Gerald Forsythe
Encyclopedia
Gerald Forsythe (born in Marshall, Illinois
) is an American
businessman and auto racing
magnate, best known for being one of the three men (Kevin Kalkhoven
and Paul Gentilozzi
are the other two) that owned the Champ Car World Series. Forsythe also owns a racing team, Forsythe Championship Racing
, that competed in the Champ Car series.
in the CART PPG Indy Car World series. Fabi made an impressive showing, winning four races and six poles (including that for the Indianapolis 500
) and finishing second in the series points standings. In 1985, Forsythe sold his team in order to concentrate on the development of his other businesses, which are discussed in the "Outside Racing" section below.
In 1993, Forsythe returned to auto racing, teaming with Barry Green
to form the Forsythe/Green Racing team in the Toyota Atlantic Championship (a developmental series for the CART PPG Indy Car World series). Backed by Canadian tobacco company Player's, Ltd.
, the team's two drivers, Canadians Claude Bourbonnais
and future Formula One
World champion Jacques Villeneuve
, finished second and third in the points standings, respectively. In 1994, the team graduated to the CART PPG Indy Car World series, with Villeneuve behind the wheel. The French-Canadian had an immensely successful season, winning Rookie of the Year honours.
In 1995, Forsythe returned to full ownership of a race team and retained Player's as his sponsor. At the end of that season, he opted to join Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) over Tony George
's Indy Racing League when the IndyCar series split as a result of a bitter dispute between George and CART executives. Since that time, several notable drivers (mostly Canadians) have driven for him, including Greg Moore
, Patrick Carpentier
, Alex Tagliani
and, most recently, Paul Tracy
. The team had the most successful season in its history in 2003, with Tracy winning seven races en route to capturing the last-ever CART championship. After the 2003 campaign, Forsythe pooled resources with fellow team owners Kevin Kalkhoven
and Paul Gentilozzi
to purchase CART's liquidated assets and create the Champ Car World Series. His team, now known as Forsythe Championship Racing after losing Player's as a sponsor due to Canadian anti-tobacco legislation, promptly joined the new circuit. Shortly afterwards, he and his partners purchased CART's sole engine supplier, Cosworth
, and in 2006 Forsythe and Kalkhoven formed the Grand Prix Association of Toronto to purchase control of the Molson Indy Toronto, one of Champ Car's marquee races, from Molson
.
In 1999, Forsythe expanded into track ownership, acquiring facilities in Monterrey and Mexico City
, Mexico
in partnership with CIE, as well as purchasing a stake in the Rockingham Motor Speedway
in Corby, England.
During the Champ Car/IRL merger in early 2008, Forysthe elected to fold his team rather than race in the merged series. His reason for not competing was "lack of sponsorship." However, given his financial status his decision seems questionable. Sources point to his long-standing feud with Tony George (Indianapolis Motor Speedway President and founder of the IRL) as the true reason for not competing in the new IndyCar Series.
Forsythe is also active in cattle ranching and farming, and maintains a farm in his native Marshall, Illinois.
On July 31, 2009 Forsythe purchased Garland Resort in Lewiston, Michigan. Garland is a 3000 acres (12.1 km²) resort with four 18 hole courses and the largest log lodge east of the Mississippi River.
Marshall, Illinois
Marshall is a city in Clark County, Illinois, United States, locatedabout west of Terre Haute, Indiana. The population was 3,771 at the 2000 census...
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman and auto racing
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
magnate, best known for being one of the three men (Kevin Kalkhoven
Kevin Kalkhoven
Kevin Oscar Newton Kalkoven, former CEO of JDS Uniphase, is an Australian venture capitalist and auto racing magnate based in Menlo Park, California. He is a partner in the Kalkhoven, Pettit, Levin and Johnson Venture capital firm based in Menlo Park....
and Paul Gentilozzi
Paul Gentilozzi
Paul Gentilozzi is a race car driver and businessman. His non-racing business interests are real estate development, principally developing store sites for big box retailers....
are the other two) that owned the Champ Car World Series. Forsythe also owns a racing team, Forsythe Championship Racing
Forsythe Championship Racing
Forsythe/Pettit Racing is a racing team that competed in the Champ Car World Series owned by Gerald Forsythe and Dan Pettit. The Champ Car effort ceased operations after the 2008 unification of North American open wheel racing.-History:...
, that competed in the Champ Car series.
Auto Racing
Forsythe began his career as a car owner in 1983. His team, Forsythe Racing, fielded an entry for Italian rookie Teo FabiTeo Fabi
Teodorico Fabi , better known as Teo Fabi, is an Italian former racing driver.-Career:Fabi participated in 71 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on January 23, 1982. He achieved 2 podiums, and scored a total of 23 championship points...
in the CART PPG Indy Car World series. Fabi made an impressive showing, winning four races and six poles (including that for the Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...
) and finishing second in the series points standings. In 1985, Forsythe sold his team in order to concentrate on the development of his other businesses, which are discussed in the "Outside Racing" section below.
In 1993, Forsythe returned to auto racing, teaming with Barry Green
Barry Green
Barry Green is a U.S. orchestral and solo double bass player and teacher. He was the principal bassist for the Cincinnati Symphony. A contemporary of people such as Gary Karr, he has developed and publicized his own method for double bass....
to form the Forsythe/Green Racing team in the Toyota Atlantic Championship (a developmental series for the CART PPG Indy Car World series). Backed by Canadian tobacco company Player's, Ltd.
