Paul Gentilozzi, who eventually became the owner and lead driver of Rocketsports Racing, initially raced Mustangs but eventually used Jaguar XKRs.
It would also mark the rise of Rocketsports Racing's dominance using Jaguar XKRs, which would continue until the series dissolved in 2006, after which team owner Paul Gentilozzi would switch to the American Le Mans Series.
Leitzinger shared the 1999 United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC) championship with teammate Elliott Forbes-Robinson and won the famed Rolex 24 at Daytona: twice with Dyson Racing (1997 & 1999), and once in a Nissan 300ZX (1994) co-driven with Scott Pruett, Steve Millen and Paul Gentilozzi.
With just one year of experience in cars, Philippe tested with two Champ Car teams, before signing with Paul Gentilozzi's Rocketsports Racing team.
Gentilozzi and fellow Champ Car owners Gerald Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven purchased the assets of Champ Car following a financially difficult 2003 season.
George made a bid for certain assets of the company, while a trio of CART owners (Gerald Forsythe, Paul Gentilozzi, and Kevin Kalkhoven), along with Dan Pettit, also made a bid, calling their group the Open Wheel Racing Series (OWRS).
Pope John Paul II | Paul McCartney | Paul Simon | Paul Newman | Pope Paul VI | St Paul's Cathedral | Paul | Jean-Paul Sartre | Peter Paul Rubens | Paul Robeson | Paul Anka | St. Paul | Paul Hindemith | Paul Revere | Paul Weller | Paul Klee | Saint Paul | Paul Kelly | Paul Cézanne | John Paul Jones | Paul Ryan | Paul Gauguin | Paul Oakenfold | Jean Paul Gaultier | Paul the Apostle | Paul Keating | Paul Auster | Pope John Paul I | Paul Martin | Paul Whiteman |
It was the first event for the new Champ Car World Series which was created when Gerald Forsythe, Kevin Kalkhoven, Paul Gentilozzi and Dan Petit purchased the bankrupt CART series' liquidated assets in an Indianapolis courtroom the previous January.