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1986 CART PPG Indy Car World Series

Sports season

The 1986 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season was the 8th national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by CART. The season consisted of 17 races, and one non-points exhibition event. Bobby Rahal was the national champion, and the rookie of the year was Chip Robinson. The 1986 Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned by USAC, but counted towards the CART points championship. Bobby Rahal won the Indy 500, and would later become the first driver since 1980 to win Indy and the CART championship in the same season.

The first two races of the season were won by Kevin Cogan (Phoenix) and Michael Andretti (Long Beach), respectively, the first career wins for both drivers on the CART circuit. Rain delayed the Indianapolis 500, postponing it for six days. Bobby Rahal, driving for Truesports, passed Kevin Cogan with two laps to go, and won for car owner Jim Trueman, who was stricken with cancer. Trueman died less than two weeks later.

The season would shape up as a two-man battle between Rahal and Michael Andretti. Andretti won at Milwaukee, which put him in the points lead for the first time. On Father's Day, Andretti was leading on the final lap at Portland. His car ran out of fuel on the final turn of the final lap, and his father Mario beat him to the finish line by 0.07 seconds. It would go down in lore as one of the most shocking finishes in Indy car history, as well as the closest finish in Indy car history on a road course (until 1997).

Rahal was back in victory lane in July, winning the inaugural Molson Indy Toronto, but Michael Andretti still held the points lead. Rahal won four out of five races during a stretch in August and September, and emerged with a 9-point lead in the standings with two races left. Michael Andretti won a key victory at the second-to-last race of the season at Phoenix, while Rahal finished 3rd.

Going into the season finale at Tamiami Park, Rahal held a scant 3-point lead over Andretti. Neither driver was a factor at Miami, and just past the halfway point, Andretti dropped out with a broken halfshaft. Rahal effectively clinched the championship when Andretti dropped out. Roberto Guerrero won the pole and dominated the race, leading the first 111 laps. But on the final lap, his car sputtered and he ran out of fuel. Al Unser Jr. slipped by to steal the victory, his lone win of 1986. Unser Jr. won from 19th starting position, the furthest back any driver had won a CART road/street course race at the time.

Drivers and teams

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1986 Indy Car World Series season. All cars used Goodyear tires.

