They developed a then-novel business model of team owners sanctioning and promoting their own series collectively rather than relying on a neutral governing body to do so.

While the CART owners broke off to form their own series, the sport's biggest race and centerpiece – the Indianapolis 500 – remained under the sanctioning control of USAC.

In 1996, an open wheel "split" saw the newly created Indy Racing League (IRL) take full control over the Indianapolis 500 and start a competing oval-based open-wheel series.

The "split" saw a dramatic drop in interest for open wheel racing in the United States, which was compounded by the growing popularity of NASCAR, creating a downward trend in sponsorship and attendance at some tracks.

Continuing financial difficulties caused Champ Car to file for bankruptcy before its planned 2008 season; CART and CCWS assets and history were merged into the IRL's IndyCar Series.

USAC sanctioned the championship exclusively until 1978, and was the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's recognized American authority with regard to open wheel racing.

The group would also work to negotiate television rights, sponsorship agreements, and race purses, and ideally hold seats on USAC's governing body.

By 1982, the CART PPG Indy Car World Series was generally recognized as the American national championship in open wheel racing.

For the first time, open-wheel racing outside of Indianapolis had developed a stable schedule, enabling more generous sponsorship and television opportunities for team owners.

He and others viewed foreign drivers and street circuits as discouraging predominantly American USAC sprint racing talent, such as Jeff Gordon, from competing in CART.

Debate continued for a number of years over the proper oversight mechanism for the sport, with IMS resisting any revenue sharing or control over the Indianapolis 500 and team owners not wanting to give too much power to track promoters.

[12] That year, Team Penske introduced a Mercedes-Benz engine specifically designed for the 1994 Indianapolis 500 that exploited a rule difference between the USAC and IndyCar, dominating the race and prompting fears that costs would continue to grow out of control.

[16] To placate sponsors who contractually required the accommodation of large contingents to attend Indianapolis, CART created a rival showcase event, the U.S. 500, at Michigan International Speedway on the same day as the Indy 500 in 1996.

It held most of the prestigious races, sponsorship money, most of the "name" drivers and teams, and was the preferred series for manufacturers due to the IRL's ban on engine leases.

While this allowed CART to have sufficient cash reserves to expand and purchase the Indy Lights series, commentators suggested it was short-sighted to subject the notoriously secretive and fluctuating finances of the auto racing industry to public trading requirements.

[23] The success was uneven, as the series' traditional oval races in Michigan and Nazareth began to see dramatic attendance declines,[24] which CART blamed on substandard marketing.

[26] While CART's stock was generally considered healthy, investors noted that the company's valuation tended to fluctuate with the perceived success or failure of IRL merger talks.

[27] CART's championship battle in 1999 between young stars Juan Pablo Montoya and Dario Franchitti was overshadowed by the deaths of drivers Gonzalo Rodríguez and Greg Moore within two months of each other.

Moore's death at the 1999 Marlboro 500 especially raised serious concerns about safety in the 500-mile races conducted in Fontana and Michigan that saw Champ Cars average speeds of near 240 mph (390 km/h).

In 2000, after years of frustration building behind the scenes, CART owners forced Andrew Craig to resign as CEO, and popular driver/owner Bobby Rahal stepped in as his interim replacement.

Chip Ganassi, under pressure from his main sponsors, also persuaded the board to leave Memorial Day open on the schedule and returned to the Indy 500 with Vasser and Montoya.

A resulting lawsuit, while settled, produced a quarterly loss for CART's stock and forever harmed its relationship with track owner Speedway Motorsports.

[29] Despite CART teams sweeping the top 6 positions in the 2001 Indianapolis 500 and a highly competitive four-way points battle among Gil de Ferran, Kenny Brack, Hélio Castroneves, and Michael Andretti, headlines centered on a technological controversy regarding a turbo pop off valve that Honda and Ford had developed, prompting complaints by Toyota.

[33] Team Penske announced after the season that they would become permanent entrants in the IRL for 2002 due to pressure from sponsor Marlboro resulting from the American tobacco settlements that prevented cigarette advertising in multiple series.

[37] During the 2002 season, Honda announced that it would move to the IRL the following year, causing a drastic decline in CART's stock and leaving Cosworth/Ford as the sole engine manufacturer for 2003.

[38] Attempts to subsidize teams to have enough cars racing to avoid breaching sanctioning contracts led to a further decline in cash reserves and the stock price.

[39] Star driver Michael Andretti purchased the prominent Team Green and moved them to the IRL with heavy direction from Honda,[40] and Chip Ganassi Racing left due to pressure from its primary sponsor, Target.

In the 2002 and 2003 Champ Car seasons, coverage was split between CBS and Speed Channel (Fox aired the 2002 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach).

[citation needed] Following economical difficulties by the former broadcaster and to battle Rede Globo for the lead of audience, SBT took the rights to transmission from Manchete, including its trio of narrators (Téo José, Luiz Carlos Azenha, and Dedê Gomes), and even sending one of their helicopters to get exclusive images from the races.

[citation needed] Record once again broadcast the series between 2001 and 2002, again mostly in VTs (with commentary provided by Oscar Ulisses), but the transmissions were delayed to around 7PM, rather than skipping to the end of the night.