1983 CART PPG Indy Car World Series

American motorsport season February 2025 1983 CART PPG Indy Car World Series CART logo (1979-1991).svg 13 April 17 October 29 United States Al Unser United Kingdom March United Kingdom Cosworth Italy Teo Fabi United States United States United States Tom Sneva 1982 1984 The 1983 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season was the 5th national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by CART. The season consisted of 13 races. Al Unser was the national champion, and the rookie of the year was Teo Fabi. The 1983 Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned by USAC, but an arrangement was made such that it counted towards the CART points championship. Tom Sneva won the Indy 500, after three previous runner-up finishes. Al Unser jumped out to the early points lead, with second-place finishes in the first three races of the season. Unser finished second at Indianapolis to Tom Sneva, but not without some controversy. Rookie Al Unser Jr. was accused of blocking for his father, but Sneva prevailed, making the winning pass with ten laps to go. Unser won at Cleveland, finished second at the Michigan 500, and third at Road America. After 6 of 13 races, Unser had a 35-point lead over Tom Sneva in the standings. Rookie Teo Fabi made headlines at Indianapolis, becoming the first rookie to win the pole since 1950. His car dropped out, however, with a failed fuel o-ring. After a mixed start to the year, Fabi's season came alive in July, winning his first career race at the Pocono 500. Fabi jumped from 8th in points to as high as second following his win at Mid-Ohio. Fabi began to whittle away at Unser's point lead. Unser was running consistently, and had no finish worse than 11th. In the next-to-last race of the season at Laguna Seca, Fabi dominated. He won the pole position and led 95 of 98 laps, winning his third race of the season. With only one race to go, Unser's point lead was down to 15 points. At the season finale in Phoenix, Fabi put in another dominating performance. He won the pole and led 138 of 150 laps. Fabi's championship hopes, however, fell just short as Al Unser came home 4th. Al Unser won the title by a mere 5 points over Fabi. Other top stories from 1983 included Newman/Haas Racing joining the series with driver Mario Andretti plus a new chassis from Lola, and the rookie debut of Al Unser Jr. Though Unser Jr. did not win any races, he had ten top-10 finishes en route to 7th in points. Drivers and constructors The following teams and drivers competed for the 1983 CART World Series. All competitors utilized Goodyear tires. Team/Car OwnerNoDriversRounds Alex Morales Motorsports 21 USA Pancho Carter All All American Racers 98 USA Jeff Wood 11-12 Alsup Racing 11 USA Bill Alsup 1, 3-5, 7, 9-10, 12-13 Arciero Racing 66 USA Pete Halsmer 1, 3-13 USA Johnny Parsons 2 Armstrong Mould Racing Team 43 USA Steve Krisiloff 2 BC Pace Racing 36 USA Chuck Ciprich 7 Bettenhausen Racing 10 USA Tony Bettenhausen Jr. All 82 USA Gary Bettenhausen 13 90 IRL Derek Daly 6, 9, 11-13 Bignotti-Cotter Racing 5 USA Tom Sneva All 6 USA Kevin Cogan 1, 3-13 16 2 Bob Ward Racing 47 USA Bob Ward 8 Brayton Racing 35 USA Patrick Bedard 2, 5, 7 37 USA Scott Brayton 2, 4-5, 7, 10-11 Circle Bar Auto Racing 38 USA Chet Fillip 1-2, 10 Circle Bar Auto Racing w/ Caliva Racing USA Phil Caliva 8 Dick Simon Racing 32 USA Dick Simon 6 22 1-3, 5, 8-11, 13 PER Jorge Koechlin 12 Doug Shierson Racing 30 