1985 Beatrice Indy Challenge

Fifteenth round of the 1985 CART season June 2025 USA Beatrice Indy Challenge Tamiami_Park_Street_Circuit.png Layout of the Tamiami Park circuit November 9 1985 Beatrice Indy Challenge 1985 Dana 150 1986 Dana 200 for Special Olympics 15th CART Streets of Tamiami Park, Tamiami Park, Florida Temporary street circuit 1.784 2.871 112 199.808 321.560 Bobby Rahal Truesports 56.408 USA Danny Sullivan Team Penske USA Bobby Rahal Truesports USA Al Unser Jr. Doug Shierson Racing USA – 1986 The 1985 Beatrice Indy Challenge was the fifteenth and final round of the 1985 CART season. The race was held on November 9, 1985, in Tamiami Park, Florida at the streets of Tamiami Park. The race was contested of 112 laps. Danny Sullivan won the race. Bobby Rahal finished 2nd, and Al Unser Jr. finished 3rd. Al Unser and Roberto Moreno rounded out the top five, and Danny Ongais, Arie Luyendyk, Bill Whittington, Josele Garza, and Rupert Keegan rounded out the top ten. In one of the most dramatic championship finales in Indy car racing history, Al Unser wound up winning his third and final Indy car championship over his son, Al Unser Jr., by just 1 point, and earned the $300,000 championship prize.Harris Mike November 11, 1985 Elder Unser Edges Out Son for Driving Title https://books.google.com/books?id=J0VGAAAAIBAJ&dq=beatrice+indy+challenge+fastest+lap&pg=PA22&article_id=4663,2771069 July 15, 2025 Schenectady Gazette 22 Unser became the oldest driver in Indy car history to win a championship, at 46 years, 5 months and 12 days old.November 10, 1985 Unser, Sr., Upstages Victory By Sullivan https://books.google.com/books?id=OA1PAAAAIBAJ&dq=tamiami+park+cart&pg=PA4&article_id=6751,2186378 July 15, 2025 Toledo Blade 4 Report Background In December 1984, CART announced that the 1985 season finale would be held on the streets of Tamiami Park in Miami, Florida on October 27.December 28, 1984 CART schedule https://books.google.com/books?id=0aYRAAAAIBAJ&dq=cart+1985+schedule&pg=PA51&article_id=4626,4909055 July 15, 2025 Gainesville Sun 50 It would be the first Indy car race held in the Miami area since 1926, when Pete DePaolo won a 300-mile race at Fulford–Miami Speedway.December 28, 1984 Cart Announces Schedule https://books.google.com/books?id=5w1HAAAAIBAJ&dq=tamiami+park+cart&pg=PA13&article_id=4194,6174546 July 15, 2025 Times-Union 13 The race was later rescheduled to November 9. Championship standings before the race Al Unser had a slim three-point gap over his son, Al Unser Jr., following Unser Sr.'s dominant win in the Dana 150 at Phoenix.October 14, 1985 Only an Unser Can Win CART https://books.google.com/books?id=eWkiAAAAIBAJ&dq=cart+1985+schedule&pg=PA12&article_id=4726,3934321 July 15, 2025 The Argus-Press 12 Since Mario Andretti, who was third in the points standings, was 23 points behind Unser Sr., he and everyone else beneath him in the standings were ineligible to win the title, as the maximum amount of points that could be earned from a CART race at the time was 22 points (20 points for winning, 1 point for winning the pole, and 1 point for leading the most laps). This meant that the 1985 championship would go down to the Unser father-son duo.November 7, 1985 Indy-Series Championship Between The Unser Family https://books.google.com/books?id=QLFcAAAAIBAJ&dq=1985+bobby+rahal+miami+pole&pg=PA12&article_id=6025,4067509 July 15, 2025 Portsmouth Daily Times 12 Practice On Thursday, November 7, a pair of hour-long practice sessions were held in the afternoon. Danny Sullivan, the 1985 Indianapolis 500 winner, would set the fastest laps of both sessions. He averaged a speed of 109.121 mph (175.613 km/h) in the sessions.November 8, 