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.
Roberto José Guerrero Isaza is a Colombian-American former race driver. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982, becoming the first Colombian to start a Formula One Grand Prix.
Danny Ongais was an American racing driver.
Gordon Johncock is an American former racing driver. He won the Indianapolis 500 twice, and was the 1976 USAC Marlboro Championship Trail champion.
John Kevin Cogan is a former race car driver who drove in Formula One from 1980 to 1981. Driving a RAM Williams in the 1980 Canadian Grand Prix, he failed to qualify, suffering the same result driving for Tyrrell at the 1981 US GP West. He then moved over to Indy cars in 1982 but his career was cut short by a series of accidents.
Chaparral Cars was a pioneering American automobile racing team and race car developer that engineered, built, and raced cars from 1963 through 1970. Founded in 1962 by American Formula One racers Hap Sharp and Jim Hall, it was named after the roadrunner, a fast-running ground cuckoo also known as a chaparral bird.
Dale Coyne is an IndyCar Series team owner and former Champ Car auto racing team owner and driver.
The 1996 Indy Racing League was the first season in the history of the series, which was created and announced on March 11, 1994 by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as a supplementary Indy-car series to the established Indy Car World Series sanctioned by Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) since 1979. It consisted of only three races, as the season concluded with the 80th Indianapolis 500 in May. Walt Disney World Speedway was completed in time to host the first ever event of the Indy Racing League (IRL), and Phoenix International Raceway switched alliances from CART to the IRL, in order to host the second event of the season. At the conclusion of the three-race schedule, Scott Sharp and Buzz Calkins ended up tied for first place in the season championship. With no tiebreaker rule in place, the two drivers were declared co-champions. Its creation, and the opposition of Indy Car's teams and drivers to take part in it, marked the start of 'the Split', a 12-year period of competition between rival series at the top level of American Open Wheel racing that had lasting negative effects in the sport.
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies since 1920 after two initial attempts in 1905 and 1916. The series is self-sanctioned by its parent company, INDYCAR, LLC., which began in 1996 as the Indy Racing League (IRL) and was created by then Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George as a competitor to Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). In 2008, the IndyCar Series merged with CART's successor, the Champ Car World Series and the history and statistics of both series, as well as those from its predecessors, were unified.
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.
Doug Shierson Racing is a former racing team that competed in the CART Indy car series from 1982 to 1990. The team was sponsored by Domino's Pizza for its entire run in CART. Shierson Racing won 7 Indy car races, with their biggest victory coming at the 1990 Indianapolis 500, with driver Arie Luyendyk. The team finished runner-up in the 1985 CART Championship with driver Al Unser Jr. losing the title by one point.
Newman/Haas Racing was an auto racing team that competed in CART, Champ Car, and the IndyCar Series from 1983 to 2011. The team operations were based in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Newman/Haas Racing was formed as a partnership between actor, automotive enthusiast and semi-professional racer Paul Newman and long-time auto racing owner/driver Carl Haas. The duo were competitors in sports car racing during the 1970s and early 1980s. In 1983, they joined forces to enter the ranks of Indy car racing. Newman/Haas was one of the most successful teams in Indy car racing during the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. The team won 105 CART/Champ Car races and eight season championships, followed by two race wins in the IRL/IndyCar Series.
Truesports was an automobile racing team founded by Jim Trueman based in Hilliard, Ohio. The team is best known for winning the 1986 Indianapolis 500 and back-to-back CART championships in 1986 and 1987. The team won 19 points-paying Indy car races.
Vince Granatelli Racing was an American auto racing team that competed in the CART PPG IndyCar World Series between 1987 and 1991.
Alex Morales Motorsports was a racing team active in sprint cars and Indycars for several decades. The sprint car team won multiple championships between the 1950s and 1990s while their Indycar team was active from 1975 to 1989, winning three races. The team was owned by California businessman Alex Morales who sponsored the team with his Alex Foods brand in the earlier years and was managed by chief mechanic John Capels, who later served on CART’s board of directors.
The Ilmor-Chevrolet 265-A is a turbocharged, 2.65 L (162 cu in), V-8 Indy car racing engine, designed and developed by Ilmor, in partnership with Chevrolet, for use in the CART PPG Indy Car World Series; between 1986 and 1993.
The Ford-Cosworth Indy V8 engine is a series of mechanically similar, turbocharged, 2.65-liter, Indy car racing V-8 engines, designed and developed by Cosworth in partnership with Ford. It was produced for over 30 years. It was used in U.S.A.C. Championship Car, C.A.R.T., and later Champ Car World Series; between 1976 and 2007. The DFX engine was the Indy car version of the highly successful 3-liter Cosworth DFV Formula One engine developed by former Lotus engineer Keith Duckworth and Colin Chapman, with financial backing from Ford for the Lotus 49 to campaign the 1967 season. This engine had 155 wins between 1967 and 1985 in F1. The DFX variant was initially developed for Indy car use by Parnelli Jones in 1976, with Cosworth soon taking over. This engine won the Indianapolis 500 ten consecutive years from 1978 to 1987, as well as winning all USAC and CART championships between 1977 and 1987. It powered 81 consecutive Indy car victories from 1981 to 1986, with 153 Indy car victories total.
The March 85C is an open-wheel race car, designed by Adrian Newey, and built by March Engineering, to compete in the 1985 IndyCar season. March would win 10 out of the 15 races that season, along with taking 12 pole positions. Newey's March 85C chassis would clinch the 1985 IndyCar championship in the hands of Al Unser, and the 1985 Indianapolis 500 with Danny Sullivan, with his famous last-lap "spin-and-win." It was powered by the Buick Indy V6 turbo engine, which powered Pancho Carter to pole position, and Scott Brayton to second position at the Indianapolis 500, sweeping the top two spots, and the Ford-Cosworth DFX turbo V8 engine.
The March 86C is a highly successful and extremely competitive open-wheel race car, designed by Adrian Newey, and built by March Engineering, to compete in the 1986 CART Indy Car season, and eventually the 1987 Indy Car season. The season was another whitewash and a clean-sweep for March, following up on the success of their 1985 campaign. The 86C chassis dominated the season, winning 14 out of the 17 races, and taking 13 pole positions. Newey's March 86C chassis successfully clinched the 1986 CART Indy Car championship and the 1986 Indianapolis 500 with Bobby Rahal. It was primarily powered by the Ford-Cosworth DFX turbo V8 engine, but also used both the Buick Indy V6 turbo engine, and the Ilmor-Chevrolet 265-A Indy V8 turbo engine.
The Lola T87/00 is an open-wheel racing car chassis, designed and built by Lola Cars that competed in the CART open-wheel racing series, for competition in the 1987 IndyCar season. It won a total of 2 races and took 8 pole positions that season, including the prestigious Indianapolis 500, all with Mario Andretti. It was powered by the 800 hp (600 kW) Ford-Cosworth DFX.
