1983 CART PPG Indy Car World Series

The 1983 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season was the 5th national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by CART. The season consisted of 13 races. Al Unser was the national champion, and the rookie of the year was Teo Fabi. The 1983 Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned by USAC, but an arrangement was made such that it counted towards the CART points championship. Tom Sneva won the Indy 500, after three previous runner-up finishes.

1983 CART season
PPG Indy Car World Series
Season
Races13
Start dateApril 17
End dateOctober 29
Awards
Drivers' championUnited States Al Unser
Constructors' CupUnited Kingdom March
Manufacturers' CupUnited Kingdom Cosworth
Nations' CupUnited States United States
Rookie of the YearItaly Teo Fabi
Indianapolis 500 winnerUnited States Tom Sneva

Al Unser jumped out to the early points lead, with second-place finishes in the first three races of the season. Unser finished second at Indianapolis to Tom Sneva, but not without some controversy. Rookie Al Unser Jr. was accused of blocking for his father, but Sneva prevailed, making the winning pass with ten laps to go. Unser won at Cleveland, finished second at the Michigan 500, and third at Road America. After 6 of 13 races, Unser had a 35-point lead over Tom Sneva in the standings.

Rookie Teo Fabi made headlines at Indianapolis, becoming the first rookie to win the pole since 1950. His car dropped out, however, with a failed fuel o-ring. After a mixed start to the year, Fabi's season came alive in July, winning his first career race at the Pocono 500. Fabi jumped from 8th in points to as high as second following his win at Mid-Ohio. Fabi began to whittle away at Unser's point lead. Unser was running consistently, and had no finish worse than 11th.

In the next-to-last race of the season at Laguna Seca, Fabi dominated. He won the pole position and led 95 of 98 laps, winning his third race of the season. With only one race to go, Unser's point lead was down to 15 points. At the season finale in Phoenix, Fabi put in another dominating performance. He won the pole and led 138 of 150 laps. Fabi's championship hopes, however, fell just short as Al Unser came home 4th. Al Unser won the title by a mere 5 points over Fabi.

Other top stories from 1983 included Newman/Haas Racing joining the series with driver Mario Andretti plus a new chassis from Lola, and the rookie debut of Al Unser Jr. Though Unser Jr. did not win any races, he had ten top-10 finishes en route to 7th in points.

Drivers and constructors

The following teams and drivers competed for the 1983 CART World Series. All competitors utilized Goodyear tires.

