1985 Michigan 500

August 2023 The 1985 Michigan 500, the fifth running of the event, was held at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan, on Sunday, July 28, 1985. The event was race number 7 of 15 in the 1985 CART PPG Indy Car World Series. The race was won by Emerson Fittipaldi, his first Indy Car victory. The race was delayed for one week over concerns about Goodyear's new radial tires. 42 03 58.68 N 84 14 29.18 W type:landmark title United States Michigan 500 Michigan International Speedway track map.png July 28 1985 1985 Michigan 500 7 15 CART Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan, United States Permanent racing facility 2.000 3.219 250 500.000 804.672 Sunny with temperatures up to 85 F C; wind speeds reaching up to 10 mph km/hWeather information for the 1985 Michigan 500 at Wunderground USA Bobby Rahal Truesports 215.202 mph km/h on BRA Emerson Fittipaldi Patrick Racing USA Al Unser Team Penske USA Tom Sneva Curb Racing Background As was the case in 1983 and 1984, Domino's Pizza offered a one million dollar bonus to any driver who could win IndyCar's Triple Crown of 500 Mile Races: The Indianapolis 500, Michigan 500, and Pocono 500.https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=rlhh0017 industrydocuments.ucsf.edu Domino s Pizza Sets $1 Million Triple Crown Award 3 August 2021 Danny Sullivan won the 1985 Indianapolis 500 and entered Michigan still eligible to win the million dollars. Rick Mears suffered severe feet injuries in a crash in September 1984. Mears was only running oval races in 1985 and the Michigan 500 would mark his third race of the season. Practice and Time Trials Practice began on Thursday, July 19. Mario Andretti set the fastest speed at 215.253 mph. Bobby Rahal was second fastest at 213.270 mph.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-star-1985-michigan-500/127321103/ Indianapolis Star Indiana Associated Press Mario Sets Dizzy Pace at Michigan July 19, 1985 20 Andretti had two separate spins an hour apart in the session after hitting a bump exiting turn two.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-star-1985-michigan-500/127321042/ Indianapolis Star Indiana Associated Press Mario Sets Dizzy Pace at Michigan July 19, 1985 18 A. J. Foyt hit the turn two wall shortly after practice began when a right-rear wheel broke. Foyt had to go to a backup car. Roberto Guerrero spun exiting turn two but didn't hit anything. In Friday's morning practice session, Bobby Rahal crashed in turn two after hitting the same bump that affected Andretti on Thursday. Rahal's team switched to a backup car.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-herald-palladium-1985-michigan-500-q/127319184/ Herald-Palladium Michigan Associated Press Rahal Recovers to Set Lap Record July 20, 1985 15 Time Trials were held on Friday afternoon. After preparing his backup car, Rahal won the pole with a speed of 215.202 mph. The speed was not only a track record, but the fastest speed ever in Indy car competition. Rick Mears was second fastest at 213.720 mph. Joining Rahal and Mears on the front row was Danny Sullivan at 211.758 mph. 27 cars posted qualifying speeds. Goodyear Withdrawal Early in Saturday morning's practice session, Roberto Guerrero cut a right-front tire and spun exiting turn two. Guerrero didn't hit anything. Shortly thereafter, Bobby Rahal cut a right-front tire and hit the turn two wall hard. Rahal walked away from the crash with a bruised elbow and headache. His team worked to rebuild the car he crashed on Friday morning. Because his pole-winning car was withdrawn, Rahal would have to start from the rear of the field.https://www.newspapers.com/article/palladium-item-1985-michigan-500-delay-a/127320770/ Palladium Item Indiana Associated Press Bad Tires Delay Michigan 500 July 21, 1985 19 While no definitive evidence could be found, some suspected that the failures might have been related to Goodyear's new radial tires. On Guerrero's car, Goodyear engineers detected a puncture but could not find any evidence of damage on Rahal's tire. Goodyear PR Director Dave Hederich explained, "There was a razor-clean cut on the shoulder (of Guerrero's tire) that looked like a classic cut caused by debris. But unfortunately, when Rahal crashed, he went into the wall with the right front tire, which mangled it so badly that we were unable to reconstruct what happened."https://www.newspapers.com/article/muncie-evening-press-1985-michigan-500-s/127350794/ Muncie Evening-Press Indiana Associated Press Michigan 500 Field Set to Go Again on New Tires July 27, 1985 7 A four-hour meeting was held to discuss options regarding the race. Out of an abundance of caution, it was decided that the race would be delayed one week and Goodyear would return with the bias-ply tires they used at Michigan in 1984. Goodyear had tires in storage but needed the extra week to produce 600-700 new ones. The radial tires performed flawlessly during testing and the first two days of practice. Bias-ply tires had blown in the past and were viewed as a part of racing. There were questions over how the race would be handled if a backmarker crashed instead of Rahal. It was suggested that the rough surface of the Michigan track also might have contributed to the two tire failures.