1981 CART PPG Indy Car World Series

1981 CART season
1981 CART season
PPG Indy Car World Series
Season
Races	11
Start date	March 22
End date	November 8
Awards
Drivers' champion	Rick Mears
Constructors' Cup	Penske
Manufacturers' Cup	Cosworth
Nations' Cup	United States
Rookie of the Year	Bob Lazier
	← 1980 1982 →

Last updated August 16, 2025

The 1981 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season, the third in the CART era of U.S. open-wheel racing, consisted of 11 races, beginning in Avondale, Arizona on March 22 and concluding at the same location on October 31. The PPG Indy Car World Series Drivers' Champion was Rick Mears despite missing Round 2 at Milwaukee due to injuries sustained in the Indianapolis 500. Rookie of the Year was Bob Lazier. After the disagreement with the USAC during the previous season, the 65th Indianapolis 500 was not part of the Series, however no competing race was scheduled and most CART teams and drivers did take part.

Drivers and constructors

The following teams and drivers competed for the 1981 CART World Series.

Team/Car Owner	Chassis	Engine	#	Drivers	Rounds
Chaparral Cars	Chaparral	Cosworth	1	Johnny Rutherford	All
Jerry O'Connell Racing	Phoenix	Cosworth	2	Tom Sneva	1
Jerry O'Connell Racing	Phoenix	Cosworth	32	Kevin Cogan	2-3, 5-7
Bignotti-Cotter Racing	March (5-11) Phoenix (2)	Cosworth	2	Tom Sneva	All except 1 and 3-4
Bignotti-Cotter Racing	Phoenix	Cosworth	21	Salt Walther	5
Team Penske	Penske	Cosworth	3	Bobby Unser	All
			6	Rick Mears	All except 2
			7	Bill Alsup	All except 1 and 8-9
Alex Morales Motorsports	Penske (all except 2, 9) Lightning (2, 9)	Cosworth	5	Pancho Carter	All
Alex Morales Motorsports	Lightning	Cosworth	75	Steve Chassey	4
Longhorn Racing	Longhorn (All except 8) Eagle (8)	Cosworth	8	Al Unser	All
Rhoades Competition	Wildcat	Cosworth	12	Dennis Firestone	3
				Gary Bettenhausen	5, 7
				Gordon Smiley	6, 10-11
Gilmore Racing	Coyote	Cosworth	14	A. J. Foyt	5
Tempero Racing	McLaren	Chevrolet	15	Bill Tempero	All except 2
Bettenhausen Racing	McLaren (1-6) Longhorn (7) Phoenix (8-11)	Cosworth	16	Tony Bettenhausen Jr.	All except 1
Leader Card Racing	Vollstedt	Offenhauser	17	Jerry Sneva	5, 11
	Watson	Cosworth (All except 7-8) Offenhauser (7-8)	22	Dick Simon	All except 3-4.
	Watson	Cosworth (All except 7-8) Offenhauser (7-8)	22	Spike Gehlhausen	3-4
Patrick Racing	Wildcat	Cosworth	20	Gordon Johncock	All
			40	Mario Andretti	1-4, 8-9, 11
			40	Steve Krisiloff	5, 7
Brayton Racing	Penske	Cosworth	21	Mike Mosley	10
			21	Chip Ganassi	11
			37	Scott Brayton	All
McElreath Racing	Eagle	Offenhauser (1, 9-11)Chevrolet (8)	23	Jim McElreath	1, 8-11
Luxury Racers	Kingfish	Chevrolet	24	Wally Pankratz	6
Luxury Racers	Kingfish	Chevrolet	65	Wally Pankratz	11
Buick Racing	Eagle	Chevrolet	26	Jim Buick	1
Buick Racing	Eagle	Chevrolet	86	Jim Buick	2-5
Menard Racing	Lightning (1-8) Eagle (9-11)	Chevrolet	28	Herm Johnson	All except 1-2, 4, and 8
Beaudoin Racing	McLaren	Cosworth	29	Billy Engelhart	2, 5, 7
Machinists Union Racing	Penske	Cosworth	31	Larry Dickson	All except 1
Theodore Racing	McLaren (5, 10-11) March (6)	Cosworth	33	Vern Schuppan	5-6, 10-11
Wysard Racing	Eagle	Cosworth	34	Hurley Haywood	6, 9-10
Wysard Racing	Eagle	Cosworth	34	Johnny Parsons	11
Bob Fletcher Racing	Penske (1-6) March (7-11)	Cosworth	35	Bob Lazier	All
Karl Racing	McLaren (1) Karl (2-7, 9-10)	Chevrolet	38	Jerry Karl	All except 8 and 11
Alsup Racing	Penske	Cosworth	41	Bill Alsup	1, 8-9
Alsup Racing	McLaren	Chevrolet	47	Phil Caliva	3-7, 11
Frey Racing	Eagle	Offenhauser	42	Bob Frey	1
Frey Racing	Eagle	Offenhauser	71	Bob Frey	2, 5
Rattlesnake Racing	Watson	Offenhauser	42	Bill Vukovich II	5-6, 8, 10
AMI Racing	Armstrong	Cosworth	43	Greg Leffler	11
AMI Racing	Lola	Cosworth	45	Harry MacDonald	5
Rager Racing	Wildcat	Chevrolet	44	Roger Rager	11
			66	Roger Rager	5-9
			66	Orio Trice	10
All American Racers	Eagle	Chevrolet	48	Mike Mosley	2-3, 5, 7-8, 11
				Geoff Brabham	6, 10
				Rocky Moran	9
Space Racing	Eagle	Cosworth	49	Chip Mead	5, 11
Garza Racing	Penske	Cosworth	54	Geoff Brabham	1
			54	Josele Garza	2
			55	Josele Garza	All except 2
Gohr Racing	Penske	Chevrolet	56	Tom Bigelow	3, 5, 7-8, 11
Metro Racing	McLaren	Offenhauser	57	Cliff Hucul	2, 5, 8
Hamilton Racing	Riley	Chevrolet	63	Ken Hamilton	6, 11
Jet Engineering	Eagle	Chevrolet	64	Steve Chassey	All except 4 and 10
Mergard Racing	McLaren (2, 9) IAM (10)	Chevrolet (2, 9) Donovan (10)	67	Phil Threshie	2
Mergard Racing	McLaren (2, 9) IAM (10)	Chevrolet (2, 9) Donovan (10)	67	Teddy Pilette	9-10
Hodgdon Racing	Penske	Cosworth	72	Mike Chandler	5
Hodgdon Racing	Penske	Cosworth	74	Mike Chandler	6, 10-11
Davis Racing	Wildcat	Offenhauser (3-4, 7-9, 11) Chevrolet (6)	77	Ross Davis	3-4, 6-9, 11
Joe Hunt Magneto	Eagle	Chevrolet (1, 6, 10) Offenhauser (11)	89	Phil Krueger	1, 6, 10-11
Intercomp	Penske	Offenhauser (2, 6-7) Chevrolet (11)	92	John Mahler	2, 6-7, 11
Grupo-Acypsa	Penske	Offenhauser	93	Michel Jourdain Sr.	10
Whittington Bros. Racing	March	Cosworth	94	Bill Whittington	5
Cannon Racing	Wildcat	Offenhauser	95	Larry Cannon	1
			95	Herm Johnson	4
			96	Tom Frantz	1
			96	Dick Ferguson	5
			99	Larry Cannon	2-5
			99	Dick Ferguson	6-7, 10-11
Vetrock Racing	Eagle	Chevrolet	X	Dean Vetrock	2
Ohio Racing Associates	Longhorn	Cosworth	49	Steve Krisiloff	8