1985 Unsers contend for title https://books.google.com/books?id=5x1NAAAAIBAJ&dq=1985+danny+sullivan+miami+practice&pg=PA8&article_id=1361,1642446 July 15, 2025 Rome News-Tribune 8November 8, 1985 CART https://books.google.com/books?id=0sIfAAAAIBAJ&dq=beatrice+indy+challenge&pg=PA13&article_id=3702,963762 July 15, 2025 Gadsden Times 13 Little Al set the eighth fastest speed, while Big Al set the thirteenth fastest speed. Qualifying The qualifying session was held on Friday, November 8. The session was divided into two timed groups, with the fastest overall driver from both groups winning the pole. Bobby Rahal, driving for Truesports, would score the pole for the race, with a time of 56.408, and a speed of 113.856 mph.November 9, 1985 Unsers to duel for point title https://books.google.com/books?id=brdQAAAAIBAJ&dq=1985+bobby+rahal+miami+pole&pg=PA47&article_id=1849,2860124 July 15, 2025 Star-News 47 Four drivers failed to qualify: Dale Coyne, Darin Brassfield, Scott Brayton, and Steve Chassey. Qualifying classification Pos Position No. Car Number Driver Team Chassis Engine Time Finalgrid Final starting grid position for race 1 3 USA Bobby Rahal Truesports March Cosworth 56.408 1 2 7 AUS Geoff Brabham Galles Racing March Cosworth 56.535 2 3 20 ITA Bruno Giacomelli orange R silver Patrick Racing March Cosworth 56.883 3 4 4 USA Danny Sullivan Team Penske March Cosworth 57.482 4 5 6 BRA Roberto Moreno Galles Racing March Cosworth 57.695 5 6 33 NED Jan Lammers Forsythe Racing Lola Cosworth 57.773 6 7 40 BRA Emerson Fittipaldi Patrick Racing March Cosworth 57.892 7 8 30 USA Al Unser Jr. Doug Shierson Racing Lola Cosworth 57.912 8 9 1 USA Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Cosworth 57.936 9 10 9 COL Roberto Guerrero Team Cotter March Cosworth 58.206 10 11 61 NED Arie Luyendyk orange R silver Provimi Racing Lola Cosworth 58.296 11 12 5 USA Al Unser Team Penske March Cosworth 58.432 12 13 22 BRA Raul Boesel orange R silver Dick Simon Racing March Cosworth 58.641 13 14 12 USA Bill Whittington Arciero Racing March Cosworth 58.769 14 15 36 GBR Jim Crawford Pace Racing Lola Cosworth 59.321 15 16 27 GBR Ian Ashley Tom Hess Racing Lola Cosworth 59.595 16 17 18 USA Kevin Cogan Kraco Racing March Cosworth 59.832 17 18 76 CAN Jacques Villeneuve Sr. Canadian Tire Racing March Cosworth 59.897 18 19 25 USA Danny Ongais Interscope Racing March Cosworth 1:00.021 19 20 99 USA Michael Andretti Kraco Racing March Cosworth 1:00.100 20 21 57 USA Randy Lanier Arciero Racing Lola Cosworth 1:00.439 21 22 55 MEX Josele Garza Machinists Union Racing March Cosworth 1:00.751 22 23 14 USA A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Racing March Cosworth 1:00.765 23 24 21 USA Johnny Rutherford Alex Morales Motorsports March Cosworth 1:00.957 24 25 59 GBR Rupert Keegan orange R silver Machinists Union Racing March Cosworth 1:01.062 25 26 2 USA Tom Sneva All American Racers Eagle Cosworth 1:01.082 26 27 24 USA Dominic Dobson Leader Card Racing March Cosworth 1:01.224 27 28 98 USA Ed Pimm All American Racers Eagle Cosworth 1:01.286 28 Failed to qualify 29 56 USA Steve Chassey Gohr Racing March Chevrolet 1:04.128 — 30 19 USA Dale Coyne Dale Coyne Racing Lola Chevrolet 1:06.543 — 31 34 USA Darin Brassfield orange R silver Wysard Racing Lola Cosworth — — 32 71 USA Scott Brayton Hemelgarn Racing Lola Cosworth — — Source:1985 Miami Champ Cars https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database/races/1985-miami-champ-cars/ July 16, 2025 MotorsportMagazine.com Race Race report Start With an estimated 50,000 people in attendance, the 28 drivers fired off, two-by-two, in a rolling start. However, heading into the narrow turn 1, Mario Andretti