1991 CART PPG Indy Car World Series

1991 CART season
1991 CART season
PPG Indy Car World Series
	; ; Michael Andretti
Season
Races	18
Start date	March 17
End date	October 20
Awards
Drivers' champion	Michael Andretti
Constructors' Cup	Lola
Manufacturers' Cup	Chevrolet
Rookie of the Year	Jeff Andretti
Indianapolis 500 winner	Rick Mears
	← 1990 1992 →

The 1991 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season was the 13th national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by CART. The season consisted of 17 races, and one non-points exhibition event. Michael Andretti was the national champion, and the rookie of the year was his younger brother Jeff Andretti.

The 1991 Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned by USAC, but counted towards the CART points championship. Rick Mears won the Indy 500, his record-tying fourth victory in the event.

Michael Andretti won a total of eight races, eight pole positions, and led more than half of the laps during the season, but the championship battle still went down to the final race of the season. Bobby Rahal won only one race, but had 11 podium finishes and 13 top tens. Rahal's consistent season put him in position to challenge Andretti for the title in the season finale at Laguna Seca. Andretti got off to a slow start to the season, dropping out of the first two races, and finished a heartbreaking second at Indianapolis. But after Indy, he shot to the top of the standings. He won four of the last five races of the season, and needed to finish 6th or better at Laguna Seca to clinch the title. When Bobby Rahal dropped out at Laguna Seca with overheating problems, Andretti cruised to the title.

Drivers and constructors

The following teams and drivers competed for the 1991 Indy Car World Series. All entrants used Goodyear tires.

Team	Chassis	Engine	No.	Driver(s)	Status	Round(s)
Arciero Racing	Penske PC-17	Buick	12	Mark Dismore	R	1–4
	Lola T89/00			Pancho Carter		4–5
				Jeff Wood		6–7
				John Jones		8–17
A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet	14	Bernard Jourdain		2
				Al Unser		3
				A. J. Foyt		4–9, 11, 16
				Mike Groff		10, 12, 14–15, 17
	Lola T90/00	Buick	48	Bernard Jourdain		4
Bayside Motorsports	Lola T91/00	Cosworth	86	Jeff Andretti	R	All
Bettenhausen Motorsports	Penske PC-19	Chevrolet	16	Tony Bettenhausen Jr.		All
Chip Ganassi Racing	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet	8	Eddie Cheever		All
Dale Coyne Racing Dale Coyne / Nu-Tech Racing Dale Coyne / Hemelgarn Racing Dale Coyne / Bettenhausen Motorsports	Lola T90/00	Cosworth	19	Randy Lewis		1–4, 9–12, 14–15, 17
				Dale Coyne		5, 7
				Buddy Lazier		8^{[N 1]}
				Ross Bentley	R	13
				Dennis Vitolo	R	16
	Lola T89/00		39	Dennis Vitolo	R	1, 6^{[N 1]}
	Lola T90/00			Paul Tracy	R	2
				Jeff Wood		3
				Buddy Lazier		10, 12, 17^{[N 1]}
				Michael Greenfield		14–15
	Lola T88/00		90	Buddy Lazier		1
	Lola T90/00			Buddy Lazier		6, 15^{[N 1]}
	Lola T89/00			Dennis Vitolo	R	2^{[N 1]}
	Penske PC-19	Chevrolet		Cor Euser	R	17^{[N 1]}
D. B. Mann Motorsports	Lola T90/00	Buick	93	John Paul Jr.		4
Dick Simon Racing	Lola T90/00^{[N 2]} Lola T91/00	Cosworth	7	Hiro Matsushita		1–3, 5–16
		Buick				4
		Chevrolet				17
		Chevrolet	22	Scott Brayton		All
		Cosworth	23	Tero Palmroth		4
Euromotorsport Racing	Lola T90/00	Cosworth	42	Franco Scapini	R	1
				Didier Theys		4
				Tony de Tommaso	R	12
				Nicola Marozzo	R	13–15
			50	Mike Groff		3
	Lola T91/00			Mike Groff		1–2, 4–9
				Roberto Guerrero		10
				Jeff Wood		12–17
Galles-Kraco Racing	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet	1	Al Unser Jr.		All
Galles-Kraco Racing	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet	18	Bobby Rahal		All
Genoa Racing	Lola T90/00	Cosworth	33	Guido Daccò		2–4, 6–7
Hall-VDS Racing	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet	4	John Andretti		All
Hemelgarn Racing	Lola T90/00	Buick	71	Buddy Lazier		4
Hemelgarn Racing	Lola T90/00		92	Gordon Johncock		4
Hemelgarn-Byrd Racing	Lola T91/00		91	Stan Fox		4
Kent Baker Racing	Lola T89/00	Buick	97	Dean Hall		4
King Motorsports	Lola T91/00	Buick	26	Jim Crawford		4
King Motorsports	Lola T91/00	Buick	26	Roberto Guerrero		6, 12, 17
Leader Card Racing	Lola T90/00	Cosworth	21	Dean Hall		1
				Didier Theys		2, 6–10, 12, 14–15, 17
				Johnny Parsons		4–5
				Pancho Carter		4, 11
Menard Racing	Lola T91/00	Buick	9	Kevin Cogan		4
	Lola T91/00		51	Gary Bettenhausen		4
	Lola T89/00		59	Tom Sneva		4
Newman/Haas Racing	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet	2	Michael Andretti		All
Newman/Haas Racing	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet	6	Mario Andretti		All
Patrick Racing	Lola T91/00	Alfa Romeo	20	Danny Sullivan		All
Patrick Racing	Lola T91/00	Alfa Romeo	40	Roberto Guerrero		4
Penske Racing	Penske PC-20	Chevrolet	3	Rick Mears		All
	Penske PC-20		5	Emerson Fittipaldi		All
	Penske PC-19		17	Paul Tracy	R	11, 16–17
P.I.G. Entreprises	Lola T89/00	Judd	31	Ted Prappas	R	1–2, 4
P.I.G. Entreprises	Lola T91/00	Judd	31	Ted Prappas	R	6–10, 12–15, 17
Thom Burns Racing	Lola T89/00	Judd	66	Dominic Dobson		4
Todd Walther Racing	Lola T89/00	Cosworth	44	Phil Krueger		1–2
Todd Walther Racing	Lola T89/00	Cosworth	44	Buddy Lazier		2
Truesports	Truesports 91C	Judd	11	Scott Pruett		All
Truesports	Truesports 91C	Judd	21	Geoff Brabham		4
UNO Racing	Lola T91/00	Judd	15	Scott Goodyear		All
Vince Granatelli Racing	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet	9	Arie Luyendyk		All
Walker Motorsport	Lola T90/00	Buick	10	Willy T. Ribbs		4
		Cosworth		Willy T. Ribbs		6, 8–9, 12–13, 15–17
				Jon Beekhuis		10
				Buddy Lazier		14^{[N 1]}
Walther Motorsports	Penske PC-18	Cosworth	77	Salt Walther		4

