1989 CART PPG Indy Car World Series

1989 CART season
PPG Indy Car World Series


Emerson Fittipaldi
Season
Races16
Start dateApril 9
End dateOctober 15
Awards
Drivers' championBrazil Emerson Fittipaldi
Constructors' CupUnited States Penske
Manufacturers' CupUnited States Chevrolet
Nations' CupUnited States United States
Rookie of the YearMexico Bernard Jourdain
Indianapolis 500 winnerBrazil Emerson Fittipaldi
← 1988
1990 →

The 1989 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season was the 11th national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by CART. The season consisted of 15 races, and one non-points exhibition event. Emerson Fittipaldi was the national champion, and the rookie of the year was Bernard Jourdain. Fittipaldi became the second driver after Mario Andretti to win the Formula One World Championship and the CART championship.

The 1989 Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned by USAC, but counted towards the CART points championship. Emerson Fittipaldi won the Indy 500, and would later become the first driver since Bobby Rahal in 1986 to win Indy and the CART championship in the same season.

Emerson Fittipaldi won a total of five races, four pole positions, and had a total of eight podium finishes en route to the championship. Rick Mears won three races, and had a total of 14 top ten finishes, more consistent than Fittipaldi. The championship battle came down to those two drivers. In the second-to-last race of the season at Nazareth, Fittipaldi and Mears finished 1st-2nd. Fittipaldi effectively clinched the championship by virtue of a now 22-point lead over Mears. If Mears were to win the season finale at Laguna Seca, win the pole, and lead the most laps, he could tie Fittipaldi in points if Fittipaldi finished 13th or worse. However, Fittipaldi held the tiebreaker with 5 wins versus Mears with 3. Mears did all three at Laguna Seca (won the pole, won the race and led the most laps), but the tiebreaker scenario was moot as Fittipaldi managed a 5th place in the race. It was Mears' first road course victory since Riverside in 1982, and the first since he suffered serious leg injuries in 1984. It was also the last road course win of his career.

At Mid-Ohio, Teo Fabi scored the first and only win of the Porsche Indy Car team. Fabi had eleven top tens, and finished 4th in points. Cosworth unveiled a new engine, the "short-stroke" DFS to some fanfare, but little success. Bobby Rahal won one race in 1989 with the Cosworth DFS in July at the Meadowlands. It would stand as the only race victory for the DFS powerplant.

Drivers and constructors

[edit]

The following teams and drivers competed for the 1989 Indy Car World Series. All entries utilized Goodyear tires.

