Carl Hogan Dies At Home In New Hampshire - January 14, 2001

January 14, 2001
Carl Hogan 

(Photo; hogan1.com)
The racing community lost one of its most ardent supporters in Carl. The 71-year-old Hogan, a successful trucking magnate, was involved in the motorsports community for 31 years as a team owner and sponsor. Participating in Formula 5000, Can Am, Toyota Atlantic and CART.

Hogan Racing began in the early 1970s racing in the Formula 5000 series out of a shop in Lime Rock, Connecticut across the street from Lime Rock Park. It moved to St. Louis, Missouri in 1973. The team began racing full-time in the Formula 5000 and Can-Am series in 1974, with David Hobbs driving. The car was later driven by Al Holbert. However as the 1980s dawned Hogan drifted away from the sport, only to return at the end of the decade when Hogan began working with Chip Ganassi.

In 1991, he and then-driver Bobby Rahal purchased Patrick Racing, and under the banner of Rahal/Hogan racing, the team took home the CART championship in its inaugural season with Rahal behind the wheel. During the 1996 season, Hogan partnered with Roger Penske, campaigning with driver Emerson Fittipaldi.

(Photo; hogan1.com)

The team joined the world of open-wheel racing in December 1991 as Hogan and Bobby Rahal purchased the distressed Patrick Racing CART IndyCar World Series team. The team won the championship in its first try in 1992 with driver Bobby Rahal on the back of four race wins. In late 1992 the team absorbed TrueSports and moved into TrueSports' facility in Ohio and began using TrueSports' proprietary chassis in 1993. However this proved disastrous as Rahal and teammate Mike Groff both failed to qualify for the 1993 Indianapolis 500 in the car. Rahal switched to a Lola chassis for the next race while Groff soldiered on with the RH01 until August.

In 1994, the team was the first to sign on with new engine manufacturer Honda. The team again struggled at Indianapolis and Rahal borrowed cars from Team Penske to get himself and Groff into the field. Rahal finished 3rd and Groff crashed 28 laps into the race.

In 1996, Rahal and Hogan split and Hogan formed Hogan Racing and Rahal led Team Rahal. For 1996 Hogan partnered with Penske Racing to field Emerson Fittipaldi's entry. Fittipaldi was injured in a crash at the Michigan International Speedway and retired from the sport and Jan Magnussen replaced him for the rest of the season. Fittipaldi finished 19th in points and Magnussen 24th in their partial seasons.

(Photo; hogan1.com)

For 1997 Hogan went off on his own and signed rookie Dario Franchitti and selected Reynard chassis with Mercedes-Benz-Ilmor power. Franchitti finished 22nd in points with a best finish of 9th and signed with Team KOOL Green before the season's end, prompting Hogan to bench Franchitti and put Robby Gordon in his car for the final race of the season at California Speedway.

For 1998 Hogan signed ex-F1 driver J. J. Lehto. Lehto, despite his credentials, only managed 20th in points with a best finish of fifth at Surfers Paradise.

1999 brought in second-year driver Helio Castroneves full-time and pay driver Luiz Garcia, Jr. for a handful of late-season road races. Castroneves finished second at Gateway International Raceway and won the pole the following week at the Milwaukee Mile as the highlights of a season where he finished 15th in points. Hogan signed Castroneves under the condition that Castroneves' management team led by Emerson Fittipaldi would generate $3 Million USD in sponsorship for the team. However, the sponsorship did not materialize and Castroneves and Hogan began to be forced to pay for operations out-of-pocket. Due to the mounting losses and little prospects for sponsorship, Hogan decided to shut the team down at the end of the season.

Hogan passed away at his New Hampshire home on January 14, 2001, the victim of a suspected heart attack. Carl is survived by his wife, Lolly, and seven children.

(Photo; hogan1.com)