, leading to his replacement by Bobby Rahal. The series left open the traditional Indianapolis 500 date of Memorial Day, allowing teams to enter the Indy Racing League-sanctioned race for the first time since 1995. Chip Ganassi Racing did so, with their driver Juan Pablo Montoya winning the race handily with purchased IRL equipment. While a competitive triumph for CART, Ganassi's efforts showed the continuing allure of the 500 for CART teams and their sponsors. 2000 would also be the final season for DaimlerChrysler via the Mercedes-Benz brand as an engine manufacturer, after DaimlerChrysler decided to shut down their CART program and coincidentally defected to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series via the Dodge brand in 2001.

Drivers and constructors

The following teams and drivers competed in the 2000 CART Championship Series season. Five years after the return of Firestone, rival tire manufacturer Goodyear withdrew from CART and its rival the Indy Racing League and hence all cars would ran on Firestone Firehawk tires for the first time in history. All teams were based in the United States.

Team	Chassis	Engine	No	Drivers	Races	Primary Sponsors
Chip Ganassi Racing	Lola B2K/00	Toyota RV8E	1	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	All	Target
			12	Template:Flagicon Jimmy Vasser	All
Team Penske	Reynard 2KI	Honda HR-0	2	Template:Flagicon Gil de Ferran	All	Marlboro
			3	Template:Flagicon Hélio Castroneves	All
Walker Motorsport	Reynard 2KI	Honda HR-0	5	Template:Flagicon Shinji Nakano  R	1, 4, 6–20	Avex
				Template:Flagicon Bryan Herta	2–3
Newman/Haas Racing	Lola B2K/00	Ford-Cosworth XF	6	Template:Flagicon Michael Andretti	All	Texaco-Havoline
			11	Template:Flagicon Christian Fittipaldi	All	Big Kmart
Team Rahal	Reynard 2KI	Ford-Cosworth XF	7	Template:Flagicon Max Papis	All	Miller Lite
			8	Template:Flagicon Kenny Bräck  R	All	Shell
			91	Template:Flagicon Casey Mears  R	20	WorldCom
Della Penna Motorsports	Reynard 2KI	Toyota RV8E	10	Template:Flagicon Norberto Fontana  R	1–5, 7–10	Video Match 9 DirecTV 11
				Template:Flagicon Memo Gidley	11–18, 20
				Template:Flagicon Jason Bright  R	19
Bettenhausen Racing	Lola B2K/00	Mercedes IC 108E	16	Template:Flagicon Michel Jourdain Jr.	All	Herdez
PacWest Racing	Reynard 2KI	Mercedes IC 108E	17	Template:Flagicon Maurício Gugelmin	All	Nextel
			18	Template:Flagicon Mark Blundell	All	Motorola
Dale Coyne Racing	Lola B2K/00	Ford-Cosworth XF	19	Template:Flagicon Takuya Kurosawa  R	1–11	MTCI 6 Sports Today 14
				Template:Flagicon Gualter Salles	12–14
				Template:Flagicon Alex Barron	15–20
			34	Template:Flagicon Gualter Salles	1–3, 5	Dale Coyne Racing
	Swift 011.c			Template:Flagicon Tarso Marques	4–20	Panasonic
Patrick Racing	Reynard 2KI	Ford-Cosworth XF	20	Template:Flagicon Roberto Moreno	All	Visteon
			40	Template:Flagicon Adrián Fernández	All	Tecate
Arciero Racing	Reynard 2KI	Mercedes IC 108E	25	Template:Flagicon Luiz Garcia Jr.	All	Hollywood Cigarettes
Team Green	Reynard 2KI	Honda HR-0	26	Template:Flagicon Paul Tracy	All	KOOL
			27	Template:Flagicon Dario Franchitti	All
Forsythe Racing	Reynard 2KI	Ford-Cosworth XF	32	Template:Flagicon Patrick Carpentier	1, 5–20	Player's
				Template:Flagicon Memo Gidley	2–4
			33	Template:Flagicon Alex Tagliani  R	All
			77	Template:Flagicon Bryan Herta	16	Rockingham Motor Speedway
Mo Nunn Racing	Reynard 2KI	Mercedes IC 108E	55	Template:Flagicon Tony Kanaan	1–7, 11–20	Hollywood Cigarettes
				Template:Flagicon Bryan Herta	8–10
PPI Motorsports	Reynard 2KI	Toyota RV8E	96	Template:Flagicon Oriol Servià  R	All	Telefónica
			97	Template:Flagicon Cristiano da Matta	All	Pioneer

