The 1987 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season was the 9th national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by CART. The season consisted of 16 races, and one non-points exhibition event. Bobby Rahal was the national champion, winning his second-consecutive title. The rookie of the year was Fabrizio Barbazza. The 1987 Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned by USAC, but counted towards the CART points championship. Al Unser won the Indy 500, his record-tying fourth victory at Indy.
Defending series champion and defending Indy 500 winner Bobby Rahal and his Truesports team made a highly publicized switch from the March chassis to the up-and-coming Lola chassis. Truesports, however, stayed with the proven Cosworth engine. For 1987, the Ilmor Chevrolet Indy V-8 expanded its participation, fielding cars with Penske Racing, Newman/Haas and Patrick. Mario Andretti scored the engine's first Indy car victory in the season opener at Long Beach. Also joining the series full-time was the Judd AV V-8 (badged initially as the Brabham-Honda), and later in the season Porsche made their Indy car debut. Penske resumed their in-house chassis program, but after dismal results with the PC-16, the cars were parked during practice at Indy in favor of the March 86C.
Roberto Guerrero won the second race of the season (Phoenix), starting from last position on the grid due to failing post qualifying inspection. Mario Andretti dominated the Indianapolis 500, leading 171 of the first 177 laps, but dropped out with engine failure with only 23 laps to go. Guerrero took the lead, but stalled during his final pit stop. Al Unser led the final 18 laps to win, one of the biggest upsets in Indy 500 history. Though Guerrero faltered at Indy, he would be a factor through most of the season. After winning at Mid-Ohio in September he was third in points. However he was sidelined with serious head injuries due to a testing crash at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and was in a coma for seventeen days, missing the remainder of the season.
For the second year in a row, the championship battle came down to Bobby Rahal and Michael Andretti. Rahal took the points lead after back-to-back wins at Portland and the Meadowlands. Andretti won the Michigan 500, and drew within 9 points of Rahal. At Mid-Ohio, Rahal was dominating until he tangled with a backmarker. Andretti had a chance to make up ground in the points, but blew his engine two laps later.
Michael Andretti rebounded, winning in dominating fashion at the inaugural race at Nazareth. But Rahal charged to finish second, and with two races left, held a 25-point lead. In the next-to-last race of the season at Laguna Seca, Andretti dropped out with alternator trouble, and Rahal mathematically clinched the championship. It was Rahal's second-consecutive CART title, and Michael Andretti finished runner-up in points for the second year in a row.
Teams and drivers The following teams and drivers competed in the 1987 Indy Car World Series season. All cars used Goodyear tires.
