Struggles and Closure
As 2002 came, the team began to struggle. The influx of former CART teams had begun and Lazier only managed an 8th place finish in points and only registered a pair of top 5 finishes. 2003 was even worse as the team struggled with underpowered Chevrolet engines compared to the new Honda and Toyota powerplants and Lazier finished a dismal 19th in series points, prompting Delta Faucets to leave the team. In 2004 the team was only able to field a car for Lazier in the Indy 500. In 2005 the team returned to full-time competition with new ethanol sponsorship brought by driver Paul Dana who was injured after 3 races and replaced by Jimmy Kite. In 2006 the ethanol sponsorship left and it appeared unlikely that the team would return until late in the off-season when a deal was brokered to bring P.J. Chesson to the team with financial backing from NBA star Carmelo Anthony. Following the 2006 Indianapolis 500 where Hemelgarn drivers Chesson and Jeff Bucknum tangled on the second lap and finished in the last two positions, Ron Hemelgarn let his crew go and suspended the team's operations, leaving Chesson without a ride for the rest of the year.
It was unknown if and when Hemelgarn Racing would return to the track until the team filed an entry for the 2007 Indianapolis 500. Little was heard of the entry until a deal was put together on the Friday before the final weekend of qualifying with Racing Professionals to jointly field a former Hemelgarn chassis (bought by RP) for Richie Hearn. Hearn solidly put the car in the field after only 26 laps of practice on Bump Day and finished the race in the 23rd position. In 2008 Buddy Lazier returned to the team for the Indianapolis 500 and made a last minute run on Bump Day to put the car into the field. With little practice, Lazier struggled with the handling of the car and finished 17th five laps down. The team attempted to repeat 2008's relative success in 2009, but despite running lap times similar to what they had run the previous year, Lazier was not able to wring enough speed from the car to make the field.
In April 2010, SPEED TV's Robin Miller reported that Hemelgarn Racing had ceased operations.
Read more about this topic: Hemelgarn Racing
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