History

2005

• Leading active driver in all of North American open-wheel racing scored two wins and three poles.
• Again top the series’ laps led chart, but a late-season string of DNFs ended his run at the title.
• Continued his climb up the all-time lists and is now in the top seven all time in wins (30), poles (25), wins from pole (10) and laps led (4,184).
• Won for the fourth time at Milwaukee, pacing 192 laps and took his other victory in Cleveland, taking over the points lead.
• Started in the top five for the first 10 races of the year, led laps in each of the first seven races and tied for the series lead with seven podiums.
• Led 512 laps, marking the fourth time in his career that he has paced more than 500 laps in a season.
• Ended the year in fourth in the standings with 246 points.

2004

• Continued to solidify his legacy as one of the best drivers in the history of Champ Car racing with another strong season in 2004.
• Started the year with a win at Long Beach, marking his fourth Long Beach victory.
• Finished fourth in the season standings but had back luck that ended Cleveland and Las Vegas events on the first lap.
• Scored poles in Cleveland, Vancouver and Australia, going on to win from pole in Vancouver for his third victory on the streets of Concord Pacific Place.
• Was second in the series in laps led with 286 and joined Sebastien Bourdais as the only drivers to win multiple races and multiple poles in 2004.

2003

• Became the first driver in 32 years to win the first three races of a season, scoring victories in St. Petersburg, Monterey and Long Beach after earning front-row starts in all three races.
• Historically not a strong qualifier in his 12 previous campaigns, he turned that around in 2003 as he racked up six poles, but more importantly, earned front-row starting spots in 10 races and started in the top three in 13 of the year’s 18 races.
• A tactical error on the European swing allowed the rest of the field to eat into his championship lead but he answered the challenge with a furious run of five consecutive podium finishes including wins from the pole in Toronto and Vancouver, making the popular tracy the first Canadian driver ever to win a Champ Car race on his home soil.
• He won from the pole at Mid-Ohio, marking his first victory at the Ohio road course and put himself in position to clinch the title with a win from pole in Mexico City.
• He wrapped his hands around the Vanderbilt Cup in the year’s very next race, sealing his first championship at Surfers Paradise to become the 17th different driver to win the series title.
• His 2003 season ranks among the very best in series history as he set single-season top-10 marks in laps led (658), wins (7), poles (6) and podiums (10).
• He entrenched himself firmly into the CART Champ Car history books in 2003, moving into the top five in the all-time listings for wins (26), poles (19), starts (209), laps led (3,386) and wins from pole (8).
• His championship point total of 226 also helped Canada win its first Nations Cup award, breaking a four-year run of victories by Brazilian drivers.

