season, Philippe qualified a respectable 13th and then recorded an even more respectable sixth-place finish at Surfers Paradise. "Even though the results may not show it, it was probably one of the best races of my career," said Philippe of the race. In the season finale at Mexico City, Philippe again qualified 13th, but was one of three cars that stalled at the start. He was able to get the car going and ultimately finished in 12th position, a lap down to the leaders. After Champ Car Nelson Philippe returned to race with Minardi/HVM Racing in the 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. This was the final Champ Car World Series race after the merger with the Indy Racing League. He gave tribute to the series that made his career wearing a race suit with past and present Champ Car logos and "Thank you Champ Car staff and fans" inscribed on the back. He finished 15th in the race. In 2008, Nelson Philippe drove in the inaugural Superleague Formula season for the Borussia Dortmund team. He also competed in the opening round of the 2008–09 GP2 Asia Series season for ART Grand Prix before being replaced by Pastor Maldonado. Nelson Philippe announced on April 24, 2009 on Fox News that his new "i Drive Green" race team would be fielding the first-ever carbon neutral entry in the Indianapolis 500 in conjunction with HVM Racing. Philippe struggled in practice and qualifying but ultimately made the field. He made light contact with the wall which was enough to end his race on lap 130. He was credited with 25th. During practice for the 2009 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma, Nelson Philippe, who was returning to the series for a few late-season road course races with Conquest Racing, spun exiting Turn 3 and stalled on the track. E. J. Viso barely avoided him but Will Power had nowhere to go and crashed into the stationary Frenchman. Power suffered two fractured vertebrae while Philippe suffered a fractured ankle. Both also suffered concussions and were subsequently hospitalized. Philippe’s younger brother, Richard Philippe, also a racer, died in a helicopter crash in the Dominican Republic in November 2018. Motorsports career results American Open-Wheel racing results (key) Barber Dodge Pro Series Champ Car IndyCar Series 1 Run on same day. 2 Non-points-paying, exhibition race. Indianapolis 500 Superleague Formula (key) Complete GP2 Asia Series results (key) (Races