Eisspeedway

1992 PPG Indy Car World Series

1992 CART season
PPG Indy Car World Series

Bobby Rahal
Season
Races17
Start dateMarch 22
End dateOctober 18
Awards
Drivers' championUnited States Bobby Rahal
Constructors' CupUnited Kingdom Lola
Manufacturers' CupUnited States Chevrolet
Nations' CupUnited States United States
Rookie of the YearSweden Stefan Johansson
Indianapolis 500 winnerUnited States Al Unser Jr.
← 1991
1993 →

The 1992 PPG Indy Car World Series season was the 14th national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by CART (d.b.a "IndyCar"). The season consisted of 16 races. Bobby Rahal was the national champion, his third and final career CART title. Stefan Johansson was named the Rookie of the Year. The 1992 Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned by USAC, but counted towards the CART points championship. Al Unser Jr. won the Indy 500 in the closest finish in the history of that event.

Starting in 1992, and continuing through 1996, the CART organization began operating under the name IndyCar. The term IndyCar was a registered trademark of IMS, Inc., and was licensed to CART from 1992 to 1996. The use of the term "CART" was curtailed in the series and in the media in favor of IndyCar during this period.

The circuit welcomed a new venue in 1992, New Hampshire International Speedway.

Bobby Rahal, who was in his first season as an owner/driver, won four races and three poles en route to the title. Rahal's three oval wins included a dominating wire-to-wire victory at Phoenix, where he led all 200 laps. Rahal fielded the "tried and true" Lola/Ilmor Chevrolet "A" combination. It was the final championship for the Ilmor Chevy A engine. Rahal managed to outperform the newer engines that joined the series in 1992, the Ford/Cosworth XB, as well as the Ilmor Chevy "B" engine, which was used by the Penske team. For the third time, Michael Andretti finished runner-up to Rahal in the points. Andretti promptly left Indy car racing the following year to race in Formula One.

A bevy of crashes, some serious, at the 1992 Indianapolis 500 injured several drivers, and shook up the driver lineup during parts of the season. Jovy Marcelo was fatally injured in a practice crash, while Nelson Piquet suffered devastating leg injures in another practice crash. Hiro Matsushita suffered a fractured leg and missed several races over the summer. Mario Andretti, Rick Mears, and Jimmy Vasser all sat out the race at Detroit while they recovered from injuries. In July, Mears dropped out of the Michigan 500 with nagging injuries, and ultimately sat out the rest of the season. Mears then unexpectedly retired from racing in December.

Drivers and constructors

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1992 Indy Car World Series season.

