1985 CART PPG Indy Car World Series

American motorsport season February 2025 1985 CART PPG Indy Car World Series CART logo (1979-1991).svg 15 April 14 November 10 United States Al Unser United Kingdom March 85C/84C United Kingdom Cosworth DFX The Netherlands Arie Luyendyk United States United States United States Danny Sullivan 1984 1986 The 1985 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season was the 7th national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by CART. The season consisted of 15 races. Al Unser Sr. was the national champion, and the rookie of the year was Arie Luyendyk. The 1985 Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned by USAC, but counted towards the CART points championship. Danny Sullivan won the Indy 500, in dramatic fashion, a race that became known as the "Spin and Win." In September 1984, Rick Mears suffered serious leg injuries in a crash at Sanair. Mears drove only a part-time schedule in 1985, racing at Indianapolis, and subsequently on ovals only. Al Unser Sr. took Mears' full-time seat at Penske Racing as a substitute for the season. Unser had one win, ten top fives, and one other top ten, en route to the championship, a battle that climaxed in dramatic fashion in the final race of the season. Season summary Defending series champion Mario Andretti won the season opener, finished second at the Indy 500, and won the next two races, jumping out to the early points lead. A mid-season slump, however, saw him achieve only one top five finish the remainder of the year. He then broke his collarbone in a crash at Michigan, and was forced to sit out one race. The driver of the season became Al Unser Jr., who won the next two races (Meadowlands and Cleveland), and finished the year with nine finishes in the top 4. At the midpoint of the season, Mario Andretti's points lead had dwindled, while Emerson Fittipaldi, Al Unser Sr., and Al Unser Jr. were all closing in. At the Pocono 500, Rick Mears triumphantly returned to victory lane after his leg injuries. Finishing second and third were Al Jr. and Al Sr., respectively, with Al Sr. now taking the points lead. Unser Jr. ate away at the points lead over the next four races, and the Unsers were neck-and-neck approaching the season finale. Meanwhile, Bobby Rahal was making a championship run of his own, winning 3 out of 4 races, and four poles in a row during a stretch in September–October. He almost won four races in row, but was taken out while leading at Sanair with only 13 laps to go. Rahal closed to within 13 points of the championship lead. With two races to go, Unser Jr. led Unser Sr. by only 3 points. Father and son finished 1st and 2nd at Phoenix, and the standings were flipped. Al Sr. led Al Jr. by 3 points going into the finale at Miami. Rahal finished a distant 6th at Phoenix, and was mathematically eliminated from the championship. The season finale at Tamiami Park ended in dramatic fashion. Danny Sullivan and Bobby Rahal finished 1st and 2nd, respectively, but the attention of the day was focused on the two Unsers. Late in the race, Al Unser Jr. was running third, and Al Unser Sr. was running 5th. At the moment, Al Jr. was leading the hypothetical championship standings by 1 point. In the closing laps, Al Unser Sr. chased down and passed Roberto Moreno for 4th place. He held on to finish fourth, and thus won the championship by 1 point over his son. Unser Sr. afterwards expressed some regret about snatching the championship title from his son, but felt it was his responsibility to his own team and his own sponsors to race to his ability all the way to the end. It was also in the best interests of sportsmanship to all competitors not to give favor to his son. Unser Sr. also knew his days were numbered as a competitive driver