Team Chassis Engine No. Driver(s) Rounds Notes A. J. Foyt Enterprises Lola T8700 Cosworth DFX 14 A. J. Foyt 3-4, 9-10, 13, 15 March 86C 41 Stan Fox 3 Davy Jones 9, 13, 15 44 3 Chevy V-6 84 George Snider 3 Alex Morales Motorsports March 87C Cosworth DFX 21 Johnny Rutherford All American Racing March 86C Buick V-6 2 Jim Crawford 3 Gordon Johncock Arciero Racing March 87C Cosworth DFX 12 Fabrizio Barbazza 1-13, 15 Ludwig Heimrath Jr. 14-15 March 85C Graham McRae 15 Bettenhausen Motorsports March 86C Cosworth DFX 16 Tony Bettenhausen Jr. 1-5, 7-12 Centerline Wheels March Pontiac 59 Sammy Swindell 3 Curb March 87CMarch 86C Cosworth DFX 33 Tom Sneva 1-9 John Andretti 11-15 98 Ed Pimm 3, 9 Dale Coyne Racing March 86C ChevyCosworth DFX 19 Dale Coyne 1-2, 4-15 Dick Simon Racing Lola T8700 Cosworth DFX 22 Dick Simon 1-10, 13 Wally Dallenbach Jr. 11 Ludwig Heimrath Jr. 12 John Richards 14 Jeff Wood 15 23 Ludwig Heimrath Jr. 1-10 Jeff Wood 11-14 Fulvio Ballabio 15 Lola T8600Lola T8700 27 John Richards 5-8 Lola T8600 Ian Ashley 15 Doug Shierson Racing March 87C Cosworth DFX 30 Al Unser Jr. All Galles Racing March 87CLola T8700 JuddCosworth DFX 11 Jeff MacPherson All March 87C Judd 15 Geoff Brabham All Gohr Racing March 86C Cosworth DFX 56 Rocky Moran 1 Gary Bettenhausen 2-4, 9-10 March 87CMarch 86C Scott Goodyear 6-8, 11-12, 14-15 Granatelli Racing March 87C Cosworth DFX 4 Roberto Guerrero 1-12 Al Unser 13 Raul Boesel 14-15 Hemelgarn Racing March 87C Cosworth DFX 71 Arie Luyendyk All Buick V-6 81 Rich Vogler 3 Cosworth DFX 91 Scott Brayton 3, 5-6, 9-10 March 86C Buick V-6 Johnny Parsons 3 Interscope Racing Penske PC-16March 86C Chevy 265ACosworth DFX 25 Danny Ongais 3, 9, 13, 15 Intersport March 86C Cosworth DFX 17 Dominic Dobson 3 JP Racing March 86C Cosworth DFX 35 Spike Gehlhausen 3 Kraco Racing March 87C Cosworth DFX 18 Michael Andretti All Leader Cards Racing March 87C Cosworth DFX 24 Randy Lewis All Los Angeles Drywall March 85C Cosworth DFX 19 Dick Ferguson 3 27 9 Machinists Union Racing March 87C Cosworth DFX 29 Pancho Carter 3, 9-15 March 86C 44 Chip Robinson 1, 6, 13 Tom Sneva 15 March 87C 55 Josele Garza All March 86C 59 Mike Nish 1-2 March 86CMarch 87C Rick Miaskiewicz 5, 7-8, 12 Newman Teamworks Lola T8600 Cosworth DFX 51 Didier Theys 1, 11 Davy Jones 12 Newman/Haas Racing Lola T8700 Chevy 265A 5 Mario Andretti All NFW Racing March 86C Cosworth DFX 36 Graham McRae 11-12 Pace Racing March 87C Buick V-6 77 Derek Daly 3 Patrick Racing March 87C Chevy 265A 7 Kevin Cogan 1-4, 6-15 20 Emerson Fittipaldi All Penske Racing Penske PC-16March 86C Chevy 265A 3 Danny Sullivan All 8 Rick Mears All March 86C Cosworth DFX 6 Al Unser 9-10 Penske PC-16 Chevy 265A 9 15 March 86C Cosworth DFX 25 3 Porsche Porsche 2708 Porsche 6 Al Unser 14 Al Holbert 15 Raynor Lola T8700 Cosworth DFX 10 Dennis Firestone 1-3 Lola T8600 Phil Krueger 3 Lola T8700 Derek Daly 4-15 Truesports Lola T8700 Cosworth DFX 1 Bobby Rahal All 2 Didier Theys 15 United Oil March 87C Cosworth DFX 87 Steve Chassey 3 Walther March 86C Cosworth DFX 76 Rocky Moran 3 WENS March 86C Cosworth DFX 97 Rick Miaskiewicz 3 Notes (R) – Rookie 1. Crawford was injured on Pole Day, and replaced by Johncock. 2. All three drivers listed as entries at Miami. 3. Curb used March 86C Chassis at round 3 only. 4. Coyne used a Cosworth engine at round 7 only. 5. Richards used a Lola T8700 at round 6 only. 6. MacPherson used a Lola T8600 at rounds 11 and 12 only, and used Cosworth at rounds 10, 13-15 only. 7. Goodyear used a March 86C at round 7 only. 8. Ongais practiced at round 3 with a PC-16/Chevy A combo, but did not attempt to qualify due to injury. 9. Miaskiewicz used a March 87C at round 7 only. 10. Sullivan used a PC-16 at rounds 1-2, 5-6 only while he used a March 86C at the other rounds. 11. Mears used a PC-16 at rounds 1-2, 5-8 only while he used a March 86C at the other rounds.
Schedule There would only be one race at Phoenix International Raceway and Michigan International Speedway from this season forward. Additionally Pennsylvania International Raceway had been paved and added to the schedule as a 200 mile event for the first time.
