1988 Pocono 500

August 2023 May 2023 USA Pocono 500 1988PoconoProgram.jpg August 21 1988 CART PPG Indy Car World Series 1988 Quaker State 500 10th Long Pond, Pennsylvania Permanent racing facility 2.5 4.023 200 500 804.672 Temperatures up to 76 F C; wind speeds up to 21 mph km/h1988 Pocono 500 weather information https://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/us/pa/avoca/KAVP/date/1988-8-21 Wunderground May 3, 2023 Rick Mears Team Penske 204.564 mph USA Bobby Rahal Truesports USA Al Unser Jr. Galles Racing USA Roberto Guerrero Vince Granatelli Racing COL The 1988 Pocono 500, the 18th running of the event, was held at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, August 21, 1988. Branded as the 1988 Quaker State 500 for sponsorship reasons, the race was won by Bobby Rahal, the first and only win for the Judd engine in Indy car racing. It was also the last win for the Truesports team. Background Rick Mears won his third Indianapolis 500 in May. Danny Sullivan won the Michigan 500. The 1988 CART Season was dominated by the Ilmor Chevrolet Indy V-8 engine. The first nine races were won by the Chevrolet engine while Cosworth and Judd were winless entering the Pocono 500.https://www.racing-reference.info/season-stats/1988/R/ 1988 CART Schedule and Results - Racing-Reference Practice and Time Trials Practice - Thursday, August 18 During practice on Thursday, August 18, Mario Andretti posted the fastest speed at 199.358 mph. Derek Daly was second fastest at 196.083 mph.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sPUhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TaMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6423%2C1716255 Reading Eagle Pennsylvania Associated Press Andretti Quickest August 19, 1988 20 Phil Krueger and Rich Vogler crashed in turn one in separate accidents but the cars were repaired. An estimated 10 tires were cut during practice, blamed on Pocono's boiler-plate metal wall that did not sit flush with the asphalt surface like a concrete wall. Debris was able to get under the wall and roll onto the track. Andretti was quoted as saying, "if you had a concrete wall, you wouldn't have that problem."https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21187451/the-indianapolis-star/ Indianapolis Star Indiana Associated Press Mario, Daly Post Top Pocono 500 Times August 19, 1988 29 Qualifying - Friday, August 19 In Friday morning's practice, Rick Mears posted the fastest speed at 205.761 mph. Early in the afternoon qualifying session, Danny Sullivan posted a speed of 203.358 mph. Sullivan's time was the fastest until Rick Mears went out late and took pole position with a speed of 204.564 mph. Bobby Rahal was third fastest at 202.520 mph.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NU8xAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-AIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7184%2C5618130 Toledo Blade Ohio Associated Press Mears Makes History at Pocono August 20, 1988 15 Rick Mears became the first driver to win the pole for all three 500 mile races in a single season. 1983 Pocono 500 winner, Teo Fabi, crashed on lap one of his qualifying run when he ran wide in turn three and hit the wall. He went to a backup car and qualified on Saturday. In Saturday's qualifying session, Phil Krueger posted a speed of 187.825 mph, but was disqualified due to the rear wing being set back too far. Krueger was allowed to start the race with a promoter's option.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sfUhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TaMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4631%2C3697797 Reading Eagle Pennsylvania Associated Press Rahal Hopes to Engineer Win Today August 21, 1988 C7 Dale Coyne qualified at a speed of 167.835 mph. He was not allowed to start the race because his speed did not meet CART's rule that all qualifiers must be within 115% of the pole speed.https://www.champcarstats.com/races/198810.htm 1988 Pocono 500 Results Support Races The 40 lap, American Racing Series event was held on Saturday.https://www.racing-reference.info/race-results/1988-07/IL/ 1988 Pocono ARS Results Jon Beekhuis led the first two laps. Tommy Byrne took the lead on lap three. Michael Greenfield, in a car co-owned by Chip Ganassi and Pat Patrick, took the lead on lap eight and led for the next 29 laps. A spin by Beekhuis and Mike Snow set up a four-lap run to the finish. On the restart, Byrne passed Greenfield entering turn one and pulled out to a sizable lead. On the final lap, Byrne caught a slow car in turn two and had to let off the throttle, allowing Greenfield to catch and pass him. It was Greenfield's first win in the series.August 25, 1988 'Speedweek ARS Highlights Television https://youtube.com/watch?v=jWzFLTL8HPY May 2, 2023 ESPN Speedweek via YouTube A 24-lap, 60 mile race for the SCCA RaceTruck Challenge was held on Saturday afternoon. 