 Eligible for Rookie of the Year

Season summary

Schedule

Rnd	Date	Race Name	Circuit	City/Location
1	March 26	Template:Flagicon Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami Presented by Toyota	O  Homestead-Miami Speedway	Homestead, Florida
2	April 16	Template:Flagicon Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach	R  Streets of Long Beach	Long Beach, California
3	April 30	Template:Flagicon Rio 200	O  Autódromo de Jacarepaguá	Jacarepagua, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
4	May 14*	Template:Flagicon Firestone Firehawk 500	O  Twin Ring Motegi	Motegi, Tochigi, Japan
5	May 27†	Template:Flagicon Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix Presented by Toyota	O  Nazareth Speedway	Nazareth, Pennsylvania
6	June 5*	Template:Flagicon Miller Lite 225 Presented by Kmart	O  Milwaukee Mile	West Allis, Wisconsin
7	June 18	Template:Flagicon Tenneco Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit	R  The Raceway on Belle Isle Park	Detroit, Michigan
8	June 25	Template:Flagicon Freightliner/G. I. Joe's 200 Presented by Texaco	R  Portland International Raceway	Portland, Oregon
9	July 2	Template:Flagicon Firstar Presents the Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland	R  Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport	Cleveland, Ohio
10	July 16	Template:Flagicon Molson Indy Toronto	R  Exhibition Place	Toronto, Ontario
11	July 23	Template:Flagicon Michigan 500 Presented by Toyota	O  Michigan Speedway	Brooklyn, Michigan
12	July 30	Template:Flagicon Target Grand Prix of Chicago Presented by Energizer	O  Chicago Motor Speedway	Cicero, Illinois
13	August 13	Template:Flagicon Miller Lite 200	R  Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	Lexington, Ohio
14	August 20	Template:Flagicon Motorola 220	R  Road America	Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
15	September 3	Template:Flagicon Molson Indy Vancouver	R  Concord Pacific Place	Vancouver, British Columbia
16	September 10	Template:Flagicon Honda Grand Prix of Monterey Featuring the Shell 300	R  Laguna Seca Raceway	Monterey, California
17	September 17	Template:Flagicon Motorola 300	O  Gateway International Raceway	Madison, Illinois
18	October 1	Template:Flagicon Texaco/Havoline Grand Prix of Houston	R  George R. Brown Convention Center	Houston, Texas
19	October 15	Template:Flagicon Honda Indy 300	R  Surfers Paradise Street Circuit	Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia
20	October 29–30*	Template:Flagicon Marlboro 500 Presented by Toyota	O  California Speedway	Fontana, California

 O  Oval/Speedway
 R  Road/Street course

^† The Nazareth round was initially scheduled to be the second round on April 9, 2000, but snow caused the race's postponement.
Motegi was scheduled to be on May 13, and Milwaukee was scheduled to be on June 4. Both were postponed due to rain.
Fontana was scheduled for October 29, but during a caution on lap 22 for Cristiano da Matta crashing, rain began to fall and the remainder of the race was postponed to the next day.