Notable team and driver changes

Tom Sneva left Jerry O'Connell Racing for new team Bignotti-Cotter Racing. The team scaled back to part-time for 1981.
Team Penske expanded to a three-car operation, with Bill Alsup joining. His owner-driver team Alsup Racing only ran part-time in 1981.
After racing a limited schedule beforehand, Tony Bettenhausen Jr. ran his first full-time season with his new owner-driver team Bettenhausen Racing.
Dick Simon replaced Sheldon Kinser at Leader Card Racing, leaving Kinser without a ride. Simon's old team, Vollstedt Enterprises, did not compete.
Mario Andretti returned to running the majority of the races after a stint in Formula One, driving for Patrick Racing. He replaced Tom Bagley, who was left without a ride.
Rookie driver Scott Brayton ran a full schedule with family-owned team Brayton Racing.
After running part-time in 1980, Machinists Union Racing ran a full schedule with driver Larry Dickson.
Spike Gehlhausen was replaced at Bob Fletcher Racing by rookie driver Bob Lazier.
Josele Garza ran his first season with family-owned team Garza Racing.
Steve Chassey ran his first full-time season for the Jet Engineering team.
AMI Racing only ran two races in 1981 after running full-time in 1980. Gary Bettenhausen was left without a full-time ride.
Interscope Racing also stopped running full-time, along with driver Danny Ongais.
At Cannon Racing, Larry Cannon only ran the first few races, with most of the rest driven by Dick Ferguson.
This was Bobby Unser's final season of IndyCar racing. See the 1981 Indianapolis 500 for more information.

