The 1986 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season was the 8th national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by CART. The season consisted of 17 races, and one non-points exhibition event. Bobby Rahal was the national champion, and the rookie of the year was Chip Robinson. The 1986 Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned by USAC, but counted towards the CART points championship. Bobby Rahal won the Indy 500, and would later become the first driver since 1980 to win Indy and the CART championship in the same season.

The first two races of the season were won by Kevin Cogan (Phoenix) and Michael Andretti (Long Beach), respectively, the first career wins for both drivers on the CART circuit. Rain delayed the Indianapolis 500, postponing it for six days. Bobby Rahal, driving for Truesports, passed Kevin Cogan with two laps to go, and won for car owner Jim Trueman, who was stricken with cancer. Trueman died less than two weeks later.

The season would shape up as a two-man battle between Rahal and Michael Andretti. Andretti won at Milwaukee, which put him in the points lead for the first time. On Father's Day, Andretti was leading on the final lap at Portland. His car ran out of fuel on the final turn of the final lap, and his father Mario beat him to the finish line by 0.07 seconds. It would go down in lore as one of the most shocking finishes in Indy car history, as well as the closest finish in Indy car history on a road course (until 1997).

Rahal was back in victory lane in July, winning the inaugural Molson Indy Toronto, but Michael Andretti still held the points lead. Rahal won four out of five races during a stretch in August and September, and emerged with a 9-point lead in the standings with two races left. Michael Andretti won a key victory at the second-to-last race of the season at Phoenix, while Rahal finished 3rd.

Going into the season finale at Tamiami Park, Rahal held a scant 3-point lead over Andretti. Neither driver was a factor at Miami, and just past the halfway point, Andretti dropped out with a broken halfshaft. Rahal effectively clinched the championship when Andretti dropped out. Roberto Guerrero won the pole and dominated the race, leading the first 111 laps. But on the final lap, his car sputtered and he ran out of fuel. Al Unser Jr. slipped by to steal the victory, his lone win of 1986. Unser Jr. won from 19th starting position, the furthest back any driver had won a CART road/street course race at the time.