Race results

Round	Race	Pole position	Fastest lap	Lead Most Laps	Race Winner				Race Time	Report
					Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine
1	Template:Flagicon Homestead	Template:Flagicon Gil de Ferran	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	Template:Flagicon Gil de Ferran	Template:Flagicon Max Papis	Team Rahal	Reynard 2KI	Ford-Cosworth XF	1:22:01	Report
2	Template:Flagicon Long Beach	Template:Flagicon Gil de Ferran	Template:Flagicon Gil de Ferran	Template:Flagicon Gil de Ferran	Template:Flagicon Paul Tracy	Team Green	Reynard 2KI	Honda HR-0	1:57:11	Report
3	Template:Flagicon Rio	Template:Flagicon Alex Tagliani	Template:Flagicon Alex Tagliani	Template:Flagicon Alex Tagliani	Template:Flagicon Adrián Fernández	Patrick Racing	Reynard 2KI	Ford-Cosworth XF	1:37:12	Report
4	Template:Flagicon Motegi	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	Template:Flagicon Michael Andretti	Newman/Haas Racing	Lola B2K/00	Ford-Cosworth XF	1:58:52	Report
5	Template:Flagicon Nazareth	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	Template:Flagicon Hélio Castroneves	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	Template:Flagicon Gil de Ferran	Team Penske	Reynard 2KI	Honda HR-0	2:06:10	Report
6	Template:Flagicon Milwaukee	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	Chip Ganassi Racing	Lola B2K/00	Toyota RV8E	1:37:38	Report
7	Template:Flagicon Belle Isle	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	Template:Flagicon Hélio Castroneves	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	Template:Flagicon Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Reynard 2KI	Honda HR-0	2:01:23	Report
8	Template:Flagicon Portland	Template:Flagicon Hélio Castroneves	Template:Flagicon Kenny Bräck	Template:Flagicon Hélio Castroneves	Template:Flagicon Gil de Ferran	Team Penske	Reynard 2KI	Honda HR-0	2:00:46	Report
9	Template:Flagicon Cleveland	Template:Flagicon Roberto Moreno	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	Template:Flagicon Roberto Moreno	Template:Flagicon Roberto Moreno	Patrick Racing	Reynard 2KI	Ford-Cosworth XF	1:52:12	Report
10	Template:Flagicon Toronto	Template:Flagicon Hélio Castroneves	Template:Flagicon Michael Andretti	Template:Flagicon Cristiano da Matta	Template:Flagicon Michael Andretti	Newman/Haas Racing	Lola B2K/00	Ford-Cosworth XF	2:00:02	Report
11	Template:Flagicon Michigan	Template:Flagicon Paul Tracy	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	Template:Flagicon Hélio Castroneves	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	Chip Ganassi Racing	Lola B2K/00	Toyota RV8E	2:48:49	Report
12	Template:Flagicon Chicago	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	Template:Flagicon Adrián Fernández	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	Template:Flagicon Cristiano da Matta	PPI Motorsports	Reynard 2KI	Toyota RV8E	2:01:23	Report
13	Template:Flagicon Mid-Ohio	Template:Flagicon Gil de Ferran	Template:Flagicon Dario Franchitti	Template:Flagicon Hélio Castroneves	Template:Flagicon Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Reynard 2KI	Honda HR-0	1:44:59	Report
14	Template:Flagicon Road America	Template:Flagicon Dario Franchitti	Template:Flagicon Paul Tracy	Template:Flagicon Alex Tagliani	Template:Flagicon Paul Tracy	Team Green	Reynard 2KI	Honda HR-0	1:37:53	Report
15	Template:Flagicon Vancouver	Template:Flagicon Dario Franchitti	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	Template:Flagicon Dario Franchitti	Template:Flagicon Paul Tracy	Team Green	Reynard 2KI	Honda HR-0	1:53:06	Report
16	Template:Flagicon Laguna Seca	Template:Flagicon Hélio Castroneves	Template:Flagicon Gil de Ferran	Template:Flagicon Hélio Castroneves	Template:Flagicon Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Reynard 2KI	Honda HR-0	1:46:11	Report
17	Template:Flagicon Gateway	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	Template:Flagicon Patrick Carpentier	Template:Flagicon Michael Andretti	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	Chip Ganassi Racing	Lola B2K/00	Toyota RV8E	1:55:38	Report
18	Template:Flagicon Houston	Template:Flagicon Gil de Ferran	Template:Flagicon Michael Andretti	Template:Flagicon Gil de Ferran	Template:Flagicon Jimmy Vasser	Chip Ganassi Racing	Lola B2K/00	Toyota RV8E	1:59:02	Report
19	Template:Flagicon Surfers Paradise	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	Template:Flagicon Jimmy Vasser	Template:Flagicon Adrián Fernández	Template:Flagicon Adrián Fernández	Patrick Racing	Reynard 2KI	Ford-Cosworth XF	2:01:14	Report
20	Template:Flagicon Fontana	Template:Flagicon Gil de Ferran	Template:Flagicon Hélio Castroneves	Template:Flagicon Kenny Bräck	Template:Flagicon Christian Fittipaldi	Newman/Haas Racing	Lola B2K/00	Ford-Cosworth XF	3:38:04	Report