on the circuit, while he knew Unser Jr. had many years ahead to have another chance at the title (Al Unser Jr. would indeed win the championship twice - 1990 and 1994). The 1985 season saw two controversies at two separate races. The Michigan 500 had to be postponed for a week due to tire issues. In September, the race at Sanair came to a bizarre conclusion when the safety car, leading the field on the final lap under caution, suddenly veered into the pits on the final turn. Leader Johnny Rutherford was not informed, and second place Pancho Carter accelerated past him and beat him to the finish line. Officials initially awarded the victory to Carter, and Rutherford protested. After review, Rutherford was eventually restored the victory. (In many motorsport codes, the safety car exits to pit lane on the final lap; in most North American codes, the safety car remains on the circuit towards the finish line.) Sanair finish controversy Grand Prix of Montreal#1985 finish controversy Drivers and teams The following teams and drivers competed in the 1985 Indy Car World Series season. All cars used Goodyear tires. Team Chassis Engine No* Drivers Rounds Team Penske March 85C Cosworth DFX 4 (5) US Danny SullivanAll 5 (1) US Rick Mears 2–3, 7, 9, 12 US Al Unser 11All except 3 Doug Shierson Racing Lola T900 Cosworth DFX 30 US Al Unser Jr.All Truesports Co. March 85C Cosworth DFX 3 (10) USA Bobby RahalAll 8 Canada Ludwig Heimrath Jr. 10 Newman/Haas Racing Lola T900 Cosworth DFX 1 (3) USA Mario Andretti All except 8 Australia Alan Jones8 Patrick Racing March 85C Cosworth DFX 20 Italy Bruno Giacomelli 1, 4–6, 8, 10–11, 13, 15 US Sammy Swindell7, 9 US Don Whittington2-3, 12, 14 40Brazil Emerson FittipaldiAll 60 US Rich Vogler 2All American RacersEagle 85GC (All except 4, 11, and 13–14) Lola T900 (4, 11, 13–14)Cosworth DFX 2US Tom Sneva AllLola T900 97 US Tony Bettenhausen Jr. 2 Eagle 85GC (All except 3, 6) Lola T900 (3) 98 US Ed Pimm All except 6 Kraco Racing March 85C Cosworth DFX 18 US Kevin CoganAll 99 US Michael AndrettiAll Alex Morales Motorsports March 85C Cosworth DFX 21 US Johnny RutherfordAll Machinists Union Racing March 85C Cosworth DFX 55 Mexico Josele GarzaAll 59 US Pete Halsmer 2–6, 12 UK Rupert Keegan10, 13, 15 US Chip Ganassi7 Galles Racing March 85C Buick V-6 (1-2)Cosworth DFX (3-15) 6 US Pancho Carter 2–4, 6–7, 9, 11–12, 14 Brazil 1968 Roberto Moreno5, 8, 10, 13, 15 Cosworth DFX 7 Australia Geoff BrabhamAll Team Cotter March 85C Cosworth DFX 9 Colombia Roberto Guerrero All Forsythe Racing Lola T900 Cosworth DFX 32/33 US Howdy Holmes 1-12 NED Jan Lammers13-15 Pace Racing March 84C (1-6) Lola T900 (7-15) Cosworth DFX 36 Australia Dennis Firestone 1-13 UK Jim Crawford14-15Dick Simon RacingMarch 85CCosworth DFX 22Brazil 1968 Raul Boesel 1, 4–6, 8, 10, 13, 15US Dick Simon2-3, 7, 9, 11–12, 1423Brazil 1968 Raul Boesel2, 7US Dick Simon5 Leader Card RacingMarch 84C (1, 5) March 85C (4)Cosworth DFX 24US Rocky Moran 1, 4-5 March 84C (7) March 85C (2-3, 9) US Tom Bigelow 2–3, 7, 9 March 84C US Phil Krueger 6 March 85C US Herm Johnson 8, 10 March 85C US Gary Bettenhausen 11–12, 14March 85CUSA Dominic Dobson 13, 15Canadian Tire RacingMarch 85CCosworth DFX 67UK Jim Crawford 11 76Canada Jacques Villeneuve Sr. All except 2, 7, 9, and 12 US Johnny Parsons2 Provimi RacingLola T900Cosworth DFX 61The Netherlands Arie Luyendyk All except 9-10Arciero RacingLola T900 (All other races) March 85C (12, 15)Cosworth DFX 12US Bill Whittington All except 7, 9, 11, and 14US Randy Lanier14 Lola T900 57 1–2, 4–6, 8, 10, 13, 15Dale Coyne Racing Lola T800Chevy 19US Dale Coyne All except 1 and 11 Gohr Racing March 85C Chevy 56 US Steve Chassey All except 1 and 11 Hemelgarn Racing Lola T900 (All other races) March 85C (11) Cosworth DFX 71 Ireland Michael Roe 1–2, 