Michael Dennis Groff (born November 16, 1961 in

Van Nuys, California Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, ...

) is a former race car driver who competed in

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed tr ...

and the

IRL IRL may refer to: Places * Republic of Ireland (ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code) * Irlam railway station (National Rail station code IRL), England Organizations * International Rugby League, the governing body for the sport of rugby league * I ...

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...

and was the 1989

Indy Lights Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...

champion. His younger brother

Robbie Robbie or Robby is a surname. It is usually encountered as a nickname or a shortened form of Robert, Rob (given name), Rob or Robin (name), Robin. The name experienced a significant rise in popularity in Northern Ireland in 2003. People Given nam ...

was also a CART and IRL driver from 1994 to 1998.

Racing career

Formula Super Vee and Indy Lights

Groff made his professional debut in 1984 competing in the Valvoline/Robert Bosche

Formula Super Vee Formula Super Vee was an open-wheel racing series that took place in Europe and the United States from 1970 to 1990. The formula was created as an extension of Formula Vee, a racing class that was introduced in 1959. Formula Super Vee in Europe was ...

series. He finished third in the series in 1985 and second in 1986. In

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

he also made his American Racing Series debut (later renamed Indy Lights). Driving for a family team, he captured wins at the

Milwaukee Mile The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectator ...

and

Road America Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Champ ...

and finished third in points. In 1987 he won at

Nazareth Speedway Nazareth Speedway was an auto racing facility near Nazareth in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania which operated from 1910 to 2004 in two distinct course configurations. In its early years, it was a dirt twin oval layout. In 1987 it was reo ...

and finished fifth in points. In 1988 he only competed in three Indy Lights races for three different teams, but finished second at Nazareth. In 1989 he competed full-time for Leading Edge Racing and captured four wins on his way to the championship.

CART Champ Car

Groff attempted to make his CART Champ Car debut in the 1990 Indianapolis 500 for

Euromotorsport EuroInternational is a racing organization (which includes Italian division EuroInternational Srl and American division EuroInternational Inc.) owned by Antonio Ferrari, grandnephew of Enzo Ferrari, formerly known as Euromotorsport. History Origi ...

but failed to qualify. He made his debut three weeks later at the

Detroit Grand Prix The title of Detroit Grand Prix was applied to the Formula One races held at the Detroit street circuit in Detroit, Michigan, United States of America from 1982 through 1988. History In 1982, the U.S. became the first country to host three W ...

with the same team and completed the season with them. In 12 starts he had a best finish of seventh at Nazareth and finished 17th in points. In 1991 Groff initially returned to Euromotorsport but switched to

A. J. Foyt Enterprises A. J. Foyt Racing, officially and historically known as A. J. Foyt Enterprises, is an American racing team in the IndyCar Series and formerly NASCAR. It is owned by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, 1972 Daytona 500 winner, 1967 24 Hours of Le ...

for the final five races of the season. his best finish was eighth (three times) and he finished 16th in points. He also competed in his first

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 ...

. Groff entered 1992 without a full-time ride. He qualified a second car for

Walker Racing Walker Racing was a racing team founded by Derrick Walker in 1991 racing originally in the CART Championship Car series. It last competed in the United SportsCar Championship under the name of Team Falken Tire until Falken Tire pulled out of not o ...

in the 1992 Indianapolis 500 but when regular driver

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 ...

failed to qualify, he replaced Groff. Groff made six starts that season for Euromotorsport (2 races), Walker (1 race), and Foyt (3 races) and finished 23rd in points. In 1993 Groff joined Rahal-

Hogan Racing Hogan Racing was a racing team owned by Carl G. Hogan, owner of Hogan Trucking. Sports cars Hogan Racing began in the early 1970s racing in the Formula 5000 series out of a shop in Lime Rock, Connecticut across the street from Lime Rock Park. It m ...

for a limited race schedule. Groff made six starts in 1993 for Rahal-Hogan with a best finish of ninth at

Portland International Raceway Portland International Raceway (PIR) is a motorsport facility in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is part of the Delta Park complex on the former site of Vanport, just south of the Columbia River. It lies west of the Delta Park/Vanport ...

. He finished 23rd in points. 1994 saw Groff return to Rahal-Hogan full-time. The team had since abandoned their bespoke chassis but were the first team to experiment with

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...

's new CART engine package. The team struggled with the package throughout the season and had to purchase

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, Mic ...

-powered cars from

Team Penske Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona ...

to make the

1994 Indianapolis 500 The 78th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 29, 1994. The race was sanctioned by United States Auto Club (USAC), and was included as race number 4 of 16 of the 1994 IndyCar season, 199 ...

. Despite a full-season with a well-funded team, Groff only finished 20th in points. Rahal managed a slightly more respectable tenth. In 1995 Groff's only on-track activity was practice laps for the

1995 Indianapolis 500 The 79th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 28, 1995. Sanctioned by USAC, it was part of the 1995 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season. Jacques Villeneuve won in his second start. Af ...

with

Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech ...

, but he did not make an attempt to qualify.

IRL IndyCar

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

Groff joined the new IRL IndyCar Series with Foyt Enterprises. Groff finished sixth in the series' first race and third at the second race at

Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. P ...

. He then was hired by Walker to race in the CART race at Nazareth where he finished 14th and qualified 11th for the 1996 Indy 500 but was sidelined by a fire after 122 laps, also driving for Walker (which was one of the few teams to participate in both CART and the IRL in 1996). Groff finished sixth in the 1996 IRL championship. For the 1996-1997 Indy Racing League season Groff joined Byrd/Cunningham and captured 3 straight top-five finishes to start the season including a third at the

Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is ...

and a second at

Walt Disney World Speedway Walt Disney World Speedway was a racing facility located on the grounds of the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It was built in 1995 by IMS Events, Inc., a subsidiary of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation, an ...

(the first with the series new

naturally aspirated Naturally may refer to: ;Albums * ''Naturally!'', an album by Nat Adderley * ''Naturally'' (Houston Person album) * ''Naturally'' (J. J. Cale album) * ''Naturally'' (John Pizzarelli album) * ''Naturally'' (Sharon Jones album) * ''Naturally'' ...

cars). He finished 12th in the

1997 Indianapolis 500 The 81st Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana over three days, May 25–27, 1997. It was originally scheduled for Sunday May 25, however, rain washed out all activities for the day. The race was starte ...

and finished fourteenth in the championship. Groff returned to Byrd-Cunningham Racing in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

. After finishes of 7th, 15th, and 15th to start the season, he was replaced at the

Texas Motor Speedway Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24° ...

race by John Paul Jr. He was out of a ride for the rest of the season. Groff attempted to qualify for the 1999 Indianapolis 500 for

Team Xtreme Racing NY Racing Team (formerly Xxxtreme Motorsport and Team Xtreme Racing) is an American professional stock car racing team in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team is owned by John Cohen, who is one of the few African-Americans to have owned a NASCAR team ...

but failed to make the field. It would be his last IndyCar appearance.

Racing record

American open–wheel racing results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

)

Indy Lights

CART

Indy Racing League

Indianapolis 500

External links

Driver Database Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Groff, Mike 1961 births American racing drivers Champ Car drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Indy Lights champions Indy Lights drivers SCCA Formula Super Vee drivers IndyCar Series drivers Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California People from Van Nuys, Los Angeles Racing drivers from Los Angeles Racing drivers from California Living people Walker Racing drivers EuroInternational drivers A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers Chip Ganassi Racing drivers Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing drivers