Best of Both Worlds: An IndyCar Timeline

[Chocolate Raines]

EXCLUSIVE TONY GEORGE INTERVIEW

In the debut issue of Racer Magazine, May 1992, Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Tony Hulman George sits down for an interview to discuss the state of IndyCar.
​

RACER: With the 76th Indy 500 happening later this month, how do you feel about the state of IndyCar?

GEORGE: It's never been stronger. CART has really matured as an organization in the last decade. Penske and the other owners have really built that up. USAC and them have really had a good peace in terms of the Indy 500.

RACER: Speaking of that, what do you think of the rumors of CART taking over sanctioning of the race from United States Auto Club (USAC)?

​

GEORGE: I'd actually like USAC to remain sanctioning the race. To me, CART sanctioning the race would be giving them to much power.​

RACER: Too much power?

GEORGE: Well yeah. They'd run the whole show. They can run their races at any other track, but at mine, I get say on who sanctions it and I choose USAC.

RACER: What do you think would happen if they did?

GEORGE: They could lead American championship racing down a dark path. I like having a form of checks and balances on them this way.

RACER: You have a position on their board correct?

GEORGE: Well yes but evry time we meet, I feel as if my spot is at stake. They want me to give it to them and they're going to do everything they can to get me out of the picture but I have a plan to counter attack.

RACER: And that is?

GEORGE: Well I'm still planning it but, I would like to start my own series. You heard it hear first. How's that to start off a magazine? But yeah, my own series and it would be for Americans only and we'd race on ovals.

RACER: So open wheel NASCAR?

GEORGE: It'd be better because this would be the legit American drivers racing in it. Jeff Gordon was a promising young driver who should've already been a star in open wheel racing, but since no team took an interest in him, he's driving a Ford Thunderbird instead of a Ford-Cosworth Lola. I wish him luck in his NASCAR endeavors. If my series existed, there'd be plenty of room for him.

RACER: What do you think CART will say about this when they see it?

GEORGE: I plan to stay on their board for now, but I will resign when the time comes or I'm forced off.

RACER: Do you have any support for your idea?

GEORGE: I will as I move along with it. Right now it's an idea. I'd like to get it going ASAP. Investors will come. I've got them. You'll see.

RACER: One last question, who do you think will win Indy?

GEORGE: As much as I don't like to say it, I'd like to see a Porsche win it. They have really developed as a team the last four years and John Andretti and Scott Goodyear really have potential. If Michael (Andretti) doesn't get it, I want John to. Just don't like foreign competition in an American sport.

RACER: Alright then. Thank you for your time.

GEORGE: Thanks, I appreciated this interview and hope the best for this magazine.

There you have it. Tony George's bombshell 1992 interview. People thought George was fine with the direction of IndyCar and this interview came out of left field. Was Tony George going to take matters into his own hands and create his own series? Would CART's board of directors let him get away with this?

Welcome to my long awaited IndyCar timeline. The companion to my NASCAR one so you'll have to follow that one because they're coexisting. If you're guessing by the title, yes, the CART/IRL split doesn't happen here. The only question is, what happens to Tony George? How is he stopped? If you hit watch thread. You'll find out.

@stratonascar @FickleCrossroad @alpal2214 @TheMann strap in for this Indy adventure!

 

[Chocolate Raines]

REACTIONS TO GEORGE'S COMMENTS
​

"Everything is fine right now. Why does Tony George think that the sport "becoming foreign" is a problem? He sounds like a white supremacist." - owner/driver Bobby Rahal

"We've gone through this before and now it could happen again?" "I'm not a huge fan of CART's governance, but another split is not what we need". "The FUCK is wrong with people?" -A.J. Foyt

"Tony's idea jeopardizes American open wheel racing as we know it". "If his league happens, it will be an ugly civil war"
-CART CEO Bill Stokkan

"This idea must be stopped at all costs." "George is insane and we'll be ready with our lawyers when he launches his series." "We will make it fail". -Roger Penske

"Why would he do this?" "Why?" -Mario Andretti

"When I wrote the white papers, I was trying to reestablish championship racing by breaking away from an organization that was not suited and didn't seem to care about the future (USAC) and I created a revolution." "What George is trying to do is just plain stupid". "It isn't a revolution". "If he wants that, why doesn't he just become involved in NASCAR?" -Dan Gurney, American racing legend whose White Papers laid the foundation for CART'S formation in 1979.

