both Alex Tagliani and Will Power. Mi-Jack Conquest Racing kept Andrew Ranger from their 2005 team. Ranger was joined by Charles Zwolsman Jr., the 2005 Toyota Atlantic Championship series champion. CTE-HVM Racing signed two new drivers after using four last year, with Nelson Philippe matched up with rookie Dan Clarke as his teammate. Dale Coyne Racing picked up the biggest wild card for 2006, signing 2002 series champion Cristiano da Matta as their number one driver alongside a debutant Belgian, Jan Heylen. Rocketsports Racing began the year as a one-car team. Former WilliamsF1 driver Antônio Pizzonia signed on with a one-race contract for Long Beach. Mid-season changes Dutchman Nicky Pastorelli was announced as Rocketsports Racing's "full-time" driver on April 28. Pastorelli was a test driver for Jordan Grand Prix in 2005 and in October 2005 had been originally introduced as the third driver for the team which was renamed Midland F1 Racing after the 2005 season, but that opportunity fell through in December when one of Pastorelli's investors backed out of the deal. It would not be the last time Nicky would have sponsorship problems. On June 9, following the race at the Milwaukee Mile, the RuSPORT team announced that they were replacing A. J. Allmendinger with Cristiano da Matta. The change was surprise, as Allmendinger had been the cornerstone of the team since its founding in 2002. The Champ Car series was temporarily left without an American driver. On June 12 Forsythe Racing announced that they were parting company with Mario Domínguez. Domínguez had crashed on this opening lap of the Milwaukee race, taking out himself and his teammate Paul Tracy as well as Bruno Junqueira. The series stewards penalized him for the crash, stripping him of the points earned for his 14th-place finish. Two days later the open seat was filled as A. J. Allmendinger was announced as Domínguez's replacement at Forsythe, a pairing that was quickly rewarded with victories in the following three races starting at Portland. Meanwhile, Domínguez moved to Dale Coyne Racing to take the seat vacated by da Matta. Rocketsports Racing expanded back to a two-car team beginning with the Portland race. Atlantic series veteran Tõnis Kasemets became the first Champ Car driver of Estonian descent. Kasemets was initially slated to run six races for the team, but would only end up running five races. Rocketsports Racing reverted to a one-car team at Toronto