Champ Car through the years

When the green flag waves this weekend for the 34th annual Grand Prix of Long Beach, it will mark the end of an American motorsports era.

Founded in 1979, the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) series grew to become one of the world's toughest tests for drivers. With a mix of oval tracks, road courses and street circuits comprising the schedule, the championship rewarded versatile drivers, made household names of men who are now motorsports legends, and attracted some of the world's best racers.

Due to a chain of well-documented events, CART began to lose its strength during the late 1990s, eventually filing bankruptcy before being revived as the Champ Car World Series and finally succumbing this year to the open-wheel war that began in 1996 when Indianapolis Motor Speedway boss Tony George's rival Indy Racing League held its first race.

As Indy-car racing moves into the future as one series once again, we present these memorable photos in honor of the great races, cars and drivers CART/Champ Car provided over the years? Enjoy.
via:autoweek