19 year-old actor, Jason Bateman, was making his second start in the series, driving a Mitsubishi Mighty Max. On lap one, polesitter, Richie Agresti spun in turn two.https://ibb.co/WVskr3Y Dayton Daily News Ohio Associated Press SCCA Truck Results August 21, 1988 4DMarch 2025 medicmedic Agresti slid across the track and was hit hard by Bateman in the left front. Bateman's truck got airborne and landed on its roof. The impact pushed the left-front wheel back into the cockpit and broke Bateman's left ankle.Jason Bateman – SmartLess, August 16, 2021, Episode 57 Driving a Jeep Comanche, Al Unser led the first seven laps before dropping back to 19th. Tommy Archer beat his brother Bobby by 0.06 seconds to win the race. Race Sławomir Wałęsa, the 15-year-old son of Polish statesman Lech Wałęsa, delivered the command to start engines in Polish and English.1988 Pocono 500 Telecast: NBC-TV, August 21, 1988 The pace car was a custom Ferrari Mondial built at a cost of one million dollars as a gift to series sponsor, PPG. It was driven by Kevin Cogan who was missing the race due to a broken left forearm suffered at Toronto in July.August 25, 1988 'Speedweek Pocono 500 Highlights Television https://youtube.com/watch?v=jWzFLTL8HPY May 2, 2023 ESPN Speedweek via YouTube Polesitter, Rick Mears held the lead on the start. On lap two, the caution came out when Dick Simon's engine started smoking. On the restart, Danny Sullivan took the lead. Before one lap was completed, Arie Luyendyk crashed in turn three. He was hospitalized for a fractured right heel. On lap 28, Michael Andretti blew an engine and brought out the third caution. Sullivan pitted after the restart, which gave the lead to Al Unser. Phil Krueger crashed after completing 42 laps. Rick Mears hit debris and damaged his suspension.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=svUhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TaMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3188%2C5954639 Reading Eagle Pennsylvania Associated Press Rahal Outlasts Quaker State Field August 22, 1988 10 53 year-old A. J. Foyt took the lead on lap 87. It was the first time Foyt had led multiple laps in an Indy car race since Michigan in July 1984. Foyt led 14 laps before gearbox issues put him out after 132 laps. It was the last time he would lead an Indy car race. On lap 117, Dick Simon and Mario Andretti collided entering turn three. Simon, who was 18 laps down, failed to see Andretti passing inside and cut him off. The two cars hit the wall, collecting Danny Sullivan who wrecked trying to avoid the debris. The 54 year-old Simon was heavily criticized by both Sullivan and Andretti, who suffered a bruised right thigh. "He was in the way all day," Andretti said. "He should be more concerned with the leaders. He should not be running, in my opinion."https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=svUhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TaMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3188%2C5954639 Reading Eagle Pennsylvania Associated Press Sullivan Driven Up The Wall August 22, 1988 10 Sullivan asked, "How many times does he have to cause something like this before someone realizes that something has to be done?" Simon only drove one more Indy car race before retiring. During green flag pit stops on lap 168, John Andretti broke a half-shaft exiting the pits and crashed hard into an I-beam supporting the steel boiler-plate wall separating the pit road from the race track. The car split in half with the cockpit flipping several times. Andretti was extracted from the car and suffered only a fractured metatarsal bone in his left foot. 49 year-old Unser appeared headed to his first Pocono 500 win since 1978 until he suffered ignition failure while leading with 28 laps remaining. Unser had led a race-high 79 laps.https://www.racing-reference.info/race-results/1988_Quaker_State_500/R/ 1988 Quaker State 500 Results - Racing-Reference Bobby Rahal assumed the lead after Unser's retirement. He led the final 28 laps and beat Al Unser Jr. by 17 seconds. The race was slowed by 11 cautions for 65 laps. Rahal's average speed was 133.713 mph, the slowest average speed in 18 races at Pocono. It was the first and only Indy car win for the Judd engine. It was the only race in the 1988 CART season that the Ilmor Chevrolet Indy V-8 didn't win.