The 1993 PPG Indy Car World Series season was the 15th national championship season of

American open wheel 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 event ...

sanctioned by

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 ...

under the name "IndyCar". The season consisted of 16 races.

Nigel Mansell Nigel Ernest James Mansell, (; born 8 August 1953) is a British retired racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship ( 1992) and the CART Indy Car World Series (1993 CART World Series Season, 1993). Mansell was the reigning ...

was the national champion as well as the Rookie of the Year. The

1993 Indianapolis 500 The 77th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 30, 1993. Emerson Fittipaldi took the lead with 16 laps to go, and won his second career Indy 500 victory. The race was sanctioned by USA ...

was sanctioned by USAC, but counted towards the CART points championship. Emerson Fittipaldi won the Indy 500, his second career victory in that event. The biggest story going into the season involved Newman/Haas Racing.

, the reigning

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, ...

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

switched from Formula One to the CART IndyCar Series. Mansell joined Newman/Haas Racing as teammate to

Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-born American former racing driver. One of the most successful drivers in the history of motorsports, Andretti is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, t ...

, taking the seat formerly held by Michael Andretti, who departed for one year to

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formu ...

. Mansell came to the American open wheel series with considerable fanfare and huge media attention. He won the season-opener at

Surfers Paradise Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable ...

, the first CART "rookie" to win his first start. At Phoenix, Mansell crashed during practice and was forced to sit out the race due to a back injury. At

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, he was leading the race with 16 laps to go when he was passed on a restart by Emerson Fittipaldi and Arie Luyendyk, and wound up third. He still won the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year award. Despite having missed the race at Phoenix, Mansell won five races (four of which were on ovals) en route to the CART championship. After winning his third CART championship in 1992,

Bobby Rahal Robert Woodward Rahal (born January 10, 1953) is an American former auto racing driver and team owner. As a driver he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500. He also won the 2004 a ...

entered the 1993 season driving the R/H chassis (formerly the

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

chassis). He finished second at Long Beach, but struggled to get his car up to speed, and failed to qualify at Indianapolis. He would run the remainder of the season with a 1993 Lola chassis, but with no victories. He did however finish 4th in points.

Drivers and constructors

* All teams competed with Goodyear tires.

Season Summary

Schedule

Oval/Speedway
Dedicated road course
Temporary street circuit
*Indianapolis was USAC-sanctioned but counted towards the PPG Indy Car title.

Race Results

Final Drivers standings

Nation's Cup

* Top result per race counts towards Nation's Cup.

Chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpar ...
Constructor's Cup

Engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...
Manufacturer's Cup

Driver Breakdown

Rookie

Notes

With his title victory, Nigel Mansell became the first driver to win the CART Series in his rookie season. He also became the first man in history to be the

champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

and the CART IndyCar champion at the same time.

References

* * * * * * {{Champ Car Seasons Champ Car seasons

IndyCar INDYCAR, LLC, is an American-based auto racing sanctioning body for Indy car racing and other disciplines of open wheel car racing. The organization sanctions five racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with its centerpiece the Indianapoli ...