Team/Car Owner No Drivers Rounds
Alex Morales Motorsports 21 United States Pancho Carter All
All American Racers 98 United States Jeff Wood 11-12
Alsup Racing 11 United States Bill Alsup 1, 3-5, 7, 9-10, 12-13
Arciero Racing 66 United States Pete Halsmer 1, 3-13
United States Johnny Parsons 2
Armstrong Mould Racing Team 43 United States Steve Krisiloff 2
BC Pace Racing 36 United States Chuck Ciprich 7
Bettenhausen Racing 10 United States Tony Bettenhausen Jr. All
82 United States Gary Bettenhausen 13
90 Republic of Ireland Derek Daly 6, 9, 11-13
Bignotti-Cotter Racing 5 United States Tom Sneva All
6 United States Kevin Cogan 1, 3-13
16 2
Bob Ward Racing 47 United States Bob Ward 8
Brayton Racing 35 United States Patrick Bedard 2, 5, 7
37 United States Scott Brayton 2, 4-5, 7, 10-11
Circle Bar Auto Racing 38 United States Chet Fillip 1-2, 10
Circle Bar Auto Racing w/ Caliva Racing United States Phil Caliva 8
Dick Simon Racing 32 United States Dick Simon 6
22 1-3, 5, 8-11, 13
Peru Jorge Koechlin 12
Doug Shierson Racing 30 United States Howdy Holmes All
Douglas Schulz 48 United States Tom Klausler 6, 8
Forsythe Racing 33 Italy Teo Fabi All
Galles Racing 17 United States Al Unser Jr. 1, 3-13
19 2
Gilmore Racing 1 United States George Snider 2
14 United States A. J. Foyt 2
Gohr Racing 56 United States Steve Chassey 1-8, 11-13
GTS Racing 86 United States Drake Olson 6
United States Al Loquasto 7
H&R Racing 28 United States Gary Bettenhausen 3, 7, 9
United States Herm Johnson 9
HBK Racing 70 United States Tom Bigelow 3
78 5
Herm Johnson Racing 42 United States Herm Johnson 4-5
Hoffman Racing 86 United States Dick Ferguson 5
Intercomp Racing 92 United States John Mahler 2
Interscope Racing 25 United States Danny Ongais 2
Jet Engineering 64 United States Greg Leffler 6, 8-9
United States Tom Bigelow 12
Joel McCray Racing 46 United States Phil Krueger 1, 3-4, 9
Kraco Enterprises 18 United States Mike Mosley 1-8, 10, 13
Australia Geoff Brabham 11-12
99 8, 10
United States Michael Andretti 11-13
Leader Card Racers 8 United States Johnny Parsons 5
United States Tom Bagley 7
United States Randy Lewis 12
24 United States Chip Mead 9-10
Machinists Union Racing 9 United States Roger Mears 1-4, 6-13
55 Mexico Josele Garza 2, 4-12
McElreath Racing 23 United States Jim McElreath 1, 5, 7
Newman/Haas Racing 3 United States Mario Andretti All
Patrick Racing 40 United States Johnny Rutherford 1, 7, 10-11, 13
United States Danny Ongais 4-6
60 3
20 7-9
60 United States Chip Ganassi 2, 4-5, 7, 9-13
20 6
United States Gordon Johncock 1-5
Primus Racing 72 United States Chris Kneifel 2, 4-13
Racing Team VDS 12 United States John Paul Jr. 1, 4-13
Australia Geoff Brabham 2
Rattlesnake Racing w/ Agajanian Curb 29 United States Mike Chandler 2
19 5
United States Dick Ferguson 7
Rhoades Racing 41 United States Doug Heveron 1
46 United States Jerry Karl 7-8
61 3, 5
Simpson Sports 90 Australia Dennis Firestone 2
Team Penske 1 United States Rick Mears 1, 3-13
2 2
7 United States Al Unser All
Tempero Racing 15 United States Bill Tempero 4, 9
Truesports 2 United States Bobby Rahal 1, 3-12
4 2
Whittington Racing 91 United States Don Whittington 2, 5, 7
94 United States Bill Whittington 2, 4, 7
Wysard Racing 34 Republic of Ireland Derek Daly 1-2
South Africa Desiré Wilson 3, 6-9, 11-13
Australia Geoff Brabham 5

Schedule

Logo of the series for this year

Of the notable changes to the schedule, there was the additions of the Caesars Palace Grand Prix which was formally a Formula One championship event and Laguna Seca Raceway. The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio returned to the schedule after a 2 year hiatus, and finally starting this season there would only be one race per season at the Milwaukee Mile.

Rd Date Name Circuit Location TV Broadcaster
- March 20 United States Kraco Car Stereo 150  O  Phoenix International Raceway Avondale, Arizona N/A
1 April 17 United States Kraco Dixie 200  O  Atlanta Motor Speedway Hampton, Georgia NBC
2 May 29 United States Indianapolis 500  O  Indianapolis Motor Speedway Indianapolis, Indiana ABC
3 June 12 United States Gould Rex Mays Classic  O  Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wisconsin ESPN
4 July 3 United States Budweiser Cleveland 500  R  Burke Lakefront Airport Cleveland, Ohio ESPN
5 July 17 United States Norton Michigan 500  O  Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan NBC
6 July 31 United States Provimi Veal 200  R  Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin TNN
7 August 14 United States Domino's Pizza 500  O  Pocono International Raceway Long Pond, Pennsylvania NBC
8 August 29* United States Budweiser 500K  R  Riverside International Raceway Riverside, California ESPN
9 September 11 United States Escort Radar Warning 200  R  Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio ESPN
10 September 26 United States Detroit News Grand Prix  O  Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan ESPN
11 October 8 United States Caesars Palace Grand Prix  R  Caesars Palace Las Vegas, Nevada NBC
12 October 23 United States Cribari Wines 300k  R  Laguna Seca Raceway Monterey, California ESPN
13 October 29 United States Miller High Life 150  O  Phoenix International Raceway Avondale, Arizona NBC

 O  Oval/Speedway
 R  Dedicated road course

  • The season-opening Phoenix race was cancelled due to flooding.
  • The Riverside race was scheduled for August 28, but pushed a day due to rain.