Final driver standings

Pos Driver MIA Template:Flagicon LBH Template:Flagicon RIO Template:Flagicon MOT Template:Flagicon NAZ Template:Flagicon MIL Template:Flagicon BEL Template:Flagicon POR Template:Flagicon CLE Template:Flagicon TOR Template:Flagicon MIS Template:Flagicon CHI Template:Flagicon MOH Template:Flagicon ROA Template:Flagicon VAN Template:Flagicon LAG Template:Flagicon GTW Template:Flagicon HOU Template:Flagicon SUR Template:Flagicon FON Template:Flagicon Pts 1 Template:Flagicon Gil de Ferran 6* 7* 17 9 1 12 9 1 14 6 18 3 2 25 5 2 8 3* 23 3 168 2 Template:Flagicon Adrián Fernández 21 24 1 10 5 8 21 12 7 2 6 5 6 2 3 12 10 7 1* 5 158 3 Template:Flagicon Roberto Moreno 2 9 6 3 14 5 17 2 1* 13 23 6 11 4 10 25 3 11 19 2 147 4 Template:Flagicon Kenny Bräck  RY  18 17 10 5 3 4 24 6 2 10 22 4 5 3 9 5 11 15 2 13* 135 5 Template:Flagicon Paul Tracy 3 1 3 6 10 15 DSQ 18 19 3 7 19 16 1 1 11 18 4 17 24 134 6 Template:Flagicon Jimmy Vasser 4 3 2 21 7 13 7 24 8 9 21 8 21 5 6 8 7 1 3 22 131 7 Template:Flagicon Hélio Castroneves 25 2 24 13 16 16 1 7* 21 16 5* 21 1* 9 20 1* 9 5 6 9 129 8 Template:Flagicon Michael Andretti 22 14 9 1 6 2 13 4 4 1 2 2 8 19 12 14 20* 13 20 19 127 9 Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya 23 19 22 7* 4* 1* 18* 17 6 24 1 12* 24 16 17 6 1 2 24 10 126 10 Template:Flagicon Cristiano da Matta 12 25 4 4 13 14 23 5 3 4* 17 1 17 13 7 15 4 14 4 25 112 11 Template:Flagicon Patrick Carpentier 5 21 3 5 10 5 7 4 14 7 21 24 9 2 19 5 14 101 12 Template:Flagicon Christian Fittipaldi 7 18 5 11 11 9 19 3 17 17 14 Wth 3 15 4 10 12 6 15 1 96 13 Template:Flagicon Dario Franchitti 11 23 11 2 23 6 4 9 13 25 3 20 22 12 2* 3 24 25 25 23 92 14 Template:Flagicon Max Papis 1 20 16 8 22 7 2 25 18 8 9 24 4 7 8 16 6 24 16 12 88 15 Template:Flagicon Oriol Servià  R  19 6 25 24 9 19 3 8 23 11 8 15 10 10 11 17 5 9 91 20 60 16 Template:Flagicon Alex Tagliani  R  9 4 13* 15 19 22 6 13 16 5 16 9 9 14* 18 23 14 16 22 6 53 17 Template:Flagicon Maurício Gugelmin 16 10 21 22 2 11 16 19 10 15 13 7 20 17 21 7 19 23 10 17 39 18 Template:Flagicon Bryan Herta 5 20 16 9 18 4 26 19 Template:Flagicon Tony Kanaan 10 16 18 16 8 10 DNS 24 16 13 8 14 22 13 10 8 18 24 20 Template:Flagicon Memo Gidley 21 8 18 10 10 12 6 16 19 22 21 21 20 21 Template:Flagicon Mark Blundell 13 8 7 19 17 17 11 20 12 22 19 23 14 11 25 13 23 20 11 15 18 22 Template:Flagicon Michel Jourdain Jr. 14 11 15 12 18 18 8 23 22 19 15 11 15 18 23 24 16 18 7 11 18 23 Template:Flagicon Casey Mears  R  4 12 24 Template:Flagicon Shinji Nakano  R  8 14 23 15 11 15 14 20 13 19 22 19 26 21 8 21 16 12 25 Template:Flagicon Tarso Marques 17 12 20 10 15 24 21 12 18 18 23 22 18 15 17 13 7 11 26 Template:Flagicon Alex Barron 13 21 17 12 14 8 6 27 Template:Flagicon Luiz Garcia Jr. 17 12 12 23 15 21 22 14 20 12 11 17 25 24 15 20 25 22 12 DNS 6 28 Template:Flagicon Norberto Fontana  R  15 15 23 Wth 20 14 21 11 20 2 29 Template:Flagicon Takuya Kurosawa  R  24 13 19 20 DNS Wth 12 22 25 23 DNS 1 30 Template:Flagicon Gualter Salles 20 22 14 Wth 22 23 20 0 31 Template:Flagicon Jason Bright  R  18 0 Pos Driver MIA Template:Flagicon LBH Template:Flagicon RIO Template:Flagicon MOT Template:Flagicon NAZ Template:Flagicon MIL Template:Flagicon BEL Template:Flagicon POR Template:Flagicon CLE Template:Flagicon TOR Template:Flagicon MIS Template:Flagicon CHI Template:Flagicon MOH Template:Flagicon ROA Template:Flagicon VAN Template:Flagicon LAG Template:Flagicon GTW Template:Flagicon HOU Template:Flagicon SUR Template:Flagicon FON Template:Flagicon Pts

Color Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green 4th–6th place Light Blue 7th–12th place Dark Blue Finished (Outside Top 12) Purple Did not finish Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Brown Withdrawn (Wth) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Blank Did not participate (DNP) Not competing In-line notation Bold Pole position Italics Ran fastest race lap * Led most race laps  RY  Rookie of the Year  R  Rookie

1. ^ Oriol Servià was penalized 4 points for rough driving in Surfers Paradise.

