Galles Racing is a former auto racing team owned by Rick Galles that competed in the CART series, Can-Am and the Indy Racing League. The team won the 1990 CART championship as well as the 1992 Indianapolis 500, both with driver Al Unser Jr. The team won a total of 21 Indy car races along its history. In addition to Unser's 1992 victory, the team finished second at Indianapolis in 1989, 1990 and 1996.

In 1992, the team notably fielded their own in-house Galmer chassis. The team achieved two victories with the car during its very brief foray into the sport.

History

1980s The team first competed in a partial CART season in 1980, then was away from CART until 1983 when it fielded a car for rookie Al Unser Jr. Unser left the team after the 1984 season.

For 1985, Galles fielded the Buick V-6 engine at the Indy 500, with driver Pancho Carter winning the pole position. Carter, however, dropped out early and finished last.

In 1986-1987, Galles Racing became the primary support team for the new Brabham-Honda engine (later known as the Judd AV). Geoff Brabham and Jeff MacPherson fielded the engine at Indy in 1987, with MacPherson finishing a respectable 8th. Later in the season, Brabham scored second-place finishes at the Pocono 500 and at Road America.

In 1988, Al Unser Jr. returned to the team, and the entry was granted a lease for the Ilmor Chevrolet Indy-V-8 engine. In 1989, Unser Jr. then driving his familiar Valvoline-sponsored Chevy machine, nearly won the Indy 500, finishing second after crashing out with just over a lap to go in a famous duel with Emerson Fittipaldi.

Championship years After the 1989 season, Galles merged teams with Maurice Kranes (who had fielded Kraco-sponsored cars for Michael Andretti and then Bobby Rahal). Kranes brought Rahal and Kraco with him, while Unser Jr. remained in the Valvoline-sponsored machine. The team competed as Galles-Kraco Racing from 1990 to 1992 and Unser won the 1990 CART Championship with five wins. The Galles-Kraco duo of Unser and Bobby Rahal was one of the top teams in CART during that period. Unser and Rahal teamed up for three 1-2 finishes, including the 1990 Michigan 500. The two drivers finished on the podium in the same race six times. Rahal himself earned an impressive, yet frustrating, eleven second-place finishes for the team in 1990-1991. Rahal finished fourth in the championship in 1990 and second in the championship in 1991, winning one race in 1991.

Al Unser Jr. finished third in points in both 1991 and 1992.

Rahal was replaced in 1992 by veteran Danny Sullivan as the team introduced their new proprietary Galmer chassis. Unser won the 1992 Indianapolis 500 in a Galmer in what would be the closest finish in race history. Despite winning, the Galmer chassis was scrapped after only one season. Sullivan won the race at Long Beach, after being involved in a controversial incident with less than four laps to go. Unser Jr. was leading the race, and Sullivan was running second. The two cars tangled, and Unser was sent spinning into a tire barrier, while Sullivan went on to win. The incident created friction inside the team.

Unser and Sullivan retained their seats in 1993, and were joined by Kevin Cogan and Mexican rookie Adrián Fernández, who would share a third car for selected races throughout the season. At the 1993 Indy 500, Sullivan was the first to retire from the race after a crash, but Unser finished in 8th place and Cogan finished 14th. After a lackluster season that saw only three podium finishes, Unser would leave for Penske Racing, and Sullivan moved into semi-retirement (he raced stock cars in 1994, and raced for PacWest in 1995). The final two wins of Sullivan's Indy car career came with the team, but it was later revealed that behind-the-scenes, there was a toxic atmosphere and internal friction inside the team that got worse when Sullivan tangled with Unser; it led to Sullivan being fired before the season concluded, right when Sullivan was not in a position to easily find himself a new job.

For 1994, Fernández was the team's lone entry, as the team reverted to its Galles Racing name. Fernández was joined by Brazilian journeyman Marco Greco for 1995, with a 3rd place for Fernández at the Michigan 500 being their best finish for the season.

Transition to IRL 1996 saw several drivers in Galles cars as the team was one of the few CART teams to cross over and compete in the rival Indy Racing League's first Indianapolis 500 with driver Davy Jones who finished second. Jones also drove a partial schedule in CART while rookie and former Motorcycle champion Eddie Lawson drove Galles' full-time CART entry. In 1997 the team moved full-time to the IRL with rookie Kenny Bräck. Bräck switched to A. J. Foyt Enterprises for 1998 and the team again ceased operations. Galles returned in 1999 with veteran Davey Hamilton. Hamilton was replaced in 2000 by a returning Al Unser Jr., who was switching over from CART after being released from Penske Racing. Unser was one of the first CART stars to switch full-time to the IRL. The team's final year was 2001 where Unser was joined by rookies Didier André and Casey Mears.