Team Chassis Engine Tyres No Drivers Rounds
Newman/Haas Racing Lola Ford-Cosworth XB G 1 United States Michael Andretti All
2 United States Mario Andretti 1-4, 6-16
Italy Teo Fabi 5
Chip Ganassi Racing Lola Ford-Cosworth XB G 6 Netherlands Arie Luyendyk 4, 10
United States Robby Gordon 5-7, 9, 11-13
Belgium Didier Theys 16
9 United States Eddie Cheever All
Marlboro Team Penske Penske Chevrolet B G 4 United States Rick Mears 1-4, 6-8, 10
Canada Paul Tracy 5, 9, 11-13, 16
United States Al Unser 15
5 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi All
7 Canada Paul Tracy 2, 4, 10, 14-15
Galles-Kraco Racing Galmer Chevrolet G 3 United States Al Unser Jr. All
18 United States Danny Sullivan All
Walker Motorsport Lola Ford-Cosworth XB
Chevrolet
G 15 Canada Scott Goodyear All
17 United States A. J. Foyt 1
Finland Tero Palmroth 2
United States Johnny Rutherford 4
United States Mike Groff 4-5, 12
United States Jon Beekhuis 10
United States Dennis Vitolo 14
United States Willy T. Ribbs 16
Rahal-Hogan Racing Lola Chevrolet G 12 United States Bobby Rahal All
Dick Simon Racing
Paragon Motorsports
Lola Chevrolet
Buick
G 11 Japan Hiro Matsushita 1-3, 11-16
Brazil Raul Boesel 4-8, 10
22 United States Scott Brayton All
23 Brazil Raul Boesel 9, 11-16
44 France Philippe Gache 4
90 United States Lyn St. James 4
Hall/VDS Racing Lola Chevrolet G 8 United States John Andretti All
38 Belgium Didier Theys 4
Payton/Coyne Racing Lola Cosworth G 19 Belgium Éric Bachelart 1-7, 9-15
United States Dennis Vitolo 10, 15-16
39 Canada Ross Bentley 1, 5-6, 9-13
United States Dennis Vitolo 2
United States Brian Bonner 4, 7-8, 14
Belgium Éric Bachelart 16
Bettenhausen Racing Penske Chevrolet G 16 United States Tony Bettenhausen Jr. 1-4, 6-7, 10
Sweden Stefan Johansson 5, 8-9, 11-16
Arciero Racing Lola Buick G 30 Italy Fabrizio Barbazza 1-3
United States Johnny Parsons 4
United States Jeff Wood 5-10
Canada Jacques Villeneuve Sr. 11-12
Canada John Jones 13-15
Finland Tero Palmroth 16
34 United States Jeff Wood 4
Euromotorsport Lola Cosworth G 42 Italy Nicola Marozzo 1
Italy Fabrizio Barbazza 4
Italy Vinicio Salmi 6, 9, 12-13, 16
United States Steve Chassey 7-8, 10
Finland Tero Palmroth 11
United States Jeff Wood 14
Italy Guido Daccò 15
50 Philippines Jovy Marcelo 1-4
Germany Christian Danner 5, 9, 11-16
Italy Nicola Marozzo 6
United States Mike Groff 7-8
United States George Snider 10
Hayhoe-Cole Racing Lola Ford-Cosworth XB
Chevrolet
G 17 United States Jimmy Vasser 6, 11, 13
47 1-4, 9, 14, 16
Leader Card Racing Lola Buick G 21 United States Buddy Lazier 1-7, 9-16
Hemelgarn Racing Lola Buick G 81 United States Pancho Carter 4
91 United States Stan Fox 4
92 United States Gordon Johncock 4
P.I.G. Enterprises Lola Chevrolet G 31 United States Ted Prappas 1, 3-9, 11-16
Truesports Truesports Chevrolet G 10 United States Scott Pruett All
RAL Group Judd 24 United States Brian Till 3, 5-6, 8-9, 11-12, 14, 16
Gilmore Racing Lola Chevrolet G 14 Switzerland Gregor Foitek 1, 3
United States George Snider 2
United States A. J. Foyt 2, 4
United States Brian Bonner 5
United States Ross Cheever 6-7, 11-13
United States Pancho Carter 8, 10
United States Jon Beekhuis 9
United States Mike Groff 14-16
48 United States Jeff Andretti 4
King Motorsports Lola Buick G 26 Colombia Roberto Guerrero 3
United Kingdom Jim Crawford 4
36 Colombia Roberto Guerrero 4
Menard Racing Lola Buick G 27 United States Al Unser 4
51 United States Gary Bettenhausen 4
59 United States Tom Sneva 4
D.B. Mann Development Lola Buick G 93 United States John Paul Jr. 4
G United States Mark Dismore 4
Burns Racing Team Lola Chevrolet G 68 United States Dominic Dobson 4
Buick 28 United States Jay Hill 5
Cosworth Italy Tony de Tommaso 16
TEAMKAR International Lola Chevrolet G 88 Japan Kenji Momota 4

Season summary

Schedule

Rnd Date Race Name Circuit City/Location
1 March 22 Australia Daikyo IndyCar Grand Prix  R  Surfers Paradise Street Circuit Surfers Paradise, Australia
2 April 5 United States Valvoline 200 Presented by Phoenix International Raceway and the Fiesta Bowl  O  Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix, Arizona
3 April 12 United States Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach  R  Streets of Long Beach Long Beach, California
4 May 24 United States 76th Indianapolis 500  O  Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana
5 June 7 United States ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix  R  The Raceway on Belle Isle Park Detroit, Michigan
6 June 21 United States Texaco/Havoline Presents the Budweiser/G. I. Joe's 200  R  Portland International Raceway Portland, Oregon
7 June 28 United States Miller Genuine Draft 200  O  Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wisconsin
8 July 5 United States New England 200  O  New Hampshire International Speedway Loudon, New Hampshire
9 July 19 Canada Molson Indy Toronto  R  Exhibition Place Toronto, Ontario
10 August 2 United States Marlboro 500  O  Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan
11 August 9 United States Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland  R  Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport Cleveland, Ohio
12 August 23 United States The Chicago Tribune Presents the Texaco/Havoline 200  R  Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
13 August 30 Canada Molson Indy Vancouver  R  Streets of Vancouver Vancouver, British Columbia
14 September 13 United States Pioneer Electronics 200 Presented by Budweiser  R  Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio
NC October 3 United States Marlboro Challenge  O  Pennsylvania International Raceway Nazareth, Pennsylvania
15 October 4 United States Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix
16 October 18 United States Toyota Monterey Grand Prix Featuring the Kodalux Processing 300  R  Laguna Seca Raceway Monterey, California

 O  Oval/Speedway
 R  Road/Street course
  Non-championship event

  • Indianapolis was USAC-sanctioned but counted towards the PPG Indy Car title.