 

[stratonapba]

Well, I Can't Believe You Started to Spinoff NASCAR Timeline to Focus on Indy Car, I'm Excited to look forward to it to see how CART keeps going with the Indianapolis 500.

 

[Chocolate Raines]

Well, I Can't Believe You Started to Spinoff NASCAR Timeline to Focus on Indy Car, I'm Excited to look forward to it to see how CART keeps going with the Indianapolis 500.

Just gotta get the big Indy fans Fickle and TheMann on here.

 

[TheMann]

TheMann reporting in.

So what is Tony's gameplan here? If the IRL never ends up happening, what does Tony do? I always had the idea of Tony supporting American efforts to usurp the existing order in IndyCar, starting all the way at the bottom with a rear-engined USAC category and proud support for the best up and comers all the way from Midgets or Formula Fords. Is that the plan here?

 

[Chocolate Raines]

Well, all I can say is Tony is gonna be a total nut job here.

 

[TheMann]

Well, all I can say is Tony is gonna be a total nut job here.

Uhhh....not sure that's a good thing. George will get more respect (and support from the CART board) by being deliberate in his actions. He's got cash to burn in 1992, so he could easily bankroll him and his supporters' making a fifth column within CART.

 

[Chocolate Raines]

He's the bad guy ITTL just like OTL only wayyyy worse.

 

[Chocolate Raines]

Bill Stokkan (left) and George discussing their conversation to ABC Sports

A TRUCE​

Two months later in July, Tony George was invited to sit down and talk things over with CART CEO Bill Stokkan. Stokkan wanted to find common ground with George and hopefully cater to some of his wants all in an attemp to change his mind about starting his own series. In their meeting Tony told him that CART had lost it's way from what it was originally founded to be. It was not supposed to be Formula One and they should not challenge it. One of the ways he suggested was through engine suppliers. At the time, CHevy, Ford, Porsche, and Buick were engine suppliers. Out of all of them, Buick was the only one whose engine was built in the USA. Chevy's and Ford's were built in England by Illmor and Cosworth respectivly while Porsche's was German. GM was about to end Buick and the V8 they had was in jeopardy of going extinct. George suggested that CART should get GM to have Oldsmobile create a new version of this engine. He knew he couldn't have CHevy and Ford build their engines in this country so instead, he had the idea that Porsche could remain the only foreign manufacturer as they didn't have any other big motorsports program at the time (the 962 doesn't count as it's more customer used in sports car racing and is becoming obsolete). George also worried about Japanese companies coming in such as Honda, Toyota, Nissan, and Mazda. he also wanted a better way for American drivers to get into the sport. One idea of his was "college motorsports" a joint effort between USAC and the NCAA, but this was a pipe dream. If CART couldn't agree with him, or broke a promise, he'd continue planning his series and even threaten to ban CART from racing in the Indy 500.

Stokkan told him that he'd do everything he could to secure American drivers in American powered cars. He would even try the college motorsports idea. The two came to a truce. Stokkan told ABC,

This allows the potential of the sport to grow tremendously.

George said,

This is the first step in finding the continuity between this sport and the Indy 500 that's been lacking.

​

Everything seemed to have worked itself out and both sides were happy; especially Tony...

Spoiler

...for now

 

[Chocolate Raines]

More to come soon after Daytona speedweeks in my Nascar timeline!

 

[Matt Wiser]

Matt reporting: bring this on!