locked up his brakes and hit Emerson Fittipaldi, which sent both Fittipaldi and Roberto Guerrero into the concrete wall. All three drivers were uninjured and walked out, though they all retired from the race. The destruction only continued as the first lap was completed. Exiting turn 7, Raul Boesel looped his car around. As his turbocharger caught on fire, Kevin Cogan swerved to the right of the track to avoid Boesel, only for them to collide anyway. Michael Andretti, Cogan's teammate, also T-boned Boesel. The drivers were uninjured, but their cars were too destroyed to continue. Meanwhile, Big Al was running in 9th, only two positions behind Little Al. First half The race was finally restarted ten laps later, and pole sitter Bobby Rahal quickly ran off with the lead. A lap after the restart, Geoff Brabham, running 2nd, drove into the pits for an unscheduled pit stop. Brabham would eventually retire from the race, citing ignition issues as the reason. Bruno Giacomelli and Jan Lammers battled for 2nd as Rahal continued leading. On lap 37, Rahal gave up the lead for the first time all race and eventually pitted, which kicked off the first round of green-flag pit stops.November 11, 1985 Al Unser edges out his son to take CART drivers' title https://books.google.com/books?id=x8cyAAAAIBAJ&dq=ian+ashley+cart&pg=PA63&article_id=1164,296387 July 16, 2025 The Montreal Gazette 63 Little Al pitted a few laps before Big Al did. Giacomelli led his first few laps of the race before he pitted on lap 40, giving the lead back to Rahal. On lap 50, British drivers Jim Crawford and Ian Ashley collided in turn 1, ending both of their races and bringing the second caution of the race. As things stood, Little Al was 1 point ahead of his father. Second half When the race restarted on lap 62, Bobby Rahal had clinched the bonus point for most laps led. Little Al was continuing his steady pace in 5th as Big Al tried to pass other cars to gain points. On lap 69, Giacomelli, who was on pace to earning his first ever podium finish in CART, was sidelined after he crashed in turn 1. He was uninjured, though he never raced in CART again. As this was happening, Big Al finally began closing in on Little Al, who was still running 5th. Big Al was battling with rookie Arie Luyendyk for 6th. Rahal gave up the lead for the second time when he pitted for a routine stop on lap 74. During this round of green-flag pit stops, Big Al decided to shake up his strategy and pit before his son did. Little Al's pit stop was nearly 2 seconds slower than Big Al's pit stop, though Little Al retained 4th while Big Al was in 6th. On the racetrack, Jan Lammers and Danny Sullivan battled hard for the lead, to the point where Lammers nearly went off-track in the esses. Both drivers decided to pit for the final time on lap 78. Sullivan, who had the closest pit stall to the exit of pit road, fired off before Lammers did, which gave Sullivan the lead for the first time in the race. Rahal would never lead another lap in the race, as he battled chassis issues.Harris Mike November 10, 1985 Slick move gives older Unser series crown https://books.google.com/books?id=mBkhAAAAIBAJ&dq=ian+ashley+cart&pg=PA12&article_id=4765,1828540 July 16, 2025 Daily News 12 On lap 81, as Lammers continued chasing down Sullivan for the race lead, he spun in the esses and was beached in the sand trap. Lammers' car never refired and he did not finish the race. With Lammers' retirement, Little Al ran in 3rd, while Big Al ran in 5th. Little Ai still held the hypothetical points lead by 1 point over his father. On lap 95, Dominic Dobson, who was running inside the top 15 after qualifying 27th, blew an engine in turn 1. Dobson