Josele Garza

Josele Garza
Josele Garza
	Garza at the 1986 Indianapolis 500
Nationality	Mexican
Born	March 15, 1962 (age 61); Mexico City
IndyCar Series
Years active	1981 – 1987
Teams	Garza Racing (22 starts); Machinists Union Racing (66 starts)
Starts	88
Wins	0
Poles	0
Best finish	2nd Michigan 500 in 1986
Awards
	1981

Last updated February 12, 2024

Josele Garza^[1] (born March 15, 1962 in Mexico City, Mexico) is a Mexican professional race car driver. He started seven Indianapolis 500 races. Garza was the 1981 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year after starting sixth, leading 13 laps, and finishing 23rd at the age of 19. At 19 years, two months, and nine days, Garza is the second youngest driver to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and was not surpassed until 2003 by A. J. Foyt IV. USAC rules at the time required drivers to be 21 years of age, but Garza's racing license listed him as being 22 years old. Garza claims he does not know how the error occurred, but he did not notify officials of the error. He finished 10th in the 1984 Indianapolis 500.

Garza was winless in 88 CART races. His best career finish was a second place at the 1986 Michigan 500. In 1986, he tested a Brabham Formula One car, during free practice of the 1986 Mexican Grand Prix. After he finished his career in CART, he tested with Minardi in F1 during 1987-88 but never got the required sponsorship to be awarded a race seat and he never made his debut in F1. He came back to Mexico and later he became a team owner in Mexican F2 and F3000 and sometimes raced when his drivers were not up to standard, or absent for some reason.

Racing record

Complete USAC Mini-Indy Series results

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	Pos	Points
1980	David Psachie	MIL 19	POC 1	MDO 16	MIN1 2	MIN2 2	ONT 24	3rd	532

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position / Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Yr	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	WDC	Points
1986	Motor Racing Developments Ltd.	Brabham BT55	BMW Straight-4 (t/c)	BRA	ESP	SMR	MON	BEL	CAN	DET	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	AUT	ITA	POR	MEX PO	AUS	–	–

CART

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Rank	Points	Ref
1981	Garza Racing	PHX 21	MIL 14	ATL 12	ATL 18	MCH 19	RIV 12	MIL 8	MCH 23	WGL 24	MEX 18	PHX 6							21st	30	^[2]
1982	Garza Racing	PHX 13	ATL 16	MIL 8	CLE 14	MCH 22	MIL 8	POC 15	RIV 13	ROA 4	MCH 9	PHX 18							13th	56	^[3]
1983	Machinists Union Racing	ATL	INDY	MIL	CLE 17	MCH 19	ROA 11	POC 9	RIV 20	MDO 23	MCH 17	CPL 11	LAG 12	PHX					22nd	9	^[4]
1984	Machinists Union Racing	LBH 23	PHX DNS	INDY 10	MIL DNS	POR 7	MEA 23	CLE 17	MCH 11	ROA 7	POC 25	MDO 11	SAN 4	MCH 10	PHX 8	LAG 13	LVS 10		13th	42	^[5]
1985	Machinists Union Racing	LBH 28	INDY 31	MIL 7	POR 12	MEA 27	CLE 6	MCH 19	ROA 18	POC 26	MDO 11	SAN 6	MCH 6	LAG 7	PHX 10	MIA 9			12th	46	^[6]
1986	Machinists Union Racing	PHX 23	LBH 7	INDY 18	MIL 7	POR 17	MEA 8	CLE 7	TOR 23	MCH 2	POC 7	MDO 14	SAN	MCH	ROA	LAG	PHX	MIA 24	14th	45	^[7]
1987	Machinists Union Racing	LBH 5	PHX 6	INDY 17	MIL 22	POR 6	MEA 24	CLE 16	TOR 17	MCH 12	POC 11	ROA 11	MDO 8	NAZ 8	LAG 8	MIA 18			11th	46	^[8]

Indianapolis 500 results

Josele Garza at the 2016 Brickyard SVRA Pro-Am race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. JoseleGarzaSVRA2016.jpg — Josele Garza at the 2016 Brickyard SVRA Pro-Am race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Year	Chassis	Engine	Start	Finish
1981	Penske	Cosworth	6th	23rd
1982	March	Cosworth	33rd	29th
1983	Penske	Cosworth	18th	25th
1984	March	Cosworth	24th	10th
1985	March	Cosworth	18th	31st
1986	March	Cosworth	17th	18th
1987	March	Cosworth	25th	17th

Sporting positions
Preceded by Tim Richmond	Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year 1981	Succeeded by Jim Hickman

Related Research Articles

Arie Luijendijk, nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman," is a Dutch former auto racing driver, and winner of the 1990 and 1997 Indianapolis 500 races. He was inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in 2009, and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2014.

Emerson Fittipaldi is a Brazilian former automobile racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the Indianapolis 500 twice each and the CART championship once.

Christian Fittipaldi is a Brazilian former racing driver who has competed in various forms of motorsport including Formula One, Champ Car, and NASCAR. He was a highly rated young racing driver in the early 1990s, and participated in 43 Formula One Grands Prix for Minardi and Footwork between 1992 and 1994.

Rick Ravon Mears is a retired American race car driver. He is one of four men to win the Indianapolis 500 four times and is the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six. Mears is also a three-time Indycar series/World Series champion.