 

[kinnikuniverse]

REACTIONS TO GEORGE'S COMMENTS
​

"Everything is fine right now. Why does Tony George think that the sport "becoming foreign" is a problem? He sounds like a white supremacist." - owner/driver Bobby Rahal.

"KABOOM!!!!"

that's it, I'm in! if ya want, I can help you! shame that Jeff Gordon already joined the France family circus tho...

oh god, what is TG planning behind their backs? I have a bad feeling about this...

 

[Chocolate Raines]

"KABOOM!!!!"

that's it, I'm in! if ya want, I can help you! shame that Jeff Gordon already joined the France family circus tho...

oh god, what is TG planning behind their backs? I have a bad feeling about this...

Good you're in. 1992 review coming tommorow.

 

[Chocolate Raines]

1992 was another year in the PPG CART World Series. The same top competitors would battle while some new faces showed up and some old ones left.

Michael Andretti came in as defending champion. After a dominant 1991, he looked to do the same this year. The Paul Newman-Carl Hass team was the strongest they'd ever been and this would be another year they'd prove it.

​

Bobby Rahal left the Galles-Kraco team to join with Pat Patrick to form Rahal-Patrick Racing. They got rid of the joke of an Alfa Romeo engine and went back to Chevrolet. After being runner up last year, he wants his third championship this year. Danny Sullivan, a star of 80's CART, went to his old ride.

Al Unser Jr continued to hang in and be a top contender. After winning the 1990 championship, he finished third in 91'. This year, he wants to return to the top.

The Team Penske drivers of Emerson Fittipaldi and Rick Mears looked to continue their momentum in 92'. Mears is the defending Indy 500 winner and Emmo also did well last year. Young Canadian Paul Tracy joined them part time in a third car.

The Porsche team is the new up and coming team. John Andretti and Scott Goodyear are drivers who can prove their potential soon and can do it with Porsche. John wants to be as successful as his cousin and Uncle. Goodyear is a sophomore driver who is destined for a great future ahead.

The season started down under in Surfers Paradise in Australia. Fittipaldi and Meats made it 1-2 for Penske. 1991 winner John Andretti finished sixth while Unser Jr finished third after crashing in 91'.

Bobby Rahal destroyed everyone in the next race at Phoenix. He led flag to flag and got his first win as a team owner.

Unser Jr was looking for his fifth Long Beach win in a row, but Danny Sullivan shoved him out of the way en-route to winning. Rookies Jimmy Vasser and Wally Dallenbach Jr got their first top tens as only 10 of 23 cars finished including John Andretti who got whacked in the head while giving an interview to ABC about his Porsche's transmission.

Michael Andretti looked like he was finally going to win the race like his dad did in 69'. Then his Ford-Cosworth engine died. Unser and Scott Goodyear then put on a great battle for the win with little Al edging the Canadian at the line to win his first 500. Goodyear's second proved that Porsche could win Indy one day soon. Sadly, Filipino rookie Jovy Marcelo was killed in a practice crash. Rick Mears also broke both his legs in a career ending crash during the race.

JOVY MARCELO 1965-1992
​

Detroit went to Rahal again after Mears' replacement, Paul Tracy dropped out with a gearbox failure, and Michael Andretti spun out. Stefan Johansson got a third place in his first IndyCar race ever and up and coming driver Robby Gordon got his first top ten in A.J. Foyt's car. Both Porsche's dropped out.

Michael then went on a two race win streak at Portland and Milwaukee Mile. Fittipaldi got his first win of the season at Cleveland Lakefront Airport before Andretti won again in Toronto.

Porsche finally broke through and won at Michigan with Scott Goodyear. It took them four years to build up their IndyCar program but they finally did it.

