1985 CART PPG Indy Car World Series

Defending series champion Mario Andretti won the season opener, finished second at the Indy 500, and won the next two races, jumping out to the early points lead. A mid-season slump, however, saw him achieve only one top five finish the remainder of the year. He then broke his collarbone in a crash at Michigan, and was forced to sit out one race. The driver of the season became Al Unser Jr., who won the next two races (Meadowlands and Cleveland), and finished the year with nine finishes in the top 4.

At the midpoint of the season, Mario Andretti's points lead had dwindled, while Emerson Fittipaldi, Al Unser Sr., and Al Unser Jr. were all closing in. At the Pocono 500, Rick Mears triumphantly returned to victory lane after his leg injuries. Finishing second and third were Al Jr. and Al Sr., respectively, with Al Sr. now taking the points lead. Unser Jr. ate away at the points lead over the next four races, and the Unsers were neck-and-neck approaching the season finale. Meanwhile, Bobby Rahal was making a championship run of his own, winning 3 out of 4 races, and four poles in a row during a stretch in September-October. He almost won four races in row, but was taken out while leading at Sanair with only 13 laps to go. Rahal closed to within 13 points of the championship lead.

With two races to go, Unser Jr. led Unser Sr. by only 3 points. Father and son finished 1st and 2nd at Phoenix, and the standings were flipped. Al Sr. led Al Jr. by 3 points going into the finale at Miami. Rahal finished a distant 6th at Phoenix, and was mathematically eliminated from the championship.

The season finale at Tamiami Park ended in dramatic fashion. Danny Sullivan and Bobby Rahal finished 1st and 2nd, respectively, but the attention of the day was focused on the two Unsers. Late in the race, Al Unser Jr. was running third, and Al Unser Sr. was running 5th. At the moment, Al Jr. was leading the hypothetical championship standings by 1 point.

In the closing laps, Al Unser Sr. chased down and passed Roberto Moreno for 4th place. He held on to finish fourth, and thus won the championship by 1 point over his son. Unser Sr. afterwards expressed some regret about snatching the championship title from his son, but felt it was his responsibility to his own team and his own sponsors to race to his ability all the way to the end. It was also in the best interests of sportsmanship to all competitors not to give favor to his son. Unser Sr. also knew his days were numbered as a competitive driver on the circuit, while he knew Unser Jr. had many years ahead to have another chance at the title (Al Unser Jr. would indeed win the championship twice - 1990 and 1994).

The 1985 season saw two controversies at two separate races. The Michigan 500 had to be postponed for a week due to tire issues. In September, the race at Sanair came to a bizarre conclusion when the safety car, leading the field on the final lap under caution, suddenly veered into the pits on the final turn. Leader Johnny Rutherford was not informed, and second place Pancho Carter accelerated past him and beat him to the finish line. Officials initially awarded the victory to Carter, and Rutherford protested. After review, Rutherford was eventually restored the victory. (In many motorsport codes, the safety car exits to pit lane on the final lap; in most North American codes, the safety car remains on the circuit towards the finish line.)

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1985 Indy Car World Series season. All cars used Goodyear tires.

