The Grand Prix of Long Beach is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. It was the premier race on the CART/Champ Car World Series calendar from 1996 to 2008, and the 2008 race was the final Champ Car series race prior to the formal unification and end of the open-wheel "split" between CART and IRL. Since 2009, the race has been part of the unified IndyCar Series. The race is typically held in April. It is one of the longest continuously running events in IndyCar racing and is considered one of the most prestigious events on the circuit.
The 79th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 28, 1995. Sanctioned by USAC, it was part of the 1995 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season. Jacques Villeneuve was victorious in his second start, the first Canadian to the "500". Villeneuve would go on to win the 1995 CART Championship, before moving to Williams for 1996.
The 78th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 29, 1994. The race was sanctioned by United States Auto Club (USAC), and was included as race number 4 of 16 of the 1994 PPG IndyCar World Series. For the second year in a row, weather was not a factor during the month. Only one practice day was lost to rain, and pole day was only partially halted due to scattered showers. Warm, sunny skies greeted race day.
The 74th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 27, 1990. Dutchman Arie Luyendyk took the lead with 32 laps to go, and earned his first-ever victory in championship-level competition. It was the second consecutive year the Indy 500 was won by a foreign-born competitor, the first time that had occurred since 1965–1966. Luyendyk completed the 500 miles at an average speed of 185.981 mph (299.307 km/h), a record that stood for 23 years until 2013. In reference to the long-standing speed record, for many years the 1990 race was often referred to as "The Fastest 500".
The 73rd Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 28, 1989. The race was won by Emerson Fittipaldi, a two-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion. Fittipaldi became the first Indianapolis 500 winner from Brazil, the first foreign-born winner of the race since Mario Andretti in 1969, and the first non-American winner since Graham Hill in 1966. Though Fittipaldi started on the front row and dominated much of the race, he found himself running second in the waning laps. Michael Andretti passed Fittipaldi for the lead on lap 154, then led until his engine blew. Al Unser Jr. moved up to second, but trailed Fittipaldi by a big margin. Gambling on fuel mileage, Unser caught up to Fittipaldi after a fortuitous caution period on lap 181, and subsequently took the lead on lap 196.
The 69th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday, May 26, 1985. The race was sanctioned by USAC, and was included as part of the 1985 CART PPG Indy Car World Series. The Speedway also celebrated 40 years of ownership by the Hulman/George family.
The Michigan 500 was an IndyCar Series race held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. Held from 1981 to 2001, the event was held in high prestige, constituting part of Indy car racing's 500-mile "Triple Crown".
The Detroit Grand Prix is an IndyCar Series race weekend held on a temporary circuit in Detroit, Michigan. The race has been held from 1989 to 2001, 2007 to 2008, and since 2012. Since 2012, the event has been scheduled for the weekend immediately following the Indianapolis 500.
The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio is an IndyCar Series race held at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Professional open wheel races at the facility date back to 1970. The U.S. Formula 5000 series ran from 1970 to 1976, and the revived Can-Am series ran from 1977 to 1980.
The Pocono 500 was an IndyCar Series race held at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, located in the Pocono Mountains. The first Indy car race at Pocono was held in 1971. It was the first major event held at the track, shortly after its completion. The race was sanctioned by USAC from 1971 to 1981, and then by CART from 1982 to 1989, and was known as the Pocono 500. The race was removed from the CART calendar following the 1989 running, due to poor track conditions, as well as poor revenue for the promoter.
The Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline is an IndyCar Series race held at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois, United States. The event was first held as a CART series race from 1997 to 2000, initially on Memorial Day weekend. From 2001 to 2003, it was held as an Indy Racing League (IRL) event. After a hiatus of over a decade, the race returned in 2017 as part of the unified IndyCar Series.
The Grand Prix of Road America, also known as the XPEL Grand Prix at Road America for sponsorship reasons, is an IndyCar Series race held at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. For twenty-five years, the event was part of CART/Champ Car World Series, with the first race being held in 1982. The event was put on hiatus in 2008 after the unification of Champ Car into the Indy Racing League.
The 1987 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season was the 9th national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by CART. The season consisted of 16 races, and one non-points exhibition event. Bobby Rahal was the national champion, winning his second-consecutive title. The rookie of the year was Fabrizio Barbazza. The 1987 Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned by USAC, but counted towards the CART points championship. Al Unser won the Indy 500, his record-tying fourth victory at Indy.
The Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey is an IndyCar Series race held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca near Monterey, California, United States. The event dates back to 1960, and became an American open wheel race in 1983. The race was part of the CART series from 1983 to 2003, and then the Champ Car World Series, CART's successor, for 2004. After a fifteen-year hiatus, the event returned in 2019 as part of the IndyCar Series, replacing Sonoma.
The Marlboro Challenge was an all-star race in the CART series race held from 1987 to 1992, sponsored by cigarette brand Marlboro. After 1992, the race was discontinued, in part because Phillip Morris reorganized its race sponsorship after the Marlboro Grand Prix of New York fell through. The race was considered a non-points exhibition race, and did not count towards championship standings or official statistics.
The 1995 PPG Indy Car World Series season was the seventeenth in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) era of U.S. American open-wheel car racing. It consisted of 17 races, beginning in Miami, Florida on March 5 and concluding in Monterey, California on September 10. The PPG Indy Car World Series Drivers' Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner was Jacques Villeneuve, and the Rookie of the Year was Gil de Ferran. This was the last season before the formation of the Indy Racing League (IRL) by Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony George and the last time the United States Auto Club-sanctioned Indianapolis 500 would appear in the Series, while Villeneuve became the last driver to win both the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar drivers' championship in the same season until Dan Wheldon in 2005.
The 1994 PPG Indy Car World Series season was the 16th national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by CART under the name "IndyCar". The season consisted of 16 races. Al Unser Jr. was the national champion, his second CART title, and the rookie of the year was Jacques Villeneuve. The 1994 Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned by USAC, but counted towards the CART points championship. Al Unser Jr. won the Indy 500 from the pole position, his second career victory in that event.
The 1996 U.S. 500 was a CART series race held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan on Sunday May 26, 1996. It was the sixth round of the 1996 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season, and was run on the same day as the 1996 Indianapolis 500. Jimmy Vasser of Chip Ganassi Racing won the race from the pole position. It marked the first and only time that two 500-mile Indy car races were held at Michigan in the same season, alongside the traditional Michigan 500, which was held two months later on July 28.
The 2001 Molson Indy Toronto was a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) motor race held on July 15, 2001, at the Exhibition Place circuit in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was the tenth round of the 2001 CART season, the 16th annual edition of the Molson Indy Toronto, and the first of two events that were held in Canada. The 95-lap race was won by Team Motorola driver Michael Andretti, who started from the 13th position. Alex Tagliani finished second for the Forsythe Racing team, and Fernandez Racing driver Adrián Fernández came in third.
The 1996 Michigan 500, the sixteenth running of the event, was held at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan, on Sunday, July 28, 1996. Branded as the 1996 Marlboro 500 for sponsorship reasons, the race was won by Andre Ribeiro, his last Indy Car victory. The event was race number 12 of 16 in the 1996 PPG Indy Car World Series.
