Late Thursday afternoon, Newman/Haas Racing confirmed it will not be participating in the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series and will shut its doors at the end of December.

In a statement, NHR co-owner Carl Haas said the economy has forced the team out of the sport after nearly 30 years.

"The economic climate no longer enables Newman/Haas Racing to participate in open-wheel racing at this time," Haas said.

The team fielded Oriol Servia and James Hinchcliffe in 2011, with Servia finishing fourth in the final standings and Hinchcliffe winning IndyCar Rookie of the Year honors.

In its history dating to 1983, Newman/Haas Racing has been one of open-wheel racing's most successful and enduring franchises. The team won eight championships, starting with Mario Andretti in 1984 (ABOVE), 107 races and 109 pole positions. Andretti's son Michael brought the team further championship success in 1991, before Newman/Haas claimed international recognition when it lured F1 champion Nigel Mansell over to CART for the 1993 season. The Briton promptly became the first and only driver to secure back-to-back titles in the two series.

Sebastien Bourdais went on to won four straight Champ Car titles for NHR from 2004 to '07, and Justin Wilson recorded the team's last win at Detroit's Belle Isle in 2008. Graham Rahal scored three poles for the team in 2009.

Times have been hard for the team since team co-founder Paul Newman passed away in 2008, with smaller budgets and drivers needing to find funding to race for the team. It seemed in 2011 they were back in full, primed for a resurgence with Servia's several podiums and Hinchcliffe's emergence on the scene.

Jonesy Morris
Carl and Bernie have been entering cars at the top level of American motorsport for more than 46 years. It is not just the past 30 years of Indy Car racing that is coming to an end. Carl Haas Racing teams ran cars in the SCCA USRRC, Can-AM and F-5000 series beginning in the 60s.
Their drivers included Chuck Parsons, Peter Revson, Jackie Stewart, David Hobbs, Brian Redman, Jackie Ickx, Alan Jones,
Patrick Tambay Jeff Wood and others. The Haas contribution to American racing will always be remembered. Thank you Mr. and Mrs Haas.
Marko 911/944
I never thought I'd see the day either, but the passing of Paul left the writing on the wall. For 31 years I've attended every type of racing that I could. In that time, the most disappointing day was hearing that  F1 champ Nigel Mansell had put his Newman Hass car into the fence during Friday practice at Phoenix and injured his back, and my 8 friends and I had tickets for Sat Qualifying. Only the greatest team in American open wheel racing could bring a talent like that my local track. I'll miss watching Carl do his check of the cars on the grid before each race he attended, checking the cars suspension and just being there. I hope the legend can be saved, and maybe multiplied like Lotus!