2002

• Finished eighth after qualifying 19th in the season-opening Tecate Telmex Monterrey Grand Prix. Result was third consecutive top ten result in a Champ Car season opener, and fourth of past five dating to a second place run at Homestead in 1997. (was excluded by CART from the 1999 season opener at Homestead for his role in an on-track incident with Michael Andretti at Australia in 1998)
• Finished seventh after qualifying eighth for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, scoring championship points in consecutive events for the first time since he finished 10th in Germany and sixth in England last year. Left Long Beach ninth in the 2002 CART FedEx Championship Series point standings with 11 points.
• Qualified third and finished 19th in Bridgestone Potenza 500 at Japan’s Twin Ring Motegi, retiring after 84 laps with mechanical difficulties. Led 38 laps, eclipsing his entire 2001 laps led total by 37 laps. Currently stands 15th in the 2002 CART FedEx Championship Series point standings with 11 points.
• Was determined to be the second place finisher by race officials in the 86th Indianapolis 500 due to late-race caution flag that appeared at nearly the same time he passed Helio Castroneves for the lead of the race. Team appealed the official finishing order, but Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials denied the protest. Regardless of the outcome, performance marked the fourth consecutive year that at least one regular CART FedEx Championship Series competitor finished inside the top five dating to a fourth-place run by Robby Gordon in 1999 and including victories by Juan Montoya in 2000 and Castroneves last year when CART regulars swept the top five finishing positions.
• Picked up his first Champ Car victory since the 2000 Molson Indy Vancouver with a dominating performance in the Miller Lite 250 at The Milwaukee Mile. The victory was the 19th of his career moving him into a tie with Mario Andretti for sixth place on the CART All-Time Win List (Andretti has 52 Champ Car victories, 19 of which came in CART-sanctioned events). Led twice for a total of 184 laps, eclipsing his total amount of laps led from the previous two seasons combined (133). Victory moved him to third in the 2002 CART FedEx Championship Series point standings.
• Qualified 16th and finished 17th in the Shell 300, featured event of the Bridgestone Grand Prix of Monterey at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Dropped out of the event after 15 laps due to contact after losing his left rear tire. Went from third to sixth in the 2002 CART FedEx Championship Series point standings.
• Qualified ninth and finished 17th in the G.I. Joe’s 200 at Portland International Raceway, retiring after 33 laps due to contact with Christian Fittipaldi.
• Qualified 13th and finished ninth in the CART Grand Prix of Chicago, scoring championship points for the first time since winning the Miller Lite 250 at The Milwaukee Mile.
• Qualified a strong second at Toronto but would end the day after 88 laps with a 16th place finish… Took his second podium result of the year with a third place showing in the Marconi Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by U.S. Bank after qualifying 11th.
• Won the provisional pole and captured his second consecutive podium by placing second at Vancouver, vaulting him into sixth in the 2002 CART FedEx Championship Series point standings.
• Dropped to eighth in the championship standings after qualifying ninth and finishing 18th in the CART Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio. Fell out of the race after 23 laps due to a mechanical failure.
• Qualified fourth and took the lead on the opening lap of the Motorola 220 at Road America. Went on to lead a race-high 24 laps, and was poised for a top five result until he and Kenny Brack tangled on Lap 39, removing both drivers from the race.
• Qualified 10th and finished fourth in the inaugural Molson Indy Montreal.
• Qualified 15th for the Shell Grand Prix of Denver, and overcame an opening lap incident with teammate Dario Franchitti and a drive-through penalty for unjustifiable risk to finish eighth. Earned championship points for the second consecutive event.
• Qualfied seventh and was the first driver out of the Rockingham 500, retiring after 12 laps with a mechanical failure in 19th position.
• Qualified 16th and was poised for a podium finish until contact with Jimmy Vasser forced him out of the race. Nevertheless, he led eight laps and was credited with a 12th place finish.
• Started fifth and finished third in the Honda Indy 300, recording his fourth podium finish of the season and his first trip to the podium since finishing second at Vancouver. Earned championship points for the second consecutive event and the fourth time in his past five starts. Performance enabled him to move from 10th to eighth in the championship standings.
• Qualified fifth and finished 17th in The 500 Presented by Toyota at California Speedway, retiring after 86 laps with a mechanical failure.
• Qualified 8th and finished 16th in Mexico City, retiring after 12 laps with a mechanical failure.
• Qualified fifth and finished 17th in The 500 Presented by Toyota at California Speedway, retiring after 86 laps with a mechanical failure. Finished 11th in the 2002 CART FedEx Championship Series standings with 101 points.

2001

• Paul experienced a difficult season in his fourth year with Team KOOL Green as the perennial contender finished 14th in the CART FedEx Championship Series championship.
• Started out the season strong with three consecutive top-four finishes – third at Mexico, fourth at Long Beach and third at Nazareth – but mustered championship points in only six of 17 starts the rest of the way. Performances at Mexico and Nazareth remained his season-best finishes.
• Top start of fourth came at Milwaukee (where the starting grid was based on championship points due to a rainout of qualifying), Michigan (where the starting grid was based on practice times due to a rainout of qualifying), and Australia.
• Ended the season with 172 starts, tying him with Raul Boesel for seventh place on the CART career starts list.
• Finished 14th in the FedEx Championship Series championship with 73 points.

2000

• Fifth-place result in the championship marked the fifth time in his 10-year career that he had finished among the top-five drivers, and the third time in the past four seasons.
• Outstanding season was highlighted by three victories – at Long Beach, Road America and Vancouver – and a pole position at Michigan Speedway.
• Three victories gave him 18 for his career, seventh in CART annals.
• Also added podium finishes of third at Homestead, Rio de Janeiro and Toronto.
• Scored championship points in 11 of 20 starts.
• Victory at Long Beach from 17th starting position represented the second-deepest on the grid from which anyone had driven to victory on a road or street course in CART history (the performance was later matched by Adrian Fernandez at Australia).
• Pole position at Michigan Speedway came at a track-record speed of 234.949 miles per hour (30.645 seconds) and was his first pole since 1997 at Milwaukee, as well as his first career pole on a superspeedway.
• Led the championship from Round 2 at Long Beach through Round 7 at Detroit.
• Led 132 laps, increasing his career total to 2,413, seventh on the CART career list.
• Started all 20 events and moved into ninth place on the CART career starts list with 152.
• Finished fifth in the FedEx Championship Series with 134 points.