Emmo won again at Road America. The Andretti's finished 4-5-6 with Michael, Mario, and John respectively. Here's the points after this race:

1 Bobby Rahal 162
2 Al Unser, Jr. 133 -29
3 Michael Andretti 128 -34
4 Emerson Fittipaldi 125 -37
5 Scott Goodyear 86 -76
6 Danny Sullivan 82 -80
7 John Andretti 72 -90
8 Eddie Cheever, Jr. 63 -99

Rahal extended his points lead by winning at Burlington. Being an owner/driver was seeming to be a benefit for him as it was for Bill Elliott in NASCAR.

Andretti started to challenge Rahal at Vancouver. He wanted that second championship and he was determined to go down to the wire to get it.

Disaster struck both of them at Mid Ohio. Rahal went of course into a tire barrier, similar to what he did in Vancouver, and Andretti's engine died. Fittipaldi won with Unser second. Little Al now had the points lead.

Unser's lead would be short lived as Rahal and Andretti battled back at Nazareth with Bobby winning and retaking the points lead. All he had to do was have a good day at Laguna Seca and he'd be the 1992 champion.

Andretti dominated Laguna Sega but it wasn't enough to close in and Bobby Rahal won the 1992 championship. Johansson won rookie of the year over Dallenbach and Brian Till. Here's the final standings:

Driver Races Win Podium Pole Laps Led Earnings AvSt AvFn RAF Miles LLF Points Diff
1

Bobby Rahal 16 4 10 2 1879 421 237,703 4.6 6.2 13 3198.57 11 196
2

Michael Andretti 16 5 8 6 1771 1136 295,383 2.1 7.1 11 2977.49 9 192 -4
3

Al Unser, Jr. 16 1 6 1 2088 87 1,244,184 8.0 5.1 16 3631.18 8 169 -27
4

Emerson Fittipaldi 16 4 7 2 1618 151 138,703 4.0 9.1 11 2779.04 6 151 -45
5

Scott Goodyear 16 1 3 0 1822 105 609,333 10.8 10.2 11 3136.34 3 108 -88
6

Mario Andretti 15 0 1 1 1574 42 156,633 5.5 9.1 11 2659.16 3 105 -91
7

Danny Sullivan 16 1 2 0 1953 9 211,803 9.9 8.6 14 3446.76 4 99 -97
8

John Andretti 16 0 0 0 1827 0 186,203 9.7 9.4 12 3227.18 4 94 -102
9

Raul Boesel 13 0 2 0 1542 0 191,503 11.2 8.8 10 2835.20 3 80 -116
10

Eddie Cheever, Jr. 16 0 1 0 1665 12 271,103 8.4 11.0 10 2762.58 3 80 -116
11

Scott Pruett 16 0 0 0 1760 0 143,503 9.8 12.1 12 2886.85 1 62 -134
12

Paul Tracy 11 0 3 1 1147 128 160,053 6.4 13.0 5 2098.13 3 59 -137

YOUR 1992 PPG CART WORLD SERIES CHAMPION: BOBBY RAHAL​

​

 

[FickleCrossroad]

Not seeing much if any difference from OTL from what I can remember.

 

[Chocolate Raines]

Not seeing much if any difference from OTL from what I can remember.

It's getting there, wait. This is pre POD setting the stage stuff.

 

[Chocolate Raines]

Not seeing much if any difference from OTL from what I can remember.

Also if you look closer, you'll see Porsche still in IndyCar and Wally Dallenbach Jr in here instead of NASCAR. And Rahal-PATRICK racing. Not Rahal-Hogan.

 

[kinnikuniverse]

Porsche being successful with Derrick walker behind the helm? this could potentially butterfly alot of things about Derrick walker's tenure as team owner... and Tony George must be having a mean look on his face with Porsche being successful!

 

[Chocolate Raines]

Porsche being successful with Derrick walker behind the helm? this could potentially butterfly alot of things about Derrick walker's tenure as team owner... and Tony George must be having a mean look on his face with Porsche being successful!

Yup, Walker took managerial role in 91. Andretti is still with the team because Jim Hall never came back in. Goodyear also replaced Teo Fabi that year and won rookie of the year. Porsche also is now supplying engines to lower teams. You'll read about it more in the 1993 preview/driver lineup.