was forced to retire, ultimately finishing 11th. Big Al, who still needed 2 points to take the championship lead, came to life on lap 103 as Roberto Moreno maneuvered around lapped traffic. On lap 108, Big Al finally passed Moreno for fourth position in turn 2, and for the first time all race, the elder Unser had the championship lead over his son by one point. Unfortunately for Little Al, the closest car ahead of him (Bobby Rahal) was about 15 seconds ahead of him, which was an insurmountable gap for the final four laps. As Danny Sullivan won the race, the fifth win of his CART career and his first since his Indy 500 win earlier that year, his Penske teammate Al Unser Sr. held onto 4th place and won the 1985 CART championship by one point over his son Al Unser Jr., who finished 3rd. Race classification Pos Position No. Car Number Driver Team Chassis Engine Laps Time/Retired Grid LapsLed Pts. Points 1 4 USA Danny Sullivan Team Penske March Cosworth 112 2:04:59.410 4 34 20 2 3 USA Bobby Rahal Truesports March Cosworth 112 +16.800 1 70 18 3 30 USA Al Unser Jr. Doug Shierson Racing Lola Cosworth 112 Running 8 0 14 4 5 USA Al Unser Team Penske March Cosworth 112 Running 12 0 12 5 6 BRA Roberto Moreno Galles Racing March Cosworth 112 Running 5 0 10 6 25 USA Danny Ongais Interscope Racing March Cosworth 110 +2 Laps 19 0 8 7 61 NED Arie Luyendyk orange R silver Provimi Racing Lola Cosworth 110 +2 Laps 11 0 6 8 12 USA Bill Whittington Arciero Racing March Cosworth 110 +2 Laps 14 0 5 9 55 MEX Josele Garza Machinists Union Racing March Cosworth 109 +3 Laps 22 0 4 10 59 GBR Rupert Keegan orange R silver Machinists Union Racing March Cosworth 100 Gas Pedal 25 0 3 11 24 USA Dominic Dobson Leader Card Racing March Cosworth 95 Engine 27 0 2 12 98 USA Ed Pimm All American Racers Eagle Cosworth 95 +17 Laps 28 0 1 13 33 NED Jan Lammers Forsythe Racing Lola Cosworth 81 Accident 6 5 0 14 20 ITA Bruno Giacomelli orange R silver Patrick Racing March Cosworth 68 Accident 3 3 0 15 57 USA Randy Lanier Arciero Racing Lola Cosworth 68 Oil Leak 21 0 0 16 36 GBR Jim Crawford Pace Racing Lola Cosworth 50 Accident 15 0 0 17 76 CAN Jacques Villeneuve Sr. Canadian Tire Racing March Cosworth 50 Engine 18 0 0 18 27 GBR Ian Ashley Tom Hess Racing Lola Cosworth 49 Accident 16 0 0 19 21 USA Johnny Rutherford Alex Morales Motorsports March Cosworth 42 Accident 24 0 0 20 14 USA A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Racing March Cosworth 24 Engine 23 0 0 21 2 USA Tom Sneva All American Racers Eagle Cosworth 23 Engine 26 0 0 22 7 AUS Geoff Brabham Galles Racing March Cosworth 15 Ignition 2 0 0 23 22 BRA Raul Boesel orange R silver Dick Simon Racing March Cosworth 1 Accident 13 0 0 24 18 USA Kevin Cogan Kraco Racing March Cosworth 1 Accident 17 0 0 25 99 USA Michael Andretti Kraco Racing March Cosworth 1 Accident 20 0 0 26 40 BRA Emerson Fittipaldi Patrick Racing March Cosworth 0 Accident 7 0 0 27 1 USA Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Cosworth 0 Accident 9 0 0 28 9 COL Roberto Guerrero Team Cotter March Cosworth 0 Accident 10 0 0 Source: Championship standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Pos. Position Driver Points10px|alt=Unchanged1 USA Al Unser 15110px|alt=Unchanged2 USA Al Unser Jr. 150 (–1)10px|alt=Unchanged 13 USA Bobby Rahal 133 (–18)10px|alt=Unchanged 14 USA Danny Sullivan 126 (–25)10px|alt=Unchanged 25 USA Mario Andretti 116 (–35) Note: Only the top five positions are included. References Beatrice Indy Challenge 1985 1985 Dana 150 1986 Dana 200 for Special Olympics – 1986 Nissan Indy Challenge Category:1985 in American motorsport Category:1985 in sports in Florida Category:Motorsport in Miami Category:1985 in CART