1999

• Produced one of the best overall seasons of his nine-year career and was recognized by being named to the inaugural five-member CART All-Star Team. Earned a pair of wins and matched his career-best finish in the FedEx Championship Series championship by taking third with a career-best 161 points in 19 starts for Team KOOL Green. His other third-place finishes in the championship came in 1993 and ’94 with Penske Racing.
• Was one of four multiple winners during the season with victories at Milwaukee and Houston, the latter of which moved him into a tie with Alex Zanardi on CART’s career victory list, with 15.
• Recorded seven podium finishes overall, including runner-up efforts at Toronto, Detroit and Mid-Ohio and thirds at Nazareth and Michigan.
• After scoring points in just two of his first five starts, he finished by scoring in 11 of his next 14, with nine top-five efforts.
• Was excluded from the season opener at Homestead by CART Chief Steward Wally Dallenbach for his role in an on-track incident with Michael Andretti at Australia in October of 1998. Was replaced at that event by Raul Boesel.
• Was running at the finish in 14 of 19 starts.
• Finished sixth in the FedEx Championship Series in laps led (165) and sixth in miles completed (3,859.603 of a possible 4,652.675).
• Run of four consecutive podium finishes (second at Toronto, third at Michigan, second at Detroit and Mid-Ohio) was the longest for any FedEx Championship Series driver during the season, and scored points in eight consecutive events from Round 7 at Milwaukee through Round 14 at Mid-Ohio.
• Ended the season ranked 12th on the CART career starts list with 132.
• Finished third in the FedEx Championship with 161 points.

1998

• Had a another season of extremes in his first year with Team KOOL Green which included eight top-10 finishes, a lengthy probation from CART Chief Steward Wally Dallenbach and exclusion from the 1999 FedEx Championship Series season opener at Homestead, the first time a driver has been so disciplined.
• Top finishes of fifth came at Japan, Nazareth and Mid-Ohio.
• Back-to-back fourth-place starts at Houston and Australia represented best qualifying efforts of the season.
• Scored points in nine of 19 starts, including five in a row between Michigan and Laguna Seca.
• Was placed on probation by Dallenbach following Detroit for unjustifiable risk which resulted in contact with the car driven by Christian Fittipaldi, then was fined $20,000 and excluded from final qualifying at Portland for unjustifiable risk in an incident which resulted in contact with the car driven by Michel Jourdain Jr.
• Was removed from probation following Road America, a span of six events, but was fined $5,000 following Houston for not maintaining proper behavior and sportsmanship during an altercation with team owner Barry Green in the pits.
• Was excluded from the 1999 season opener after a review of an incident at the Honda Indy in Australia involving contact with the car driven by Michael Andretti. Was cited by Dallenbach for blocking, unjustifiable risk and unsportsmanlike conduct.
• Was leading the season-ending at Fontana with five laps remaining before a spin under caution denied him the victory.
• Finished 13th in the FedEx Championship Series with 61 points.

1997

• Experienced a season of extremes, winning consecutive events at Nazareth, Rio de Janeiro and St. Louis, respectively, to take the points lead, then finishing 26th or lower in each of the final five events to slip to fifth place in the championship.
• Missed a start at Detroit due to a recurrence of cervical muscle spasms associated with mild vertigo.
• Became the seventh driver to win three consecutive events in a season, and the first not to win the championship in that same year.
• Won pole positions at Nazareth and Milwaukee.
• Victory from the pole at Nazareth was one of only two in the series in ’97 (Alex Zanardi had the other at Cleveland).
• Finished second to Zanardi (338) with 336 laps led.
• Finished fifth in the championship with 121 points.

