Edward McKay Cheever Jr. (born January 10, 1958) is an American former racing driver who raced for almost 30 years in Formula One, sports cars, CART, and the Indy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 Formula One World Championship races and started 132, more than any other American, driving for nine different teams from 1978 through 1989. In 1997, he formed his own IRL team and won the 1998 Indianapolis 500 as both owner and driver. The team now competes in sports cars.

Early life

Though born in Phoenix, Arizona, Cheever lived in Rome, Italy, as a child. He was introduced to motorsports at age eight, when his father took him to a sports car race in Monza. He soon began racing go-karts and won both the Italian and European Karting Championships at age 15. He worked his way up through the levels of European Formula racing, teaming with fellow American Danny Sullivan in Formula Three in 1975. He scored a significant win against Gunnar Nilsson and Rupert Keegan at the end of 1975 and then driving for Ron Dennis' Project Four team in Formula Two in 1976, 1977 and 1978, finishing runner-up to René Arnoux in the 1977 championship.