The Indy car testing was accompanied by a concurrent IROC feasibility test. Teammate Jim Crawford also ran a 230 mph lap.
#1997 indy 440 driver#
On March 28, Roberto Guerrero became the first driver to run a test lap over 230 mph. Rookie driver Paul Tracy continued into his second year with Penske, and was offered his first attempt at Indy.ĭuring testing in March and April, King Racing set the early pace. He won the second race of the season at Phoenix, leading wire-to-wire. Right off the bat, Rahal scored a victory for the re-booted team. In December, however, Pat Patrick sold the assets of Patrick Racing to Rahal, and it became Rahal-Hogan Racing. Team and driver switches for 1992 included most notably Bobby Rahal and Danny Sullivan, who swapped rides with each other at Galles-Kraco Racing and Patrick Racing respectively. A crash earlier in the season at Phoenix left him with a fractured shoulder, but it would be only a minor setback. It would be his record 35th consecutive Indy 500 start. He raced in the 1992 Daytona 500, and entered as a driver for Indianapolis. Foyt brushed off the idea, and returned to the cockpit. Previously Truesports had been utilizing the Judd AV engine.Īfter much fanfare of a pending retirement in 1991, A. Truesports fielded their own in-house "All American" chassis for the second year in a row, this time designated the Truesports 92C, and powered by the Chevy Ilmor-A.
#1997 indy 440 drivers#
managed a 4th place at Phoenix, but both drivers entered the month of May at Indy with mixed expectations. The chassis was expected to excel on street and road courses, but there were some doubts about its oval track abilities. Teammate Danny Sullivan won a few weeks later at Long Beach, with Unser Jr. won the pole position for the season opener at Surfers Paradise and finished 4th. It met with instant success as Al Unser Jr. Galles-Kraco Racing unveiled their new Galmer chassis for 1992. The rest of the Chevrolet teams utilized the existing Ilmor (265-A), now being referred to as the "Chevrolet-A". For 1992, Ilmor introduced an updated motor (265-B), badged as the "Chevrolet-B," and it was fielded by Penske Racing singly. It quickly became an engine of choice, and for 1992, was the powerplant for Newman/Haas Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing. The Ford Cosworth XB was introduced to replace the aging DFX and the lesser-used DFS. The biggest announcement was the return of Ford to the Indy car ranks.
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He also became the third member of the famous Unser family to win the race.Ĭold temperatures and high winds turned the race into a crash-filled, marathon day. became the first second-generation driver to win the Indy 500, following in the footsteps of his father Al Unser, Sr. held off second place Scott Goodyear for the victory by 0.043 seconds, the closest finish in Indy history. The race is famous for the fierce battle in the closing laps, as race winner Al Unser, Jr. The 76th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday, May 24, 1992.