1996

• Went winless in a season for the first time since 1992 in his return to Marlboro Team Penske.
• Finished 13th in the championship (60 points).
• Won three poles (Miami, Nazareth, Milwaukee), one of three drivers on the season to be a multiple pole winner. Set a track record at Nazareth (190.737 mph) and became the first driver in Champ Car history to crack 190 miles per hour on a one mile oval.
• Also started on the pole at Milwaukee, where the grid was based on practice times due to a rainout of qualifying.
• Started among the top eight in 10 events.
• Had six top-10 finishes, including a season-best of third at Milwaukee.
• Ranked third in the series with 214 laps led.
• Did not start two races (Michigan, Mid-Ohio) due to injuries suffered in an accident during practice at Michigan for the Marlboro 500. Sustained a chip fracture of the spinous process cervical vertebra.
• Injury ended his reign as the series’ active leader for consecutive starts with 68.

1995

• Left Penske Racing after three years to compete for Newman/Haas Racing.
• Notched his third consecutive multiple-victory season with a pair of wins (Australia, Milwaukee) and finished sixth in the championship.
• Led the championship points for the first time in his career after Phoenix, the third race of the season.
• Also had runner-up showings at Road America, Mid-Ohio and Laguna Seca.
• Did not win a pole for the first time since his partial rookie season in 1991.

1994

• Finished third in the series championship for the second consecutive season with Marlboro Team Penske.
• Had eight podium appearances, including victories at Detroit, Nazareth and Laguna Seca, in 16 starts.
• Tied for the series lead in poles (4) with teammate Al Unser Jr.
• Started the season slowly, with just two points in the first four races, but followed with four consecutive podium finishes.
• Victory at Nazareth marked his first career oval triumph.
• Set four track records.
• Third-place showing in the points gave Team Penske a sweep of the top-three slots with Unser Jr. winning the title and Emerson Fittipaldi second.

1993

• Finished third in the series championship as he tied with champion Nigel Mansell for most victories in the season (5).
• First career triumph came at Long Beach after qualifying on the outside pole. Other victories came at Cleveland, Toronto, Road America and Laguna Seca.
• His two poles resulted in victories at Cleveland and Road America.
• Led the series in laps led (757 0f 2,112).
• Selected series’ STP “Most Improved Driver” by his peers.

1992

• Began the season as Team Penske’s test driver and was scheduled to compete in a select number of events.
• Wound up starting 11 races with the majority coming as a substitute for Rick Mears, who was recovering from wrist surgery, in the No. 4 Marlboro Penske entry.
• Registered three podium finishes, including runnerup efforts at Michigan and Mid-Ohio, as he finished 12th in the series championship.
• Earned his first career pole at Road America.
• Led races on seven different occasions and ranked fourth in laps led.

1991

• Made his rookie debut with Dale Coyne Racing at Long Beach, starting 14th and finishing 22nd.
• Signed with Team Penske in midseason to serve as a team test driver.
• Competed in three races with Penske. Team debut came at Michigan, where he qualified eighth but crashed on Lap 3 and broke his left leg.
• Recovered from the injury to compete in the final two races of the season, the first resulting in a season-best seventh-place finish at Nazareth.

1990

• Captured the PPG-Dayton Indy Lights championship in his third season in the series.
• Established then-series records for victories (9) and poles (7) in 14 events.
• Also set six qualifying marks and four race records.
• Successfully tested the trueSports Champ Car with an eye toward entering 1991 FedEx Championship Series events.
• Awarded the Bruce McLaren trophy by the British Racing Drivers’ Club, presented annually to the Commonwealth’s most promising driver.

1989

• Finished eighth in the American Racing Series (Indy Lights) on the strength of three podium finishes.
• Top efforts were runner-up finishes at Phoenix and Portland.

1988

• Finished ninth in the American Racing Series (Indy Lights) as a rookie.
• Won the first ARS event he competed in (Phoenix) and finished with five top-10 showings.

1987

• Competed in his second Formula Ford 2000 season and recorded another victory.
• Also raced in the SCCA Endurance Series, Mosport’s 24-hour race and the British Grandstand Series.

1986

• Captured a victory at Sanair in his first season in Formula 2000.
• Competed in Can-Am and became the series’ youngest race winner in history with a triumph at age 17.

1985

• Became the youngest Canadian Formula Ford champion in history when he won the championship at the age of 16.

1984

• Finished sixth in World Karting Championship.