The 1993 PPG Indy Car World Series season was the 15th national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by CART under the name "IndyCar". The season consisted of 16 races. Nigel Mansell was the national champion as well as the Rookie of the Year. The 1993 Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned by USAC, but counted towards the CART points championship. Emerson Fittipaldi won the Indy 500, his second career victory in that event.
The biggest story going into the season involved Newman/Haas Racing. Nigel Mansell, the reigning Formula One World Champion switched from Formula One to the CART IndyCar Series. Mansell joined Newman/Haas Racing as teammate to Mario Andretti, taking the seat formerly held by Michael Andretti, who departed for one year to McLaren. Mansell came to the American open wheel series with considerable fanfare and huge media attention. He won the season-opener at Surfers Paradise, the first CART "rookie" to win his first start. At Phoenix, Mansell crashed during practice and was forced to sit out the race due to a back injury. At Indianapolis, he was leading the race with 16 laps to go when he was passed on a restart by Emerson Fittipaldi and Arie Luyendyk, and wound up third. He still won the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year award.
Despite having missed the race at Phoenix, Mansell won five races (four of which were on ovals) en route to the CART championship, becoming the first driver to win the CART Series in his rookie season. He also became the first driver in history to be the Formula One champion and the CART IndyCar champion at the same time. His team Newman/Haas Racing would still manage to win the one oval race Mansell missed with Mario Andretti scoring his 52nd and final victory of his IndyCar career at Phoenix, Andretti would finish 6th in the final championship standings.
After winning his third CART championship in 1992, Bobby Rahal entered the 1993 season driving the R/H chassis (formerly the Truesports chassis). He finished second at Long Beach, but struggled to get his car up to speed, and failed to qualify at Indianapolis. He would run the remainder of the season with a 1993 Lola chassis, but with no victories. He did however finish 4th in points.
The 1993 schedule originally included plans for the Meadowlands Grand Prix to move to a street circuit in Manhattan on the roads surrounding the World Trade Center and West Street. The race was planned to be held on July 13, 1993. However, the race was cancelled in September 1992 due to cost and conflicts between sponsor Marlboro and Mayor David Dinkins' anti-tobacco advertising policies.
Drivers and constructors All teams competed with Goodyear tires. TeamChassisEngine Driver(s)StatusRound(s)Ref(s)Arciero RacingPenske PC-21Chevrolet V8/B 25 Mark Smith 1–4, 6–9, 12–16 A. J. Foyt Enterprises Lola T93/00Lola T92/00 Ford XB 14 A. J. Foyt 4 Robby Gordon 1–3, 5–16 41 4Lola T92/00 84 John Andretti 4Bettenhausen MotorsportsPenske PC-22Chevrolet V8/C 16 Stefan JohanssonAll 33 Scott Sharp 16 76 Tony Bettenhausen Jr.4Burns Motor SportsGalmer G92/BChevrolet V8/A 66 Dominic Dobson4PacWest Racing 1713–14, 16 Chip Ganassi Racing Lola T93/00 Ford XB 10 Arie Luyendyk AllDale Coyne RacingLola T92/00Lola T91/00Chevrolet V8/ABuick19 Robbie Buhl 1–6, 8, 12, 14–16 Johnny Unser 7, 9, 11, 13 32 Éric Bachelart4 39 Ross Bentley1–10, 12–16D. B. Mann MotorsportsLola T91/00Buick 93 John Paul Jr.4Dick Simon RacingLola T93/00Ford XB 9 Raul BoeselAll 22 Scott Brayton3–5, 7–16Lola T92/001–2, 6 23 Didier Theys16Chevrolet V8/A 90 Gary Brabham 1Ford XB Lyn St. James 2–3Lola T93/004, 6–8, 10 Bertrand Gachot 9 Eddie Cheever12 Maurício Gugelmin14, 16Hayhoe-Simon Racing 1815Lola T92/00 Jimmy Vasser4, 9, 11, 13–14, 16Chevrolet V8/A1–3, 5–7 18T Olivier Grouillard 4Formula ProjectBuick 36 Stéphan Grégoire 4Euromotorsport