1990 CART PPG Indy Car World Series

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1990 CART PPG Indy Car World Series

The season was CART’s 12th national championship for American open-wheel racing. It had 16 races plus one non-points exhibition. Al Unser Jr. won the drivers’ title, and Eddie Cheever was Rookie of the Year. The Indianapolis 500, although USAC-sanctioned, counted toward the CART standings. Arie Luyendyk won the Indy 500, his first major-win and the fastest 500-mile run at the time (a mark that stood until 2013).

Al Unser Jr. dominated the year with six race wins, one pole, and ten podium finishes. He finished 4th at Indy, then won his first career oval race at Milwaukee a week later. He also tied a series record by winning four straight races in July–August, and his Michigan 500 win gave him his first superspeedway victory. Michael Andretti was the closest challenger, with five wins and four poles, narrowing Unser’s lead to 37 points late in the season. In Nazareth, Unser crashed, but Andretti could only finish 6th, leaving Unser with a 27-point lead heading into the finale at Laguna Seca, enough to clinch the championship.

Off the track, Bobby Rahal’s team merged with Rick Galles’s team to form Galles-KRACO Racing. Unser Jr. and Rahal were teammates, with Rahal using the Chevrolet Ilmor V-8 for the first time. Despite the upgrade, Rahal finished second in the standings with five runner-up finishes and no wins, the first time in his Indy car career that happened. Other major shifts included Emerson Fittipaldi moving from Patrick Racing to Penske; Patrick Racing being bought by Chip Ganassi and rebranded as Chip Ganassi Racing; Pat Patrick returning with a new Alfa Romeo Indy car effort. This was the final CART season for the March chassis. All teams ran Goodyear tires. Two new races were added on street courses in Denver and Vancouver, while Pocono was dropped for safety reasons. The Toronto race was shortened by rain.