Galmer was an American racecar manufacturer that built cars used from 1992 through

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

in CART competition and the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

. The cars were commissioned by the

Galles Racing Galles Racing is a former auto racing team owned by Rick Galles that competed in the CART series, Can-Am and the Indy Racing League. The team won the 1990 CART championship as well as the 1992 Indianapolis 500 with driver Al Unser Jr. The team ...

team. Although they were an American-based effort, spearheaded by Alan Merten
(galmerinc.com)
the cars were actually assembled at the Galmer Engineering shop in

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England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Galmer Engineering was established in November 1988 by former March engineer Alan Mertens and CART team owner Rick Galles. The Galmer chassis program came at a time in the CART series when interest in in-house chassis development was at its peak. The program followed in the footsteps of

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. Holding ...

Truesports Truesports
Truesports taurtoisemotorsports.com was an automobile racing team founded by

, and others ( Porsche, etc.) who also had, or had previously attempted, similar in-house chassis programs. The name "Galmer" is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordssurnames of

Rick Galles Galles Racing is a former auto racing team owned by Rick Galles that competed in the CART series, Can-Am and the Indy Racing League. The team won the 1990 CART championship as well as the 1992 Indianapolis 500 with driver Al Unser Jr. The tea ...

and Alan Mertens. The chassis' most notable accomplishment was

Al Unser Jr. Alfred Unser Jr. (born April 19, 1962), nicknamed "Little Al", "Al Junior", or simply "Junior", is a retired American race car driver and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner. History Unser was born into a racing family in Albuquerque, New Mexico. ...

's win at the

1992 Indianapolis 500 The 76th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday, May 24, 1992. The race is famous for the fierce battle in the closing laps, as race winner Al Unser Jr. held off second place Scott Goodyear fo ...

in the closest finish in race history. One other CART race was won with the chassis by

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 ...

in 1992. In the 1992 CART season, Unser Jr. scored 15 top-ten finishes in 16 races (the other finish was an 11th), en route to third place in the final championship standings. Sullivan had 11 top-tens, finishing 7th in points. The 1992 season was the only year the chassis was utilized in a full-time capacity. Though it was not openly revealed at the time, the decision for

to ultimately shelve the Galmer project was made on the morning of the

, the same race that Unser Jr. went on to win. In 1993, the car was used on a part-time basis by

Dominic Dobson Dominic Dobson (born September 14, 1957) is a German-born former CART and Craftsman Truck Series driver who made 7 starts in the Indianapolis 500 with a best finish of 12th in 1992, over 60 starts in the CART (Championship Auto Racing Series), wi ...

. Proving uncompetitive, the car was retired never to be raced in CART competition again. Only those three men ever raced a Galmer in CART competition, yet it won two races, making it one of the most successful chassis on a per-race basis. At the end of the 1993 season, Rick Galles sold the company's stake to Bruce McCaw of Packwest Racing, and for the next five years Galmer had been researching and developing McCaw's team (PacWest). Galmer attempted to enter

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

in 1993 with a takeover of the defunct Brabham team, however the effort failed as a result of financial problems.

Transponder Placement

The Galmer chassis had one unique characteristic compared to its chassis counterparts in the CART series in 1992. It was standard for all cars to mount their scoring transponder in the left side pod of the car. The Galmer chassis, however, did not have room in that location. The cars of Unser Jr. and Sullivan instead had the transponders placed in the nosecone of the car. Due to the proximity of the transponder, Unser Jr.'s official race-winning margin of 0.043 seconds over

Scott Goodyear Scott Goodyear (born December 20, 1959) is a Canadian former race car driver. He ran the Indy Racing League and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994. Goodyear qualified for eleven runnings of th ...

in the 1992 Indianapolis 500 was deemed inconclusive. After further consideration, USAC officials calculated the true margin of victory to be narrower, at 0.0331 seconds. The official margin, however, would remain in the record book. After the 1992 season was over,

Valvoline Valvoline Inc. is an American manufacturer and distributor of Valvoline-brand automotive oil, additives, and lubricants. It also owns the Valvoline Instant Oil Change and Valvoline Express Care chains of car repair centers. , it is the second ...

purchased the race-winning Galmer chassis driven by Unser Jr. On frequent occasions, it is used for display at various engagements.

Complete Indy Car World Series results

( key)

References

{{CART 1993 Indianapolis 500 American Championship racing cars American racecar constructors