January 29, 2024
Listening to the 24 Hours of Daytona IMSA Race as I write this and there is one hour left to race! Pulling for my friend Pipo Derani in the Cadillac who had the fastest pole position ever at the track and has led many of the laps. Team Penske Porsche with Pipo's old teammate Felipe Nazr is leading right now...
My blog this week is about one of our great Indy Car, CART and Champ Car drivers, Cristiano da Matta. He won the CART Championship in 2002 for Newman Haas Racing.
Cristiano drove F1, Indy Lights where he won the championship in 1998, F3, Formula Ford and more after starting racing in karts at 16 years old. His father was a 16 time Brazilian touring car champion so Christiano had racing in his blood.
On August 3rd in 2006 Christiano collided with a deer that ran across the track at Road America as he was coming up the hill to turn 6 during testing. Thankfully, Christiano survived but had a head injury that took him until September 21 before being released from the hospital in Neenah, Wisconsin. On September 24th he gave the command to start your engines at Road America for the Champ Car race.
Thanks to his great physical shape and a great safety team, he made it back to a race car in 2008 and then raced in 2009 and 2011 in the American LeMans Series.
The Championship Auto Racing Auxiliary (CARA) was formed years ago to help drivers and their families pay for medical services and other things. Insurance for race drivers is like being a fisherman for a living. CARA has helped injured racers for years and had an auction with Autoweek magazine to raise money for the Christiano da Matta Recovery Fund.
I bid on a Firestone race tire signed by all the drivers and Paul Newman. Surprisingly, I won it. I later had Mario Andretti sign it and that photo is on my Rich Zimmermann Photography Facebook page. The tire proudly sits in our race room/man cave.
Christiano is doing well now and so is his family. Did you know that he is a musician too?
Enjoy some photos of racer Cristiano through the years.
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
Cristiano da Matta through the CART and Champ Car years in the early 2000's and winning the championship in 2002.
July 11, 2016
I think it is time for me to digitally scan more of my Indy car photographs from the 1990's and early 2000's.
After the passing of Carl Haas recently, I went through my digital archived collection of Indy car races. Couldn't find a whole lot of pictures of Carl Haas and I know I have more of him with his cigar, which was never lit. At least I never saw it lit!
Carl Haas passed away a few weeks ago from complications from Alzheimers disease. Terrible disease that I know about all too well because my mother was diagnosed with it.
The Milwaukee Mile and Indy Car can thank Carl for so much work that he has done for both. Paul Newman was his partner and at his side most of the time at the races. Mario Andretti was his main driver for years and then Michael Andretti, Nigel Mansell and Sebastian Bourdais came along.
When he brought Nigel Mansell over to Indy Car, fresh from a Formula 1 championship, people couldn't believe it!
Sebastian Bourdais won 4 consecutive championships with Carl and Paul. They were the team to be a part of because they were so good.
Newman Haas Racing is a team that is missed on the grid very much.
Enjoy a look at Carl, Paul and a few friends.
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
September 14, 2015
My last blog was on Scott Dixon, our new IRL champion. Everyone, as I said then, was looking at Graham Rahal or Juan Montoya to win the championship.
This photo blog is about Graham Rahal and his career milestones so far. I start with photos from 2004, when he was in Formula BMW at Elkhart Lake. Then, 2007 at Elkhart Lake when he was in his first year, his rookie year of Champ Car. That had to be a big jump because Champ Car then had sooo much horsepower! Then a few photos of this year 2015 at the Milwaukee Mile.
Graham had a lot of help through the years, and one of his mentors and supporters was Paul Newman, who ran Newman Haas Racing with Carl Haas. Paul did so much for the sport that I must mention him and include a few photos from 2007 and 2008.
Enjoy a look at Graham and hopefully next year will be his year!
Please join me on Facebook at Rich Zimmermann Photography if you haven't already and please note that limited edition, certified, gallery style, 8 1/2 X 11's are on sale this week for $50.00 plus shipping!!
Thanks,
Rich Zimmermann