Race results

Round Race Pole position Fastest lap Race Winner Race Time Report
Driver Team Chassis Engine
1 Australia Surfers Paradise United States Al Unser Jr. Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Marlboro Team Penske Penske Chevrolet 2:20:33 Report
2 United States Phoenix United States Michael Andretti United States Rick Mears United States Bobby Rahal Rahal-Hogan Racing Lola Chevrolet 1:31:56 Report
3 United States Long Beach United States Michael Andretti Unknown United States Danny Sullivan Galles-Kraco Racing Galmer Chevrolet 1:48:56 Report
4 United States Indianapolis Colombia Roberto Guerrero United States Michael Andretti United States Al Unser Jr. Galles-Kraco Racing Galmer Chevrolet 3:43:04 Report
5 United States Belle Isle United States Michael Andretti Unknown United States Bobby Rahal Rahal-Hogan Racing Lola Chevrolet 1:58:20 Report
6 United States Portland Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Unknown United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Ford 1:53:25 Report
7 United States Milwaukee United States Bobby Rahal Unknown United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Ford 1:26:56 Report
8 United States New Hampshire United States Bobby Rahal United States Michael Andretti United States Bobby Rahal Rahal-Hogan Racing Lola Chevrolet 1:35:00 Report
9 Canada Toronto United States Bobby Rahal Unknown United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Ford 1:52:21 Report
10 United States Michigan United States Mario Andretti Unknown Canada Scott Goodyear Walker Motorsport Lola Chevrolet 2:48:53 Report
11 United States Cleveland Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Unknown Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Marlboro Team Penske Penske Chevrolet 1:30:38 Report
12 United States Road America Canada Paul Tracy Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Marlboro Team Penske Penske Chevrolet 1:48:26 Report
13 Canada Vancouver United States Michael Andretti Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Ford 1:41:50 Report
14 United States Mid-Ohio United States Michael Andretti Unknown Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Marlboro Team Penske Penske Chevrolet 1:51:23 Report
NC United States Marlboro Challenge United States Michael Andretti Unknown Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Marlboro Team Penske Penske Chevrolet 0:38:26 Report
15 United States Nazareth United States Michael Andretti United States Bobby Rahal United States Bobby Rahal Rahal-Hogan Racing Lola Chevrolet 1:33:07 Report
16 United States Laguna Seca United States Michael Andretti Unknown United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Lola Ford 1:51:35 Report