Team Chassis Engine Car # Drivers Rounds
Full-time
United States Newman/Haas Racing Lola Chevrolet 5 United States Mario Andretti All
6 United States Michael Andretti All
United States Patrick Racing Penske Chevrolet 20 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi All
United States Galles Racing Lola Chevrolet 2 United States Al Unser Jr. All
United States Team Penske Penske Chevrolet 1 United States Danny Sullivan All except 6-7
Australia Geoff Brabham 6
United States Al Unser 7
4 United States Rick Mears All
25 United States Al Unser 3, 10-11
United States Porsche North America March Porsche 8 Italy Teo Fabi All
United States Truesports Lola Judd 3 United States Scott Pruett All
United States Kraco Racing Lola Cosworth 18 United States Bobby Rahal All
United States Dick Simon Racing Lola Cosworth/Buick 7/9 Netherlands Arie Luyendyk All
22 United States Scott Brayton All
28 United States Randy Lewis All except 14
17 United States Joe Sposato 15
United States Doug Shierson Racing Lola Judd 30 Brazil Raul Boesel All
United States Raynor Racing Lola Judd 10 Republic of Ireland Derek Daly All
United States Machinists Union Racing March Cosworth 11 United States Kevin Cogan All except 14
United States Johnny Rutherford 14
Lola 29/24 United States Pancho Carter All
United States Protofab Racing Lola Cosworth 15 United Kingdom James Weaver 2, 5, 7
65 Canada John Jones All except 14
United States A. J. Foyt Enterprises Lola Cosworth 14 United States A. J. Foyt All except 7 and 15
United States Rocky Moran 15
March 29 United States Rich Vogler 3
United States Andale Racing Lola Cosworth 69 Mexico Bernard Jourdain All except 13
Italy Euromotorsport Lola Cosworth 50/16 Switzerland Jean-Pierre Frey 1, 4-6
50 United States Davy Jones 3
United States Scott Atchison 6-8
Finland Tero Palmroth 11
Italy Guido Daccò 10, 12-15
United States Alex Morales Motorsports March Alfa Romeo 21 Colombia Roberto Guerrero 5-15
United States Arciero Racing Penske Cosworth 12 Belgium Didier Theys 1-4
Italy Fabrizio Barbazza 5-9, 12-13, 15
United States Rich Vogler 10
United States Hemelgarn Racing Lola Judd/Buick 71 Canada Ludwig Heimrath Jr. 1-4, 9-10, 12-15
Finland Tero Palmroth 5
71/91 Belgium Didier Theys 5-8
91 United States Gordon Johncock 3, 10-11
Canada Scott Goodyear 9, 13
United States Robby Unser 15
81 United States Bill Vukovich III 3
United States Vince Granatelli Racing Lola/March Buick/Cosworth 9 Belgium Didier Theys 12-15
9/70 United States John Andretti 3, 9-11, 14-15
9/7 United States Tom Sneva 1-8
Part-time
United States Bayside Motorsports Lola Cosworth 86 United States Dominic Dobson 1-3, 5-6, 8-9, 15
United States Dale Coyne Racing Lola Cosworth 19 Italy Guido Daccò 1-8
United States Dale Coyne 11
Italy Fulvio Ballabio 12-13
United States Ken Johnson 15
United States John Paul Jr. 10
United States ATEC Environmental Lola Cosworth 96 Italy Guido Daccò 9
United States Bernstein Racing Lola Buick 15 United Kingdom Jim Crawford 3
United States Saleen March Cosworth 59 United States Steve Saleen 2-3, 5, 7, 9, 12-13, 15
United States Gohr Racing Lola/March Cosworth 56 United States Jeff Wood 7-10, 12-15
Finland Tero Palmroth 2-3
United States Bettenhausen Motorsports Lola Cosworth 16 United States Jon Beekhuis 9, 13, 15
United States Steve Chassey 8, 10
United States Michael Greenfield 11
United States Dennis Vitolo 5, 12
15/16 United States John Paul Jr. 7-8
27 Italy Fulvio Ballabio 2
United States Tony Bettenhausen Jr. 11
United States Mann Motorsports Lola Buick 99 United States Gary Bettenhausen 3
96 United States John Paul Jr. 5, 15
United States Mark Dismore 12
United States Stoops Freightliner Lola Cosworth 17 United States Johnny Rutherford 10-11
United States Steve Butler 3
United States U.S. Engineering Lola Cosworth 44 United States Scott Harrington 3, 13, 15
United States Phil Krueger 10
United States Team Lazier March Cosworth 35 United States Buddy Lazier 3
United States Curb Racing March Cosworth 33 United States Rocky Moran 3

Season Summary

[edit]

Schedule

[edit]

Since Miami was dropped from the schedule the season finale and the Marlboro Challenge was moved to Laguna Seca. A race at Fuji Speedway in Japan was originally scheduled for March 26,[1] but was eventually cancelled.[2]

Rd Date Race Name Track City
1 April 9 Checker Autoworks 200 Presented by
Phoenix International Raceway and the Fiesta Bowl
 O  Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix, Arizona
2 April 16 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach  R  Long Beach Street Circuit Long Beach, California
3 May 28 Indianapolis 500  O  Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana
4 June 4 Miller High Life 200  O  Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wisconsin
5 June 18 Valvoline Detroit Grand Prix  R  Streets of Detroit Detroit, Michigan
6 June 25 Budweiser/G.I. Joe's 200  R  Portland International Raceway Portland, Oregon
7 July 2 Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix  R  Burke Lakefront Airport Cleveland, Ohio
8 July 16 Marlboro Grand Prix  R  Meadowlands Street Circuit East Rutherford, New Jersey
9 July 23 Molson Indy Toronto  R  Exhibition Place Toronto, Ontario
10 August 6 Marlboro 500  O  Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan
11 August 20 Quaker State 500  O  Pocono International Raceway Long Pond, Pennsylvania
12 September 3 Red Roof Inns 200  R  Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio
13 September 10 Texaco/Havoline 200  R  Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
14 September 24 Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix  O  Pennsylvania International Raceway Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania
NC October 14 Marlboro Challenge  R  Laguna Seca Raceway Monterey, California
15 October 15 Toyota Monterey Grand Prix Featuring the Champion Spark Plug 300  R  Laguna Seca Raceway Monterey, California

- Meadowlands was supposed to run for 183 miles (295 kilometers) but was shortened due to rain.
 O  Oval/Speedway
 R  Road/Street course
  Non-championship event