Drivers and teams The following teams and drivers competed in the 1986 Indy Car World Series season. All cars used Goodyear tires. Team Chassis* Engine* No** Drivers Rounds Bignotti-Cotter Racing March 86C Cosworth DFX 2 (5) Roberto Guerrero AllCurb-All American RacersMarch 86CCosworth DFX 33 Tom SnevaAll 66 Ed Pimm All except 8, 11–12, 14 Derek Daly8, 11–12, 14Eagle 86GC 98 Jan Lammers1-3 Dick Simon Racing Lola T86/00 Cosworth DFX 22 Raul BoeselAll 23 Dick Simon 3, 10, 12 Chip Robinson6-7, 17 Ian Ashley8, 11, 14 Galles Racing Lola T86/00 (2–11, 13–17)March 86C(1, 12) Cosworth DFX (1–4, 12–17)Honda/Judd (5–11) 8 Geoff Brabham All Lola T86/00 Cosworth DFX 9 Roberto Moreno 1–11, 13–17 Pancho Carter12 15 3, 9–10 Hemelgarn Racing March 86C (1, 3, 9–10, 13) Cosworth DFX (1, 9–10, 13)Buick V-6 (3) 71 Scott Brayton 1, 3, 9–10, 13 Cosworth DFX Jacques Villeneuve Sr.2, 4–8, 11–12, 14–17 81 3 Kraco Racing March 86C Cosworth DFX 18 Michael AndrettiAll Leader Card RacingMarch 86CCosworth DFX 24 Gary Bettenhausen 1, 3–4, 9–10, 12–13, 16 Dominic Dobson2, 5–8, 11, 14–15, 17 March 85C 42 Phil Krueger 3Machinists Union RacingMarch 86CCosworth DFX 55 Josele Garza 1–11, 17 Johnny Parsons12-13, 16 Desiré Wilson14-15 59 11 Chip Ganassi1, 3 Johnny Parsons4, 7, 9–10 95 3 Alex Morales Motorsports March 86C Cosworth DFX 6 Rich Vogler 3 21 Johnny RutherfordAll Newman/Haas Racing Lola T86/00 Cosworth DFX 5 (2) Mario AndrettiAll Patrick Racing March 86C Cosworth DFX 7 Kevin CoganAll 20 Emerson FittipaldiAll Penske Racing March 86C (1, 3–5, 7–11, 13–16)Penske PC-15 (2, 6, 12, 17) Cosworth DFX (1, 3–5, 7–10)Chevy 265A (2, 6, 11–17) 1/ 86 (4) Rick Mears AllMarch 86C (1–16)Penske PC-15 (17)Cosworth DFX (1–16)Chevy 265A (17) 4 (1) Danny Sullivan AllMarch 86C (9–10, 17)Penske PC-15 (1, 3) Chevy 265A (1, 3, 9–10, 17 11 Al Unser 1, 3, 9–10, 17 Doug Shierson Racing Lola T86/00 Cosworth DFX 30 Al Unser Jr.All Truesports March 86C Cosworth DFX 3 Bobby RahalAllPart-time entries A. J. Foyt Enterprises March 86C Cosworth DFX 14 A. J. Foyt 1, 3–4, 9–10, 13, 16–17 Chevy V6 44 Mike Nish 3 Cosworth DFX 84 George Snider 3, 9 Sammy Swindell10 Arciero Racing March 86C March 85C (11, 13) Cosworth DFX 12 Randy Lanier 1–9 Steve Chassey11, 14–16 Eddie Cheever17 Jeff MacPherson13 Bettenhausen Motorsports March 86C Cosworth DFX 16 Tony Bettenhausen Jr. 3 Lola T86/00/ March 86C 61 Arie Luyendyk All except 5 and 12 Dale Coyne Racing Coyne DC-1 Chevy 19 Dale Coyne All except 3–4 Gohr Racing March 86C Buick V-6 (Until Mid-Ohio) Cosworth DFX 56 Steve Chassey 3–4, 9 Rocky Moran6-7, 10–11, 13–17 John Morton8 March 85C Buick V-6 65 Rupert Keegan 3 J.P. Racing Lola T900 Cosworth DFX 10 Spike Gehlhausen 3, 9–10, 13 March Engineering March 86C Buick V-6 25 Danny Ongais 3 31 Jim Crawford3 Mosquito Autosport March 85C Cosworth DFX 16 (19) Rick Miaskiewicz 2–4, 6–8 Pace Racing Lola T86/00 Cosworth DFX 36 Randy Lewis 2, 6–8, 11, 14–15, 17 Dennis Firestone3, 9–10, 12, 13, 16 Team Menard March 86C Cosworth DFX 28 Herm Johnson 3 * The number in parentheses for chassis & engine indicates the round number it was used at.

** The number in parentheses for car number is the number the car used at the Indianapolis 500, if a different number was used.