Icon Legend Oval/Speedway Road course Street circuitNC Non-championship race
Rd Date Race name Track City 1 April 5 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Long Beach Street Circuit Long Beach, California 2 April 12 Checker 200 Phoenix International Raceway Avondale, Arizona 3 May 24 Indianapolis 500* Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana 4 May 31 Miller American 200 Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wisconsin 5 June 14 Budweiser/G. I. Joe's 200 Portland International Raceway Portland, Oregon 6 June 28 Meadowlands Indy Meadowlands Street Circuit East Rutherford, New Jersey 7 July 5 Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix Burke Lakefront Airport Cleveland, Ohio 8 July 19 Molson Indy Toronto Exhibition Place Toronto, Ontario 9 August 2 Marlboro 500 Michigan International Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan 10 August 16 Quaker State 500 Pocono International Raceway Long Pond, Pennsylvania 11 August 30 LivingWell/Provimi 200 Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin 12 September 6 Escort Radar Warning 200 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio 13 September 20 Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix Pennsylvania International Raceway Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania 14 October 11 Nissan Monterey Grand Prix Laguna Seca Raceway Monterey, California NC October 31 Marlboro Challenge Tamiami Park Miami, Florida 15 November 1 Nissan Indy Challenge** * Indianapolis was USAC-sanctioned but counted towards the CART title.
** Miami was supposed to run for 200 miles (322 kilometers) but was shortened due to rain.
Results Rd Name Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning teamRace time Report 1 Grand Prix of Long Beach Mario Andretti 1:05.886 Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing1:51:33 Report 2 Checker 200 Mario Andretti 21.832 Roberto Guerrero Vince Granatelli Racing1:26:26 Report 3 Indianapolis 500 Mario Andretti 2:47.139 Al Unser Penske Racing3:04:59 Report 4 Miller American 200 Roberto Guerrero 23.544 Michael Andretti Kraco Racing1:47:17 Report 5 Budweiser/G. I. Joe's 200 Roberto Guerrero 59.207 Bobby Rahal Truesports1:50:02 Report 6 Meadowlands Grand Prix Mario Andretti 1:01.097 Bobby Rahal Truesports1:57:18 Report 7 Cleveland Grand Prix Roberto Guerrero 1:05.509 Emerson Fittipaldi Patrick Racing1:32:40 Report 8 Molson Indy Toronto Bobby Rahal Emerson Fittipaldi Patrick Racing1:54:35 Report 9 Marlboro 500 Michael Andretti 33.406 Michael Andretti Kraco Racing2:54:56 Report 10 Quaker State 500 Mario Andretti 44.795 Rick Mears Penske Racing3:11:50 Report 11 Provimi Veal 200 Mario Andretti 1:52.687 Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing1:39:52 Report 12 Escort Radar Warning 200 Roberto Guerrero 1:15.585 Roberto Guerrero Vince Granatelli Racing1:51:58 Report 13 Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix Michael Andretti 21.926 Michael Andretti Kraco Racing1:33:02 Report 14 Champion Spark Plug 300k Mario Andretti 52.926 Bobby Rahal Truesports1:33:58 ReportNC Marlboro Challenge Raul Boesel Bobby Rahal Truesports0:41:20 Report 15 Miami Indy Challenge Mario Andretti 1:54.630 Michael Andretti Kraco Racing1:56:12 Report
Race summaries Long Beach Mario Andretti started on the pole position and dominated the Long Beach Grand Prix, his third win in four years at the circuit. It marked the first-ever victory in Indy car competition for the Ilmor Chevrolet Indy V-8 engine. Emerson Fittipaldi was a close second until he dropped out with turbocharger failure.
Phoenix Roberto Guerrero qualified third, but failed post-qualifying inspection for being 2.5 pounds underweight. He was forced to start last on the grid. Guerrero quickly charged through the field, and was in the top five by lap 46. He dueled with Bobby Rahal for the lead on lap 62, and dominated the second half. Even a stop-and-go penalty for hitting a tire in the pits did not slow Guerrero's run.
Guerrero won by 8 seconds over Rahal, becoming only the fourth driver in modern Indy car history to win a race from the last starting position.
Indianapolis 500 Mario Andretti dominated the entire month of May at Indy. He ran the fastest practice laps, won the pole position, the pit stop contest, and led 170 of the first 177 laps. With only 23 laps to go, Andretti suddenly slowed with a broken valve spring which led to fueling and engine failure. Roberto Guerrero, the winner at Phoenix, stalled in the pits while leading due to a failing clutch, and came home second while Al Unser, who had entered the month without a ride took the lead with 18 laps to go, and recorded one of the biggest upsets in Indy history.
Milwaukee While leading the race on lap 149, Mario Andretti broke a rear wing, sending the car hard into the outside and inside walls. He was taken to the hospital with relatively minor injuries. Mario's son Michael Andretti took the lead after the accident, locked in a duel with Roberto Guerrero.