Summary Throughout the team's 22-year history, their drivers captured 21 wins - 18 by Al Unser Jr. (6 in 1990, 4 in 1988, 2 in 1991 and 1 each in 1984, 1989, 1992, 1993, 2000, and 2001), two by Danny Sullivan (1 each in 1992 and 1993), and one by Bobby Rahal in 1991 in addition to capturing the 1990 CART championship and 1992 Indianapolis 500 with Unser.

Former drivers

CART Geoff Brabham (1985-1987) Pancho Carter (1984-1986) Kevin Cogan (1993) Dick Ferguson (1980) Adrián Fernández (1993-1995) Tom Gloy (1984) Marco Greco (1995) Davy Jones (1996) Eddie Lawson (1996) Jeff MacPherson (1987) Roberto Moreno (1985-1986) Bobby Rahal (1990-1991) Danny Sullivan (1992-1993) Al Unser Jr. (1983-1984, 1988-1993)

IRL Didier André (2001) Kenny Bräck (1997) Marco Greco (1997) Davey Hamilton (1999) Davy Jones (1996) Casey Mears (2001) Al Unser Jr. (2000-2001) Jeff Ward (1997)

Racing results Complete CART results (key) Year Chassis Engine Tyres Drivers No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Galles Racing 1983 INDYEagle 83Cosworth DFX V8t Al Unser Jr.17 6 9 7 2 4* 18 10 10 4 8 7th8919 10 March 83C17 13 2 1984 INDY March 84C Cosworth DFX V8t Al Unser Jr.7 Ret Ret Ret 3 1* 4 Ret Ret 13 Ret Ret 6 6 2 4 46th103 Tom Gloy77 17 Ret Ret40th0 Pancho Carter 6 7 1122 1985 INDYMarch 85CBuick 3300 V6t Pancho Carter6 13 3316th37Cosworth DFX V8t 5 13 16 16 12 2 10 7 Roberto Moreno 28 16 25 16 528th10 Geoff Brabham7 6 19 12 14 24 2 29 15 19 13 4 16 10 12 2215th41 1986 INDYLola T86/00Cosworth DFX V8t Geoff Brabham8 10 3 12 21 11 11 6 8 512th64Brabham-Honda V8t 7 22 14 14 4 12 20 22Cosworth DFX V8t Roberto Moreno9 20 6 19 13 18 18 25 18 6 10 16 6 16 20 10 1716th30 Pancho Carter 1519th2815 16 3 3 1987 INDYMarch 87CBrabham-Honda V8t Jeff MacPherson11 10 13 8 8 13 21 17 22 2319th21Cosworth DFX V8t 20 9 9 24Lola T86/00Brabham-Honda V8t 25 21March 87C Geoff Brabham15 16 8 24 12 9 4 22 DNS 8 2 2 7 12 5 38th90 1988 INDYMarch 88CChevrolet 265A V8t Al Unser Jr.3 18 1* 13 20 4 4 1* 1 21 2 4 7 19 6 1*2nd149 1989 INDYLola T89/00Chevrolet 265A V8t Al Unser Jr.2 2 1* 2 8 21 10 7 5 20 4 9 2 20 4 35th136Galles-Kraco Racing 1990 INDYLola T90/00Chevrolet 265A V8t Al Unser Jr.5 3 1* 4 1 27 3 15* 11 1* 1 1* 1* 3 4 16 21st210 Bobby Rahal18 2 12 2 4 2 11 2 25 22 2 3 8 6 7 3 54th153 1991 SFR INDYLola T91/00Chevrolet 265A V8t Al Unser Jr.1 16* 1* 6 4 19 4 4 4 2 23 3 1* 3 5 2 4 23rd197 Bobby Rahal18 2 2 2 19 4 2 3 3 1* 3 11 20 2 3 4 2 242nd200 1992 SFR INDY TORGalmer G92Chevrolet 265A V8t Al Unser Jr.3 4 5 4* 1 9 3 7 8 7 4 3 2 2 3 11 93rd169 Danny Sullivan18 5 12 1 5 5 12 12 9 3 8 20 7 7 8 17 77th99Galles Racing 1993 SFR INDYLola T93/07Chevrolet 265C V8t Al Unser Jr.3 15 4 21 8 5 6 5 19 5 8 8 25 1 8 25 57th100 Danny Sullivan7 13 23 8 33 16 1* 14 14 3 Wth 22 26 10 27 20 2712th43 Adrian Fernández DNS24th711 23 21 7 29 Kevin Cogan 14 27 13 1535th0 1994 SFR INDYReynard 94iIlmor 265D V8t Adrian Fernández7 13 10 8 28 16 23 10 7 13 23 6 8 22 5 21 713th46 1995 SFR INDYLola T95/00Mercedes-Benz IC108B V8t Adrian Fernández10 11 26 12 18 9 21 10 6 9 6 7 12 3 4 26 22 1012th66 Marco Greco55 13 21 DNQ 13 11 23 20 15 22 20 25 2329th2 1996 MIA RIO SFR LBH NAZ 500 MIL DET TORLola T96/00Mercedes-Benz IC108C V8t Eddie Lawson10 15 21 7 9 17 6 20 6 15 24 1520th26 Davy Jones 12 16 24 14 1431st1