Team	Chassis*	Engine*	No**	Drivers	Rounds
Bignotti-Cotter Racing	March 86C	Cosworth DFX	2 (5)	COL Roberto Guerrero	All
Curb-All American Racers	March 86C	Cosworth DFX	33	US Tom Sneva	All
66	US Ed Pimm	All except 8, 11-12, 14
IRL Derek Daly	8, 11-12, 14
Eagle 86GC	98	NLD Jan Lammers	1-3
Dick Simon Racing	Lola T86/00	Cosworth DFX	22	BRA Raul Boesel	All
23	US Dick Simon	3, 10, 12
US Chip Robinson	6-7, 17
GB Ian Ashley	8, 11, 14
Galles Racing	Lola T86/00 (2-11, 13-17)
March 86C(1, 12)	Cosworth DFX (1-4, 12-17)
Honda/Judd (5-11)	8	AUS Geoff Brabham	All
Lola T86/00	Cosworth DFX	9	BRA Roberto Moreno	1-11, 13-17
US Pancho Carter	12
15	3, 9-10
Hemelgarn Racing	March 86C (1, 3, 9-10, 13)	Cosworth DFX (1, 9-10, 13)
Buick V-6 (3)	71	US Scott Brayton	1, 3, 9-10, 13
Cosworth DFX	CAN Jacques Villeneuve Sr.	2, 4-8, 11-12, 14-17
81	3
Kraco Racing	March 86C	Cosworth DFX	18	US Michael Andretti	All
Leader Card Racing	March 86C	Cosworth DFX	24	US Gary Bettenhausen	1, 3-4, 9-10, 12-13, 16
USA Dominic Dobson	2, 5-8, 11, 14-15, 17
March 85C	42	US Phil Krueger	3
Machinists Union Racing	March 86C	Cosworth DFX	55	MEX Josele Garza	1-11, 17
US Johnny Parsons	12-13, 16
South Africa Desiré Wilson	14-15
59	11
US Chip Ganassi	1, 3
US Johnny Parsons	4, 7, 9-10
95	3
Alex Morales Motorsports	March 86C	Cosworth DFX	6	US Rich Vogler	3
21	US Johnny Rutherford	All
Newman/Haas Racing	Lola T86/00	Cosworth DFX	5 (2)	US Mario Andretti	All
Patrick Racing	March 86C	Cosworth DFX	7	US Kevin Cogan	All
20	BRA Emerson Fittipaldi	All
Penske Racing	March 86C (1, 3-5, 7-11, 13-16)
Penske PC-15 (2, 6, 12, 17)	Cosworth DFX (1, 3-5, 7-10)
Chevy 265A (2, 6, 11-17)	1/ 86 (4)	US Rick Mears	All
March 86C (1-16)
Penske PC-15 (17)	Cosworth DFX (1-16)
Chevy 265A (17)	4 (1)	US Danny Sullivan	All
March 86C (9-10, 17)
Penske PC-15 (1, 3)	Chevy 265A (1, 3, 9-10, 17	11	US Al Unser	1, 3, 9-10, 17
Doug Shierson Racing	Lola T86/00	Cosworth DFX	30	US Al Unser Jr.	All
Truesports	March 86C	Cosworth DFX	3	US Bobby Rahal	All
A. J. Foyt Enterprises	March 86C	Cosworth DFX	14	US A. J. Foyt	1, 3-4, 9-10, 13, 16-17
Chevy V6	44	US Mike Nish	3
Cosworth DFX	84	US George Snider	3, 9
US Sammy Swindell	10
Arciero Racing	March 86C	Cosworth DFX	12	US Randy Lanier	1-9
US Steve Chassey	11, 14-16
US Eddie Cheever	17
US Jeff MacPherson	13
Bettenhausen Motorsports	March 86C	Cosworth DFX	16	US Tony Bettenhausen Jr.	3
Lola T86/00/ March 86C	61	NED Arie Luyendyk	All except 5 and 12
Dale Coyne Racing	Coyne DC-1	Chevy	19	US Dale Coyne	All except 3-4
Gohr Racing	March 86C	Buick V-6 (Until Mid-Ohio)	56	US Steve Chassey	3-4, 9
US Rocky Moran	6-7, 10-11, 13-17
US John Morton	8
March 85C	Buick V-6	65	UK Rupert Keegan	3
J.P. Racing	Lola T900	Cosworth DFX	10	US Spike Gehlhausen	3, 9-10, 13
March Engineering	March 86C	Buick V-6	25	US Danny Ongais	3
31	UK Jim Crawford	3
Mosquito Autosport	March 85C	Cosworth DFX	16 (19)	US Rick Miaskiewicz	2-4, 6-8
Pace Racing	Lola T86/00	Cosworth DFX	36	US Randy Lewis	2, 6-8, 11, 14-15, 17
AUS Dennis Firestone	3, 9-10, 12, 13, 16
Team Menard	March 86C	Cosworth DFX	28	US Herm Johnson	3

The number in parentheses for chassis & engine indicates the round number it was used at.

** The number in parentheses for car number is the number the car used at the Indianapolis 500, if a different number was used.