Season Summary

Race results

Rd Race Name Pole Position Fastest Lap Winning driver Winning team Race time Report
1 Kraco Dixie 200 United States Rick Mears 26.730 United States Gordon Johncock Patrick Racing 1:22:29 Report
2 Indianapolis 500 Italy Teo Fabi 2:53.582 United States Tom Sneva Bignotti-Cotter Racing 3:05:03 Report
3 Gould Rex Mays Classic Italy Teo Fabi 26.259 United States Tom Sneva Bignotti-Cotter Racing 1:17:42 Report
4 Budweiser Cleveland 500 United States Mario Andretti 1:13.516 United States Al Unser Penske Racing 2:51:54 Report
5 Norton Michigan 500 Italy Teo Fabi 35.621 United States John Paul Jr. VDS Racing 3:42:27 Report
6 Provimi Veal 200 United States Mario Andretti 1:58.898 United States Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing 2:00:42 Report
7 Domino's Pizza 500 United States Tom Sneva 46.912 Italy Teo Fabi Forsythe Racing 3:42:28 Report
8 Budweiser 500K Italy Teo Fabi 1:30.887 United States Bobby Rahal Truesports 2:45:28 Report
9 Escort Radar Warning 200 United States Bobby Rahal 1:21.364 Italy Teo Fabi Forsythe Racing 2:01:49 Report
10 Detroit News Grand Prix United States Bobby Rahal 35.075 United States Rick Mears Penske Racing 1:05:49 Report
11 Caesars Palace Grand Prix United States John Paul Jr. 34.888 United States Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing 2:17:48 Report
12 Cribari Wines 300k Italy Teo Fabi 56.920 Italy Teo Fabi Forsythe Racing 1:44:28 Report
13 Miller High Life 150 Italy Teo Fabi 24.947 Italy Teo Fabi Forsythe Racing 1:11:03 Report
  • Indianapolis was USAC-sanctioned but counted towards the CART title.

