The 77th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 30, 1993. Emerson Fittipaldi took the lead with 16 laps to go, and won his second career Indy 500 victory. The race was sanctioned by USAC and was part of the 1993 PPG Indy Car World Series. Several sidebar stories during the month complemented one of the most competitive Indy 500 races in recent years.
The 76th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday, May 24, 1992. The race is famous for the fierce battle in the closing laps, as race winner Al Unser Jr. held off second place Scott Goodyear for the victory by 0.043 seconds, the closest finish in Indy history. Unser Jr. became the first second-generation driver to win the Indy 500, following in the footsteps of his father Al Unser Sr. He also became the third member of the famous Unser family to win the race.
The 75th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday, May 26, 1991. Rick Mears won from the pole position, becoming the third four-time winner of the Indy 500, joining A. J. Foyt and Al Unser. During time trials, Mears also established an Indy record by winning his sixth career pole position. The month of May for Mears was tumultuous, as he suffered his first ever crash at Indy since arriving as a rookie in 1977. The wreck during a practice run totaled his primary car, and broke a bone in his right foot. Mears kept the injury mostly secret, and later admitted that the pain he experienced during the race was so bad, he had to cross his legs in the car and push the accelerator pedal down with his left foot.
The 72nd Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday May 29, 1988. Team Penske dominated the month, sweeping the top three starting positions with Rick Mears winning the pole position, Danny Sullivan at the center of the front row, and Al Unser, Sr. on the outside. Mears set a new track record, becoming the first driver to break the 220 mph barrier in time trials. On race day, the Penske teammates proceeded to lead 192 of the 200 laps, with Rick Mears taking the checkered flag, his third-career Indy 500 victory. The race represented the milestone 50th victory in Championship car racing for owner Roger Penske and Penske Racing.
The 71st Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday May 24, 1987. After dominating practice, qualifying, and most of the race, leader Mario Andretti slowed with mechanical problems with only 23 laps to go. Five laps later, Al Unser Sr. assumed the lead, and won his record-tying fourth Indianapolis 500 victory. At age 47, just days short of his 48th birthday, Unser became the oldest winner of the Indy 500, a record that still stands as of 2023. During the month of May, an unusually high 25 crashes occurred during practice and qualifying, with one driver in particular, Jim Crawford, suffering serious leg injuries.
The 68th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 27, 1984. Rick Mears, who previously won in 1979, won his second Indy 500 victories driving for Penske. Contenders Tom Sneva and Mario Andretti dropped out of the race in the second half, leaving Mears alone two laps ahead of the field, and he cruised to the victory. Three months after the race, however, Mears would suffer severe leg injuries in a practice crash at Sanair.
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 1979 SCCA/CART Indy Car Series was the inaugural Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) American open wheel racing championship series. The season consisted of 14 races. Rick Mears was the national champion, and the rookie of the year was Bill Alsup. The 1979 Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned by USAC, but counted towards the CART points championship. Rick Mears won the Indy 500, his first of four victories in the event.
IROC I was the inaugural International Race of Champions, which was held at two tracks over two weekends in 1973 and 1974. The first three races were held October 27 and 28, 1973 at Riverside International Raceway and the final race was held on the Daytona International Speedway road course on February 14, 1974. Champion Mark Donohue won $54000 and the championship, which was determined by prize money rather than points. The races were contested in Porsche Carrera RSR race cars. This was the only IROC to be contested entirely on road courses. Only the top 6 finishing drivers competed in all four races.
IROC II was the second year of IROC competition, which took place over three weekends in 1974 and 1975. It saw the use of the Chevrolet Camaro in all races, which replaced the Porsche Carrera RSR race cars used in the first year of competition. The only track carried over from the first year was Riverside International Raceway, as the series raced on the oval at Daytona International Speedway instead of the infield road course. Michigan International Speedway was also added as the second oval in the schedule, which consisted of four races. Bobby Unser won the series championship and $41,000.
IROC III was the third year of IROC competition, which took place over three weekends in 1975 and 1976. It saw the use of the Chevrolet Camaro in all races, and the schedule was held over in its entirety from IROC II. A. J. Foyt won the championship and $50,000 without winning a race.
IROC IV was the fourth year of IROC competition, which took place over three weekends in 1976 and 1977. It saw the use of the Chevrolet Camaro in all races, and the schedule was held over in its entirety from IROC III. A. J. Foyt won the championship and $50,000 without winning a race for the second year in a row.
IROC V was the fifth year of IROC competition, which took place over three weekends in 1977 and 1978. It saw the use of the Chevrolet Camaro in all races, and the schedule was held over in its entirety from IROC IV. Al Unser won two races en route to the championship and $50,000.
IROC VII was the seventh year of IROC competition, which took place in 1979 and 1980. The format carried over from IROC VI in that three qualifying races were held for participants from NASCAR, CART, and Road Racing. The top four finishers in these qualifying races then earned the chance to race in the two final races at Riverside International Raceway and Atlanta Motor Speedway. It used the Chevrolet Camaro in all races, and this was the final year for the series before it went on hiatus until 1984. Bobby Allison won the oval finale en route to the championship and $75,000.
The 1980 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season was the second in the CART era of U.S. open-wheel racing. It consisted of twelve races, beginning in Ontario, California on April 13 and concluding in Avondale, Arizona on November 8. The PPG Indy Car World Series Drivers' Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner was Johnny Rutherford. Rookie of the Year was Dennis Firestone. The entire season, including the 64th Indianapolis 500, was to be co-sanctioned by both the USAC and CART under the banner of the Championship Racing League (CRL). However, USAC withdrew from the arrangement after five races.
The Driver of the Year Award is an award founded in 1967 by Martini & Rossi. The award is presented to drivers competing in motorsport on four wheels. Today it is privately owned and the voting panel consists of automotive and racing journalists. Mario Andretti won the first award in 1967. Jimmie Johnson has won the award 5 different times, the most in its history. Kevin Harvick won the award most recently in 2014.
The 1967 Daytona 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on February 26, 1967, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Mario Andretti won his first NASCAR Cup Series race, and was the first foreign born, European and Italian driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race.
The 1976 National 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on October 10, 1976, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.
The 1977 NAPA National 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was held on October 9, 1977, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.
The 1967 Atlanta 500 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on April 2, 1967, at Atlanta International Raceway in Hampton, Georgia.
Mario Andretti 
Alan Jones 
Emerson Fittipaldi