1989 CART PPG Indy Car World Series
The 1989 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season was the 11th national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by CART. The season consisted of 15 races, and one non-points exhibition event. Emerson Fittipaldi was the national champion, and the rookie of the year was Bernard Jourdain. Fittipaldi became the second driver after Mario Andretti to win the Formula One World Championship and the CART championship.
The 1989 Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned by USAC, but counted towards the CART points championship. Emerson Fittipaldi won the Indy 500, and would later become the first driver since Bobby Rahal in 1986 to win Indy and the CART championship in the same season.
Emerson Fittipaldi won a total of five races, four pole positions, and had a total of eight podium finishes en route to the championship. Rick Mears won three races, and had a total of 14 top ten finishes, more consistent than Fittipaldi. The championship battle came down to those two drivers. In the second-to-last race of the season at Nazareth, Fittipaldi and Mears finished 1st-2nd. Fittipaldi effectively clinched the championship by virtue of a now 22-point lead over Mears. If Mears were to win the season finale at Laguna Seca, win the pole, and lead the most laps, he could tie Fittipaldi in points if Fittipaldi finished 13th or worse. However, Fittipaldi held the tiebreaker with 5 wins versus Mears with 3. Mears did all three at Laguna Seca, but the tiebreaker scenario was moot as Fittipaldi managed a 5th place in the race. It was Mears' first road course victory since Riverside in 1982, and the first since he suffered serious leg injuries in 1984. It was also the last road course win of his career.
At Mid-Ohio, Teo Fabi scored the first and only win of the Porsche Indy Car team. Fabi had eleven top tens, and finished 4th in points. Cosworth unveiled a new engine, the "short-stroke" DFS to some fanfare, but little success. Bobby Rahal won one race in 1989 with the Cosworth DFS in July at the Meadowlands. It would stand as the only race victory for the DFS powerplant.
Drivers and constructors
The following teams and drivers competed for the 1989 Indy Car World Series. All entries utilized Goodyear tires.Season Summary
Schedule
Since Miami was dropped from the schedule the season finale and the Marlboro Challenge was moved to Laguna Seca.| Rd | Date | Race Name | Track | City |
| 1 | April 9 | Checker 200 | Phoenix International Raceway | Phoenix, Arizona |
| 2 | April 16 | Grand Prix of Long Beach | Long Beach Street Circuit | Long Beach, California |
| 3 | May 28 | Indianapolis 500 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Speedway, Indiana |
| 4 | June 4 | Miller High Life 200 | Milwaukee Mile | West Allis, Wisconsin |
| 5 | June 18 | Valvoline Detroit Grand Prix | Streets of Detroit | Detroit, Michigan |
| 6 | June 25 | Budweiser/G.I.Joe's 200 | Portland International Raceway | Portland, Oregon |
| 7 | July 2 | Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland | Burke Lakefront Airport | Cleveland, Ohio |
| 8 | July 16 | Marlboro Grand Prix | Meadowlands Street Circuit | East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| 9 | July 23 | Molson Indy Toronto | Exhibition Place | Toronto, Ontario |
| 10 | August 6 | Marlboro 500 | Michigan International Speedway | Brooklyn, Michigan |
| 11 | August 20 | Pocono 500 | Pocono International Raceway | Long Pond, Pennsylvania |
| 12 | September 3 | Red Roof Inns 200 | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Lexington, Ohio |
| 13 | September 10 | Road America 200 | Road America | Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin |
| 14 | September 24 | Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix | Nazareth Speedway | Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania |
| NC | October 14 | Marlboro Challenge | WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca | Monterey, California |
| 15 | October 15 | Champion Spark Plug 300k | WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca | Monterey, California |
- Meadowlands was supposed to run for 183 miles but was shortened due to rain.
Oval/Speedway
Dedicated road course
Temporary street circuit
NC Non-championship event
Race results
| Rnd | Race Name | Pole position | Winning driver | Winning team | Race time |
| 1 | Checker Autoworks 200 |  Rick Mears | Rick Mears | Team Penske | 1:35:09 |
| 2 | Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach | Al Unser, Jr. | Al Unser, Jr. | Galles Racing | 1:51:19 |
| 3 | Indianapolis 500 | Rick Mears |  Emerson Fittipaldi | Patrick Racing | 2:59:01 |
| 4 | Miller High Life 200 | Rick Mears | Rick Mears | Team Penske | 1:32:11 |
| 5 | Valvoline Detroit Grand Prix | Michael Andretti | Emerson Fittipaldi | Patrick Racing | 2:02:11 |
| 6 | Budweiser/G. I. Joe's 200 |  Teo Fabi | Emerson Fittipaldi | Patrick Racing | 1:55:20 |
| 7 | Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix | Michael Andretti | Emerson Fittipaldi | Patrick Racing | 1:32:56 |
| 8 | Marlboro Grand Prix | Emerson Fittipaldi | Bobby Rahal | Kraco Racing | 2:09:20 |
| 9 | Molson Indy | Emerson Fittipaldi | Michael Andretti | Newman/Haas Racing | 2:01:00 |
| 10 | Marlboro 500 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Michael Andretti | Newman/Haas Racing | 3:07:15 |
| 11 | Pocono 500 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Danny Sullivan | Team Penske | 2:55:43 |
| 12 | Red Roof Inns 200 | Teo Fabi | Teo Fabi | Porsche North America | 1:54:46 |
| 13 | Road America 200 | Danny Sullivan | Danny Sullivan | Team Penske | 1:37:43 |
| 14 | Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix | Rick Mears | Emerson Fittipaldi | Patrick Racing | 1:29:02 |
| NC | Marlboro Challenge | Emerson Fittipaldi | Al Unser, Jr. | Galles Racing | 0:56:37 |
| 15 | Champion Spark Plug 300K | Rick Mears | Rick Mears | Team Penske | 1:58:29 |
- Indianapolis was USAC-sanctioned but counted towards the CART title.
Final driver standings
Nation's Cup
[Chassis] Constructor's Cup
[Engine] Manufacturer's Cup
|
United States
Brazil
Netherlands
Ireland
Mexico
Belgium
Colombia
England
Australia
Switzerland
Finland
Scotland
Porsche