Final points standings

Pos Driver ATL
United States
INDY
United States
MIL
United States
CLE
United States
MIC
United States
ROA
United States
POC
United States
RIV
United States
MDO
United States
MIC
United States
CPL
United States
LAG
United States
PHX
United States
Pts
1 United States Al Unser 2 2 2 1* 2 3 11 11 4 5 4 11 4 151
2 Italy Teo Fabi  RY  20 26 4 3 15 15 1* 2 1* 3 25 1* 1* 146
3 United States Mario Andretti 5 23 18 15 3 1 7 16 2 4 1* 2 2 133
4 United States Tom Sneva 14 1* 1* 5 25 4 12 5 7 21 15 18 3 96
5 United States Bobby Rahal 21 20 6 19 5 10* 5 1 3 2 9 7 DNS 94
6 United States Rick Mears 8* 3 3 7 4 17 3 19 9 1* 13 21 17 92
7 United States Al Unser Jr.  R  6 10 13 9 7 2 2 4* 18 10 10 4 8 89
8 United States John Paul Jr.  R  3 DNQ 21 1* 5 29 3 20 7 2 26 11 84
9 United States Chip Ganassi 8 13 8 21 26 25 6 3 3 5 56
10 United States Pancho Carter 16 7 14 8 6 7 6 7 10 15 6 25 10 53
11 United States Pete Halsmer 4 DNQ 9 2 33 14 14 27 24 14 5 20 7 48
12 United States Roger Mears 7 28 8 6 DNQ 8 16 9 12 16 7 6 16 43
13 United States Howdy Holmes 9 6 7 12 32 16 13 13 8 8 17 5 21 39
14 United States Mike Mosley 13 13 5 4 17 25 4 24 DNQ 11 24 36
15 United States Kevin Cogan 15 5 20 25 27 19 15 21 6 20 16 22 6 26
16 United States Gordon Johncock 1 14 23 26 26 20
17 United States Chris Kneifel  R  12 27 9 26 8 22 13 24 8 9 15 19
18 United States Tony Bettenhausen Jr. 10 17 10 18 18 12 10 8 14 9 21 14 18 19
19 United States Steve Chassey 17 11 19 22 10 6 25 17 12 10 19 17
20 United States Danny Ongais 21 12 28 23 18 24 10 5 14
21 Australia Geoff Brabham 4 22 18 12 20 16 13
22 Mexico Josele Garza 25 17 19 11 9 20 23 17 11 12 9
23 United States Tom Klausler  R  22 6 DNQ 8
24 United States Jeff Wood  R  22 8 5
25 United States Scott Brayton 9 24 12 28 13 26 5
26 Republic of Ireland Derek Daly  R  22 19 DNS 9 22 18 23 22 4
27 United States Michael Andretti  R  19 24 9 4
28 South Africa Desiré Wilson  R  DNQ 10 20 31 14 16 23 19 13 3
29 United States Dick Simon DNQ 15 11 14 13 25 15 19 14 23 2
30 United States Jim McElreath 11 13 23 2
31 United States Greg Leffler DNQ DNQ 24 15 11 2
32 United States Phil Krueger DNQ DNQ 17 11 27 2
33 United States Dick Ferguson DNQ 11 22 2
34 United States Jerry Karl DNQ 16 DNQ 21 32 12 1
35 United States Gary Bettenhausen DNQ 22 27 DNS 12 1
36 United States Doug Heveron  R  12 DNQ 1
37 United States Randy Lewis  R  13 0
38 United States Bill Alsup DNS DNQ 21 20 16 20 19 22 27 14 0
39 United States Tom Bigelow DNQ 15 DNQ 29 17 DNQ 0
40 United States Bill Whittington  R  18 15 19 0
41 Peru Jorge Koechlin  R  15 0
42 United States Herm Johnson DNQ 16 24 DNQ 17 0
43 United States Mike Chandler 16 31 0
44 United States Patrick Bedard  R  30 28 17 0
45 United States Chet Fillip  R  19 33 DNQ 18 0
46 United States Johnny Rutherford 18 Wth 21 23 24 20 0
47 United States Al Loquasto DNQ 18 0
48 United States Don Whittington 27 20 33 0
49 United States Bill Tempero DNQ 23 DNQ 21 0
50 United States Johnny Parsons 22 30 0
51 United States Phil Caliva DNQ 23 0
52 United States Drake Olson  R  DNQ 23 0
53 Australia Dennis Firestone 24 0
54 United States Chip Mead 26 25 0
55 United States Bob Ward  R  26 DNQ DNS 0
56 United States Steve Krisiloff 29 DNQ 0
57 United States Chuck Ciprich  R  DNQ 30 0
58 United States A. J. Foyt 31 0
59 United States George Snider 32 0
60 United States Tom Bagley DNQ 34 0
- United States Richard Hubbard DNQ DNQ DNQ 0
- United States Barry Ruble DNQ DNQ 0
- Belgium Teddy Pilette DNQ DNS 0
- Canada Harry MacDonald DNQ 0
- United States Mark Alderson DNQ 0
- United States Jim Buick DNQ 0
- United States Larry Cannon DNQ 0
- United States Bob Frey DNQ 0
- United States Amber Furst DNQ 0
- United States Spike Gehlhausen DNQ 0
- United States Bob Harkey DNQ 0
- United States Sheldon Kinser DNQ 0
- United States Bob Lazier DNQ 0
- United States John Mahler DNQ 0
- United States Mack McClellan DNQ 0
- New Zealand Graham McRae DNQ 0
- United States Dave Peperak DNQ 0
- United States Roger Rager DNQ 0
- United States Ken Schrader DNQ 0
- United States Jerry Sneva DNQ 0
- United States Rich Vogler DNQ 0
- United States Bill Vukovich II DNQ 0
- United States John Morton DNQ 0
- United States Lee Kunzman DNP 0
- New Zealand Dave McMillan DNP 0
- United States Bobby Olivero DNP 0
- United States Bill Puterbaugh DNP 0
- United States Larry Rice DNP 0
- United States Dale Whittington DNP 0
Pos Driver ATL
United States
INDY
United States
MIL
United States
CLE
United States
MIC
United States
ROA
United States
POC
United States
RIV
United States
MDO
United States
MIC
United States
CPL
United States
LAG
United States
PHX
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

See also

References

  • Åberg, Andreas. "PPG Indy Car World Series 1983". Driver Database. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
  • "1983 PPG Indy Car World Series". Champ Car Stats. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
  • "Official Box Score: 67th 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 Phoenix". Champ Car World Series. Archived from the original on 22 October 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
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