Final driver standings

Pos Driver SUR Australia PHX United States LBH United States INDY United States DET United States POR United States MIL United States LOU United States TOR Canada MIC United States CLE United States ROA United States VAN Canada MDO United States MAR United States NAZ United States LAG United States Pts
1 United States Bobby Rahal 3 1* 2 6 1 14 2 1* 2 11 4 3 22 24 6* 1 3 196
2 United States Michael Andretti 17* 10 16 13* 4* 1* 1* 2 1* 18 2 4 1* 21* 2 2* 1* 192
3 United States Al Unser Jr. 4 5 4* 1 9 3 7 8 7 4 3 2 2 3 8 11 9 169
4 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 1 3 3 24 8 2 4 21 19 13 1* 1* 19 1 1 7 19 151
5 Canada Scott Goodyear 9 18 5 2 22 8 8 3 6 1* 10 20 5 16 4 4 26 108
6 United States Mario Andretti 7 17 23 23 6 6 7 4 15 5 5 6 5 9 5 2 105
7 United States Danny Sullivan 5 12 1 5 5 12 12 9 3 8 20 7 7 8 10 17 7 99
8 United States John Andretti 6 6 20 8 21 5 9 5 5 6 12 6 15 4 7 18 5 94
9 Brazil Raul Boesel 7 2 9 10 18 22 3 6 8 11 7 5 6 6 80
10 United States Eddie Cheever 8 2 22 4 11 4 5 16 9 20 11 23 16 12 9 4 80
11 United States Scott Pruett 18 7 9 30 19 10 11 6 25 5 7 9 4 9 10 14 62
12 Canada Paul Tracy 4 20 16 21 2 19 17 23 2 3 3 16 59
13 United States Rick Mears 2 8 6 26 7 16 4 16 47
14 Sweden Stefan Johansson  RY  3 10 11 9 19 3 6 21 11 47
15 United States Scott Brayton 20 9 17 22 12 22 3 17 17 10 21 12 8 10 8 10 39
16 United States Al Unser 3 12 15
17 United States Ted Prappas 10 14 16 14 15 15 20 23 13 10 9 11 19 18 12
18 Belgium Éric Bachelart  R  22 13 8 32 7 16 13 24 22 17 21 DNS 20 Wth 23 11
19 United States Buddy Lazier 16 14 12 14 24 25 17 15 7 23 13 10 22 15 21 10
20 United States Robby Gordon  R  17 13 21 8 8 18 17 10
21 Italy Teo Fabi 6 8
22 United States Jimmy Vasser  R  15 15 7 21 23 12 14 18 25 Wth 12 8
23 United States Brian Till  R  11 23 20 12 10 15 11 14 27 8
24 United States Tony Bettenhausen Jr. 13 11 15 DNQ 21 18 9 6
25 United States Mike Groff Wth DNS 14 13 24 15 16 8 5
26 United States A. J. Foyt 23 Wth 9 4
27 Japan Hiro Matsushita Wth 16 10 Wth Wth 24 14 13 18 14 15 3
28 United States Brian Bonner  R  19 10 DNS DNS 17 3
29 United States John Paul Jr. 10 3
30 Canada Ross Bentley  R  11 Wth 20 17 14 23 18 DNS 14 2
31 United States Pancho Carter DNQ 11 17 2
32 United States Ross Cheever  R  11 20 25 25 Wth 2
33 United States Lyn St. James  R  11 2
34 United States Jeff Wood DNQ 13 19 19 15 13 12 13 1
35 Italy Fabrizio Barbazza 12 20 21 DNQ 1
36 Canada John Jones 12 23 22 1
37 United States Dominic Dobson 12 1
38 Colombia Roberto Guerrero 13 33 1
39 Germany Christian Danner  R  18 16 16 16 21 19 13 20 0
40 Belgium Didier Theys DNQ 13 0
41 Netherlands Arie Luyendyk 15 14 0
42 United States Dennis Vitolo 21 Wth 14 DNS 20 17 0
43 Philippines Jovy Marcelo  R  14 19 19 Wth1 0
44 Italy Vinicio Salmi  R  18 20 15 20 24 0
45 United States Jay Hill  R  15 0
46 United States Gary Bettenhausen 17 0
47 Switzerland Gregor Foitek  R  21 18 0
48 United States Jon Beekhuis 18 21 0
49 United States Jeff Andretti 18 0
50 United States Steve Chassey 22 19 19 0
51 Italy Nicola Marozzo 19 24 0
52 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Sr. 22 22 0
53 United States George Snider 22 24 0
54 Italy Tony de Tommaso  R  22 0
55 Italy Guido Daccò 23 0
56 United Kingdom Jim Crawford 25 0
57 United States Willy T. Ribbs 25 0
58 Finland Tero Palmroth Wth DNS 26 28 0
59 United States Stan Fox 27 0
60 France Philippe Gache  R  28 0
61 United States Gordon Johncock 29 0
62 United States Tom Sneva 31 0
United States Mark Dismore DNQ 0
Japan Kenji Momota DNQ 0
United States Johnny Parsons DNQ 0
United States Johnny Rutherford DNQ 0
United States Rocky Moran Wth 0
Brazil Nelson Piquet Wth 0
Pos Driver SUR Australia PHX United States LBH United States INDY United States DET United States POR United States MIL United States NHA United States TOR Canada MIC United States CLE United States ROA United States VAN Canada MDO United States MAR United States NAZ United States LAG United States Pts
Color Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green 4th-6th place
Light Blue 7th-12th place
Dark Blue Finished
(Outside Top 12)
Purple Did not finish
Red Did not qualify
(DNQ)
Brown Withdrawn
(Wth)
Black Disqualified
(DSQ)
White Did not start
(DNS)
Blank Did not
participate
(DNP)
Not competing
In-line notation
Bold Pole position
Italics Ran fastest race lap
* Led most race laps
 RY  Rookie of the Year
 R  Rookie

Note: 1 Jovy Marcelo was killed in practice for the 1992 Indianapolis 500. He was 27 years old.

Nations' Cup

  • Top result per race counts towards Nations' Cup.
Pos Country Pts
1 United States United States 294
2 Brazil Brazil 190
3 Canada Canada 137
4 Sweden Sweden 47
5 Belgium Belgium 11
6 Italy Italy 9
7 Japan Japan 3
8 Colombia Colombia 1
9 Germany Germany 0
10 Netherlands Netherlands 0
11 Philippines Philippines 0
12 Switzerland Switzerland 0
13 Scotland Scotland 0
14 Finland Finland 0
15 France France 0
Pos Country Pts

Chassis Constructors' Cup

Pos Chassis Pts
1 United Kingdom Lola T9200/T9100/T9000 311
2 United States Penske PC-21/PC-20 218
3 United States Galmer G92 170
4 United States Truesports 92C/91C 68
Pos Chassis Pts

Engine Manufacturers' Cup

Pos Engine Pts
1 United States Chevrolet A/B 472
2 United States Ford XB 232
3 United States Buick 24
4 United Kingdom Judd 8
5 United Kingdom Cosworth DFS 2
Pos Engine Pts

References

See also