At a memorial and celebration of life in Lake Forest, Ill., not far from Carl Haas Automotive’s base in Lincolnshire, Ill., past Newman/Haas Racing drivers, staff and family paid tribute to the late Carl Haas, who died in June this year.
An automotive titan and pioneer, Haas’ success came in several areas - both as a businessman and a team owner - before falling into poor health in his final years. The team last raced in 2011 in the Verizon IndyCar Series, when Oriol Servia finished an impressive fourth place in points and James Hinchcliffe was rookie of the year.
Mario Andretti, who won Newman/Haas Racing’s first CART championship in 1984 and was instantly linked with the team upon his return to U.S. racing, posted the below photo on Twitter yesterday:
Newman Haas drivers at Carl Haas memorial service today @IndyCar pic.twitter.com/tht0uWRZm0
— Mario Andretti (@MarioAndretti) November 5, 2016
From left to right, the drivers include Brian Redman, Christian Fittipaldi, David Hobbs, Oriol Servia, Cristiano da Matta, Andretti, Bruno Junqueira, Michael Andretti and Sebastien Bourdais.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BMcHTsBAlyq/
what a wonderful send off for Carl. Mario spoke really well, funny too. Bernie Haas was so tranquil. It was a great day.
— David Hobbs (@MrDavidHobbs) November 5, 2016