Robert Woodward Rahal is an American former auto racing driver and current team owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. As a driver he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500. He also won the Indianapolis 500 in 2004 and 2020 as team owner for Buddy Rice and Takuma Sato, respectively.

Edward McKayCheever Jr. is an American former racing driver who raced for almost 30 years in Formula One, sports cars, CART, and the Indy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 Formula One World Championship races and started 132, more than any other American, driving for nine different teams from 1978 through 1989. In 1996, he formed his own IRL team, Team Cheever, and won the 1998 Indianapolis 500 as both owner and driver. The team later competed in sports cars.

Alfred Unser was an American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser Jr. He was the second of four men to have won the Indianapolis 500 four times, the fourth of five to have won the race in consecutive years, and the winner of the National Championship in 1970, 1983, and 1985. The Unser family has won the Indy 500 a record nine times. He was the only person to have both a sibling (Bobby) and child as fellow Indy 500 winners. Al's nephews Johnny and Robby Unser have also competed in that race. In 1971, he became the only driver to date to win the race on his birthday.

Alfred Unser Jr. – nicknamed "Little Al" to distinguish him from his father, Al Unser – is an American retired racing driver. Known primarily for his Championship car career, Unser won two CART championships, and is a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500.

Eliseo Salazar Valenzuela is a Chilean former racing driver. As of 2024, he is the only Chilean to have participated in a Formula One World Championship. He made his Formula One debut on 15 March 1981, and ultimately contested 37 races scoring a total of three championship points. After Formula One, Salazar has participated in numerous motorsport disciplines, including the Chilean national rally championship, Formula 3000, IndyCar, and the World Sportscar Championship.

Fabrizio Barbazza is an Italian former Formula One driver who raced for the AGS and Minardi teams and was the 1987 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Sullivan</span> American racing driver (born 1950)

Daniel John Sullivan III, better known as Danny Sullivan, is an American former racing driver. He earned 17 wins in the CART Indy Car World Series, including the 1985 Indianapolis 500. Sullivan won the 1988 CART Championship, and placed third in points in 1986. Sullivan also scored a victory in IROC. He competed in the 1983 Formula One season with Tyrrell, scoring 2 championship points.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Crawford (racing driver)</span> British racing driver (1948–2002)

James Alan Crawford was a British racing driver from Scotland.

Bruno Junqueira is a Brazilian race car driver who most recently competed in the IRL IndyCar Series. He is a former Formula 3000 champion and three-time runner-up in the Champ Car World Series.

Darren Manning is a British motor racing driver who has raced in the IRL IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Brayton</span> American open-wheel racing driver

Scott Everts Brayton was an American race car driver on the American open-wheel circuit. He competed in 14 Indianapolis 500s, beginning with the 1981 event. Brayton was killed in practice after qualifying for the pole position for the 1996 race.

Tony Lee Bettenhausen Jr. was a Champ Car team owner and driver who died in a 2000 plane crash. He was the son of former 14-time Indianapolis 500 competitor Tony Bettenhausen and the brother of 21-time Indy 500 racer Gary Bettenhausen. Another brother, Merle Bettenhausen, was critically injured in his only Indy Car start.

Geoff Brabham is an Australian racing driver. Brabham spent the majority of his racing career in the United States.

Duane Claude Carter Jr., nicknamed "Pancho," is an American retired open-wheel racing driver. Best known for his participation in Championship car racing, he won the pole position for the 1985 Indianapolis 500, and won the Michigan 500 in 1981.

John Peter Halsmer, is a former driver in the CART Championship Car series. He raced in 5 seasons, with 33 career starts, and started in the Indianapolis 500 in 1981–1982. He finished in the top five three times in the CART series, with his best finish in 2nd position in 1983 at Cleveland. In 1992, Halsmer raced in the IROC series, representing IMSA. Pete drove for Ford/Roush from 1986 through 1989 and won six Trans Am races and four GTO races winning the 1989 GTO championship. From 1990 through 1992 he drove for Mazda and won another GTO championship in 1991. From 1994 through 1997 he drove BMWs, winning four GT2 races and winning the Manufacturer's Title in 1996. From 1999 to 2004 he drove for and provided technical consulting for Honda America Race Team winning several championships in Motorola Cup and Grand Am Cup series. Halsmer is also a 3 time class winner at the 24 Hours of Daytona and was trained as a helicopter pilot and served in the Vietnam War.

Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán is a Colombian racing driver. Montoya is one of three drivers to win at least one race in Indy car racing, Formula One, and the NASCAR Cup Series. He is also one of only two active drivers who have won two legs of the Triple Crown of Motorsport in its more recent definition.

References

↑ Biography,
↑ "Josele Garza – 1981 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
↑ "Josele Garza – 1982 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
↑ "Josele Garza – 1983 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
↑ "Josele Garza – 1984 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
↑ "Josele Garza – 1985 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
↑ "Josele Garza – 1986 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
↑ "Josele Garza – 1987 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.

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.

[Biography-1] Biography,

[2] "Josele Garza – 1981 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.

[3] "Josele Garza – 1982 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.

[4] "Josele Garza – 1983 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.

[5] "Josele Garza – 1984 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.

[6] "Josele Garza – 1985 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.

[7] "Josele Garza – 1986 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.

[8] "Josele Garza – 1987 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]