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-star-1985-michigan-500/127321910/ Indianapolis Star Indiana Associated Press Track Should Share Blame for Michigan 500 Problems July 25, 1985 32https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-star-1985-michigan-500/127321872/ Indianapolis Star Indiana Associated Press Track Should Share Blame for Michigan 500 Problems July 27, 1985 38 After a laboratory analysis, Goodyear engineers found nothing wrong with the tires that experienced loss of air on Guerrero's and Rahal's car. They also tested 25 other tires used by fast teams and found "nothing out of the ordinary."https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-star-1985-michigan-500/127330123/ Indianapolis Star Indiana Associated Press CART Ready to Give it Another Go at Michigan July 27, 1985 27 In the week that followed, Arie Luyendyk's team withdrew from the race. A. J. Foyt also withdrew to compete instead in NASCAR's Talladega 500, where he finished fifth. Pete Halsmer withdrew from the race to compete in an IMSA event at Portland. He was replaced by Chip Ganassi. Practice resumed on Friday, July 26. Danny Sullivan posted the fastest speed at 211.846 mph. Driving his repaired primary car, Rahal's fastest speed was 209.400 mph.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-news-1985-michigan-500/127329861/ Indianapolis News Indiana Associated Press CART Racers Return to Michigan 500 July 26, 1985 8 Spike Gehlhausen hit the wall but his car was able to be repaired before the race. Race For the rescheduled race, 70,000 spectators filled the stands.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-star-1985-michigan-500/4567835/ Indianapolis Star Indiana Associated Press Fittipaldi Wins Michigan 500 July 29, 1985 17 From his position on the middle of row one, Danny Sullivan took the lead from Rick Mears at the drop of the green flag. On lap two, Mario Andretti passed Sullivan and led the next 13 laps. Mears suffered from transmission troubles and could only complete 7 laps, finishing last.https://www.champcarstats.com/races/198507.htm 1985 Michigan 500 Results The first caution came out on lap 8 when third-place car Geoff Brabham spun and hit the turn three wall. Al Unser took the lead for the first time on lap 31 and established himself as the fastest car, ultimately leading 102 of the 250 laps. On a lap 82 restart, CART officials erroneously picked up Phil Krueger as the first car behind the pace car. When the green flag was waved, Krueger's slow vehicle created a road block for the faster cars. On the backstretch, Danny Ongais was clipped by another car and barrel-rolled his car four times. Ongais was unhurt. Josele Garza led 22 laps and was running second on lap 110 when a suspension failure sent him into the wall. On lap 163, Pancho Carter blew a tire and hit the turn three wall. Carter was cut out of his damaged car but unhurt. On lap 201, Emerson Fittipaldi took the lead for the first time. When he pitted on lap 211, the lead returned to Unser. Unser led the next 21 laps and pitted for fuel only with 19 laps to go, giving the lead back to Fittipaldi. With 12 laps to go, Steve Chassey blew an engine and brought out another caution. During the yellow, Unser pitted for fresh tires, placing him at the back of the pack for the restart. With seven laps remaining, Mario Andretti lost his right-front wheel assembly and crashed hard in turn four. Andretti suffered a broken collarbone and fractured hip in the crash. The debris from Andretti's crash was cleaned up for a one-lap run to the finish. Fittipaldi had the lapped cars of Tom Sneva and Johnny Rutherford between himself and Unser. When the green flag was thrown, Unser quickly got around Rutherford but had trouble passing Sneva, who was under the impression he was on the lead lap. Fittipaldi led the cars back to the checkered flag to take his first Indy car victory. Unser was unable to get around Sneva and finished second. Sneva finished third, one lap down. 10 cars finished the race. A record 13 caution flags for 104 laps slowed the average speed to 128.22 mph. Fittipaldi won $115,639 for his victory. 