Schedule Icon Legend Oval/Speedway Road course Street circuit

+RdDateNameCircuitLocation1April 6 Dana 200 Phoenix International RacewayAvondale, Arizona2April 13 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Streets of Long BeachLong Beach, California3May 31* Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayIndianapolis, Indiana4June 8** Miller American 200 Milwaukee MileWest Allis, Wisconsin5June 15 Budweiser/G.I. Joe's 200 Portland International RacewayPortland, Oregon6June 29 Chase Grand Prix at the Meadowlands Meadowlands Sports ComplexEast Rutherford, New Jersey7July 6 Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix Burke Lakefront AirportCleveland, Ohio8July 20 Molson Indy Toronto Streets of TorontoToronto, Ontario9August 2 Michigan 500 Michigan International SpeedwayBrooklyn, Michigan10August 17 Domino's Pizza 500 Pocono International RacewayLong Pond, Pennsylvania11August 31 Escort Radar Warning 200 Mid-Ohio Sports Car CourseLexington, Ohio12September 7 Molson Indy Montreal Sanair Super SpeedwaySaint-Pie, Quebec13September 28 Pepsi Cola 250 Michigan International SpeedwayBrooklyn, Michigan14October 4*** Race For Life 200 Road AmericaElkhart Lake, Wisconsin15October 12 Nissan Monterey Grand Prix Laguna Seca RacewayMonterey, California16October 19 Circle K/Fiesta Bowl 200 Phoenix International RacewayAvondale, Arizona17November 9 Nissan Indy Challenge Tamiami ParkMiami, Florida * The Indianapolis 500 was scheduled for May 25, but postponed due to rain.

** The Miller American 200 in Honor of Rex Mays was scheduled for June 1, but postponed due to the delay of running the Indianapolis 500 on May 31.

*** The Road America race was started on September 21, but stopped after a few laps due to rain, the rest was run on October 4.

Results Rd Event name Pole position Winner Winning team Race time 1 Dana 200 for Special Olympics Mario Andretti Kevin Cogan Patrick Racing 1:39:42 2 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Danny Sullivan Michael Andretti Kraco Racing 1:57:34 3 Indianapolis 500 Rick Mears Bobby Rahal Truesports 2:55:43 4 Miller American 200 in Honor of Rex Mays Michael Andretti Michael Andretti Kraco Racing 1:42:45 5 Budweiser/G.I. Joe's 200 Emerson Fittipaldi Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing 1:50:53 6 Chase Grand Prix at the Meadowlands Michael Andretti Danny Sullivan Team Penske 1:49:17 7 Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix Danny Sullivan Danny Sullivan Team Penske 1:43:01 8 Molson Indy Toronto Emerson Fittipaldi Bobby Rahal Truesports 2:05:50 9 Michigan 500 Rick Mears Johnny Rutherford Alex Morales Motorsports 3:38:45 10 Domino's Pizza 500 Michael Andretti Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing 3:17:13 11 Escort Radar Warning 200 Mario Andretti Bobby Rahal Truesports 1:56:18 12 Molson Indy Montreal Rick Mears Bobby Rahal Truesports 1:48:05 13 Pepsi Cola 250 Rick Mears Bobby Rahal Truesports 1:22:33 14 Race for Life 200 Bobby Rahal Emerson Fittipaldi Patrick Racing 2:26:42 15 Champion Spark Plug 300k Mario Andretti Bobby Rahal Truesports 1:33:20 16 Circle K/Fiesta Bowl 200 Bobby Rahal Michael Andretti Kraco Racing 1:29:06 17 Nissan Indy Challenge Roberto Guerrero Al Unser Jr. Doug Shierson Racing 1:52:45 * Indianapolis was USAC-sanctioned but counted towards the CART title.

