1988 Indianapolis 500
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1988 Indianapolis 500
The 72nd Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday May 29, 1988. Team Penske dominated the month, sweeping the top three starting positions with Rick Mears winning the pole position, Danny Sullivan at the center of the front row, and Al Unser, Sr. on the outside. Mears set a new track record, becoming the first driver to break the 220 mph barrier in time trials. On race day, the Penske teammates proceeded to lead 192 of the 200 laps, with Rick Mears taking the checkered flag, his third-career Indy 500 victory. The race represented the milestone 50th victory in Championship car racing for owner Roger Penske and Penske Racing. The victory was the first of six consecutive Indy 500 wins by the Chevy Indy V-8 engine, and seven consecutive overall by Ilmor-constructed powerplants. The victory also marked a triumphant return of success for the Penske chassis (in this case the PC-17), after dismal results in 1987 ( PC-16), and spa ...
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United States Auto Club
The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the List of USAC Championship Car seasons, United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the organization sanctioned the Indianapolis 500. Today, USAC serves as the sport governing body, sanctioning body for a number of racing series, including the Silver Crown Series, National Sprint Cars, National Midgets, Speed2 Midget Series, .25 Midget Series, Stadium Super Trucks, and Pirelli World Challenge. Seven-time USAC champion Levi Jones (racing driver), Levi Jones is USAC's Competition Director. History When the American Automobile Association (AAA) withdrew from auto racing after the 1955 season, citing the 1955 Le Mans disaster, Le Mans disaster and the death of Bill Vukovich at 1955 Indianapolis 500, Indianapolis as contributing factors, both the Sports Car Club of America, SCCA and NASCAR were mentioned as its potential success ...
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1987 Indianapolis 500
The 71st Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday May 24, 1987. After dominating practice, qualifying, and most of the race, leader Mario Andretti slowed with mechanical problems with only 23 laps to go. Five laps later, Al Unser Sr. assumed the lead, and won his record-tying fourth Indianapolis 500 victory. During the month of May, an unusually high 25 crashes occurred during practice and qualifying, with one driver in particular, Jim Crawford, suffering serious leg injuries. Al Unser's victory is considered one of the biggest upsets in Indianapolis 500 history. Unser, whose driving career was beginning to wind down, had dropped down to part-time status a year earlier. He entered the 1987 month of May without a ride and without sponsorship money, which left him on the sidelines for the first week of practice. After Danny Ongais suffered a concussion in a practice crash, Unser was hired by Penske to fill the vacant seat. Unser ...
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Champ Car
Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART), which sanctioned the 'PPG Indy Car World Series from 1979 until dissolving after the 2003 season. Vehicles Champ Cars were single-seat, open-wheel racing cars, with mid-mounted engines. Champ cars had sculpted undersides to create ground effect and prominent wings to create downforce. The cars would use a different aerodynamic kit on the occasions they raced on an oval. With funds low, development was effectively frozen with a focus on developing a universal chassis, and the series generally ran on CART-spec 2002 Lola chassis from 2003 to 2006. The new chassis was developed by Panoz and debuted in 2007 as the Panoz DP01. The chassis was well received by drivers and fans. The series leased 750hp 2.65 L V-8 turbocharged Coswor ...
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Penske PC-16
The Penske PC-16 was a CART open-wheel race car, designed by Penske Racing, which was constructed for competition in the 1987 season. The chassis debuted with poor results at the season-opening races, and struggled mightily to get up to speed at Indianapolis. Midway through the first week of practice, the Penske team parked the PC-16 in favor of their backup cars, a contingent of March 86C The March 86C is a highly successful and extremely competitive open-wheel race car, designed by Adrian Newey, and built by March Engineering, to compete in the 1986 IndyCar season, and eventually the 1987 IndyCar season. The season was another whit ... chassis. Designer Alan Jenkins was fired from Penske, and later replaced with Nigel Bennett. Gallery File:RickMears1987Indy.jpg, Rick Mears in a Penske PC-16 chassis during the first week of practice for the 1987 Indianapolis 500. File:DannySullivan1987Indy.jpg, Danny Sullivan in a Penske PC-16 chassis during the first week of practice for the ...
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Penske PC-17
The Penske PC-17 was a CART Penske Racing car which was constructed for competition in the 1988 season. The car was designed by Nigel Bennett. The chassis swept the front row at the 1988 Indianapolis 500 with Rick Mears winning the pole position, Danny Sullivan Daniel John Sullivan III (born March 9, 1950), better known as Danny Sullivan, is an American former racing driver. He earned 17 wins in the CART Indy Car World Series, including the 1985 Indianapolis 500. Sullivan won the 1988 CART Champions ... qualifying second and Al Unser, Sr. third. Mears went on to win the Indy 500 and Sullivan the season championship. The PC-17 ushered in a new era of success for the Penske chassis program, which had suffered in the past few seasons of competition. Complete Indy Car World Series results ( key) (Results in bold indicate pole position) *Includes points scored by other cars. External links penskeracing.com {{Penske Racing cars Indianapolis 500 Team Penske American Cham ...
