Bill Alsup (July 15, 1938 in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

– August 9, 2016) was an American race car driver. He was the first Championship Auto Racing Teams ( CART) Rookie of the Year in 1979 and competed in the

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

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 ...

, finishing 11th. He made 57 CART & USAC Champ Car starts in his career. His best race finish of third came 3 times and he was the 1981 CART Championship runner-up, putting in a winless but consistent season for

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

, his only effort with a top-level team. He returned to his own team the next year and struggled until leaving Champ Car following the 1984

Sanair Super Speedway Sanair Super Speedway is a motorsports park with a 0.826-mile (1.33 km) paved triangular oval race track, a quarter-mile dragstrip, a 1/3-mile oval, as well as a 0.12-mile mini-oval and 0.15-mile karting course. It also formerly had a -mile r ...

race.

CART career

Alsup made his CART debut at the Arizona Republic/Jimmy Bryan 150 at Phoenix International Raceway driving the #41 WASP Racing Mclaren- Offenhauser for WASP Racing starting twenty fourth (last) and finishing eleventh. He attempted to qualify for the

, first driving the #67 WASP Racing McLaren- Offenhauser, but the car was not fast enough to make a qualifying run. He then attempted the #19 Sta-On Eagle 74- Offenhauser for Gehlhausen Racing but the engine failed. The final car he attempted to qualify was the #68 CAM 2 Motor Oil Penske PC7-

Cosworth DFX The DFV is an internal combustion engine that was originally produced by Cosworth for Formula One motor racing. The name is an abbreviation of ''Double Four Valve'', the engine being a V8 development of the earlier four-cylinder FVA, which had fo ...

for

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 ...

. He qualified for the race but USAC officials ruled that the car used the engine from Penske teammate Bobby Unser's car and Alsup was disqualified. He drove the remainder of the CART season for WASP Racing. He had a best finish of ninth in the second heat of the Trenton Indy at

Trenton Speedway Trenton Speedway was a racing facility located near Trenton, New Jersey at the New Jersey State Fairgrounds. Races for the United States' premier open-wheel and full-bodied racing series of the times were held at Trenton Speedway. Racing histor ...

, the Kent Oil 150 at

Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in the town of Dix just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the hom ...

, the first heat of the Norton Twin 125s and the Gould Grand Prix, the latter two at

Michigan International Speedway Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than approximately south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track ...

, and finished the season fifteenth in points to win the first CART Rookie of the Year Award. In 1980 Alsup purchased the inventory of WASP Racing and started his own team called Alsup Racing, Alsup driving the #41 Polaroid Time Zero Penske PC7-

. He started the season by finishing sixth in the season opening Dastun Twin 200 at Ontario Motor Speedway. He failed to qualify for the

, rebounded to finish third at the Red Roof Inns 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and finished the season seventh in points, earning him the CART Most Improved Driver Award. In 1981 he drove for

in a Norton-Spirit sponsored car alongside teammates

Bobby Unser Robert William Unser (February 20, 1934 – May 2, 2021) was an American automobile racer. At his induction into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994, he had the fourth most IndyCar Series wins at 35 (behind his brother Al, A. J. F ...

and

Rick Mears Rick Ravon Mears (born December 3, 1951) is a retired American race car driver. He is one of four men to win the Indianapolis 500 four times (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991) and is the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six (1 ...

. Driving for Penske in the #7 A.B. Dick Penske PC9B-

and for himself in the #41 Polaroid Time Zero Penske PC7-

he had a best finish of third at the Norton Michigan 500 at

where he led for three laps. He also finished third at the Los Angeles Times 500 at

Riverside International Raceway Riverside International Raceway (sometimes known as Riverside, RIR, or Riverside Raceway) was a motorsports race track and road course established in the Edgemont area of Riverside County, California, just east of the city limits of Rivers ...

and at the AB Dick Tony Bettenhausen 200 at Wisconsin State Fairgrounds Park Speedway. He ended the season with a career best second in points in the CART standings but it wasn't enough to keep his ride with TEAM Penske, and he was released from the team at the end of the season. In 1982 he was back to driving for himself using the #2 A.B. Dick Penske PC9B-

and had a best finish of fourth at the Stroh's 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He dropped to eleventh in points for the season. In 1983 he began working with

Argo Racing Cars Argo Racing Cars Ltd. is a British racing constructor founded by Swiss designer Jo Marquart and British mechanic Nick Jordan as part of their Anglia Cars racing team in the 1980s. The company initially constructed a variety of open-wheel cars ...

driving the #11 Alsup Racing/ Indy Car Annual Argo JM-15-

. He failed to qualify for the

and soon started driving a March 83C-

. He scored no points that year. In 1984 he switched between a March 83C-

and an Argo JM-15-

. He failed to qualify for the

and started his last race at the

Molson Indy Montreal The Grand Prix of Montreal was an annual auto race in Montreal, Quebec on the Champ Car World Series calendar. History Originally known as the Molson Indy Montreal, it was first held at Sanair Super Speedway, an oval track, from 1984 through 198 ...

. He once again failed to score points.

Death

Alsup died in a crane accident near Silverton, Colorado where he was a long-term resident on August 9, 2016.

Racing record

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

Complete USAC Mini-Indy Series results

Formula Super Vee

SCCA/CART Indy Car Series

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alsup, Bill 1938 births 2016 deaths Sportspeople from Honolulu Racing drivers from Hawaii Champ Car drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers SCCA Formula Super Vee drivers Formula Super Vee Champions SCCA National Championship Runoffs participants People from Silverton, Colorado Team Penske drivers