4-6 US Spike Gehlhausen3, 7 Argentina Enrique Mansilla8, 10-11 US Scott Brayton13-15Part-time entries Wysard Racing Lola T900 Cosworth DFX 34 UK Jim Crawford 1–3, 5-6 US Darin Brassfield15 Brayton Racing March 85C Cosworth DFX/Buick V-6 37 US Scott Brayton 1–7, 9, 12 Interscope Racing March 85C Cosworth DFX 25 US Danny Ongais 1–2, 6–7, 9, 12, 14-15 AMI Racing March 85C Cosworth DFX 43 US John Paul Jr. 2, 6 NED Jan Lammers4-5 Circle Bar Racing Lola T900 Cosworth DFX 38 US Chet Fillip 2–3, 6-7 Menard Cashway Lumber March 85C Cosworth DFX 8 US Herm Johnson 2 Tom Hess Racing Lola T800 Cosworth DFX 27 (29) US Dick Ferguson 1 Lola T900 Ireland Derek Daly 2 US Jeff Wood 6 UK Ian Ashley 15 Purcell Racing March 83C Cosworth DFX 50 US Tom Bigelow 2 51US Phil Krueger2Gilmore RacingMarch 85C (All other races) Lola T900 (11)Cosworth DFX 14US A. J. Foyt 2, 5–7, 9, 11, 14-15 March 84C 41US Mike Nish 2, 14 March 85C Chevy 44US George Snider 2Cosworth DFX 84 US Chip Ganassi 2 Theodore RacingTheodoreCosworth DFX 15Brazil Chico Serra 4 * The number in parentheses is the number the car used at the Indianapolis 500, if a different number was used. Notable team and driver changes Rick Mears was sidelined due to injuries for much of the season. Danny Sullivan left Doug Shierson Racing to join Team Penske. Al Unser Jr. left Galles Racing to replace Sullivan at Doug Shierson Racing. He was replaced at Galles Racing by Geoff Brabham, who previously drove for Kraco Racing. Mayer Motor Racing, which ran 1984 with drivers Tom Sneva and Howdy Holmes, did not run in 1985. Tom Sneva moved to All American Racers, which expanded to a two car team, while Howdy Holmes moved to Forsythe Racing, who had run 1984 without a steady driver. Galles Racing expanded to a two car team. Joining Geoff Brabham, the second car was run by Pancho Carter on the ovals and rookie Roberto Moreno on the road courses. Bignotti-Cotter Racing changed its name to Team Cotter, continuing to field a car for Roberto Guerrero. Bill Whittington, who did not have a ride in 1984, joined Arciero Racing, replacing Pete Halsmer. Halsmer only ran a few races that year. Rookie Arie Luyendyk ran his first full season, driving for Provimi Veal Racing. He replaced Derek Daly, who was left without a full-time ride. Geoff Brabham was replaced at Kraco Racing by Kevin Cogan. Gordon Johncock retired just before pole day for the 1985 Indianapolis 500.http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-05-11-8501290720-story.html INDY SURPRISE: JOHNCOCK SAYS HE`S RETIRING Rollow Cooper chicagotribune.com 2018-09-28 en-US Already scaled back to doing just ovals, while Bruno Giacomelli handled road and street courses, he was replaced by both Don Whittington and Sammy Swindell. Johnny Rutherford returned to full-time driving, replacing Al Holbert at Alex Morales Motorsports. Holbert returned to sports cars. Dick Simon scaled back to part-time driving. His ride at Dick Simon Racing was split with Raul Boesel. Stan Fox, who ran full-time in 1984, did not run in 1985. A variety of drivers are ran at Leader Card Racing. Interscope Racing and driver Danny Ongais only ran part-time in 1985. Tom Hess Racing, which drove most of 1984 with Dick Ferguson, also scaled back to part-time. Schedule Icon Legend white O silver Oval/Speedway lightblue R silver Road course peachpuff S silver Street circuit +RdDateNameCircuitLocation1April 14USA Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beachpeachpuff S silver Streets of Long BeachLong Beach, California2May 26USA Indianapolis 500white O silver Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayIndianapolis, Indiana3June 2USA Miller American 200 in Honor of Rex Mayswhite O silver Milwaukee MileWest Allis, Wisconsin4June 16USA Stroh's/G.I. Joe's 200lightblue R silver