1992 PPG Indy Car World Series
The 1992 PPG Indy Car World Series season was the 14th national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by CART. The season consisted of 16 races. Bobby Rahal was the national champion, his third career CART title. Stefan Johansson was named the Rookie of the Year. The 1992 Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned by USAC, but counted towards the CART points championship. Al Unser, Jr. won the Indy 500 in the closest finish in the history of that event.
Starting in 1992, and continuing through 1996, the CART organization began operating under the name IndyCar. The term IndyCar was a registered trademark of IMS, Inc., and was licensed to CART from 1992–1996. The use of the term "CART" was curtailed in the series and in the media in favor of IndyCar during this period.
The circuit welcomed a new venue in 1992, New Hampshire International Speedway.
Bobby Rahal, who was in his first season as an owner/driver, won four races and three poles en route to the title. Rahal's three oval wins included a dominating wire-to-wire victory at Phoenix, where he led all 200 laps. Rahal fielded the "tried and true" Lola/Ilmor Chevrolet "A" combination. It was the final championship for the Ilmor Chevy A engine. Rahal managed to outperform the newer engines that joined the series in 1992, the Ford/Cosworth XB, as well as the Ilmor Chevy "B" engine, which was used by the Penske team. For the third time, Michael Andretti finished runner-up to Rahal in the points. Andretti promptly left Indy car racing the following year to race in Formula One.
A bevy of crashes, some serious, at the 1992 Indianapolis 500 injured several drivers, and shook up the driver lineup during parts of the season. Jovy Marcelo was fatally injured in a practice crash, while Nelson Piquet suffered devastating leg injures in another practice crash. Hiro Matsushita suffered a fractured leg and missed several races over the summer. Mario Andretti, Rick Mears, and Jimmy Vasser all sat out the race at Detroit while they recovered from injuries. In July, Mears dropped out of the Michigan 500 with nagging injuries, and ultimately sat out the rest of the season. Mears then unexpectedly retired from racing in December.
Drivers and constructors
The following teams and drivers competed in the 1992 Indy Car World Series season.Team | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | No | Drivers | Rounds |
Newman/Haas Racing | Lola | Ford XB | 1 | ![]() | All | |
Newman/Haas Racing | Lola | Ford XB | 2 | ![]() | 1-4, 6-16 | |
Newman/Haas Racing | Lola | Ford XB | 2 | ![]() | 5 | |
Chip Ganassi Racing | Lola | Ford XB | 6 | ![]() | 4, 10 | |
Chip Ganassi Racing | Lola | Ford XB | 6 | ![]() | 5-7, 9, 11-13 | |
Chip Ganassi Racing | Lola | Ford XB | 6 | ![]() | 16 | |
Chip Ganassi Racing | Lola | Ford XB | 9 | ![]() | All | |
Marlboro Team Penske | Penske | Chevrolet | 4 | ![]() | 1-4, 6-8, 10 | |
Marlboro Team Penske | Penske | Chevrolet | 4 | ![]() | 5, 9, 11-13, 16 | |
Marlboro Team Penske | Penske | Chevrolet | 4 | ![]() | 15 | |
Marlboro Team Penske | Penske | Chevrolet | 5 | ![]() | All | |
Marlboro Team Penske | Penske | Chevrolet | 7 | ![]() | 2, 4, 10, 14-15 | |
Galles-Kraco Racing | Galmer | Chevrolet | 3 | ![]() | All | |
Galles-Kraco Racing | Galmer | Chevrolet | 18 | ![]() | All | |
Walker Motorsport | Lola | Ford XB Chevrolet | 15 | ![]() | All | |
Walker Motorsport | Lola | Ford XB Chevrolet | 17 | ![]() | 1 | |
Walker Motorsport | Lola | Ford XB Chevrolet | 17 | ![]() | 2 | |
Walker Motorsport | Lola | Ford XB Chevrolet | 17 | ![]() | 4 | |
Walker Motorsport | Lola | Ford XB Chevrolet | 17 | ![]() | 10 | |
Walker Motorsport | Lola | Ford XB Chevrolet | 17 | ![]() | 4-5, 12 | |
Walker Motorsport | Lola | Ford XB Chevrolet | 17 | ![]() | 14 | |
Walker Motorsport | Lola | Ford XB Chevrolet | 17 | ![]() | 16 | |
Rahal-Hogan Racing | Lola | Chevrolet | 12 | ![]() | All | |
Dick Simon Racing Paragon Motorsports | Lola | Chevrolet Buick | 11 | ![]() | 1-3, 11-16 | |
Dick Simon Racing Paragon Motorsports | Lola | Chevrolet Buick | 11 | ![]() | 4-8, 10 | |
