CART PPG Indy Car World Series (1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995)

Lore & Background

CART was founded in 1979 by team owners formerly from USAC, who disagreed with USAC's leadership. The series became the pre-eminent open-wheel series in North America during the 1980s and 1990s, featuring a diverse schedule of superspeedways, short ovals, road courses, and street circuits. From 1983 to 1995, the Indianapolis 500 counted in the CART championship points standings, though it remained sanctioned by USAC. The series rebranded as IndyCar in 1992, but after the 1996 split with the IRL, CART ceased using the IndyCar name. CART went bankrupt at the end of the 2003 season, and its assets were acquired and rebranded as the Champ Car World Series in 2004.

In Their Own Story

The air at Laguna Seca was thick with tension and the acrid bite of methanol. The final race of the CART PPG season. Emerson Fittipaldi, the weathered Brazilian with two decades of scars and glory, needed to finish ahead of his rival Nigel Mansell to claim the championship. The crowd held its breath as Fittipaldi's Penske-Chevrolet dove into the corkscrew, its engine shrieking a desperate, high-pitched wail that bounced off the hills. Mansell, in his Newman-Haas Lola-Ford, threw his car into the corners with Formula One fury, but he couldn't match the Brazilian's rhythm—a rhythm honed on the bumpy streets of Long Beach and the treacherous banks of Michigan. As the checkered flag fell, Fittipaldi crossed the line third, just enough. In victory lane, he sprayed champagne, a grin splitting his sun-worn face—a champion in the twilight of a storied career, proving that experience still mattered in the world's fastest series.

Reader's Guide

The series used single-seat, open-wheel champ cars with mid-mounted turbocharged engines running on methanol. Chassis were built by suppliers such as Lola, Swift, Reynard, and March, with some teams constructing their own. Goodyear was the exclusive tire supplier until 1995, when Firestone entered; Firestone became exclusive in 2000, with Bridgestone taking over in 2002. Engines included Cosworth, Ilmor (branded as Chevrolet), Buick, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, and Toyota. In 2003, after Honda and Toyota withdrew, CART purchased identical 2.65L V-8 turbocharged Cosworth engines and leased them to teams under Ford branding.

Did You Know?

• PPG Industries became the title sponsor of the CART series in 1979, not 1980.
• The series was known as the CART PPG Indy Car World Series from 1979 onward.
• CART was founded by team owners who broke away from USAC in 1979.