Schedule

Rd.	Race Name	Track	Location	Date
1	Gold Coast IndyCar Grand Prix	S Surfers Paradise Street Circuit	Surfers Paradise, Australia	March 17
2	Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach	S Long Beach Street Circuit	Long Beach, California	April 14
3	Valvoline 200	O Phoenix International Raceway	Phoenix, Arizona	April 21
4	Indianapolis 500	O Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana	May 26
5	Miller Genuine Draft 200, in Honor of Rex Mays	O Milwaukee Mile	West Allis, Wisconsin	June 2
6	Valvoline Detroit Grand Prix	S Streets of Detroit	Detroit, Michigan	June 16
7	Texaco/Havoline Presents the Budweiser/G. I.Joe's 200	R Portland International Raceway	Portland, Oregon	June 23
8	Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix	S Burke Lakefront Airport	Cleveland, Ohio	July 8
9	Marlboro Grand Prix	S Meadowlands Street Circuit	East Rutherford, New Jersey	July 14
10	Molson Indy Toronto	S Exhibition Place	Toronto, Ontario, Canada	July 21
11	Marlboro 500	O Michigan International Speedway	Brooklyn, Michigan	August 4
12	Texaco/Havoline Grand Prix of Denver	S Streets of Denver	Denver, Colorado	August 25
13	Molson Indy Vancouver	S Streets of Vancouver	Vancouver, British Columbia	September 1
14	Pioneer Electronics 200 Presented by Budweiser	R Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	Lexington, Ohio	September 15
15	The Chicago Tribune Presents the Texaco/Havoline 200	R Road America	Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin	September 22
16	Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix	O Pennsylvania International Raceway	Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania	October 6
NC	Marlboro Challenge	R Laguna Seca Raceway	Monterey, California	October 19
17	Toyota Monterey Grand Prix Featuring the Champion Spark Plug 300	R Laguna Seca Raceway	Monterey, California	October 20