Schedule

Icon	Legend
	Oval/Speedway
	Road course
	Street circuit

Rd	Date	Name	Circuit
April 6	USA Dana 200	Phoenix International Raceway	Avondale, Arizona
April 13	USA Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach	Streets of Long Beach	Long Beach, California
May 31*	USA Indianapolis 500	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Indianapolis, Indiana
June 8**	USA Miller American 200	Milwaukee Mile	West Allis, Wisconsin
June 15	USA Budweiser/G.I. Joe's 200	Portland International Raceway	Portland, Oregon
June 29	USA Chase Grand Prix at the Meadowlands	Meadowlands Sports Complex	East Rutherford, New Jersey
July 6	USA Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix	Burke Lakefront Airport	Cleveland, Ohio
July 20	CAN Molson Indy Toronto	Streets of Toronto	Toronto, Ontario
August 2	USA Michigan 500	Michigan International Speedway	Brooklyn, Michigan
August 17	USA Domino's Pizza 500	Pocono International Raceway	Long Pond, Pennsylvania
August 31	USA Escort Radar Warning 200	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	Lexington, Ohio
September 7	CAN Molson Indy Montreal	Sanair Super Speedway	Saint-Pie, Quebec
September 28	USA Pepsi Cola 250	Michigan International Speedway	Brooklyn, Michigan
October 4***	USA Race For Life 200	Road America	Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
October 12	USA Nissan Monterey Grand Prix	Laguna Seca Raceway	Monterey, California
October 19	USA Circle K/Fiesta Bowl 200	Phoenix International Raceway	Avondale, Arizona
November 9	USA Nissan Indy Challenge	Tamiami Park	Miami, Florida

The Indianapolis 500 was scheduled for May 25, but postponed due to rain.

** The Miller American 200 in Honor of Rex Mays was scheduled for June 1, but postponed due to the delay of running the Indianapolis 500 on May 31.

*** The Road America race was started on September 21, but stopped after a few laps due to rain, the rest was run on October 4.

Results

Rd	Event name	Pole position	Winner	Winning team
Dana 200 for Special Olympics	US Mario Andretti	US Kevin Cogan	Patrick Racing	1:39:42
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach	US Danny Sullivan	US Michael Andretti	Kraco Racing	1:57:34
Indianapolis 500	US Rick Mears	US Bobby Rahal	Truesports	2:55:43
Miller American 200 in Honor of Rex Mays	US Michael Andretti	US Michael Andretti	Kraco Racing	1:42:45
Budweiser/G.I. Joe's 200	Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi	US Mario Andretti	Newman/Haas Racing	1:50:53
Chase Grand Prix at the Meadowlands	US Michael Andretti	US Danny Sullivan	Team Penske	1:49:17
Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix	US Danny Sullivan	US Danny Sullivan	Team Penske	1:43:01
Molson Indy Toronto	Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi	US Bobby Rahal	Truesports	2:05:50
Michigan 500	US Rick Mears	US Johnny Rutherford	Alex Morales Motorsports	3:38:45
Domino's Pizza 500	US Michael Andretti	US Mario Andretti	Newman/Haas Racing	3:17:13
Escort Radar Warning 200	US Mario Andretti	US Bobby Rahal	Truesports	1:56:18
Molson Indy Montreal	US Rick Mears	US Bobby Rahal	Truesports	1:48:05
Pepsi Cola 250	US Rick Mears	US Bobby Rahal	Truesports	1:22:33
Race for Life 200	US Bobby Rahal	Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi	Patrick Racing	2:26:42
Champion Spark Plug 300k	US Mario Andretti	US Bobby Rahal	Truesports	1:33:20
Circle K/Fiesta Bowl 200	US Bobby Rahal	US Michael Andretti	Kraco Racing	1:29:06
Nissan Indy Challenge	COL Roberto Guerrero	US Al Unser Jr.	Doug Shierson Racing	1:52:45

Indianapolis was USAC-sanctioned but counted towards the CART title.