USA Howdy Holmes All Douglas Schulz 48 USA Tom Klausler 6, 8 Forsythe Racing 33 ITA Teo Fabi All Galles Racing 17 USA Al Unser Jr. 1, 3-13 19 2 Gilmore Racing 1 USA George Snider 2 14 USA A. J. Foyt 2 Gohr Racing 56 USA Steve Chassey 1-8, 11-13 GTS Racing 86 USA Drake Olson 6 USA Al Loquasto 7 H&R Racing 28 USA Gary Bettenhausen 3, 7, 9 USA Herm Johnson 9 HBK Racing 70 USA Tom Bigelow 3 78 5 Herm Johnson Racing 42 USA Herm Johnson 4-5 Hoffman Racing 86 USA Dick Ferguson 5 Intercomp Racing 92 USA John Mahler 2 Interscope Racing 25 USA Danny Ongais 2 Jet Engineering 64 USA Greg Leffler 6, 8-9 USA Tom Bigelow 12 Joel McCray Racing 46 USA Phil Krueger 1, 3-4, 9 Kraco Enterprises 18 USA Mike Mosley 1-8, 10, 13AUS Geoff Brabham 11-12 99 8, 10USA Michael Andretti 11-13 Leader Card Racers 8 USA Johnny Parsons 5 USA Tom Bagley 7 USA Randy Lewis 12 24 USA Chip Mead 9-10 Machinists Union Racing 9 USA Roger Mears 1-4, 6-13 55 MEX Josele Garza 2, 4-12 McElreath Racing 23 USA Jim McElreath 1, 5, 7 Newman/Haas Racing 3 USA Mario Andretti All Patrick Racing 40 USA Johnny Rutherford 1, 7, 10-11, 13USA Danny Ongais 4-6 60 3 20 7-9 60 USA Chip Ganassi 2, 4-5, 7, 9-13 20 6 USA Gordon Johncock 1-5 Primus Racing 72 USA Chris Kneifel 2, 4-13 Racing Team VDS 12 USA John Paul Jr. 1, 4-13 AUS Geoff Brabham 2 Rattlesnake Racing w/ Agajanian Curb 29 USA Mike Chandler 2 19 5 USA Dick Ferguson 7 Rhoades Racing 41 USA Doug Heveron 1 46 USA Jerry Karl 7-8 61 3, 5 Simpson Sports 90 AUS Dennis Firestone 2 Team Penske 1 USA Rick Mears 1, 3-13 2 2 7 USA Al Unser All Tempero Racing 15 USA Bill Tempero 4, 9 Truesports 2 USA Bobby Rahal 1, 3-12 4 2 Whittington Racing 91 USA Don Whittington 2, 5, 7 94 USA Bill Whittington 2, 4, 7 Wysard Racing 34 IRL Derek Daly 1-2 South Africa 1928 Desiré Wilson 3, 6-9, 11-13 AUS Geoff Brabham 5 Schedule right|thumb|Logo of the series for this year Of the notable changes to the schedule, there were the additions of the Caesars Palace Grand Prix, which was formerly a Formula One championship event, and Laguna Seca Raceway. The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio returned to the schedule after a 2 year hiatus, and finally starting this season there would only be one race per season at the Milwaukee Mile. Icon Legend white O silver Oval/Speedway lightblue R silver Road course peachpuff S silver Street circuitC Cancelled race +RdDateNameCircuitLocation CMarch 20*USA Kraco Car Stereo 150white O silver Phoenix International RacewayAvondale, Arizona1April 17USA Kraco Dixie 200white O silver Atlanta Motor SpeedwayHampton, Georgia2May 29USA Indianapolis 500white O silver Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayIndianapolis, Indiana3June 12USA Gould Rex Mays Classicwhite O silver Milwaukee MileWest Allis, Wisconsin4July 3USA Budweiser Cleveland 500peachpuff S silver Burke Lakefront AirportCleveland, Ohio5July 17USA Norton Michigan 500white O silver Michigan International SpeedwayBrooklyn, Michigan6July 31USA Provimi Veal 200lightblue R silver Road AmericaElkhart Lake, Wisconsin7August 14USA Domino's Pizza 500white O silver Pocono International RacewayLong Pond, Pennsylvania8August 29**USA Budweiser 500Klightblue R silver Riverside International RacewayRiverside, California9September 11USA Escort Radar Warning 200lightblue R silver Mid-Ohio Sports Car CourseLexington, Ohio10September 26USA Detroit News Grand Prixwhite O silver Michigan International SpeedwayBrooklyn, Michigan11October 8USA Caesars Palace Grand