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

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

Results

Rd.	Race	Pole position	Most laps led	Race winner
Rd.	Race	Pole position	Most laps led	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine
1	Surfers Paradise	Michael Andretti	Al Unser Jr.	John Andretti	Hall-VDS Racing	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet
2	Long Beach	Michael Andretti	Al Unser Jr.	Al Unser Jr.	Galles-Kraco Racing	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet
3	Phoenix	Rick Mears	Arie Luyendyk	Arie Luyendyk	Vince Granatelli Racing	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet
4	Indianapolis	Rick Mears	Michael Andretti	Rick Mears	Marlboro Team Penske	Penske PC-20	Chevrolet
5	Milwaukee	Rick Mears	Michael Andretti	Michael Andretti	Newman/Haas Racing	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet
6	Detroit	Michael Andretti	Emerson Fittipaldi	Emerson Fittipaldi	Marlboro Team Penske	Penske PC-20	Chevrolet
7	Portland	Emerson Fittipaldi	Michael Andretti	Michael Andretti	Newman/Haas Racing	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet
8	Cleveland	Emerson Fittipaldi	Emerson Fittipaldi	Michael Andretti	Newman/Haas Racing	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet
9	Meadowlands	Rick Mears	Bobby Rahal	Bobby Rahal	Galles-Kraco Racing	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet
10	Toronto	Michael Andretti	Michael Andretti	Michael Andretti	Newman/Haas Racing	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet
11	Michigan	Rick Mears	Michael Andretti	Rick Mears	Marlboro Team Penske	Penske PC-20	Chevrolet
12	Denver	Michael Andretti	Al Unser Jr.	Al Unser Jr.	Galles-Kraco Racing	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet
13	Vancouver	Michael Andretti	Michael Andretti	Michael Andretti	Newman/Haas Racing	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet
14	Mid-Ohio	Michael Andretti	Michael Andretti	Michael Andretti	Newman/Haas Racing	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet
15	Road America	Bobby Rahal	Michael Andretti	Michael Andretti	Newman/Haas Racing	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet
16	Nazareth	Rick Mears	Michael Andretti	Arie Luyendyk	Vince Granatelli Racing	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet
NC	Marlboro Challenge	Michael Andretti	Rick Mears	Michael Andretti	Newman/Haas Racing	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet
17	Laguna Seca	Michael Andretti	Michael Andretti	Michael Andretti	Newman/Haas Racing	Lola T91/00	Chevrolet

