In American Championship Car Racing, "Indy car" is a descriptive name for a type of open wheel car that has participated in the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. Originally, the cars were generally referred to as "Championship cars". However, as the result of the genre's fundamental link to the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race, many people started to use the Indy car name in order to differentiate the Indianapolis-style open-wheel cars from other types of open-wheel cars, such as those of Formula One.
The IndyCar Series is an open wheel racing series sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and is currently the principal context in which the trademark IndyCar has been used since 2003. Brickyard Trademarks, Inc., a subsidiary of Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation, is the current owner of the IndyCar trademark and licenses that mark to the Indy Racing League for use in connection with the IndyCar Series.
The IndyCar World Series was the name adopted by governing body Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) from 1980-1997 for the year-long schedule of the premiere open wheel series in the United States. The mark IndyCar was first registered by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1992. As a result, the IndyCar trademark was licensed to CART from 1992-1997. After a legal battle with Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner and Indy Racing League founder Tony George, the series became known as the CART FedEx Championship Series, and later as the Champ Car World Series before merging with the IRL in 2008.
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