Prixpeachpuff S silver Caesars PalaceLas Vegas, Nevada12October 23USA Cribari Wines 300klightblue R silver Laguna Seca RacewayMonterey, California13October 29USA Miller High Life 150white O silver Phoenix International RacewayAvondale, Arizona * The season-opening Phoenix race was cancelled due to flooding. ** The Riverside race was scheduled for August 28, but pushed a day due to rain. Results Rd Race name Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning teamRace time Report 1 Kraco Dixie 200 US Rick Mears 26.730 US Gordon Johncock Patrick Racing1:22:29 Report 2 Indianapolis 500 Italy Teo Fabi 2:53.582 US Tom Sneva Bignotti-Cotter Racing3:05:03 Report 3 Gould Rex Mays Classic Italy Teo Fabi 26.259 US Tom Sneva Bignotti-Cotter Racing1:17:42 Report 4 Budweiser Cleveland 500 US Mario Andretti 1:13.516 US Al Unser Penske Racing2:51:54 Report 5 Norton Michigan 500 Italy Teo Fabi 35.621 US John Paul Jr. VDS Racing3:42:27 Report 6 Provimi Veal 200 US Mario Andretti 1:58.898 US Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing2:00:42 Report 7 Domino's Pizza 500 US Tom Sneva 46.912 Italy Teo Fabi Forsythe Racing3:42:28 Report 8 Budweiser 500K Italy Teo Fabi 1:30.887 US Bobby Rahal Truesports2:45:28 Report 9 Escort Radar Warning 200 US Bobby Rahal 1:21.364 Italy Teo Fabi Forsythe Racing2:01:49 Report 10 Detroit News Grand Prix US Bobby Rahal 35.075 US Rick Mears Penske Racing1:05:49 Report 11 Caesars Palace Grand Prix US John Paul Jr. 34.888 US Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing2:17:48 Report 12 Cribari Wines 300k Italy Teo Fabi 56.920 Italy Teo Fabi Forsythe Racing1:44:28 Report 13 Miller High Life 150 Italy Teo Fabi 24.947 Italy Teo Fabi Forsythe Racing1:11:03 Report * Indianapolis was USAC-sanctioned but counted towards the CART title. Final points standings List of American Championship car racing point scoring systems Pos Driver ATL USA INDY USA MIL USA CLE USA MIS1 USA ROA USA POC USA RIV USA MOH USA MIS2 USA CPL USA LAG USA PHX USA Pts 1USA Al Unser 2 2 2 1* 2 3 11 11 4 5 4 11 4 151 2Italy Teo Fabi yellow RY silver 20 26 4 3 15 15 1* 2 1* 3 25 1* 1* 146 3USA Mario Andretti 5 23 18 15 3 1 7 16 2 4 1* 2 2 133 4USA Tom Sneva 14 1* 1* 5 25 4 12 5 7 21 15 18 3 96 5USA Bobby Rahal 21 20 6 19 5 10* 5 1 3 2 9 7 DNS 94 6USA Rick Mears 8* 3 3 7 4 17 3 19 9 1* 13 21 17 92 7USA Al Unser Jr. orange R silver 6 10 13 9 7 2 2 4* 18 10 10 4 8 89 8USA John Paul Jr. orange R silver 3 Wth 21 1* 5 29 3 20 7 2 26 11 84 9USA Chip Ganassi 8 13 8 21 26 25 6 3 3 5 56 10USA Pancho Carter 16 7 14 8 6 7 6 7 10 15 6 25 10 53 11USA Pete Halsmer 4 Wth 9 2 33 14 14 27 24 14 5 20 7 48 12USA Roger Mears 7 28 8 6 Wth 8 16 9 12 16 7 6 16 43 13USA Howdy Holmes 9 6 7 12 32 16 13 13 8 8 17 5 21 39 14USA Mike Mosley 13 13 5 4 17 25 4 24 DNS 11 24 36 15USA Kevin Cogan 15 5 20 25 27 19 15 21 6 20 16 22 6 26 16USA Gordon Johncock 1 14 23 26 26 20 17USA Chris Kneifel orange R silver 12 27 9 26 8 22 13 24 8 9 15 19 18USA Tony Bettenhausen Jr. 10 17 10 18 18 12 10 8 14 9 21 14 18 19 19USA Steve Chassey 17 11 19 22 10 6 25 17 12 10 19 17 20USA Danny Ongais 21 12 28 23 18 24 10 5 14 21Australia Geoff Brabham 4 22 18 12 20 16 13 22Mexico Josele Garza 25 17 19 11 9 20 23 17 11 12 9 23USA Tom Klausler orange R silver 22 6 DNQ 8 24USA Jeff Wood orange R silver 22 8 5 25USA Scott Brayton 9 24 12 28 13 26 5 26Ireland Derek Daly orange R silver 22 19 Wth 9 22 18 23 22 4 27USA Michael Andretti orange R silver 19 24 9 4 28South Africa 1928 Desiré Wilson