Portland International RacewayPortland, Oregon5June 30USA U.S. Grand Prix at the Meadowlandspeachpuff S silver Meadowlands Sports ComplexEast Rutherford, New Jersey6July 7USA Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prixpeachpuff S silver Burke Lakefront AirportCleveland, Ohio7July 28**USA Michigan 500white O silver Michigan International SpeedwayBrooklyn, Michigan8August 4USA Provimi Veal 200lightblue R silver Road AmericaElkhart Lake, Wisconsin9August 18USA Domino's Pizza 500white O silver Pocono International RacewayLong Pond, Pennsylvania10September 1USA Escort Radar Warning 200lightblue R silver Mid-Ohio Sports Car CourseLexington, Ohio11September 8CAN Molson Indy 300white O silver Sanair Super SpeedwaySaint-Pie, Quebec12September 22USA Detroit News 200white O silver Michigan International SpeedwayBrooklyn, Michigan13October 6USA Stroh's 300klightblue R silver Laguna Seca RacewayMonterey, California14October 13*USA Dana 150white O silver Phoenix International RacewayAvondale, Arizona15November 9USA Beatrice Indy Challengepeachpuff S silver Tamiami ParkMiami, Florida * The Dana 150 was scheduled for March 31, but postponed on March 13 due to track damage sustained over winter testing. On August 6, it was rescheduled for an October 13 date. ** The Michigan 500 was scheduled for July 21, but postponed a week due to tire concerns. NBC did not return to televise the race. Results Rd Event name Pole position Winner Winning team Race time 1 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach US Mario Andretti US Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing 1:42:50 2 Indianapolis 500 US Pancho Carter US Danny Sullivan Team Penske 3:16:06 3 Miller American 200 in Honor of Rex Mays US Mario Andretti US Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing 1:36:38 4Stroh's/G.I. Joe's 200 US Danny Sullivan US Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing 1:51:35 5 U.S. Grand Prix at the Meadowlands US Mario Andretti US Al Unser Jr. Doug Shierson Racing 1:51:55 6 Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix US Bobby Rahal US Al Unser Jr. Doug Shierson Racing 1:45:31 7 Michigan 500 US Rick Mears Brazil 1968 Emerson Fittipaldi Patrick Racing 3:53:58 8 Provimi Veal 200 US Danny Sullivan CAN Jacques Villeneuve Sr. Canadian Tire Racing 1:45:12 9 Domino's Pizza 500 US Rick Mears US Rick Mears Team Penske 3:17:47 10 Escort Radar Warning 200 US Bobby Rahal US Bobby Rahal Truesports 1:52:23 11 Molson Indy 300 US Bobby Rahal US Johnny Rutherford Alex Morales Motorsports 2:03:54 12 Detroit News 200 US Bobby Rahal US Bobby Rahal Truesports 1:13:19 13 Stroh's 300k US Bobby Rahal US Bobby Rahal Truesports 1:38:56 14 Dana 150 US Al Unser US Al Unser Team Penske 1:14:35 15 Beatrice Indy Challenge US Bobby Rahal US Danny Sullivan Team Penske 2:04:59 * Indianapolis was USAC-sanctioned but counted towards the CART title. Drivers points standings List of American Championship car racing point scoring systems Pos Driver LBH USA INDY USA MIL USA POR USA MEA USA CLE USA MIS1 USA ROA USA POC USA MOH USA SAN Canada MIS2 USA LAG USA PHX USA TAM USA Pts 1 US Al Unser 5 4 4 3 3 2* 7 3 27 13* 12 2 1* 4 151 2 US Al Unser Jr. 9 25 7 2* 1* 1 15 17* 2* 4 3 23 3 2 3 150 3 US Bobby Rahal 27 27 9 20 25 28 6 4 4 1* 10 1* 1* 6 2* 133 4 US Danny Sullivan 3 1 4 27 18 27 14 13 5 2 5 8 8 4 1 126 5 US Mario Andretti 1* 2* 1* 1 26 14* 10 7 7 15 21 11 3 27 114 6 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 2 13 8 3 2 8 1 5 6 8 25 13 24 8 26 104 7 US Tom Sneva 8 20 2 24 6 11 3 21 8 15 7 5 19 19 21 66 8 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Sr. 7 Wth 22 23 21 4 1 3 11 25 13 1754 9 US Michael Andretti 19 8 19 28 4 7 27 2 13 14 19 25 9 5 25 53 10 US Rick Mears 21 3 30 1 2 51 11 US Johnny Rutherford 10 6 23 9 14 