Points standings

Driver standings

Pos	Driver	SUR	LBH	PHX	INDY	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	MEA	TOR	MIC	DEN	VAN	MDO	ROA	NAZ	MAR	LAG	Pts
1	Michael Andretti	14	16	4	2*	1*	19	1*	1	16	1*	14*	3	1*	1*	1*	3*	1	1*	234
2	Bobby Rahal	2	2	2	19	4	2	3	3	1*	3	11	20	2	3	4	2	7	24	200
3	Al Unser Jr.	16*	1*	6	4	19	4	4	4	2	23	3	1*	3	5	2	4	4	2	197
4	Rick Mears	3	4	5	1	15	5	6	17	3	20	1	8	6	6	15	15	2*	5	145
5	Emerson Fittipaldi	19	17	3	11	8	1*	2	2*	7	21	20	2	17	2	6	8	3	4	140
6	Arie Luyendyk	9	5	1*	3	17	3	7	5	18	19	2	22	19	9	5	1	8	8	134
7	Mario Andretti	17	19	9	7	3	7	5	6	15	2	4	15	4	7	3	5	5	3	132
8	John Andretti	1	18	11	5	2	6	19	15	4	5	6	7	7	10	19	9	6	19	105
9	Eddie Cheever	15	3	8	31	7	12	9	8	5	17	7	4	12	8	7	6	10	6	91
10	Scott Pruett	5	24	12	12	13	17	8	23	17	4	13	5	5	4	17	18		7	67
11	Danny Sullivan	4	11	7	10	5	10	21	9	6	14	18	18	9	17	16	20	9	9	56
12	Scott Brayton	6	8	13	17	6	9	15	7	9	6	9	16	10	13	11	19		27	52
13	Scott Goodyear	23	7	21	27	9	8	10	19	8	7	15	24	8	11	9	21		11	42
14	Tony Bettenhausen Jr.	10	12	18	9	12	13	13	13	21	11	5	10	18	18	13	10		16	27
15	Jeff Andretti RY	7	9	10	15	11	16	12	16	23	9	12	12	11	22	18	11		13	26
16	Mike Groff	8	23	16	24	18	22	11	10	11	8		Wth		20	8			15	22
17	Willy T. Ribbs				32		11		22	10			6	21		10	17		12	17
18	John Jones								21	19	10	8	11	15	21	21	13		21	10
19	Ted Prappas R	22	6		DNQ		25	17	18	22	16		21	14	12	23			23	9
20	Gordon Johncock				6															8
21	Paul Tracy R		22									21					7		25	6
22	Buddy Lazier	25	25		33		18		11		22		9		24	24			22	6
23	Hiro Matsushita	21	13	14	16	10	14	14	14	12	15	19	14	16	14	12	12		20	6
24	Stan Fox				8															5
25	Didier Theys		10		DNQ		DNS	22	12	20	13		23		23	25			14	4
26	Pancho Carter				21	14						10								3
27	Cor Euser R																		10	3
28	Franco Scapini R	11																		2
29	Gary Bettenhausen				22^F															1
30	Randy Lewis	13	15	19	14					14	12	16	17		15	22			26	1
31	Dean Hall	12			DNQ															1
32	Jeff Wood			22			24	20					13	20	19	14	DNS		17	0
33	A. J. Foyt				28	16	23	16	20	13		17					16			0
34	Ross Bentley R													13						0
35	Dominic Dobson				13															0
36	Guido Daccò		14	20	Wth		21	18												0
37	Dennis Vitolo R	24	26				20										14			0
38	Roberto Guerrero				30		15				18		19						18	0
39	Mark Dismore R	20	21	15	Wth															0
40	Michael Greenfield														16	20				0
41	Al Unser			17																0
42	Bernard Jourdain		20		18															0
43	Phil Krueger	18	Wth																	0
44	Johnny Parsons				DNQ	20														0
45	Geoff Brabham				20															0
46	Dale Coyne					21		23												0
47	Nicola Marozzo R													22	DNS	Wth				0
48	Tero Palmroth				23															0
49	John Paul Jr.				25															0
50	Jim Crawford				26															0
51	Kevin Cogan				29															0
	Jon Beekhuis											DNS								0
	Tom Sneva				DNQ															0
	Salt Walther				DNQ															0
	Tony de Tommaso R												DNQ							0
Pos	Driver	SUR	LBH	PHX	INDY	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	MEA	TOR	MIC	DEN	VAN	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)
Blank	Not competing

In-line notation
Bold	Pole position
Italics	Ran fastest race lap
*	Led most race laps
^F	Fastest qualifier at the Indy 500
RY	Rookie of the Year
R	Rookie

Results by entrant

Only full-time entrants and points scoring cars shown.

