page_title: American open-wheel car racing
section_title: IndyCar (2008–2019): Unification era
hierarchical_section_title: American open-wheel car racing / Sanctioning bodies / IndyCar (2008–2019): Unification era
caption_attribution_description: 2019 Indianapolis 500
context_page_description: American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in Northern America. As of 2019, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar.
  Competitive events for professional-level, single-seat open-wheel race cars have been conducted under the auspices of several different sanctioning bodies since 1902. A season-long, points-based, National Championship of drivers has been officially recognized in 1905, 1916, and since 1920. The Indianapolis 500, which debuted in 1911, is the premier event of Indy car racing.
  The open-wheeled, winged, single-seater cars have generally been similar to those in Formula One, though there are important differences. The fame of the Indianapolis 500 leads many to colloquially refer to the cars that compete on the American Championship circuit as "Indy cars".
  This form of racing has experienced high levels of popularity over the years, particularly in the post-World War II time frame. The "golden era" of the 1950s was followed by a decade of transition and innovation in the 1960s, which included increased international participation.
context_section_description: Prior to the start of the 2008 season, the CCWS Board authorized bankruptcy and Champ Car was absorbed into the IRL, creating a unified series for the national championship for the first time since 1978. The unified series competed under the name IndyCar Series. The two calendars were merged into one schedule, with the top Champ Car races surviving. Some of the other races from the Champ Car schedule were dropped or put on hiatus for a few seasons. All historical record and property of CART/CCWS was assumed by the IRL.
  Randy Bernard was announced as the new IRL CEO in February 2010. In 2011, the sanctioning body dropped the Indy Racing League name, becoming IndyCar to reflect the merged series. The new Dallara DW12 racecar was introduced for the 2012 season. Bernard was replaced by Mark Miles in 2012.
  The series operated under the name IZOD IndyCar Series from 2010–2013, then became known as the Verizon IndyCar Series from 2014 to 2018, and the NTT IndyCar Series since 2019.
caption: 2019 Indianapolis 500, an IndyCar sanctioned race
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