Overdrive Championship Series

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Formula Overdrive
OCS2019.png
Year Founded 2008
Founder(s)
Executive(s) Ben Aldívar
Current Divisions Imago Overdrive Championship Series
Current Champion Casey Lester
Racing Series


Formula Overdrive (currently branded as Imago Overdrive Championship Series) is an open-wheel racing series operating in North America. The first season was run in 2008, with Luke Warmwater winning the title. The series' sanctioning body went under after the 2008 season, leaving the series dormant until 2011, when ARLA revived the series with a nine race schedule, all on road courses. Kiriki Hetsuno won the championship.

The 2012 Formula Overdrive season is sanctioned by executives from series sponsor Hanmore, and has an even split between road courses and ovals. It is a cheaper alternative to the manufacturer-driven V8 Champ Car series, but manufacturer support for Overdrive has grown, leading to bigger purses and an increase in track attendance and TV viewership. Formula Overdrive is still seen as a feeder series to Champ Car, although Hanmore has made it known they would like to move the series closer to equal footing with Champ Car. However, Formula Overdrive had never had a stable big race before 2012, while V8 Champ Car sanctions the legendary Indianapolis 500. The 2012 Hanmore World Championships brought on the downfall to Hanmore's hopes, as the series was shocked and its growth stunted by the deaths of five competitors during that event. The end of the 2014 season saw Hanmore put the series up for sale, and with no buyer, the series sat dormant yet again for 2015 onwards. In 2018, the series will return under National Sports Car Club sanctioning.

Championship winners[edit | edit source]

Year Driver Team
2008 GBR.png Luke Warmwater USA.png Lenard Motor Company
2009-10 No seasons held
2011 JPN.png Kiriki Hetsuno JPN.png Atsuro Technologies
2012 FIN.png Tommi Arjanien USA.png ClarTech, Inc.
2013 IRE.png Ross Carter IRE.png Carter Motorsports
2014 FRA.png Natalie Balandier USA.png Hurricane Racing Team
2015-17 No seasons held
2018 USA.png Casey Lester CND.png Lynhurst Racing Technologies