Open-wheel racing has come together for its first truly unified Indianapolis 500 since 1978. Before the split into the Indy Racing League and Champ Car World Series, the fight was between the U.S. Auto Club and Championship Auto Racing Teams.
Despite the politics, the CART years at Indy featured many of the biggest names in the sport’s history. That includes Rick Mears, whose record-tying four wins came during that
time.
Five of the most memorable moments from the Indy 500 in the CART era at Indianapolis Motor Speedway:
May 28, 1989: Emerson Fittipaldi and Al Unser Jr. rub wheels coming out of Turn 3 on lap 199, and Unser spins into the wall. As Fittipaldi comes back around under caution on his way to victory, Unser salutes him with a double thumbs up.
May 27, 1990: With only four cautions, the race is run at a record pace. Arie Luyendyk takes the lead on lap 168 and completes 500 miles at an average of 185.981 mph, still the record. He finishes nearly 11 seconds ahead of Rahal.
May 26, 1991: Willy T. Ribbs becomes the first black driver to qualify for an Indy 500 and Mears joins Unser Sr. and A.J. Foyt as four-time winners. Mears does it with a daring outside pass of Michael Andretti one lap after Andretti had passed him the same way.
May 24, 1992: Indy’s closest finish, with Unser Jr. beating Scott Goodyear by 0.043 seconds, would not have been possible without another dose of Andretti luck. Andretti leads 160 laps, but his car quits on him with 11 laps to go. He then heads to the hospital to visit his father, Mario, and brother, Jeff, both injured in crashes.
May 25, 1995: Jacques Villeneuve wins in his last 500 before heading to Formula One. Powerhouse Team Penske, through a combination of flawed cars and flawed strategy, fails to qualify its drivers, Fittipaldi and Unser Jr.
| 
|