Eddie Cheever

Edward "Eddie" McKay Cheever, Jr. (born January 10, 1958 in Phoenix, Arizona) is an American racing driver who raced for almost thirty years in Formula One, sports cars, CART and the Indy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 World Championship Formula One races and started 132, more than any other American, driving for nine different teams from 1978 through 1989. In 1997, he formed his own IRL team and won the 1998 Indianapolis 500 as both owner and driver. The team now competes in sports cars.

Beginnings
Cheever lived in Rome as a child and was introduced to motorsports at age eight when his father took him to a sports car race in Monza, Italy. He soon began racing go karts and won both Italian and European Karting championships at age 15. He worked his way up through the levels of European Formula racing, teaming with American Danny Sullivan in Formula Three and driving for Ron Dennis in Formula Two.

Formula One
He made his Formula One debut at age 20 in 1978. After failing to qualify in Argentina, he made the grid at Kyalami for the South African Grand Prix in a Hesketh-Ford. An engine problem forced him to retire after just eight laps. Two seasons later, he became a regular driver for the Osella team, but finished only once in ten races. Switching teams repeatedly as he tried to climb his way up the grid, Cheever had five points-scoring finishes for the Tyrrell team in 1981, and three podiums for Ligier the following year, including a second place at the 1982 Detroit Grand Prix in Detroit.



The 1983 season proved to be Cheever's high point in Formula One. He signed with the Renault team alongside Frenchman Alain Prost, both of whom were among the year's Championship favorites. Cheever earned  four more podiums and 22 Championship points, but the team's disappointment after losing both the Drivers' and Constructors' titles late in the season brought about the replacement of both Cheever and Prost. In six more seasons, he never drove another truly competitive F1 car. His final podium finishes in Formula One came for Arrows in the 1988 Italian Grand Prix at Monza and at the 1989 United States Grand Prix at Phoenix; at one stage in Monza, he was almost declared the winner as Ferrari had an over sized fuel tank. The podium cost him a new pair of sunglasses for the chief mechanic. At Phoenix, he was involved in a race long battle with Riccardo Patrese for 2nd place, but then had to give way at the later stages of the race when his brakes started to fade.

In all, he participated in 143 Grands Prix, achieved 9 podiums, and scored a total of 70 championship points.

CART
From 1986 to 1988, while still driving in Formula One, Cheever won ten sports car races for Jaguar. In 1990 he moved to the US to drive for Chip Ganassi Racing in the CART series. In his first attempt at the Indianapolis 500, he finished eighth and was named the race's Rookie of the Year, as well as CART's Rookie of the Year. In 1992, he qualified second for the race and finished fourth. In total, he scored four podium finishes in the series, but never won. Driving for A.J. Foyt's team, Cheever came closest to victory at Nazareth in 1995; he was leading the race on the last lap when he ran out of fuel.

Indianapolis 500 and Indy Racing League
In 1996 the Indy Racing League began, and Cheever moved there from CART. Cheever ran for Team Menard for the three-race series, and at the 1996 Indianapolis 500, he set the fastest race lap to date at 236.103 mi/h. Cheever then set up his own team and had his first race as a driver/owner at New Hampshire later that August, which was the first race of the next season.

In 1998, all the pieces came together for Cheever when he took the biggest win of his career. He started from 17th position and led 76 of 200 laps to win the 82nd Indianapolis 500, despite sliding in the first turn of the race's first lap, helping bring out the race's first caution period. He was the first owner/driver to win the race since A.J. Foyt (one of Cheever's former bosses) in 1977.

Cheever's IRL team, active until July 2006, ran cars for Alex Barron and Patrick Carpentier in 2005. Having hung up his helmet in 2002, except for occasional instances such as the 2006 24 Hours of Daytona where he competed in the first race with his new Grand-Am series team, Eddie announced on February 21 he would come out of retirement to run his own car in the IRL's first four races, including the Indianapolis 500. He shut his team down after the 8th race of the season due to lack of sponsorship. The team continues to compete in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series.

Currently, Cheever is providing television commentary on ABC for the Indianapolis 500, a position he has held since 2008.

GP Masters
In 2005 Cheever competed in the GP Masters series which is open to former Formula One drivers over the age of 45. In the championship's first ever event at Kyalami International Raceway in South Africa, Cheever finished in 8th position. Cheever finished 4th in the 2nd GP Masters race on April 29, 2006 at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar.

In the 3rd GP Masters race on August 13, 2006 at the Silverstone Circuit in England, he took the victory under wet track conditions.

Complete European Formula Two Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete World Championship Formula One results
(key)

American Open Wheel
(key)

IRL IndyCar Series results

 * 1 The 1999 VisionAire 500K at Charlotte was cancelled after 79 laps due to spectator fatalities. Cheever qualified 18th.

CART career summary
Best race finish: 2nd (Phoenix - 1992), best championship result: 9th

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
* Cheever was listed as DNS