Imperial Tobacco
Imperial Tobacco is a global tobacco company headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom. It is the world’s fourth-largest cigarette company measured by market share , and the world's largest producer of cigars, fine-cut tobacco and tobacco papers...
, the team's two drivers, Canadians Claude Bourbonnais
Claude Bourbonnais
Claude Bourbonnais , is a former driver in the Toyota Atlantic, Indy Lights, and CART Championship Car series. He raced in the 1994 CART series with 5 starts...
and future Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
World champion Jacques Villeneuve
Jacques Villeneuve
Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve, , is a Canadian musician and automobile racing driver. He is the son of the late Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve, and is the namesake of his uncle...
, finished second and third in the points standings, respectively. In 1994, the team graduated to the CART PPG Indy Car World series, with Villeneuve behind the wheel. The French-Canadian had an immensely successful season, winning Rookie of the Year honours.
In 1995, Forsythe returned to full ownership of a race team and retained Player's as his sponsor. At the end of that season, he opted to join Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) over Tony George
Tony George
Anton Hulman "Tony" George was the former President and CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Hulman & Company, serving from 1989 to 2009. He was also formerly on the Board of Directors of both entities. He founded the Indy Racing League and co-owns Vision Racing...
's Indy Racing League when the IndyCar series split as a result of a bitter dispute between George and CART executives. Since that time, several notable drivers (mostly Canadians) have driven for him, including Greg Moore
Greg Moore (race car driver)
Greg Moore was a racecar driver who competed in the Indy Lights and CART World Series, where he had great success with several wins in both series and a championship in the 1995 Indy Lights series...
, Patrick Carpentier
Patrick Carpentier
Patrick Carpentier is a retired Canadian race car driver. He is best known for his career in the Champ Car World Series and the IndyCar Series. In 2009, Patrick shared the #36 of Tommy Baldwin Racing with Mike Skinner and ran Michael Waltrip's #55 Toyota Camry in the road course races in the...
, Alex Tagliani
Alex Tagliani
Alexandre Tagliani is a Canadian auto racing driver from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He currently competes in the IZOD IndyCar Series, driving the #77 entry for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.-Champ Car career:...
and, most recently, Paul Tracy
Paul Tracy
Paul Tracy is a professional automobile racer who has competed in CART, the ChampCar World Series and the IndyCar Series...
. The team had the most successful season in its history in 2003, with Tracy winning seven races en route to capturing the last-ever CART championship. After the 2003 campaign, Forsythe pooled resources with fellow team owners Kevin Kalkhoven
Kevin Kalkhoven
Kevin Oscar Newton Kalkoven, former CEO of JDS Uniphase, is an Australian venture capitalist and auto racing magnate based in Menlo Park, California. He is a partner in the Kalkhoven, Pettit, Levin and Johnson Venture capital firm based in Menlo Park....
and Paul Gentilozzi
Paul Gentilozzi
Paul Gentilozzi is a race car driver and businessman. His non-racing business interests are real estate development, principally developing store sites for big box retailers....
to purchase CART's liquidated assets and create the Champ Car World Series. His team, now known as Forsythe Championship Racing after losing Player's as a sponsor due to Canadian anti-tobacco legislation, promptly joined the new circuit. Shortly afterwards, he and his partners purchased CART's sole engine supplier, Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...
, and in 2006 Forsythe and Kalkhoven formed the Grand Prix Association of Toronto to purchase control of the Molson Indy Toronto, one of Champ Car's marquee races, from Molson
Molson
Molson-Coors Canada Inc. is the Canadian division of the world's fifth-largest brewing company, the Molson Coors Brewing Company. It is the second oldest company in Canada after the Hudson's Bay Company. Molson's first brewery was located on the St...
.
In 1999, Forsythe expanded into track ownership, acquiring facilities in Monterrey and Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in partnership with CIE, as well as purchasing a stake in the Rockingham Motor Speedway
Rockingham Motor Speedway
Rockingham is the UK's most modern motorsport venue and Europe's fastest racing circuit, hosting corporate driving days, driver training, conferencing & exhibitions, vehicle manufacturing events, track days, testing, driving experiences and motorsport...
in Corby, England.
During the Champ Car/IRL merger in early 2008, Forysthe elected to fold his team rather than race in the merged series. His reason for not competing was "lack of sponsorship." However, given his financial status his decision seems questionable. Sources point to his long-standing feud with Tony George (Indianapolis Motor Speedway President and founder of the IRL) as the true reason for not competing in the new IndyCar Series.
Outside Racing
Forsythe is the chief shareholder in, and chairman and CEO of, the Indeck Companies, which include Indeck Power Equipment Company, Indeck Energy Services, Inc., and Indeck Operations. Indeck Power Equipment specializes in the rental, lease, and sale of steam power, while Indeck Energy Services, Inc. develops, owns, and operates cogeneration and independent power projects in North America. Indeck Operations manages the company's plants, as well as those of other firms. The Indeck logo was prominently featured on the sides of the blue Champ Cars that were owned by Forsythe before opting not to run in the unified IndyCar Series in 2008.Forsythe is also active in cattle ranching and farming, and maintains a farm in his native Marshall, Illinois.
On July 31, 2009 Forsythe purchased Garland Resort in Lewiston, Michigan. Garland is a 3000 acres (12.1 km²) resort with four 18 hole courses and the largest log lodge east of the Mississippi River.