Flag to Flag | March 25, 1999

 

Flag to Flag, known in Japan as Super Speed Racing (スーパースピードレーシング, Sūpā Supīdo Rēshingu), is a racing video game developed by ZOOM Inc. and published by Sega for the Dreamcast console.

Flag to Flag features official licensing from the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) racing league. The game is based on the 1998 CART FedEx Championship Series and includes 19 race tracks, 27 drivers, and 18 teams used in the 1998 CART season.

CART was an American sanctioning body for open-wheel car racing that operated from 1979 until the end of the 2003 season. It was established by team owners who were dissatisfied with the direction and leadership of the United States Auto Club (USAC). The idea was to create a new series that team owners could sanction and promote independently. Throughout the 1980s, CART's IndyCar World Series became the most significant open-wheel racing series in North America, featuring street circuits, road courses, and oval track races. CART teams continued to participate in the Indianapolis 500 sanctioned by USAC, which was effectively integrated into the series schedule.

As the series flourished, concerns over costs, competitiveness, and revenue distribution began to emerge, leading to opposition regarding CART's organizational structure. In 1992, the company was rebranded as IndyCar, and a compromise committee was formed, but attempts at reform failed. In 1996, the new Indy Racing League (IRL) was established, taking full control of the Indianapolis 500 and starting a competing oval-based open-wheel series, resulting in an "open-wheel split." CART ceased using the IndyCar name but continued to operate its series without participating in the Indianapolis 500.

This split led to a significant decline in general interest in open-wheel racing in the U.S., compounded by the rising popularity of NASCAR, which accelerated the decrease in sponsorship and attendance at some tracks. In the early 2000s, a series of setbacks occurred as major racing teams and engine manufacturers left for the IRL, culminating in CART declaring bankruptcy at the end of the 2003 season.

In 2004, three team owners acquired the assets of the bankrupt series and renamed it the Champ Car World Series (CCWS). However, continued financial difficulties led Champ Car to file for bankruptcy before the 2008 season. The assets and history of CART and CCWS were ultimately integrated into the IRL's IndyCar Series.