orange R silver Wth 10 20 31 14 16 23 19 13 3 29USA Dick Simon DNQ 15 11 DNQ 14 13 Wth 25 15 19 14 DNQ 23 2 30USA Jim McElreath 11 13 23 2 31USA Greg Leffler DNQ Wth DNQ Wth 24 15 11 2 32USA Phil Krueger DNQ DNQ 17 11 DNQ 27 2 33USA Dick Ferguson DNQ 11 22 2 34USA Jerry Karl DNQ 16 DNQ 21 32 12 DNQ 1 35USA Gary Bettenhausen DNQ 22 DNQ 27 Wth 12 1 36USA Doug Heveron orange R silver 12 Wth 1 37USA Randy Lewis orange R silver 13 0 38USA Bill Alsup Wth DNQ 21 20 16 20 19 22 DNQ 27 14 0 39USA Tom Bigelow DNQ 15 DNQ 29 17 DNQ 0 40USA Bill Whittington orange R silver 18 15 19 0 41Peru Jorge Koechlin orange R silver 15 0 42USA Herm Johnson DNQ 16 24 DNQ 17 0 43USA Mike Chandler 16 31 0 44USA Patrick Bedard orange R silver 30 28 17 0 45USA Chet Fillip orange R silver 19 33 DNQ 18 0 46USA Johnny Rutherford 18 Wth 21 23 24 DNQ 20 0 47USA Al Loquasto DNQ 18 0 48USA Don Whittington 27 20 33 0 49USA Bill Tempero DNQ 23 DNQ 21 DNQ 0 50USA Johnny Parsons 22 30 0 51USA Phil Caliva DNQ 23 DNQ 0 52USA Drake Olson orange R silver DNQ 23 0 53Australia Dennis Firestone 24 0 54USA Chip Mead 26 25 0 55USA Bob Ward orange R silver 26 DNQ DNQ 0 56USA Steve Krisiloff 29 0 57USA Chuck Ciprich orange R silver Wth Wth 30 0 58USA A. J. Foyt 31 0 59USA George Snider 32 0 60USA Tom Bagley DNQ 34 0 -USA Richard Hubbard DNQ DNQ DNQ DNQ 0 -USA Barry Ruble DNQ DNQ 0 -USA Bill Henderson DNQ DNQ 0 -Canada Harry MacDonald Wth DNQ 0 -USA Jim Buick Wth DNQ 0 -USA Larry Cannon DNQ 0 -USA Spike Gehlhausen DNQ 0 -USA John Mahler DNQ 0 -USA Roger Rager DNQ 0 -USA Rich Vogler DNQ 0 -USA Brad Murphey DNQ 0 -USA Mark Alderson Wth 0 -USA Bob Harkey Wth 0 -USA Sheldon Kinser Wth 0 -USA Mack McClellan Wth 0 -USA Ken Schrader Wth 0 -USA Jerry Sneva Wth 0 Pos Driver ATL USA INDY USA MIL USA CLE USA MIS1 USA ROA USA POC USA RIV USA MOH USA MIS2 USA CPL USA LAG USA PHX USA Pts Color Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green 4th-6th place Light Blue 7th-12th place Dark Blue Finished(Outside Top 12) Purple Did not finish Red Did not qualify(DNQ) Brown Withdrawn(Wth) Black Disqualified(DSQ) White Did not start(DNS) Blank Did notparticipate(DNP) Not competing In-line notationBoldPole positionItalicsRan fastest race lap*Led most race lapsyellow RY silver Rookie of the Yearorange R silver Rookie See also 1982–83 USAC Championship Car season 1983 Formula Atlantic season 1983 Indianapolis 500 1983–84 USAC Championship Car season http://www.champcarstats.com/year/1983.htm http://media.indycar.com/pdf/2011/IICS_2011_Historical_Record_Book_INT6.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053905/http://media.indycar.com/pdf/2011/IICS_2011_Historical_Record_Book_INT6.pdf 2016-03-04 (p. 193–194) References http://www.driverdb.com/standings/5-1983/ PPG Indy Car World Series 1983 Åberg, Andreas Driver Database 2009-05-19 http://www.champcarstats.com/year/1983.htm 1983 PPG Indy Car World Series Champ Car Stats 2009-05-19 http://www.indy500.com/stats/view/boxscore/year/1983/ Official Box Score: 67th Indianapolis 500-Mile Race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2009-05-19 2008-05-14 https://web.archive.org/web/20080514015139/http://www.indy500.com/stats/view/boxscore/year/1983 dead http://www.champcar.ws/Results/Standings.asp?Year=1983 Standings after Phoenix Champ Car World Series 2009-05-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20081022080231/http://www.champcar.ws/Results/Standings.asp?Year=1983 22 October 2008 Category:Champ Car seasons IndyCar