Dick Simon Racing Paragon Motorsports | Lola | Chevrolet Buick | 22 | ![]() | 1-10 | |
Dick Simon Racing Paragon Motorsports | Lola | Chevrolet Buick | 23 | ![]() | 9, 11-16 | |
Dick Simon Racing Paragon Motorsports | Lola | Chevrolet Buick | 44 | ![]() | 4 | |
Dick Simon Racing Paragon Motorsports | Lola | Chevrolet Buick | 90 | ![]() | 4 | |
Hall/VDS Racing | Lola | Chevrolet | 8 | ![]() | All | |
Hall/VDS Racing | Lola | Chevrolet | 38 | ![]() | 4 | |
Payton/Coyne Racing | Lola | Cosworth | 19 | ![]() | 1-7, 9-15 | |
Payton/Coyne Racing | Lola | Cosworth | 19 | ![]() | 10, 15-16 | |
Payton/Coyne Racing | Lola | Cosworth | 39 | ![]() | 1, 5-6, 9-13 | |
Payton/Coyne Racing | Lola | Cosworth | 39 | ![]() | 2 | |
Payton/Coyne Racing | Lola | Cosworth | 39 | ![]() | 4, 7-8, 14 | |
Payton/Coyne Racing | Lola | Cosworth | 39 | ![]() | 16 | |
Bettenhausen Racing | Penske | Chevrolet | 16 | ![]() | 1-4, 6-7, 10 | |
Bettenhausen Racing | Penske | Chevrolet | 16 | ![]() | 5, 8-9, 11-16 | |
Arciero Racing | Lola | Buick | 30 | ![]() | 1-4 | |
Arciero Racing | Lola | Buick | 30 | ![]() | 4 | |
Arciero Racing | Lola | Buick | 30 | ![]() | 5-10 | |
Arciero Racing | Lola | Buick | 30 | ![]() | 11-12 | |
Arciero Racing | Lola | Buick | 30 | ![]() | 13-15 | |
Arciero Racing | Lola | Buick | 30 | ![]() | 16 | |
Arciero Racing | Lola | Buick | 34 | ![]() | 4 | |
Euromotorsport | Lola | Cosworth | 42 | ![]() | 1 | |
Euromotorsport | Lola | Cosworth | 42 | ![]() | 6, 9, 12-13, 16 | |
Euromotorsport | Lola | Cosworth | 42 | ![]() | 7-8, 10 | |
Euromotorsport | Lola | Cosworth | 42 | ![]() | 11 | |
Euromotorsport | Lola | Cosworth | 42 | ![]() | 14 | |
Euromotorsport | Lola | Cosworth | 42 | ![]() | 15 | |
Euromotorsport | Lola | Cosworth | 50 | ![]() | 1-4 | |
Euromotorsport | Lola | Cosworth | 50 | ![]() | 5, 9, 11-16 | |
Euromotorsport | Lola | Cosworth | 50 | ![]() | 6 | |
Euromotorsport | Lola | Cosworth | 50 | ![]() | 7-8 | |
Euromotorsport | Lola | Cosworth | 50 | ![]() | 10 | |
Hayhoe-Cole Racing | Lola | FordXB Chevrolet | 17 | ![]() | 6, 11, 13 | |
Hayhoe-Cole Racing | Lola | FordXB Chevrolet | 47 | ![]() | 1-4, 9, 14, 16 | |
Leader Card Racing | Lola | Buick | 21 | ![]() | 1-7, 9-16 | |
Hemelgarn Racing | Lola | Buick | 81 | ![]() | 4 | |
Hemelgarn Racing | Lola | Buick | 91 | ![]() | 4 | |
P.I.G. Enterprises | Lola | Chevrolet | 31 | ![]() | 1, 3-9, 11-16 | |
Truesports | Truesports | Chevrolet | 10 | ![]() | All | |
RAL Group | Truesports | Judd | 24 | ![]() | 3, 5-6, 8-9, 11-12, 14, 16 | |
Gilmore Racing | Lola | Chevrolet | 14 | ![]() | 1, 3 | |
Gilmore Racing | Lola | Chevrolet | 14 | ![]() | 2 | |
Gilmore Racing | Lola | Chevrolet | 14 | ![]() | 2, 4 | |
Gilmore Racing | Lola | Chevrolet | 14 | ![]() | 5 | |
Gilmore Racing | Lola | Chevrolet | 14 | ![]() | 6-7, 11-13 | |
Gilmore Racing | Lola | Chevrolet | 14 | ![]() | 8, 10 | |
Gilmore Racing | Lola | Chevrolet | 14 | ![]() | 9 | |
Gilmore Racing | Lola | Chevrolet | 14 | ![]() | 14-16 | |
Gilmore Racing | Lola | Chevrolet | 48 | ![]() | 4 | |
King Motorsports | Lola | Buick | 26 | ![]() | 3 | |
King Motorsports | Lola | Buick | 26 | ![]() | 4 | |
King Motorsports | Lola | Buick | 36 | ![]() | 4 | |
Menard Racing | Lola | Buick | 27 | ![]() | 4 | |
Menard Racing | Lola | Buick | 51 | ![]() | 4 | |
Menard Racing | Lola | Buick | 59 | ![]() | 4 | |
D.B. Mann Development | Lola | Buick | 93 | ![]() | 4 | |
Burns Racing | Lola | Chevrolet | 28 | ![]() | 4 | |
Burns Racing | Lola | Buick | 28 | ![]() | 5 | |
Burns Racing | Lola | Cosworth | 28 | ![]() | 16 | |
Hemelgarn Racing | Lola | Buick | 92 | ![]() | 4 | |
TEAMKAR International | Lola | Chevrolet | 88 | ![]() | 4 | |
Concept Motorsports | Lola | Buick | 66 | ![]() | 4 |
Season Summary
Schedule
Oval/SpeedwayDedicated road course
Temporary street circuit
NC Non-championship event
- Indianapolis was USAC-sanctioned but counted towards the PPG Indy Car title.
Race results
Final driver standings
Note: Jovy Marcelo was killed in practice for the 1992 Indianapolis 500. He was 27 years old. Nation's Cup
[Chassis] Constructor's Cup
[Engine] Manufacturer's Cup
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