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.
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.
The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. The name is an abbreviation of Double Four Valve, the engine being a V8 development of the earlier four-cylinder FVA, which had four valves per cylinder.
Michael Mario Andretti is an American semi-retired auto racing driver and current team owner. Statistically one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, Andretti won the 1991 CART PPG Indy Car World Series and amassed 42 race victories, the most in the CART era and fourth-most all time. Since his retirement from active racing, Andretti has owned Andretti Autosport, which has won four IndyCar Series championships and five Indianapolis 500 races.
Danny Ongais was an American racing driver.
Rufus Parnell Jones is an American former professional racing driver and racing team owner. He is notable for his accomplishments while competing in the Indianapolis 500 and the Baja 1000 desert race. In 1962, he became the first driver to qualify over 150 mph. He won the race in 1963, then famously broke down while leading the 1967 race with three laps to go in a turbine car. During his career as an owner, he won the Indy 500 in 1970–1971 with driver Al Unser, Sr.
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.
Patrick Racing was an auto racing team in USAC, CART, Champ Car and the Indy Racing League. Patrick Racing was started by U.E. "Pat" Patrick in the 1970s. The team is best known for winning the Indianapolis 500 on three occasions, and the Indy car title twice. Patrick Racing achieved 45 Indy car wins.
This article discusses the year-by-year history of the Indianapolis 500 race.
Joe Leonard was an American professional motorcycle racer and racecar driver.
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 1992 PPG Indy Car World Series season was the 14th national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by CART. The season consisted of 16 races. Bobby Rahal was the national champion, his third and final career CART title. Stefan Johansson was named the Rookie of the Year. The 1992 Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned by USAC, but counted towards the CART points championship. Al Unser Jr. won the Indy 500 in the closest finish in the history of that event.
Maurice Philippe, also known as Maurice Phillippe, was a British aircraft and Formula One car designer.
The Lola T332 was a race car designed and built by Lola Cars for use in Formula 5000 racing and made its racing debut in 1973. The T332 was successful around the globe with race victories in places such as Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the United States. The Lola commonly used the 5.0-litre Chevrolet V8 engine, though some competitors in Australia and New Zealand used the slightly cheaper and less powerful Australian made 5.0-litre Repco Holden V8.
The Parnelli VPJ4 was a Formula One racing car designed by Maurice Philippe, and used by Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing during the 1974, 1975 and 1976 Formula One seasons.
The Penske PC-10 is a CART open-wheel race car, designed by Penske Racing, which was constructed for competition in the 1982 season. Designed by Geoff Ferris, it is considered possibly the most dominant Penske race car design ever and that from a team that typically dominated. Rick Mears has been quoted as acknowledging this was his favorite racecar chassis ever. Twelve total were made (1-12), six raced by Penske (1-6), with four confirmed destroyed. They were manufactured at Penske Cars, Ltd. in Poole, England during 1982, and delivered to Penske Racing, Inc., in Reading, Pennsylvania. So outstanding was the PC-10's design, it won the prestigious Louis Schwitzer Award for innovation and engineering excellence in the field of race car design at the Indianapolis 500 in 1982. The PC-10s were active in the years 1982–1984. In fact, the PC-10 was ultimately much better than the following year PC-11, so Roger Penske bought back one of the PC-10s he had sold to another team for the 1983 season, and which then won another race for his team.
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 Parnelli VPJ6 is an open-wheel race car, designed by British designer John Barnard for Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing, to compete in U.S.A.C. Championship Car, between 1975 and 1980, as well as in CART, between 1979 and 1980. It was driven by Danny Ongais, Al Unser, George Snider, Bill Whittington, Lee Kunzman, and A. J. Foyt. It notably gave Foyt his last IndyCar championship, in 1979. It was powered by the powerful and successful DFV-derived DFX.
The Parnelli VPJ2 is an open-wheel race car, designed by British designer and engineer Maurice Phillippe for Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing, to compete in U.S.A.C. Championship Car, between 1973 and 1974. It was driven by Jan Opperman, Mario Andretti, and Al Unser. It was powered by an Offenhauser four-cylinder turbo engine, reputed to develop between 800–1,300 hp (600–970 kW), depending on turbo boost pressure levels. It won two races; one for Unser at Texas, and one for Andretti at Trenton.
The Parnelli VPJ1 is an open-wheel race car, designed by British designer and engineer Maurice Phillippe for Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing, to compete in U.S.A.C. Championship Car, between 1972. It was driven by Mario Andretti and Al Unser. It was powered by an Offenhauser four-cylinder turbo engine, reputed to develop between 1,200–1,300 hp (890–970 kW), depending on turbo boost pressure levels. It didn't win any races, but did score three podium finishes; two for Unser at Indianapolis and Pocono, and one for Andretti at Phoenix.
Mario Andretti