 

[Chocolate Raines]

SERIES NEWS: CART will now become INDYCART. The name change comes as CART wanted to incorporate the term IndyCar into its name. It will now be known as the PPG INDYCART World Series.

SCHEDULE: It's the same as last year's:
Rnd Date Race Name Circuit Location
1 March 21 Australian FAI IndyCar Grand Prix (S) Surfers Paradise Street Circuit Surfers Paradise, Australia ABC
2 April 4 Valvoline 200 (O) Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix, Arizona ABC
3 April 18 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (S) Streets of Long Beach Long Beach, California ABC
4 May 30 77th Indianapolis 500 (O) Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana ABC
5 June 6 Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit (S) The Raceway on Belle Isle Park Detroit, Michigan ABC
6 June 13 Budweiser/G.I. Joe's 200 (R) Portland International Raceway Portland, Oregon ESPN
7 June 27 Miller Genuine Draft 200 (O) Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wisconsin ABC
8 July 11 Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland (S) Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport Cleveland, Ohio ABC
9 July 18 Molson Indy Toronto (S) Exhibition Place Toronto, Ontario ABC
NC July 31 Marlboro Challenge Michigan International Speedway ESPN
INDYCART decides to keep their All Star race.
10 August 1 Marlboro 500 (O) Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan ABC
11 August 8 Texaco Havoline 200 (R) Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin ESPN
12 August 22 New England 300 (R) Burlington Raceway Burlington, Vermont ESPN
13 August 29 Molson Indy Vancouver (S) BC Place Vancouver, British Columbia ESPN
14 September 12 Pioneer Electronics 200 (R) Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio ABC
15 September 19 Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix (O) Nazareth Speedway Nazareth, Pennsylvania ESPN
16 October 3 Toyota Grand Prix of Monterey (R) Laguna Seca Raceway Monterey, California ABC
(R) Dedicated road course, (O) Oval/Speedway, (S) Temporary street circuit

Now for the drivers. This will mostly be about full time teams. Indy 500 only teams will be talked about in Indianapolis 500 posts.

Rahal-Patrick Racing
Chassis: Lola
Engine: Chevrolet
Drivers: (USA) Bobby Rahal, #1 Miller Genuine Draft
(USA) Scott Pruett, #26 Miller Genuine Draft Light

The Truesports team shut down at the end of last year. Bobby Rahal was sad about this and the fear of Pruett not having a ride so he bought the assets of the team he once drove for. He decided not to continue with their chassis leaving Truesports' All-American chassis a thing of the past. They hope to continue their winning ways and get another championship.

Pruett's new ride. It's reverse colors of Rahal's car.
​

Newman-Hass Racing
Chassis: Lola
Engine: Ford
Drivers: (USA) Michael Andretti, #5 Texaco Havoline/K Mart
(USA) Mario Andretti, #6 Texaco Havoline/K Mart
Both father and son return to Paul Newman's and Carl Haas' team. Michael had been rumored to join F1, but nothing ever happened, so he'll try to capture a championship that eluded him last year. Mario is also expected to retire after this season and his seat could be open to anyone next year.

Team Penske
Chassis: Penske
Engine: Chevrolet
Drivers: (BRA) Emerson Fittipaldi, #4 Marlboro
(CAN) Paul Tracy, #12 Pennzoil
Tracy is in his first full season and is at Penske so there is a lot of pressure on him to do well. Emmo is showing no signs of slowing downand is performing almost exactly like he was twenty years earlier in F1.