Drivers points standings

Pos	Driver	PHX1 USA	LBH USA	INDY USA	MIL USA	POR USA	MEA USA	CLE USA	TOR Canada	MIS1 USA	POC USA	MOH USA	SAN Canada	MIS2 USA	ROA USA	LAG USA	PHX2 USA	TAM USA
US Bobby Rahal	16	18	1	6	20	3	15	1	10*	14	1	1*	1	5	1*	3	8	179
US Michael Andretti	15*	1*	6	1*	2*	20	2	19	11	11*	10	6	2*	2*	3	1*	18	171
US Danny Sullivan	4	11	9	11	11	1	1*	2	25	16	3*	5	12	6	2	2	26	147
US Al Unser Jr.	12	2	5	8	3	9	8	4*	8	6	5	2	21	11	23	6	1	137
US Mario Andretti	7	5	32	5	1	24	3	3	21	1	24	8	10	9	4	4	11	136
US Kevin Cogan	1	17	2	12	14	21	23	5	22	2	4	4	4	20	9	14	4	115
Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi	3	16	7	24	12	2	13	17	20	19	21	3	3	1	7	5	20	103
US Rick Mears	19	20	3*	3	16	19	4	8	12	8	17	18	8	3	17	20	3	89
Colombia Roberto Guerrero	8	DNS	4	18	13	4*	17	20	24	21	2	17	22	4	5	12	2*	87
US Tom Sneva	2	4	33	2	4	17	5	9	18	15	12	13	5	12	22	18	22	82
US Johnny Rutherford	5	9	8	4	15	7	10	10	1	18	8	16	9	14	12	9	12	78
Australia Geoff Brabham	10	3	12	21	7	22	14	14	4	12	20	11	11	22	6	8	5	64
Brazil Raul Boesel	13	19	13	14	8	23	6	7	5	5	7	9	15	8	14	13	19	54
Mexico Josele Garza	23	7	18	7	17	8	7	23	2	7	14						24	45
Canada Jacques Villeneuve Sr.		8	20	15	5	5	19	24			11	19		10	19	16	6	38
Brazil Roberto Moreno	20	6	19	13	18	18	25	18	6	10	16		6	16	20	10	17	30
The Netherlands Arie Luyendyk	6	15	15	9		16	24	6	23	17	18		13	7	10	15	21	29
US Ed Pimm	22	22	17	10	6	12	DNS		15	24			7		11	7	10	29
US Pancho Carter			16						3	3		15						28
US Randy Lanier	11	13	10	20	9	6	9	21	19									21
US A. J. Foyt	17		24	19					9	4			16			22	23	16
The Netherlands Jan Lammers	9	14	DNQ												8	23	9	13
Ireland Derek Daly			DNQ								6	10		13				11
US Johnny Parsons			27	22			21		16	29		7	23			11		8
US Randy Lewis		10				10	20	11			15			24	18		14	8
US Chip Robinson						14											7	6
US Spike Gehlhausen			DNQ						7	22			18					6
UK Ian Ashley								15			9			23				4
US Sammy Swindell										9								4
US Mike Nish			DNQ	DNS	10	24		22										3
USA Dominic Dobson		12			19	11	18	16			19			18	21		13	3
US Rick Miaskiewicz		21	DNQ	16		15	11	13	DNS									2
US Gary Bettenhausen	21		11	23					26	13		21	20			19		2
US Dale Coyne	DNQ	23			21	DNQ	12	DNQ	DNQ	26	23	12	DNQ	17	DNS	DNQ	25	2
US John Morton								12										1
US Rocky Moran						13	16			25	25		DNQ	21	15	21	16	0
US Jeff MacPherson											22			15	13	DNQ		0
South Africa Desiré Wilson											13			19	16			0
US Scott Brayton	24		30						13	27			19					0
Australia Dennis Firestone			Wth						17	28		14	14			17		0
US Al Unser	18		22						14	20							15	0
US Dick Simon			14				22			23		20						0
US Chip Ganassi	14		21															0
US Steve Chassey			DNQ	17					28				17					0
US Danny Ongais			23															0
US Tom Phillips															24			0
US Rich Vogler			25															0
US George Snider			26						27									0
US Eddie Cheever																	27	0
US Tony Bettenhausen Jr.			28															0
UK Jim Crawford			29															0
US Phil Krueger			31															0
UK Rupert Keegan			DNQ															-
US Herm Johnson			DNQ															-
US Steve Bren			DNQ															-
US John Paul Jr.			Wth															-

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)
Driver
replacement
(Rpl)
Injured
(Inj)
Race not held
(NH)
Not competing

|- |

In-line notation
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*

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References

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