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=svUhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TaMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6307%2C5926880 Reading Eagle Pennsylvania Associated Press Quaker State Win to Rahal August 22, 1988 7https://www.racing-reference.info/season-stats/1988/R/ 1988 CART Schedule and Results - Racing-Reference Box score FinishGridNo Car numberNameEntrantChassisEngineLapsTime/StatusLed Laps ledPoints Points include one bonus point for leading the most laps and one bonus point for qualifying on pole position 1 3 1 USA Bobby Rahal Truesports Lola T88/00 Judd 200 3:44:21.673 32 20 2 11 3 USA Al Unser Jr. Galles Racing March 88C Ilmor-Chevrolet 200 +17.047 15 16 3 16 2 COL Roberto Guerrero Vince Granatelli Racing Lola T88/00 Cosworth 199 +1 Lap 0 14 4 10 10 IRL Derek Daly Raynor Motorsports Lola T88/00 Cosworth 199 +1 Laps 0 12 5 9 30 BRA Raul Boesel Doug Shierson Racing Lola T88/00 Cosworth 197 +3 Laps 0 10 6 17 71 USA Gordon Johncock Hemelgarn Racing Lola T88/00 Cosworth 195 +5 Laps 0 8 7 18 21 USA Howdy Holmes Alex Morales Motorsports March 88C Cosworth 195 +5 Laps 0 6 8 24 12 CAN John Jones Arciero Racing March 88C Cosworth 195 +5 Laps 0 5 9 20 56 USA Billy Vukovich III Gohr Racing March 88C Cosworth 195 +5 Laps 0 4 10 7 91 USA Scott Brayton Hemelgarn Racing Lola T88/00 Judd 194 +6 Laps 0 3 11 22 11 USA Rich Vogler Machinists Union Racing March 87C Cosworth 192 +8 Laps 0 2 12 23 55 USA Scott Atchison Machinists Union Racing March 86C Cosworth 187 +13 Laps 0 1 13 4 60 USA Al Unser Penske Racing Penske PC-17 Ilmor-Chevrolet 182 Ignition 79 1 14 13 98 USA John Andretti Mike Curb Racing Lola T88/00 Cosworth 166 Crash 0 0 15 15 16 USA Tony Bettenhausen Jr. Bettenhausen Motorsports Lola T87/00 Cosworth 135 Engine 0 0 16 6 14 USA A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Enterprises Lola T88/00 Cosworth 132 Gearbox 14 0 17 5 6 USA Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola T88/00 Ilmor-Chevrolet 116 Crash 25 0 18 2 9 USA Danny Sullivan Penske Racing Penske PC-17 Ilmor-Chevrolet 116 Crash 31 0 19 21 22 USA Dick Simon Dick Simon Racing Lola T87/00 Cosworth 98 Crash 0 0 20 19 24 USA Randy Lewis Leader Card Racers Lola T88/00 Cosworth 78 Gearbox 0 0 21 8 20 BRA Emerson Fittipaldi Patrick Racing Lola T87/00 Ilmor-Chevrolet 59 Oil leak 0 0 22 26 77 USA Phil Krueger US Engineering March 86C Cosworth 42 Crash 0 0 23 1 5 USA Rick Mears Penske Racing Penske PC-17 Ilmor-Chevrolet 42 Crash 4 1 24 25 8 ITA Teo Fabi Porshe Motorsports March 88C Porsche 35 Suspension 0 0 25 12 18 USA Michael Andretti Kraco Racing Lola T88/00 Cosworth 28 Engine 0 0 26 14 7 NLD Arie Luyendyk Dick Simon Racing Lola T88/00 Cosworth 5 Crash 0 0 Source:1988 Quaker State 5001988 Pocono 500 - Round 10 Failed to qualify USA Dale Coyne (#19) Race statistics Lap Leaders Laps Leader 1–4 Rick Mears 5–33 Danny Sullivan 34–75 Al Unser 76–84 Mario Andretti 85–86 Danny Sullivan 87–100 A. J. Foyt 101–116 Mario Andretti 117–131 Al Unser Jr. 132–145 Al Unser 146–149 Bobby Rahal 150–172 Al Unser 173–200 Bobby Rahal Cautions: 11 for 65 laps Laps Reason 2–5 Dick Simon smoking 5–12 Arie Luyendyk crash turn 3 28–31 Michael Andretti engine 36–39 Teo Fabi stopped on track 45–51 Rick Mears and Phil Krueger crash turn 2 62–68 Emerson Fittipaldi stopped on track 93–99 Debris 117–127 Mario Andretti, Danny Sullivan, and Dick Simon crash turn 3 135–138 A. J. Foyt stopped on track 143–149 Tony Bettenhausen Jr. engine 169–181 John Andretti crash pit lane Aftermath Criticism of the track conditions became more vocal in 1988.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21186534/the-indianapolis-star/ Indianapolis Star Indiana Associated Press Pocono Gets Bumpy Response from Drivers Seeking Smooth Ride August 23, 1988 33 Drivers were upset with the bumpy and weathered asphalt and openly hoped that the track would be repaved. Race-winner Rick Mears said "this is a great place to come to race, provided they do resurface it. The drivers think it's a fun track, a great track." Danny Sullivan said, "It would be nice if they would resurface it like they're doing at Indianapolis now." Emerson Fittipaldi said, "If you want my opinion, we shouldn't run here. The surface is so rough, in one practice session, I missed my pit twice because I couldn't get the car stopped, it bounced." Broadcasting While the race began at noon, NBC aired a delayed broadcast of the race at 4 p.m. that afternoon. Charlie Jones and Johnny Rutherford were the play-by-play announcers. Gary Gerould and Sally Larvick were the pit reporters. References 2 Category:Pocono 500 Pocono 500 Pocono 500