Cherokee GP

Cherokee GP logo (2015-present)

**Cherokee GP** is a motor racing team competing in the AT&T Champ Car World Series, GTPlanet Fandom Series, Microsoft IndyCar Series, and Nissan Atlantic Championship as of 2022. Its origins come from the Tigersport team, which dissolved into Cherokee GP in the 2015 IZOD IndyCar Series season. The team is best known for its pseudo-underdog status; while it has not been a championship front running team, race wins and positive results are consistent for the team across all the series it competes in.

## Background

Cherokee GP came into existence leading into the halfway stage of the 2015 IZOD IndyCar Series season. Clayton Hardy, who started his Indycar World Championship career with Tigersport in 2013, had been keeping the team afloat with sponsorship he brought in, most notably from Pennzoil. But the team's mismanagement saw it fall more and more into debt, and as the 2015 season began, it was becoming a struggle for the team to make it race to race, despite results being scored by Hardy and Siri Lundqvist. The instability of the series itself accelerated the team's plummet, with Citadel Promotions, the owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, pulling the plug on the 2015 Indianapolis 500 unless it was given the rights to host the Indycar World Championship. Several teams felt the financial ramifications of this period, but none quite like Tigersport, who entered administration in early May, when the 2015 Indianapolis 500 was called off by the track owners. Hardy, using resources available to him, brought together a consortium to save the team, and the 200 staff members the team employed. By July 2015, Hardy controlled Tigersport, renaming the team as Cherokee GP while the consortium worked to sort through the debt through the rest of the year.

## Champ Car History

### Last Win

2021 Spyder Grand Prix of Denver (Denver)

### 2016 Season

Cherokee GP entered the 2016 season with three full time cars. Hardy drove the new #96, with sponsorship from McDonald's and Royal Crown Cola. Pennzoil, one of Hardy's main financial backers, moved to support the #95 of Behrris Windross, who joined the team after 4 years with Crystal Cove Racing. Jett Raven also joined the team, driving the #97 after racing in 2015 for Archway Racing. The team also had a fourth entry for newcomer Diego Jaramillo, who drove the #98 for the Indianapolis 500.

### 2021 Season

Cherokee GP retained the lineup they finished the 2020 season with, with Siri Lundqvist driving the #96 Alpine with sponsorship from NOS Energy Drinks and virtual reality gaming company, Oculus. Keisha Fox remained in the #62 with sponsorship from Maine based soda brand Moxie, and Spanish fuel company, Repsol.

The season did not start off positive for Cherokee GP. After struggling in qualifying, neither Cherokee GP driver finished well, with Keisha Fox taken out early to finish 20th, while Lundqvist suffered pit stop issues and finished 15th. Fortune did not improve by much at the second race of the season in Motegi. Lundqvist brought her car home in 12th position, while Fox once again failed to finish due to mechanical issues, ending up 16th in an incident filled race.

Richmond saw the team break through in shocking fashion. A well timed caution put Lundqvist at the front of the field late, and although she had been a top 5 runner most of the race, it put her in a prime position to win her first race since returning from Formula One. Fox also had an incredible race to back up her Swedish teammate, finishing fourth behind Lundqvist and both Rockstar Phantom Motors cars of Andrew Draco and David Wessel.

The team's fortune would return towards mid-field running, with Lundqvist finishing 11th at Texas, while Fox finished 22nd after being mired with electrical issues early. Fox would finish 28th and last at Chicagoland, being collected in a multi-car crash that also included Andrew Draco, Ray Taylor, and others, while Lundqvist finished on the podium in third behind the Panasonic Team Impulse duo of Hazel Lacasse and Sakura Ishibashi. The Indianapolis 500 was a very quiet race for the duo, who did not have the race pace of the other Alpine-powered teams. While Panasonic Team Impulse finished 1-2, and Swift Autosport landed two of their cars in the top 10, Lundqvist could only manage 14th, behind Fox, who finished 11th. Neither finished the race on the lead lap.

### 2022 Season

Cherokee GP entered the 2022 Champ Car season with the same lineup from 2021, with Siri Lundqvist driving the #96 and Keisha Fox driving the #62. New for 2022, the team received significant financial backing from Arasaka Corporation, who also sponsored the team in the Microsoft IndyCar Series, and became the title sponsor of the Motegi Champ Car race.

## GTPFS History

### 2022 Season

Cherokee GP announced it would be competing in the 2022 GTPlanet Fandom Series season, becoming the first team to align with Street and Racing Technology (SRT) in the new generation of stock car racing. It would launch its GTPFS history with a 3 car effort, the #96 driven by Shawn Hardy, the #10 driven by Paul Del Prete, who joined after spending the last two years with Team Kate Upton, and Julia Cervone, a series rookie, would pilot the #29 for the team.

## Drivers

### Current Drivers

#### Champ Car World Series

* Siri Lundqvist (2020-)
* Keisha Fox (2020-)

#### IndyCar Series

* Alicja Kowalkiewicz (2018-)
* Seth Smith, Jr. (2022-)

#### Atlantic Championship

* Julia Takani (2021-)
* Santiago Saetilla (2022-)

#### GTPlanet Fandom Series

* Shawn Hardy (2022-)
* Julia Cervone (2022-)
* Paul Del Prete (2022-)
* Nathan Ormond (2022-)

### Former Drivers

* Behrris Windross (2016-2019), Champ Car
* Jett Raven (2016), Champ Car
* Diego Jaramillo (2016), Champ Car
* Clayton Hardy (2015-2017), Champ Car
* Katrina Ochoa (2021), Atlantic Championship