Nations' Cup

• Top result per race counts towards Nations' Cup.

Pos	Country	MIA Template:Flagicon	LBH Template:Flagicon	RIO Template:Flagicon	MOT Template:Flagicon	NAZ Template:Flagicon	MIL Template:Flagicon	BEL Template:Flagicon	POR Template:Flagicon	CLE Template:Flagicon	TOR Template:Flagicon	MIS Template:Flagicon	CHI Template:Flagicon	MOH Template:Flagicon	ROA Template:Flagicon	VAN Template:Flagicon	LAG Template:Flagicon	GTW Template:Flagicon	HOU Template:Flagicon	SUR Template:Flagicon	FON Template:Flagicon	Pts
1	Template:Flagicon Brazil	2	2	4	3	1	5	1	1	1	4	5	1	1	4	5	1	3	3	4	1	332
2	Template:Flagicon United States	4	3	2	1	6	2	7	4	4	1	2	2	8	5	6	8	7	1	3	4	256
3	Template:Flagicon Canada	3	1	3	6	10	3	5	10	5	3	4	9	7	1	1	9	2	4	5	6	226
4	Template:Flagicon Mexico	14	11	1	10	5	8	8	12	7	2	6	5	6	2	3	12	10	7	1	5	165
5	Template:Flagicon Sweden	18	17	10	5	3	4	24	6	2	10	22	4	5	3	9	5	11	15	2	13	135
6	Template:Flagicon Colombia	23	19	22	7	4	1	18	17	6	24	1	12	24	16	17	6	1	2	24	10	126
7	Template:Flagicon Scotland	11	23	11	2	23	6	4	9	13	25	3	20	22	12	2	3	24	25	25	23	92
8	Template:Flagicon Italy	1	20	16	8	22	7	2	25	18	8	9	24	4	7	8	16	8	24	16	12	88
9	Template:Flagicon Spain	19	6	25	24	9	19	3	8	23	11	8	15	10	10	11	17	5	9	9	20	64
10	Template:Flagicon England	13	8	7	19	17	17	11	20	12	22	19	23	14	11	25	13	23	20	11	15	18
11	Template:Flagicon Japan	8	13	19	14	DNS	23	12	11	15	14	20	13	19	22	19	26	21	8	21	16	13
12	Template:Flagicon Argentina	15	15	23	Wth	20	Wth	14	21	11	20											2
13	Template:Flagicon Australia																			18		0
Pos	Country	MIA Template:Flagicon	LBH Template:Flagicon	RIO Template:Flagicon	MOT Template:Flagicon	NAZ Template:Flagicon	MIL Template:Flagicon	BEL Template:Flagicon	POR Template:Flagicon	CLE Template:Flagicon	TOR Template:Flagicon	MIS Template:Flagicon	CHI Template:Flagicon	MOH Template:Flagicon	ROA Template:Flagicon	VAN Template:Flagicon	LAG Template:Flagicon	GTW Template:Flagicon	HOU Template:Flagicon	SUR Template:Flagicon	FON Template:Flagicon	Pts

Chassis Constructors' Cup

Pos	Chassis	Pts	Wins
1	Template:Flagicon Reynard 2KI	393	13
2	Template:Flagicon Lola B2K/00	313	7
Pos	Chassis	Pts	Wins

Engine Manufacturers' Cup

Pos	Engine	Pts	Wins
1	Template:Flagicon Template:Flagicon Ford-Cosworth XF	334	7
2	Template:Flagicon Honda HR-0	314	8
3	Template:Flagicon Toyota RV8E	275	5
4	Template:Flagicon Mercedes IC 108E	66	0
Pos	Engine	Pts	Wins

See also

• 2000 Toyota Atlantic Championship season
• 2000 Indianapolis 500
• 2000 Indy Racing League
• 2000 Indy Lights season

External links

• Official site & results
• Entrant List