Pos	Driver	SUR	LBH	PHX	INDY	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	MEA	TOR	MIC	DEN	VAN	MDO	ROA	NAZ	LAG	Pts
1	#2 Newman/Haas Racing	14	16	4	2*	1*	19	1*	1	16	1*	14*	3	1*	1*	1*	3*	1*	234
2	#18 Galles-Kraco Racing	2	2	2	19	4	2	3	3	1*	3	11	20	2	3	4	2	24	200
3	#1 Galles-Kraco Racing	16*	1*	6	4	19	4	4	4	2	23	3	1*	3	5	2	4	2	197
4	#3 Penske Racing	3	4	5	1	15	5	6	17	3	20	1	8	6	6	15	15	5	145
5	#5 Penske Racing	19	17	3	11	8	1*	2	2*	7	21	20	2	17	2	6	8	4	140
6	#9 Vince Granatelli Racing	9	5	1*	3	17	3	7	5	18	19	2	22	19	9	5	1	8	134
7	#6 Newman/Haas Racing	17	19	9	7	3	7	5	6	15	2	4	15	4	7	3	5	3	132
8	#4 Hall-VDS Racing	1	18	11	5	2	6	19	15	4	5	6	7	7	10	19	9	19	105
9	#8 Chip Ganassi Racing	15	3	8	31	7	12	9	8	5	17	7	4	12	8	7	6	6	91
10	#11 Truesports	5	24	12	12	13	17	8	23	17	4	13	5	5	4	17	18	7	67
11	#20 Patrick Racing	4	11	7	10	5	10	21	9	6	14	18	18	9	17	16	20	9	56
12	#22 Dick Simon Racing	6	8	13	17	6	9	15	7	9	6	9	16	10	13	11	19	27	52
13	#15 UNO Racing	23	7	21	27	9	8	10	19	8	7	15	24	8	11	9	21	11	42
14	#16 Bettenhausen Motorsports	10	12	18	9	12	13	13	13	21	11	5	10	18	18	13	10	16	27
15	#86 Bayside Motorsports	7	9	10	15	11	16	12	16	23	9	12	12	11	22	18	11	13	26
16	#17 Walker Motorsport				32		11		22	10			6	21	24	10	17	12	17
17	#50 Euromotorsport Racing	8	23	16	24	18	22	11	10	11	18		13	20	19	14	DNS	17	12
18	#14 A. J. Foyt Enterprises		20	17	28	16	23	16	20	13	8	17	Wth		20	8	16	15	10
19	#12 Arciero Racing	20	21	15	21	14	24	20	21	19	10	8	11	15	21	21	13	21	10
20	#31 P.I.G. Enterprises	22	6		DNQ		25	17	18	22	16		21	14	12	23		23	9
21	#92 Hemelgarn Racing				6														8
22	#21 Leader Card Racing	12	10		DNQ	20	DNS	22	12	20	13	10	23		23	25		14	8
23	#17 Penske Racing											21					7	25	6
24	#7 Dick Simon Racing	21	13	14	16	10	14	14	14	12	15	19	14	16	14	12	12	20	6
25	#91 Hemelgarn-Byrd Racing				8														5
26	#39 Dale Coyne Racing	24	22	22			20				22		9		16	20		22	4
27	#90 Dale Coyne Racing	25	26				18									24		10	3
28	#19 Dale Coyne Racing	13	15	19	14	21		23	11	14	12	16	17	13	15	22	14	26	3
29	#42 Euromotorsport Racing	11			DNQ								DNQ	22	DNS	Wth			2
30	#51 Menard Racing				22^F														1
Pos	Driver	SUR	LBH	PHX	INDY	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	MEA	TOR	MIC	DEN	VAN	MDO	ROA	NAZ	LAG	Pts

Chassis Constructors' Cup

Pos	Chassis	Pts
1	Lola T9100/T9000/T8900/T8800	352
2	Penske PC-20/PC-19/PC-17	229
3	Truesports 91	67
Pos	Chassis	Pts

Engine Manufacturers' Cup

Pos	Engine	Pts
1	Chevrolet A	374
2	Judd	93
3	Cosworth DFS/DFX	57
4	Alfa Romeo	56
5	Buick	15
Pos	Engine	Pts

Footnotes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g
Various car owners established partnerships with teams that owned CART franchises by running entries on their behalf, which were entitled to a set amount of money per car entered.
- Dale Coyne Racing entered a Hemelgarn Racing-run car for Buddy Lazier as:
  - No. 19 in Round 8
  - No. 39 in Rounds 10, 12 and 17
  - No. 90 in Rounds 6 and 15
- Walker Motorsports entered a Hemelgarn Racing-run car for Buddy Lazier as No. 10 in Round 14.
- Dale Coyne Racing entered a Nu-Tech Motorsports-run car for Dennis Vitolo as:
  - No. 39 in Rounds 1 and 6
  - No. 90 in Round 2
- Dale Coyne Racing entered a Bettenhausen Motorsports-run car for Cor Euser as No. 90 in Round 17.
^ Used by Matsushita at rounds 1, 3, 6 and 7.

References

"1991 CART PPG IndyCar World Series standings". race-database.com. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
Åberg, Andreas. "PPG Indy Car World Series 1991". Driver Database. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
"1991 PPG Indy Car World Series". Champ Car Stats. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
"Official Box Score: 75th Indianapolis 500-Mile Race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway". Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
"Standings after Laguna Seca". Champ Car World Series. Archived from the original on April 5, 2008. Retrieved December 7, 2015.