CHASSIS 012

Piloted by Christian Fittipaldi and Roberto Moreno throughout the 1999 CART FedEx Championship Series, Swift-Ford 010.c chassis 012 contested 10 out of the 20 races throughout the year. On the car’s second outing for the Telemar Rio 200 at Autódromo de Jacarepaguá, the Brazilian would dazzle his home crowd by starting on the pole and driving to a podium finish. The car would later contest the 10th event of the season in Elkhart Lake Wisconsin for the Texaco/Havoline 200. After qualifying on the second row, Fittipaldi conquered the daunting four-mile road course to secure his very first CART victory.

Unfortunately, Fittipaldi would be forced to sit out five races towards the end of the season as a result of an injury sustained while testing in St. Louis. After making a recovery, Fittipaldi would return in spectacular fashion by capping off the season with an additional podium finish at the final 500-mile race of the year in Fontana, California.

SWIFT ENGINEERING

Ahead of the 1997 season, Newman/Haas Racing entered a partnership with Swift Engineering of San Clemente, California. A bold decision at the time, it made the Swift the only American-made chassis on the grid when it debuted.

Established in 1983, Swift had gained a large amount of motorsports experience constructing junior open-wheel racing cars prior to jumping into the IndyCar arena. Backed by the resources of Ford Motorsports engineering and a team including Dr. Mark Hanford, Peter Gibbons, and Brian Lisle, the brand-new chassis was conceived with assistance from state-of-the-art computer design software. However, Swift’s rolling road wind tunnel, one of the most advanced of its type at the time, proved to be the significant contributor to the car’s success. Previously used by the Williams Formula One team, the tunnel helped to conceive a rear end design that neatly packaged the exhaust and gearbox out of the ever-important airflow exiting the underwing.

Successfully wielded by Christian Fittipaldi throughout the 1999 CART FedEx Championship season, this Swift-Ford 010.c is not presently fitted with an engine.