RacingLola T91/00Cosworth Andrea Chiesa 1 Jeff Wood2–3, 5–16Lola T92/00Chevrolet V8/A Andrea Montermini 1, 6, 9, 13 David Kudrave 2–3, 5, 7, 10–11, 14–15 Davy Jones4 Christian Danner8, 12, 16Galles RacingLola T93/00Chevrolet V8/C 3 Al Unser Jr.All 7 Danny SullivanAll Adrián Fernández 10 113, 5–6, 12, 16 Kevin Cogan4, 7–9Hall/VDS RacingLola T93/00Chevrolet V8/C 8 Teo FabiAllHemelgarn RacingLola T91/00Buick 91 Stan Fox4Lola T92/00 92 Didier Theys4Indy Regency RacingLola T92/00Chevrolet V8/A 29 Olivier Grouillard 4–16King RacingLola T93/00Chevrolet V8/C 40 Roberto Guerrero1–13 Eddie Cheever14–16 60 Jim Crawford4 80 Al Unser4Leader Cards RacingLola T91/00Chevrolet V8/A 20 Buddy Lazier1–3, 6, 8Buick4–5, 12, 14–16Lola T92/0010–11Lola T91/00 98 Brian Bonner4Newman/Haas RacingLola T93/00Ford XB 5 Nigel Mansell All 6 Mario AndrettiAllNu-Tech MotorsportsLola T91/00Chevrolet V8/A 28 Brian Bonner8Cosworth 33 Dennis Vitolo6Pagan RacingLola T92/00Buick 21 Jeff Andretti4 81 Mark Smith 4Penske RacingPenske PC-22Chevrolet V8/C 4 Emerson FittipaldiAll 12 Paul TracyAllProFormance MotorsportsLola T91/00Chevrolet V8/A 45 Scott Pruett2–4, 6, 9, 14, 16 John Paul Jr.14Rahal/Hogan RacingRahal-Hogan RH-001Lola T93/00Chevrolet V8/C 1 Bobby RahalAll 26 Mike Groff5–7, 11–12, 14Sinden-McNeice RacingLola T92/00Chevrolet V8/A 44 John Brooks 16Sovereign RacingLola T92/00Chevrolet V8/A 30 Marco Greco AllLola T91/00Buick 43 Rocky Moran4Team MenardLola T93/00Menard 27 Geoff Brabham4 51 Gary Bettenhausen4 77 Nelson Piquet 4Lola T92/00Buick 59 Eddie Cheever4 Turley Motorsports Penske PC-21 Chevrolet V8/B 69 Eddie Cheever 1–2 99 3–4, 6 Brian Till 7–9, 11–12, 14–16 Walker Motorsports Lola T93/00 Ford XB 2 Scott Goodyear All 15 Hiro Matsushita All Lola T92/00 75 Willy T. Ribbs 4–16
Driver changes
Preseason
On August 14, 1992, Scott Pruett confirmed he was out of a seat for 1993, after the demise of Truesports and the decision by Rahal-Hogan Racing, soon-to-be new owners of the team's facilities, to remain as a one-car operation. On September 7, 1992, Michael Andretti announced he would leave Newman/Haas Racing at the end of the 1992 PPG Indy Car World Series after having signed a deal to drive for McLaren in the 1993 Formula One World Championship. Eleven days later, on September 18, it was announced that Nigel Mansell, who had just won the 1992 Formula One World Championship, would replace Andretti at Newman/Haas. Mansell's association with "Red 5", the number he was allocated at Williams, led to Newman/Haas obtaining the use of No. 5 for Mansell's car in 1993. On October 17, 1992, Arciero Racing announced that rookie Mark Smith had signed a 12-race deal to drive the No. 25 car. The program was focused on the road courses and the Indianapolis 500, though he eventually entered the Nazareth race for his first Indy Car oval start after failing to qualify for the Indy 500. Smith had finished 7th in his third Indy Lights season, after being runner-up in 1991. On November 23, 1992, A. J. Foyt Enterprises announced that Robby Gordon had been signed on a full-time basis to drive the No. 14 car, which was raced by multiple drivers over the previous year. Gordon switched from Chip Ganassi Racing after his part-time rookie year. At the time, team owner A. J. Foyt did not commit to race at the Indianapolis 500. On November 24, 1992, King Racing announced it would expand his program to contest a full season with a one-car team, fielding Roberto Guerrero in the No. 40 car after his truncated pole-winning effort at the Indianapolis 500. The team also confirmed a three-car team for the Indy 500, with no other drivers assigned. On February 8, 1993, Rahal-Hogan Racing announced it would field a second car in five races for its new test driver Mike Groff. His program was due to begin in June at Milwaukee, where Rahal-Hogan intended to introduce its new 1993 car.