Race results

[edit]
Rnd Race Name Pole position Winning driver Winning team Race time
1 Checker Autoworks 200 United States Rick Mears United States Rick Mears Team Penske 1:35:09
2 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach United States Al Unser Jr. United States Al Unser Jr. Galles Racing 1:51:19
3 Indianapolis 500 United States Rick Mears Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Patrick Racing 2:59:01
4 Miller High Life 200 United States Rick Mears United States Rick Mears Team Penske 1:32:11
5 Valvoline Detroit Grand Prix United States Michael Andretti Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Patrick Racing 2:02:11
6 Budweiser/G. I. Joe's 200 Italy Teo Fabi Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Patrick Racing 1:55:20
7 Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix United States Michael Andretti Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Patrick Racing 1:32:56
8 Marlboro Grand Prix Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi United States Bobby Rahal Kraco Racing 2:09:20
9 Molson Indy Toronto Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing 2:01:00
10 Marlboro 500 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing 3:07:15
11 Pocono 500 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi United States Danny Sullivan Team Penske 2:55:43
12 Red Roof Inns 200 Italy Teo Fabi Italy Teo Fabi Porsche North America 1:54:46
13 Texaco/Havoline 200 United States Danny Sullivan United States Danny Sullivan Team Penske 1:37:43
14 Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix United States Rick Mears Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Patrick Racing 1:29:02
NC Marlboro Challenge Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi United States Al Unser Jr. Galles Racing 0:56:37
15 Champion Spark Plug 300K United States Rick Mears United States Rick Mears Team Penske 1:58:29
  • Indianapolis was USAC-sanctioned but counted towards the CART title.

Final driver standings

[edit]
Pos Driver PHX
LBH
INDY
MIL
DET
POR
CLE
MEA
TOR
MIC
POC
MDO
ROA
NAZ
MAR LAG
Pts
1 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 5 3 1* 16 1 1* 1* 2 2 14 19 4 5 1* 8 5 196
2 United States Rick Mears 1* 5 23 1* 5 8 5 4 5 7 2* 6 3 2 9 1* 186
3 United States Michael Andretti 4 2 17 2 13* 6 18 18* 1 1* 3 3 6* 5 7 7 150
4 Italy Teo Fabi 6 27 30 3 4 4 4 9 4 2 4 1* 2 16 4 19 141
5 United States Al Unser Jr. 2 1* 2 8 21 10 7 5 20 4 9 2 20 4 1* 3 136
6 United States Mario Andretti 8 18 4 7 3 25 2 20 26 3 5 7 7 8 5 2 110
7 United States Danny Sullivan 3 8 28 10 24 8 3* 23 1 5 1 3 2 14 107
8 United States Scott Pruett 11 DNS 10 5 2 5 6 3 6 17 8 19 8 6 6 4 101
9 United States Bobby Rahal 18 4 26 13 18 2 3 1 19 9 6 22 28 7 3 6 88
10 Netherlands Arie Luyendyk 17 7 21 6 6 3 9 7 24 6 23 8 4 13 10 9 75
11 Brazil Raul Boesel 14 6 3 4 28 7 8 6 7 20 20 23 9 11 10 68
12 Republic of Ireland Derek Daly 12 9 15 21 25 11 22 25 16 5 24 9 27 9 18 25
13 United States Pancho Carter 7 17 22 9 10 9 14 13 27 26 12 28 19 18 24 18
14 United States Kevin Cogan 10 26 32 19 17 24 11 12 9 25 22 10 18 8 18
15 United States Scott Brayton 15 12 6 18 DNQ 13 28 10 14 11 14 15 13 10 20 17
16 United States Al Unser 24 10 8 7 14
17 Canada John Jones 16 20 11 11 11 19 25 11 18 16 10 13 10 22 14
18 United States A. J. Foyt 22 25 5 20 26 DNS 23 17 18 21 21 22 14 10
19 United States Dominic Dobson 23 19 18 7 18 17 11 11 10
20 Mexico Bernard Jourdain  RY  19 13 9 12 15 22 19 19 10 19 11 27 15 23 10
21 Belgium Didier Theys 20 23 20 17 9 20 12 26 11 11 21 17 9
22 United States Davy Jones 7 6
23 Colombia Roberto Guerrero 8 23 13 22 28 22 16 12 21 20 25 6
24 Italy Fabrizio Barbazza 20 21 26 24 8 20 12 21 6
25 United States Rich Vogler 8 28 5
26 Canada Ludwig Heimrath Jr. 9 24 13 DNS 22 DNQ 25 17 17 DNQ 4
27 United States Johnny Rutherford DNQ 10 13 DNS 3
28 United States Tom Sneva DNS 10 27 22 23 26 20 27 3
29 Italy Guido Daccò  R  24 22 DNQ 14 12 12 21 DNQ 21 13 26 26 12 26 3
30 United Kingdom James Weaver  R  11 22 24 2
31 United States Steve Saleen  R  14 DNQ 14 17 12 14 25 13 1
32 United States Jeff Wood 15 15 DNQ 12 16 15 DNQ DNQ 1
33 United States John Andretti 25 25 24 17 19 12 1
34 United States Bill Vukovich III 12 1
35 United States Randy Lewis 13 15 29 15 16 16 23 16 15 27 18 17 14 16 0
36 United States Jon Beekhuis  R  13 24 15 0
37 United States Scott Atchison 17 27 14 0
38 United States Rocky Moran 14 28 0
39 Australia Geoff Brabham Wth 14 0
40 United States Gordon Johncock 31 21 15 0
41 Switzerland Jean-Pierre Frey 21 Wth DNQ DNQ 15 0
42 United States Phil Krueger DNQ 15 0
43 Finland Tero Palmroth 16 16 27 25 0
44 United States John Paul Jr. DNQ 19 16 21 DNQ DNQ 0
45 United States Scott Harrington  R  DNQ 16 DNQ 0
46 Italy Fulvio Ballabio 21 18 DNQ 0
47 United Kingdom Jim Crawford 19 0
48 Canada Scott Goodyear 23 23 0
49 United States Mark Dismore  R  24 0
50 United States Tony Bettenhausen Jr. DNQ 26 0
51 United States Dale Coyne DNQ 27 0
52 United States Ken Johnson 27 0
53 United States Steve Chassey DNQ 28 29 0
54 United States Gary Bettenhausen 33 0
United States Tom Bigelow DNQ 0
United States Steve Butler DNQ 0
United States Dick Ferguson DNQ 0
United States Stan Fox DNQ 0
United States Michael Greenfield DNQ Wth 0
United States Andy Hillenburg Wth 0
United States Buddy Lazier DNQ DNQ 0
United States Bobby Olivero DNQ 0
United States Johnny Parsons DNQ 0
United States Joe Sposato DNQ 0
United States Robby Unser DNQ 0
United States Dennis Vitolo DNQ DNQ 0
United States Kevin Whitesides DNQ 0
Pos Driver PHX LBH INDY MIL DET POR CLE MEA TOR MIC POC MDO ROA NAZ MAR LAG 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