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 19 40 BRA Emerson Fittipaldi Patrick Racing March 85C Cosworth 250 3:53:58.330 29 20 2 8 11 USA Al Unser Penske Racing March 85C Cosworth 250 +0.400 102 17 3 9 2 USA Tom Sneva Gurney-Curb Racing Eagle 85 Cosworth 249 +1 Lap 15 14 4 6 21 USA Johnny Rutherford Alex Morales Motorsports March 85C Cosworth 248 +2 Laps 13 12 5 18 98 USA Ed Pimm Gurney-Curb Racing Eagle 85 Cosworth 248 +2 Laps 0 10 6 26 3 USA Bobby Rahal Truesports March 85C Cosworth 247 +3 Laps 4 8 7 13 18 USA Kevin Cogan Kraco Racing March 85C Cosworth 247 +3 Laps 0 6 8 16 37 USA Scott Brayton Brayton Racing March 85C Cosworth 245 +5 Laps 0 5 9 14 33 USA Howdy Holmes Forsythe Racing Lola T900 Cosworth 242 +8 Laps 0 4 10 3 1 USA Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola T900 Cosworth 241 Crash 16 3 11 29 36 AUS Dennis Firestone BC Pace Racing Lola T900 Cosworth 231 +19 Laps 0 2 12 20 56 USA Steve Chassey Gohr Racing March 85C Chevrolet 228 Engine 0 1 13 15 9 COL Roberto Guerrero Bignotti-Cotter Racing March 85C Cosworth 204 Gearbox 22 0 14 2 4 USA Danny Sullivan Penske Racing March 85C Cosworth 203 Radiator 11 0 15 7 30 USA Al Unser Jr. Doug Shierson Racing Lola T900 Cosworth 180 Engine 0 0 16 4 6 USA Pancho Carter Galles Racing March 85C Cosworth 162 Crash 7 0 17 22 38 USA Chet Fillip Circle Bar Racing Lola T900 Cosworth 145 Crash 0 0 18 28 71 USA Spike Gehlhausen Hemelgarn Racing Lola T900 Cosworth 127 Crash 0 0 19 10 55 MEX Josele Garza Machinists Union Racing March 85C Cosworth 109 Crash 31 0 20 17 25 USA Danny Ongais Interscope Racing March 85C Cosworth 81 Crash 0 0 21 25 42 USA Phil Krueger Mergard Racing March 84C Cosworth 78 Crash 0 0 22 27 59 USA Chip Ganassi Machinists Union Racing March 85C Cosworth 69 Crash 0 0 23 12 20 USA Sammy Swindell Patrick Racing March 85C Cosworth 58 Crash 0 0 24 30 19 USA Dale Coyne Dale Coyne Racing Lola T800 Chevrolet 40 Engine 0 0 25 24 22 USA Dick Simon Dick Simon Racing March 85C Cosworth 37 Engine 0 0 26 21 24 USA Tom Bigelow Leader Card Racers March 84C Cosworth 35 Engine 0 0 27 11 99 USA Michael Andretti Kraco Racing March 85C Cosworth 24 Engine 0 0 28 23 23 BRA Raul Boesel Dick Simon Racing March 84C Cosworth 17 Manifold 0 0 29 5 7 AUS Geoff Brabham Galles Racing March 85C Cosworth 7 Crash 0 0 30 1 5 USA Rick Mears Penske Racing March 85C Cosworth 7 Transmission 0 1 Source:1985 Michigan 5001985 Michigan 500 - Round 7 Failed to qualify USA A. J. Foyt (#14) – withdrawn NLD Arie Luyendyk (#61) – withdrawn Race statistics Lap Leaders Laps Leader 1 Danny Sullivan 2–14 Mario Andretti 15 Danny Sullivan 16–17 Mario Andretti 18–30 Johnny Rutherford 31–36 Al Unser 37–40 Roberto Guerrero 41–48 Tom Sneva 49–54 Roberto Guerrero 55–63 Al Unser 64–72 Josele Garza 73–76 Bobby Rahal 77–81 Al Unser 82–103 Josele Garza 104–128 Al Unser 129 Mario Andretti 130–136 Pancho Carter 137–139 Roberto Guerrero 140–144 Tom Sneva 145–150 Roberto Guerrero 151–159 Danny Sullivan 160–195 Al Unser 196 Tom Sneva 197–199 Roberto Guerrero 200 Tom Sneva 201–210 Emerson Fittipaldi 211–231 Al Unser 232–250 Emerson Fittipaldi Broadcasting NBC planned to broadcast the race live as they did the past four years. When the race was delayed, NBC reaired the 1984 race in its timeslot.https://www.newspapers.com/article/palladium-item-1985-michigan-500-delay-a/127320770/ Palladium Item Indiana Associated Press No TV Coverage Planned July 21, 1985 19 NBC was unable to broadcast the rescheduled race a week later as their local affiliates had already sold the air time. Attempts were made to air the race on a cable network but found it was impossible to get equipment to the track in time. The race had no television coverage.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-star-1985-michigan-500/127330193/ Indianapolis Star Indiana Associated Press Michigan 500 Notes July 27, 1985 14 NBC was displeased with CART's decision to postpone the race and the network incurred losses of $400,000. Rain delay losses were covered by NBC's insurance while tire-related delays were not. The matter affected their decision of broadcasting the 1986 season.CART Notes https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-star-1985-michigan-500/137277911/ Indianapolis Star 78 Newspapers.com February 2, 1986 January 4, 2024 1986 was CART's final year in their TV contract with NBC, and NBC did not commit to televise any CART races until the spring of 1986, which included a now tape-delayed broadcast of the 1986 Michigan 500.CART Has Big Purse, But TV Troubles Too https://www.newspapers.com/article/star-gazette-1985-michigan-500-nbc-losse/137278191/ Star Gazette 26 Newspapers.com February 27, 1986 January 4, 2024 NBC considered legal action against CART to recoup the money lost. About the subject of a lawsuit, NBC executive Sean McManus stated in February 1986, "There were discussions about it but it was such a legal morass it wasn't worth going to court. The Michigan problem is buried and gone."CART TV Schedule Far From Final https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-star-1985-michigan-500/137278166/ Indianapolis Star 85 Newspapers.com February 23, 1986 January 4, 2024 Paul Page served as the lead anchor of the radio broadcast. References 2 Michigan 500 Michigan 500 Category:Michigan Indy 400