Indy Racing League results (key) Year Chassis Engine Tyres Drivers No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1996 WDW PHX INDYLola T95/00Mercedes-Benz IC108C V8t Davy Jones70 2 26th33 1996–97 NHA LSV WDW PHX INDY TXS PPIR CLT NHA LSVG-Force GF01Oldsmobile Aurora V8 Davy Jones4 Wth—0 Jeff Ward 1669 Kenny Bräck 11 33 18 14 5 5 2019th139 Marco Greco70 13 9 20 10230 1999 INDY G-Force GF01C Oldsmobile Aurora V8 Davey Hamilton9 8237Dallara IR9 11 7 3 7 23 2 13 2 2000 INDY G-Force GF05Oldsmobile Aurora V8 Al Unser Jr.3 25 9 1 29 3* 10 3 27 17* 9th188 2001 INDY G-Force GF05Oldsmobile Aurora V8 Al Unser Jr.3 23 6 17 30 8 11 3 20 14 4 1 8 67th287 Casey Mears31 20 11 23 DNQ 31st36 Didier André32 27 10 13 DNQ 17 19 4 16 21 11 12 13 1520th188

IndyCar wins

# Season Date Sanction Track / Race No. Winning driver Chassis Engine Tire Grid Laps Led11984June 17CARTGrand Prix of Portland (R)7 Al Unser Jr.March 84CCosworth DFX V8tGoodyear 10 6821988April 17CARTGrand Prix of Long Beach (S)3 Al Unser Jr. (2)March 88CChevrolet 265A V8tGoodyear 4 733July 17CARTStreets of Toronto (S)3 Al Unser Jr. (3)March 88CChevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 3 854July 24CARTMeadowlands Street Circuit (S)3 Al Unser Jr. (4)March 88CChevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 6 325November 6CARTTamiami Park, Miami (S)3 Al Unser Jr. (5)March 88CChevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 5 8261989April 16CARTGrand Prix of Long Beach (S)2 Al Unser Jr. (6)Lola T89/00Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear Pole 84NCOctober 14CARTLaguna Seca Raceway (R)2 Al Unser Jr.Lola T89/00Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 6 3371990April 22 CARTGrand Prix of Long Beach (S)5 Al Unser Jr. (7)Lola T90/00Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear Pole 918June 3CARTMilwaukee Mile (O)5 Al Unser Jr. (8)Lola T90/00Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 9 829July 22CARTStreets of Toronto (S)5 Al Unser Jr. (9)Lola T90/00Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 8 6210August 5CARTMichigan 500 (O)5 Al Unser Jr. (10)Lola T90/00Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 5 4011August 26CARTStreets of Denver (S)5 Al Unser Jr. (11)Lola T90/00Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 2 3312September 2CARTStreets of Vancouver (S)5 Al Unser Jr. (12)Lola T90/00Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 6 58131991April 14CARTGrand Prix of Long Beach (S)1 Al Unser Jr. (13)Lola T91/00Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 2 9314July 14CARTMeadowlands Street Circuit (S)18 Bobby RahalLola T91/00Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 4 8915August 25CARTStreets of Denver (S)1 Al Unser Jr. (14)Lola T91/00Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 3 64161992April 12 CARTGrand Prix of Long Beach (S)18 Danny SullivanGalmer G92Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 2 7171992May 24 USACIndianapolis 500 (O)3 Al Unser Jr. (15)Galmer G92Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 12 25181993June 13CARTDetroit Belle Isle Grand Prix (S)7 Danny Sullivan (2)Lola T93/07Chevrolet 265C V8tGoodyear 10 3019August 29CARTStreets of Vancouver (S)3 Al Unser Jr. (16)Lola T93/07Chevrolet 265C V8t Goodyear 5 38202000April 22IRLLas Vegas Motor Speedway (O)3 Al Unser Jr. (17)G-Force GF05Oldsmobile Aurora V8Firestone 21 21212001August 26IRLGateway Motorsports Park (O)3 Al Unser Jr. (18)G-Force GF05Oldsmobile Aurora V8Firestone 8 75

References

External links Galles Racing statistics at Race Database