Danny Sullivan

Daniel John Sullivan III (born March 9, 1950) is a retired American racing driver. Over his career, he collected 17 wins in the CART Indy Car World Series, most famously the 1985 Indianapolis 500. He claimed the 1988 CART championship and finished third in the standings in 1986. Sullivan also won an IROC race. In 1983, he drove for Tyrrell in Formula One, earning two championship points.

Sullivan grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, where his father worked as a building contractor. He attended the Kentucky Military Institute before training at the Jim Russell Racing School. To support himself before racing, he worked a series of odd jobs, including as a lumberjack and, most notably, as a New York City cab driver.

For his 21st birthday, Sullivan received a course at the Jim Russell Racing Drivers School in Snetterton, England. He raced in Formula Ford, Formula Three, and Formula Two before returning to the United States. From 1980 to 1981, he drove for Garvin Brown Racing in the SCCA Can-Am Series, winning once at the season-ending Caesars Palace Grand Prix in 1981.

Sullivan made his Indycar debut in 1982. The following year, at the request of sponsor Benetton, which wanted an American driver, he joined the Tyrrell Formula One team. He competed in all 15 races of the 1983 season, scoring two points with a fifth-place finish at the Monaco Grand Prix and ending 17th in the World Drivers' Championship. He also ran strongly in the non-championship Race of Champions at Brands Hatch, fending off an early challenge from world champion Alan Jones before finishing second, just half a second behind reigning champion Keke Rosberg after 40 laps. Still, he was overshadowed by more experienced teammate Michele Alboreto, who gave Tyrrell its last F1 win at the Detroit Grand Prix, and Sullivan was not kept on for the next season.

Returning to North America in 1984, Sullivan joined Shierson Racing in CART. He won three races, including the Pocono 500, and placed fourth in points. In 1985, he moved to Penske Racing and won the Indianapolis 500 in what became known as the "spin and win"—one of the most legendary moments in Indy 500 history. At Indy again in 1988, he qualified second and led 91 of the first 101 laps as part of an all-Penske front row with Rick Mears and Al Unser Sr. A broken wing adjuster sent him into the wall just past the halfway mark, ending his day.

But he bounced back, finishing fourth or better in the next six races, winning at Portland and the Michigan 500. That Michigan win completed a career Indy car Triple Crown (Indianapolis, Michigan, Pocono). Over the final five races of the season, he posted five top-five finishes, including two wins. At the second-to-last race at Laguna Seca, he won the pole, led the most laps, and took the victory.

With one race left, he clinched the 1988 CART championship with an insurmountable 35-point lead—his first title and Penske’s first since 1985.

In 1989, Sullivan broke his arm in a practice crash for the Indy 500 and missed two races. He recovered to win the Pocono 500 in August—his second win there—and one other race, finishing seventh in points. His final season with Penske was 1990, during which he won two races, including the season finale at Laguna Seca, where he led wire-to-wire from the pole in his last start for Roger Penske. In 1991, he moved to the Patrick Racing Alfa Romeo team but went winless in an uncompetitive car and left the team.

Between 1992 and 1993, driving for Galles-Kraco Racing, he won two more CART races, including the first win for the Galmer chassis at Long Beach. That victory came after he bumped teammate and race leader Al Unser Jr. on the backstretch with less than four laps to go, causing friction within the team. His later years were marked by inconsistency, leading to a semi-retirement in 1994. His brief stint at Galles was described as particularly toxic.

In 1986, Sullivan guest-starred on Miami Vice in the episode "Florence Italy," playing a race car driver accused of murdering a prostitute. The episode included short outdoor scenes in the pit lanes of the Miami Grand Prix, and his longest dialogue came during a police station interrogation. In 1991, the Leland Corporation released the arcade game Danny Sullivan's Indy Heat, featuring his likeness.

After leaving Indy car racing in 1994, Sullivan took a sabbatical. Released from Galles Racing late after the 1993 season, he could not find a ride as most seats were already filled. He joined ABC/ESPN as a color commentator and attempted a few NASCAR Winston Cup events that year, but failed to qualify for most. He qualified for only one race, the 1994 Brickyard 400, finishing 33rd for an underfunded team. That same year, he made guest starts for Alfa Romeo in the DTM and, alongside Thierry Boutsen and Hans-Joachim Stuck, finished third overall in a Dauer 962 LM at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Sullivan returned to CART for one final season in 1995, but his year ended early.