Nations' Cup

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  • Top result per race counts towards Nations' Cup.
Pos Country PHX United States LBH United States INDY United States MIL United States DET United States POR United States CLE United States MEA United States TOR Canada MIC United States POC United States MDO United States ROA United States NAZ United States LAG United States Pts
1 United States United States 1* 1* 2 1* 2* 2 2 1* 1* 1* 1 2 1* 2 1* 276
2 Brazil Brazil 5 3 1* 4 1 1* 1* 2 2 14 19 4 5 1* 5 200
3 Italy Italy 6 22 30 3 4 4 4 9 4 2 4 1* 2 12 21 139
4 Netherlands Netherlands 17 7 21 6 6 3 9 7 24 6 23 8 4 13 9 75
5 Republic of Ireland Ireland 12 9 15 21 25 11 22 25 16 5 24 9 27 9 18 25
6 Canada Canada 10 20 11 11 11 19 25 11 13 16 10 13 10 17 15 18
7 Mexico Mexico 19 13 9 12 15 22 19 19 10 19 11 27 15 23 10
8 Belgium Belgium 20 23 20 17 9 20 12 26 11 11 21 17 9
9 Colombia Colombia 8 23 13 22 28 22 16 12 21 20 25 6
10 England England 11 22 24 2
11 Australia Australia 14 0
12 Switzerland Switzerland 21 Wth DNQ DNQ 15 0
13 Finland Finland 16 16 27 25 0
14 Scotland Scotland 19 0
Pos Country PHX United States LBH United States INDY United States MIL United States DET United States POR United States CLE United States MEA United States TOR Canada MIC United States POC United States MDO United States ROA United States NAZ United States LAG United States Pts

Chassis Constructors' Cup

[edit]
Pos Chassis Pts
1 United States Penske PC-18/PC-17 283
2 United Kingdom Lola T8900/T8800/T8700 254
3 United Kingdom March 89CE/89P/88C/86C 149
Pos Chassis Pts

Engine Manufacturers' Cup

[edit]
Pos Engine Pts
1 United States Chevrolet A 319
2 United Kingdom Cosworth 146
3 Germany Porsche 141
4 United Kingdom Judd 138
5 United States Buick 16
6 Italy Alfa Romeo 6
Pos Engine Pts.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  • "1989 CART PPG IndyCar World Series standings". race-database.com. Retrieved 2010-12-10.
  • Åberg, Andreas. "PPG Indy Car World Series 1989". Driver Database. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
  • "1989 PPG Indy Car World Series". Champ Car Stats. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
  • "Official Box Score: 73rd Indianapolis 500-Mile Race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway". Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
  • "Standings after Laguna Seca". Champ Car World Series. Archived from the original on April 5, 2008. Retrieved 2015-12-07.

Citations

[edit]
  1. ^ "Article clipped from The Indianapolis Star". The Indianapolis Star. 1988-11-05. p. 30. Retrieved 2023-09-13.
  2. ^ "FISA v CART". Motor Sport Magazine. 2014-07-07. Retrieved 2023-09-13.