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Penske
Penske Corporation, Inc. () is an American diversified transportation services company based in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan. Roger Penske is the chairman of the privately held company, and Rob Kurnick is the president. Holdings Current * DAVCO Technology (transportation component manufacturing) * Ilmor Engineering (high performance motorsport engines) * Penske Automotive Group (PAG:NYSE – a 40+% stake) * Penske Entertainment Corporation; parent company of: **IMS, LLC (Operators of the race track) ** IMS Productions, Inc. (broadcast television production company with satellite trucks, TV trucks and audio/visual editing facilities) **Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2.5-mile race track in Speedway, Indiana) ** INDYCAR, LLC (Motorsports sanctioning body; parent company of the IndyCar Series) * Penske Logistics (supply chain management and logistics service) * Penske Motor Group (retail automotive in California and Texas) * Premier Truck Group (commercial vehicle deal ...
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Ilmor
Ilmor is a British independent high-performance motor racing engineering company. It was founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in November 1983. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and maintenance offices in Plymouth, Michigan, the company supplies engines and consultancy to the IndyCar Series and MotoGP. After originally developing IndyCar engines, the company built a partnership with Mercedes-Benz to power F1 cars for both the Sauber and McLaren teams. After the death of Paul Morgan in a vintage aeroplane crash in 2001, Mercedes increased its stake until it owned the entire company, and renamed it Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines Ltd. In 2005, Mario Illien concluded a deal to purchase the Special Projects part of the company in partnership with Roger Penske, which worked in partnership with Honda Performance Development for IndyCar engines between 2003 and 2011. This new company, which is independent of Mercedes, is once again known as Ilmor En ...
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Roger Penske
Roger Searle Penske (born February 20, 1937) is an American businessman and entrepreneur involved in professional auto racing and a retired professional auto racing driver. He is most famous for his ownership of Team Penske, DJR Team Penske, the Penske Corporation, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar, and other automotive-related businesses. ''Sports Illustrated'' named him Sports Car Club of America Driver of the Year in 1961. After retiring from driving a few years later, he created one of the most successful teams in IndyCar Series and NASCAR racing. He is the most successful owner in the Indianapolis 500 with 18 victories. He is known by his nickname of "The Captain". In addition, Penske also served as a race strategist for his IndyCar team, most recently for driver Will Power. In 2019, Penske purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and NTT IndyCar Series from Hulman & Company for an undisclosed sum. Penske is a corporate director at General Electric and was chair ...
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American Championship Car Racing
American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2022, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar. Competitive events for professional-level, single-seat open-wheel race cars have been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies since 1902. A season-long, points-based, National Championship of drivers has been officially recognized in 1905, 1916, and since 1920. The open-wheeled, winged, single-seater cars have generally been similar to those in Formula One, though there are important differences. The cars that compete on the American Championship circuit are popularly known as "Indy cars" after the Indianapolis 500, the premier event of Indy car racing. This form of racing was especially popular in the decades after World War II. The "golden era" of the 1950s was followed by a decade of transition and innovation in the 1960s, which inc ...
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Al Unser
Alfred Unser (May 29, 1939 – December 9, 2021) was an American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser Jr. He was the second of four men ( A. J. Foyt, himself, Rick Mears and Hélio Castroneves) to have won the Indianapolis 500 four times (1970, 1971, 1978, 1987), the fourth of five to have won the race in consecutive years, and won the National Championship in 1970, 1983, and 1985. The Unser family has won the Indy 500 a record nine times. He was the only person to have both a sibling (Bobby) and child (Al Jr.) as fellow Indy 500 winners. Al's nephews Johnny and Robby Unser have also competed in that race. In 1971, he became the only driver to date to win the race on his birthday (his 32nd). After his son Al Unser Jr. joined the national championship circuit in 1983, Unser was generally known by the retronyms "Al Unser Sr." or "Big Al." Personal life Unser was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, ...
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List Of Indianapolis 500 Pole-sitters
Winners of the Pole position for the Indianapolis 500. The pole position is the first starting position on the grid, situated on the inside of the front row, and is held in high prestige at Indianapolis. Due to the nature of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, the pole-sitter is currently determined seven days before the race (and in past years as many as 15 days prior). As a result, the pole-winning driver and team receives considerable pre-race attention and accolades in the days leading up to the race. In most circumstances, but not necessarily, the pole-sitter is the fastest car in the field, and thus one of the pre-race favorites to win the race. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone currently sponsors a $100,000 award given to the pole winner. Rick Mears holds the all-time record with six career pole positions. Ten drivers have won the pole position in two consecutive years, but no driver has ever won three years in a row. Through 2019, the Indianapolis 500 has been won from the ...
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