Porsche Indy North America (PINA)
Chassis: Lola
Engine: Porsche
Drivers: (USA) John Andretti, #8 McKenzie Financial
(CAN) Scott Goodyear, #15 McKenzie Financial
(USA) Willy T Ribbs, #75 Service Merchandise
The German-Canadian Porsche IndyCar team expands to three full-time entries in 93' with Ribbs. Ribbs is a prominent black driver who has raced in sports cars, IndyCar, and NASCAR over the last 15 years. He will join John Andretti, Mario's nephew, and Scott Goodyear. Team principal Derrick Walker has even claimed that not only will Goodyear win the Indy 500 this year, Porsche will finish 1-2-3 at Indy and wants to recreate the LeMans 66' finish.

Ribbs and his crew.​

Target Chip Ganassi
Chassis: Lola
Engine: Ford
Drivers: (USA) Eddie Cheever, #9 Target
(NED) Arie Luyendyk, #10 Target
Cheever signed a one year contract extension with the team. Arie is in his second year with the team after they expanded to two cars last year. This team is in their fourth year, and have quickly gained momentum. Both drivers hope to finally get this team to a win.

Galles Racing
Chassis: Lola
Engine: Chevrolet
Drivers: (USA) Al Unser Jr, #3 Valvoline
(USA) Danny Sullivan, #18 Molson
(MEX) Adrian Fernandez, #7 Tecate/Conseco (Part-time)
Fernandez is an up and coming Mexican driver who wants to make a name for himself in America. This will be a year of gaining experience. The team returns to using the Lola chassis after using their own last year. Unser and Sullivan are both in contract years and may not return next year.

Dick Simon Racing
Chassis: Lola
Engine: Chevrolet
Drivers: (USA) Scott Brayton, #22 Amway
(JAP) Hiro Matsushita, #11 Panasonic (heir to the Panasonic fortune)
(BRA) Raul Boesel, #23 Duracell
(USA) Lynn St. James, #90 JC Penney (Part-time)
Since Boesel subbed for Hiro last year after Matsushita was in an Indy 500 crash, he get a a full time ride. St James is a journeywoman (yup) driver who has tons of experience in sports cars. She is friends with Nascar Busch Series driver Patty Moise as they used to race each other in the 80's.

A.J. Foyt Enterprises
Chassis: Lola
Engine: Ford
Driver: (USA) Robby Gordon, #14 Copenhagen
Gordon enters his sophomore season with Foyt's team after A.J. retired from full-time racing in 91'. Robby is hoping to restore this team's former glory much like Robert Pressley is for Richard Petty in NASCAR. They also switch to Ford Cosworth power to further restore that glory.

Bettenhausen Motorsports
Chassis: Penske
Engine: Chevrolet
Driver: (SWE) Stefan Johansson, #16 AMAX
Johansson found his way into this ride after Tony Bettenhausen retired after last year's Indy 500. Johansson quickly showed he could compete and looks to make a name in IndyCar after being an F1 bust in the 80's.

King Racing
Chassis: Lola
Engine: Ford
Driver: (COL) Roberto Guerrero, #40 Budweiser/Quaker State
Drag racer and NASCAR team owner Kenny Bernstein sets up a full-time IndyCar team. They ran in last year's Indy 500 where Guerrero started on the front row and blew his engine before the race started.

Dale Coyne Racing
Chassis: Lola
Engine: Porsche
Drivers: (USA) Wally Dallenbach Jr, #19 MiJack
(CAN) Ross Bentley, #39 MiJack
Both drivers return to the team for their sophomore seasons. Both hope to do well in order to move to bigger and better teams.

Hayhoe Racing
Engine: Ford
Chassis Lola
Driver: (USA) Jimmy Vasser, #17 Kodalux

International Sport
Chassis: Lola
Engine: Oldsmobile
Driver: (BRA) Marco Greco, #30

Leadercard
Chassis: Lola
Engine: Oldsmobile
Driver: (USA) Buddy Lazier, #20
Lazier moves to this team after his usual team, Hemelgarn Racing decided to be an Indy 500 only team and he wanted to be full time.

Euromotorsport is the last team but they are going to have various drivers in their car so they're not worth getting in to.

See the difference now? @FickleCrossroad