Team changes
Preseason
On August 14, 1992, Truesports announced it would cease operations at the end of their eleventh season in the series, due to the declining interest of team owner Barbara Trueman. Truesports also announced a deal to sell its facilities at Columbus, Ohio facilities to Rahal-Hogan Racing, which would move from Indianapolis. On October 7, 1992, Rahal-Hogan Racing announced it would continue the development of the Truesports 92C chassis, which was renamed as the Rahal-Hogan RH-001 in February 1993. On September 29, 1992, the Buick Motor Division announced it would discontinue its Indy Car program after nine seasons, stopping further development on its stock-block engines, which had been largely confined to the Indianapolis 500 due to the more restrictive CART rules regarding turbocharger boost. Chevrolet responded to this development in early October 1992 by making their V8/A engines available for Indy-only teams or partial programs. On October 17, 1992, Frank Arciero announced that Arciero Racing would return as an independent team, reverting the gradual ownership transfer over the 1992 season to McCormack Motorsports, which would continue on its own. Arciero signed a deal with Penske Racing to use its 1992 package, consisting of a Penske PC-21 chassis and Chevrolet V8/B engines, as part of a technical alliance that included joint testing. On November 23, 1992, A. J. Foyt Enterprises announced that the team would switch engine suppliers, from Chevrolet to the Ford XB engine, which went along with the signing of Ford factory driver Robby Gordon. He would compete in the first two races of the season with a Lola T92/00 bought from Chip Ganassi Racing, the same package Gordon had driven before. Two days later, on November 25, 1992, Walker Motorsports announced the same switch of engines with returning driver Scott Goodyear. On November 24, 1992, King Racing announced it would compete with the new Chevrolet V8/C engines for its first full-time season, ditching the discontinued Buick powerplant.
Schedule Icon Legend Oval/Speedway Road course Street circuit
Rnd Date Race Name Circuit Location 1 March 21 Australian FAI IndyCar Grand Prix Surfers Paradise Street Circuit Surfers Paradise, Australia 2 April 4 Valvoline 200 Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix, Arizona 3 April 18 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Streets of Long Beach Long Beach, California 4 May 30 Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana 5 June 6 Miller Genuine Draft 200 Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wisconsin 6 June 13 ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix The Raceway on Belle Isle Park Detroit, Michigan 7 June 27 Budweiser/G. I. Joe's 200 Portland International Raceway Portland, Oregon 8 July 11 Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport Cleveland, Ohio 9 July 18 Molson Indy Toronto Exhibition Place Toronto, Ontario 10 August 1 Marlboro 500 Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan 11 August 8 New England 200 New Hampshire International Speedway Loudon, New Hampshire 12 August 22 Texaco/Havoline 200 Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin 13 August 29 Molson Indy Vancouver Streets of Vancouver Vancouver, British Columbia 14 September 12 Pioneer Electronics 200 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio 15 September 19 Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix Nazareth Speedway Nazareth, Pennsylvania 16 October 3 Toyota Monterey Grand Prix Laguna Seca Raceway Monterey, California
* Indianapolis was USAC-sanctioned but counted towards the PPG Indy Car title.
Results