More than any American

Eddie Cheever’s iconic helmet on the side-pot of his Ligier JS17B-Matra, he was driving during the 1982 Formula One season (picture-above). The American, raised in Italy, participated in 143 Formula One races, more than any other American, driving for nine different teams from 1978 through 1989. In 1996, he formed his own IRL team, Team Cheever, and won the 1998 Indianapolis 500, as both owner and driver.

With Jacques Laffite as his team mate, Eddie Cheever produced a good 1982 season when he scored three podiums for the Talbot-Ligier Matra team, with an excellent second position in the streets of Detroit as best result, and a third in Belgium and in Las Vegas for the championship final (picture-below).