Drivers points standings

Pos Driver PHX1 LBH INDY MIL POR MEA CLE TOR MIS1 POC MOH SAN MIS2 ROA LAG PHX2 TAM Pts 1 Bobby Rahal 16 18 1 6 20 3 15 1 10* 14 1 1* 1 5 1* 3 8 179 2 Michael Andretti 15* 1* 6 1* 2* 20 2 19 11 11* 10 6 2* 2* 3 1* 18 171 3 Danny Sullivan 4 11 9 11 11 1 1* 2 25 16 3* 5 12 6 2 2 26 147 4 Al Unser Jr. 12 2 5 8 3 9 8 4* 8 6 5 2 21 11 23 6 1 137 5 Mario Andretti 7 5 32 5 1 24 3 3 21 1 24 8 10 9 4 4 11 136 6 Kevin Cogan 1 17 2 12 14 21 23 5 22 2 4 4 4 20 9 14 4115 7 Emerson Fittipaldi 3 16 7 24 12 2 13 17 20 19 21 3 3 1 7 5 20 103 8 Rick Mears 19 20 3* 3 16 19 4 8 12 8 17 18 8 3 17 20 3 89 9 Roberto Guerrero 8 DNS 4 18 13 4* 17 20 24 21 2 17 22 4 5 12 2* 87 10 Tom Sneva 2 4 33 2 4 17 5 9 18 15 12 13 5 12 22 18 22 82 11 Johnny Rutherford 5 9 8 4 15 7 10 10 1 18 8 16 9 14 12 9 12 78 12 Geoff Brabham 10 3 12 21 7 22 14 14 4 12 20 11 11 22 6 8 5 64 13 Raul Boesel 13 19 13 14 8 23 6 7 5 5 7 9 15 8 14 13 19 54 14 Josele Garza 23 7 18 7 17 8 7 23 2 7 14 24 45 15 8 20 15 5 5 19 24 11 19 10 19 16 638 16 Roberto Moreno 20 6 19 13 18 18 25 18 6 10 16 6 16 20 10 17 30 17 Arie Luyendyk 6 15 15 9 16 24 6 23 17 18 13 7 10 15 21 29 18 Ed Pimm 22 22 17 10 6 12 DNS 15 24 7 11 7 10 29 19 Pancho Carter 16 3 3 15 28 20 Randy Lanier 11 13 10 20 9 6 9 21 19 21 21 A. J. Foyt 17 24 19 9 4 16 22 23 16 22 Jan Lammers 9 14 DNQ 8 23 9 13 23 Derek Daly DNQ 6 10 13 11 24 Johnny Parsons 27 22 21 16 29 7 23 11 8 25 Randy Lewis 10 10 20 11 15 24 18 14 8 26 Chip Robinson 14 7 6 27 Spike Gehlhausen DNQ 7 22 18 6 28 Ian Ashley 15 9 23 4 29 Sammy Swindell 9 4 30 Mike Nish DNQ DNS 10 24 22 3 31 Dominic Dobson 12 19 11 18 16 19 18 21 13 3 32 Rick Miaskiewicz 21 DNQ 16 15 11 13 DNS 2 33 Gary Bettenhausen 21 11 23 26 13 21 20 19 2 34 Dale Coyne DNQ 23 21 DNQ 12 DNQ DNQ 26 23 12 DNQ 17 DNS DNQ 25 2 35 John Morton 12 1 36 Rocky Moran 13 16 25 25 DNQ 21 15 21 16 0 37 Jeff MacPherson 22 15 13 DNQ 0 38 Desiré Wilson 13 19 16 0 39 Scott Brayton 24 30 13 27 19 0 40 Dennis Firestone Wth 17 28 14 14 17 0 41 Al Unser 18 22 14 20 15 0 42 Dick Simon 14 22 23 20 0 43 Chip Ganassi 14 21 0 44 Steve Chassey DNQ 17 28 17 0 45 Danny Ongais 23 0 46 Tom Phillips 24 0 47 Rich Vogler 25 0 48 George Snider 26 27 0 49 Eddie Cheever 27 0 50 Tony Bettenhausen Jr. 28 0 51 Jim Crawford 29 0 52 Phil Krueger 31 0 - Rupert Keegan DNQ - - Herm Johnson DNQ - - Steve Bren DNQ - - John Paul Jr. Wth - Color Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green 4th-6th place Light Blue 7th–12th place Dark Blue Finished(Outside Top 12) Purple Did not finish Red Did not qualify(DNQ) Brown Withdrawn(Wth) Black Disqualified(DSQ) White Did not start(DNS) Blank Did notparticipate(DNP) Driverreplacement(Rpl) Injured(Inj) Race not held(NH) Not competingIn-line notationBoldPole positionItalicsRan fastest race lap*Led most race laps Rookie of the Year Rookie

See also 1986 Indianapolis 500 1986 American Racing Series season

References