15 4 DNS 14 22 1 9 21 26 19 51 12 Mexico Josele Garza 28 31 7 12 27 6 19 18 26 11 6 6 7 10 9 46 13 US Ed Pimm 12 9 21 19 DNQ 5 11 20 9 8 3 14 9 12 45 14 US Kevin Cogan 23 11 16 5 7 9 7 25 17 21 9 4 17 22 2444 15 Australia Geoff Brabham 6 19 12 14 24 2 29 15 19 13 4 16 10 12 22 41 16 US Pancho Carter 13 33 5 13 16 16 12 2 10 7 37 17 Colombia Roberto Guerrero 26 3 6 15 DNS 19 13 19 18 18 23 24 4 21 28 34 18 The Netherlands Arie Luyendyk yellow RY silver 17 7 17 21 10 5 Wth 6 DNS 18 15 22 25 7 33 19 Italy Bruno Giacomelli orange R silver 18 10 5 10 22 6 16 6 14 32 20 UK Jim Crawford 4 16 Wth 9 13 20 15 16 16 21 US Bill Whittington 16 14 Wth 26 16 24 24 5 17 DNQ 8 15 22 US Scott Brayton 11 30 DNQ 6 15 25 8 16 22 26 18 DNQ 15 23 Australia Alan Jones 3 14 24 US Danny Ongais DNQ 17 20 22 7 14 6 14 25 US Howdy Holmes 14 10 11 17 13 22 9 10 21 16 21 18 DNS 12 26 The Netherlands Jan Lammers 16 12 5 20 13 11 27 Ireland Michael Roe orange R silver 21 DNQ 7 8 26 11 28 Brazil Roberto Moreno orange R silver 28 16 25 16 5 10 29 US Johnny Parsons 5 10 30 Brazil Raul Boesel orange R silver 20 18 11 11 12 28 8 23 20 23 10 31 Argentina Enrique Mansilla 9 10 12 8 32 US Pete Halsmer DNQ 15 8 19 Wth 11 7 33 Australia Dennis Firestone 22 DNQ 20 18 DNQ 21 11 20 9 17 14 DNS 23 6 34 US Steve Chassey DNQ Wth DNQ 20 DNQ 12 26 11 12 14 15 11 DNQ 6 35 UK Rupert Keegan orange R silver 19 12 10 4 36 US Dick Simon DNQ 26 13 17 25 10 17 19 DNQ Wth 3 37 US Chet Fillip DNQ 10 18 17 3 38 USA Dominic Dobson DNQ 18 11 2 39 US Herm Johnson Wth 12 24 1 40 Ireland Derek Daly 12 1 41 US Randy Lanier 24 Wth 22 22 20 14 20 13 17 15 0 42 US Spike Gehlhausen 14 18 0 43 US John Paul Jr. 15 17 0 44 US Phil Krueger Wth Wth 21 15 0 45 US Rocky Moran orange R silver 15 DNQ Wth 0 46 US Gary Bettenhausen 22 Wth 16 0 47 US Tom Bigelow DNQ 18 26 23 0 48 UK Ian Ashley 18 0 49 US A. J. Foyt 28 23 Wth 24 24 23 20 0 50 US Don Whittington 24 DNQ 20 20 24 0 51 US Chip Ganassi 22 22 0 52 US Dale Coyne DNQ Wth DNQ DNQ DNQ 24 23 27 28 Wth 27 DNQ DNQ 0 53 US Sammy Swindell 23 25 0 54 US Rich Vogler 23 0 55 US Jeff Wood 23 0 56 US Dick Ferguson 25 DNQ 0 57 Brazil Chico Serra 25 0 58Canada Ludwig Heimrath Jr. orange R silver 26 0 59 US Tony Bettenhausen Jr. 29 0 60 US George Snider 32 0 – US Jerry Karl DNQ - – US Darin Brassfield orange R silver DNQ - – US Mike Nish orange R silver Wth EX - – US Gordon Johncock Wth - – US Frank Chianelli orange R silver Wth - Pos Driver LBH USA INDY USA MIL USA POR USA MEA USA CLE USA MIS1 USA ROA USA POC USA MOH USA SAN Canada MIS2 USA LAG USA PHX USA TAM 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) Driverreplacement(Rpl) Injured(Inj) Race not held(NH) Not competingIn-line notationBoldPole positionItalicsRan fastest race lap*Led most race lapsyellow RY silver Rookie of the Yearorange R silver Rookie See also 1985 Indianapolis 500 References http://www.driverdb.com/standings/5-1985/ PPG Indy Car World Series 1985 Åberg, Andreas Driver Database May 19, 2009 http://www.champcarstats.com/year/1985.htm 1985 PPG Indy Car World Series Champ Car Stats May 19, 2009 http://www.indy500.com/stats/view/boxscore/year/1985/ Official Box Score: 69th Indianapolis 500-Mile Race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Indianapolis Motor Speedway May 19, 2009 May 14, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080514015149/http://www.indy500.com/stats/view/boxscore/year/1985 dead http://www.champcar.ws/Results/Standings.asp?Year=1985 Champ Car > Standings after Beatrice Indy y Challange Challenge Champ Car World Series October 24, 2008 July 17, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20081022080242/http://www.champcar.ws/Results/Standings.asp?Year=1985 2008-10-22 dead ChampCarStats.com (Archived 2009-07-26)] Category:Champ Car seasons IndyCar