Notable equipment changes

Tempero Racing switched from an Eagle to McLaren chassis.
Menard Racing switched from an Offenhauser to Chevrolet engine. With this shift the Cannon Racing team was the only full-time team that still used Offenhauser engines.

Schedule

Of note was the addition of the inaugural Michigan 500 to replace the California 500 at the now-closed Ontario Motor Speedway. The Tony Bettenhausen 200 at Milwaukee was originally scheduled for August 2, but was rained out and postponed until September 5.


Rd	Date	Name	Circuit	Location
1	March 22	Kraco Car Stereo 150	O Phoenix International Raceway	Avondale, Arizona
NC	May 24	Indianapolis 500	O Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Indianapolis, Indiana
2	June 8	Gould Rex Mays Classic	O Milwaukee Mile	West Allis, Wisconsin
3	June 28	Kraco Twin 125	O Atlanta Motor Speedway	Hampton, Georgia
4	June 28	Kraco Twin 125	O Atlanta Motor Speedway	Hampton, Georgia
5	July 25	Norton Michigan 500	O Michigan International Speedway	Brooklyn, Michigan
6	August 30	Los Angeles Times 500	R Riverside International Raceway	Riverside, California
7	September 5	Tony Bettenhausen 200	O Milwaukee Mile	West Allis, Wisconsin
8	September 20	Detroit News Grand Prix	O Michigan International Speedway	Brooklyn, Michigan
9	October 4	Watkins Glen 200	R Watkins Glen International	Watkins Glen, New York
10	October 18	I Copa México 150	R Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez	Mexico City, Mexico
11	November 8	Miller High Life 150	O Phoenix International Raceway	Avondale, Arizona

- The Detroit News Grand Prix was supposed to run for 150 miles, but was shortened due to a scoring error.
O Oval/Speedway R Road course Non-championship event

Season summary

Race Results

Rd	Race	Pole Position	Winning driver	Winning team	Race time
1	Kraco Car Stereo 150	Bobby Unser	Johnny Rutherford	Chaparral	1:17:08
NC	Indianapolis 500	Bobby Unser	Bobby Unser	Team Penske	3:35:42
2	Gould Rex Mays Classic	Gordon Johncock	Mike Mosley	All American Racers	1:19:03
3	Kraco Twin 125	Johnny Rutherford	Rick Mears	Team Penske	0:51:29
4	Kraco Twin 125	Rick Mears	Rick Mears	Team Penske	0:45:20
5	Norton Michigan 500	Tom Sneva	Pancho Carter	Alex Foods	3:45:45
6	Los Angeles Times 500	Geoff Brabham	Rick Mears	Team Penske	2:43:40
7	Tony Bettenhausen 200	Johnny Rutherford	Tom Sneva	Bignotti-Cotter	1:41:41
8	Detroit News Grand Prix	Rick Mears	Rick Mears	Team Penske	1:10:30
9	Watkins Glen 200	Mario Andretti	Rick Mears	Team Penske	1:52:17
10	I Copa México 150	Bobby Unser	Rick Mears	Team Penske	1:24:48
11	Miller High Life 150	Bobby Unser	Tom Sneva	Bignotti-Cotter	1:20:10

Non-championship event

Note, the total time of the Norton Michigan 500 does not include red flag stoppage time as the race was stopped for nearly 1 hour due to a bad pit lane fire

