Carl Haas, an important figure in American motorsports for nearly 50 years, died June 29 at the age of 86, it was revealed Thursday.
A quirky character who became famous for chomping on a huge cigar that he rarely lit, Haas built a business as the North American distributor for Lola cars and Hewland gearboxes in the 1960s and branched into racing team ownership in the early '70s.
After dominating the Sports Car Club of America's Formula 5000 and Can-Am championships, Haas joined forces with actor (and rival Can-Am team owner) Paul Newman to form Newman/Haas Racing in 1983 with driver Mario Andretti.
NHR immediately developed into one of the top teams in the CART IndyCar series and expanded to run two cars in 1989 when Andretti's son Michael joined. The Andrettis combined to score 57 of the team's 107 race wins, a total that ranks second only to Team Penske's 183, and each won a CART championship during their time at NHR.
Newman/Haas won a total of eight Indy car championships with drivers including Nigel Mansell, Cristiano da Matta and Sebastien Bourdais. The team competed in the Verizon IndyCar Series through the end of 2011, at which time Haas withdrew from public life due to the effects of Alzheimer's disease.
"The thing that I always appreciated always about Carl was the fact that he was 110 percent racer," Mario Andretti said. "He depended on racing, on the sport, 100 percent for his financial success. Racing was his only focus every day."
In 1985 and '86, Haas was the last American Formula 1 team owner prior to Gene Haas' (no relation) entry this year. Carl Haas also served as the chairman of the board of the SCCA and was presented with the Woolf Barnato Award in 2007, when he was inducted into the SCCA Hall of Fame.
"I have a lot of respect for Carl," Michael Andretti said. "This is a very tough business and for him to be successful over so many years is very rare and very impressive. He was a big part of the history of American racing for many years. He sold a lot of cars and parts to a lot of people and made a great living out of it. But he gave a lot to the sport and had a huge impact."
In all, Haas-owned cars won a total of 147 races. His other notable drivers included Jackie Stewart, Peter Revson, Brian Redman, Alan Jones and Paul Tracy.
The only thing missing from Haas' record as an Indy car team owner is a win at the Indianapolis 500. His cars finished second in 1985 and '91.
"We came close a lot of times with Michael Andretti, Mario and Nigel Mansell," Haas said in 2004. "Woulda, coulda, shoulda."
Aside from his ever-present cigar, Haas was also known for an elaborate ritual in which he would bless his cars on the starting grid before a race. Mario Andretti recalled one year at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course when he and Bobby Rahal qualified on the front row in similar red Lolas and Haas blessed the wrong car.
"Carl was very religious, and he was serious about his ritual to bless the cars," Andretti said. "At Mid-Ohio, my car hadn't arrived yet, and Carl started going through his ritual on Bobby's car.
"Early in the race, I fell out with something in the ignition and Bobby won the race. I said, 'Carl, you blessed his car, and I fell out on the 13th lap. Thanks a lot!'
"True story, but that's the kind of thing you remember about Carl. He was one of a kind."