Final driver standings

Pos	Driver	PHX1	MIL1	ATL1	ATL2	MIS1	RIV	MIL2	MIS2	WGL	MXC	PHX2	Pts
1	Rick Mears	4		1	1*	3	1*	2	1	1	1	8	304
2	Bill Alsup	5		8	8	4	3	11	4	3	5	17	175
3	Pancho Carter	7	20	5	5	1*	10	10	18	15	6	5	166
4	Gordon Johncock	6	16	4	4	36	2	6	5	10	3	3	142
5	Johnny Rutherford	1*	6	2*	3	22	21	4	20	2	26	21	120
6	Tony Bettenhausen Jr.		12	7	11	2	DNS	14	10	8	11	19	107
7	Bobby Unser	2	21	13	6	16	9	3	7	17	15*	2	99
8	Tom Sneva	3	4			23	24	1*	19	21	20	1*	96
9	Bob Lazier RY	12	13	17	9	10	5	16	13	4	4	13	92
10	Al Unser	17	5	6	7	11	14	5	3	14	2	22	90
11	Mario Andretti	11	3	3	2				2*	16*		4	81
12	Tom Bigelow		9			5		24	9			11	60
13	Scott Brayton R	15	11	9	10	7	8	21	24	20	23	DNQ	57
14	Larry Dickson		10	10	12	9	16	12	8	7	22	DNQ	49
15	Gary Bettenhausen					6		19					42
16	Dick Simon	10	7			31	6	22	25	11	25	20	38
17	Herm Johnson		22	22	17	33	7	13		9	8	9	38
18	Mike Chandler					27	4				16	DNQ	37
19	Mike Mosley		1*	DNS		18		DNS	26		7	24	32
20	Steve Chassey	DNQ	24	23	22	20	15	15	12	5		DNQ	31
21	Josele Garza	21	14	12	18	19	12	8	23	24	18	6	30
22	Phil Caliva			19	15	8	DNS	DNS				DNQ	27
23	Kevin Cogan		2	16		28	11	23					23
24	Dick Ferguson					30	18		6		10	7	20
25	Steve Krisiloff					17		7	17				18
26	Rocky Moran R									6			16
27	Geoff Brabham R	9					19				9		14
28	Jerry Karl	8	23	21	21	14	22	25		19	19		13
29	Billy Engelhart		8			35		9					11
30	Larry Cannon	20	15	11	20	12							10
30	Roger Rager					13	13	18	21	DNQ		DNQ	10
32	Bill Tempero	18		15	14	34	28	17	15	23	12	DNQ	7
33	Phil Krueger R	14					20				14	16	6
33	Bill Vukovich II					15	DNQ		14		27		6
35	Gordon Smiley						25			18		10	5
36	Jim McElreath	19							11	DNQ	13	DNQ	4
36	Ross Davis			DNQ	19		DNQ	DNS	16	13		DNQ	4
36	Vern Schuppan					24	17				21	15	4
36	Jim Buick R	16	19	20	16	DNS							4
40	Hurley Haywood						26			12	17		3
41	Spike Gehlhausen			14	13								2
41	Bob Frey	13	17			DNQ							2
41	John Mahler		25				27	20				DNQ	2
44	Jerry Sneva					DNS						12	1
44	Chip Mead					29						14	1
44	Phil Threshie		18										1
44	Dennis Firestone			18									1
44	Johnny Parsons											18	1
	Harry MacDonald					21							0
	Cliff Hucul		26			25			22				0
	Tom Frantz	22											0
	Teddy Pilette									22			0
	Ken Hamilton						23						0
	Greg Leffler											23	0
	Michel Jourdain Sr.										24		0
	A. J. Foyt					26							0
	Salt Walther					32							0
	Bill Whittington					37							0
	Chip Ganassi											DNQ	0
	Wally Pankratz						DNQ					DNQ	0
	Orio Trice										DNQ		0
	Dean Vetrock		DNQ										0
Pos	Driver	PHX1	MIL1	ATL1	ATL2	MIS1	RIV	MIL2	MIS2	WGL	MXC	PHX2	Pts

Color	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	2nd place
Bronze	3rd place
Green	4th & 5th place
Light Blue	6th-10th place
Dark Blue	Finished (Outside Top 10)
Purple	Did not finish
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Brown	Withdrawn (Wth)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
Blank	Did not participate (DNP)
Blank	Not competing

In-line notation
Bold	Pole position
Italics	Ran fastest race lap
*	Led most race laps
RY	Rookie of the Year
R	Rookie

References

Åberg, Andreas. "PPG Indy Car World Series 1981". Driver Database. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
"1981 PPG Indy Car World Series". Champ Car Stats. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
"Standings after Phoenix". Champ Car World Series. Archived from the original on October 22, 2008. Retrieved May 19, 2009.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

v t e American Championship car racing (Indy car) seasons
AAA	1905 1906–1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955
USAC	1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95
CART	1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
CCWS	2004 2005 2006 2007 ~~2008~~
IRL	1996 1996–97 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
IndyCar	2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Years marked in italics are not official championship years or upcoming seasons.