Team	Chassis	Engine	No*	Drivers	Rounds
Team Penske	March 85C	Cosworth DFX	4 (5)	Danny Sullivan	All
			5 (1)	Rick Mears	2–3, 7, 9, 12
				Al Unser
			11		All except 3
Doug Shierson Racing	Lola T900	Cosworth DFX	30	Al Unser Jr.	All
Truesports Co.	March 85C	Cosworth DFX	3 (10)	Bobby Rahal	All
			8	Ludwig Heimrath Jr.	10
Newman/Haas Racing	Lola T900	Cosworth DFX	1 (3)	Mario Andretti	All except 8
				Alan Jones	8
Patrick Racing	March 85C	Cosworth DFX	20	Bruno Giacomelli	1, 4–6, 8, 10–11, 13, 15
				Sammy Swindell	7, 9
				Don Whittington	2-3, 12, 14
			40	Emerson Fittipaldi	All
			60	Rich Vogler	2
All American Racers	Eagle 85GC (All except 4, 11, and 13–14) Lola T900 (4, 11, 13–14)	Cosworth DFX	2	Tom Sneva	All
	Lola T900		97	Tony Bettenhausen Jr.	2
	Eagle 85GC (All except 3, 6) Lola T900 (3)		98	Ed Pimm	All except 6
Kraco Racing	March 85C	Cosworth DFX	18	Kevin Cogan	All
			99	Michael Andretti	All
Alex Morales Motorsports	March 85C	Cosworth DFX	21	Johnny Rutherford	All
Machinists Union Racing	March 85C	Cosworth DFX	55	Josele Garza	All
			59	Pete Halsmer	2–6, 12
				Rupert Keegan	10, 13, 15
				Chip Ganassi	7
Galles Racing	March 85C	Buick V-6 (1-2) Cosworth DFX (3-15)	6	Pancho Carter	2–4, 6–7, 9, 11–12, 14
				Roberto Moreno	5, 8, 10, 13, 15
		Cosworth DFX	7	Geoff Brabham	All
Team Cotter	March 85C	Cosworth DFX	9	Roberto Guerrero	All
Forsythe Racing	Lola T900	Cosworth DFX	32/33	Howdy Holmes	1-12
				Jan Lammers	13-15
Pace Racing	March 84C (1-6) Lola T900 (7-15)	Cosworth DFX	36	Dennis Firestone	1-13
				Jim Crawford	14-15
Dick Simon Racing	March 85C	Cosworth DFX	22	Raul Boesel	1, 4–6, 8, 10, 13, 15
				Dick Simon	2-3, 7, 9, 11–12, 14
			23	Raul Boesel	2, 7
				Dick Simon	5
Leader Card Racing	March 84C (1, 5) March 85C (4)	Cosworth DFX	24	Rocky Moran	1, 4-5
	March 84C (7) March 85C (2-3, 9)			Tom Bigelow	2–3, 7, 9
	March 84C			Phil Krueger	6
	March 85C			Herm Johnson	8, 10
	March 85C			Gary Bettenhausen	11–12, 14
	March 85C			Dominic Dobson	13, 15
Canadian Tire Racing	March 85C	Cosworth DFX	67	Jim Crawford	11
			76	Jacques Villeneuve Sr.	All except 2, 7, 9, and 12
				Johnny Parsons	2
Provimi Racing	Lola T900	Cosworth DFX	61	Arie Luyendyk	All except 9-10
Arciero Racing	Lola T900 (All other races) March 85C (12, 15)	Cosworth DFX	12	Bill Whittington	All except 7, 9, 11, and 14
				Randy Lanier	14
	Lola T900		57		1–2, 4–6, 8, 10, 13, 15
Dale Coyne Racing	Lola T800	Chevy	19	Dale Coyne	All except 1 and 11
Gohr Racing	March 85C	Chevy	56	Steve Chassey	All except 1 and 11
Hemelgarn Racing	Lola T900 (All other races) March 85C (11)	Cosworth DFX	71	Michael Roe	1–2, 4-6
				Spike Gehlhausen	3, 7
				Enrique Mansilla	8, 10-11
				Scott Brayton	13-15
Part-time entries
Wysard Racing	Lola T900	Cosworth DFX	34	Jim Crawford	1–3, 5-6
				Darin Brassfield	15
Brayton Racing	March 85C	Cosworth DFX/Buick V-6	37	Scott Brayton	1–7, 9, 12
Interscope Racing	March 85C	Cosworth DFX	25	Danny Ongais	1–2, 6–7, 9, 12, 14-15
AMI Racing	March 85C	Cosworth DFX	43	John Paul Jr.	2, 6
				Jan Lammers	4-5
Circle Bar Racing	Lola T900	Cosworth DFX	38	Chet Fillip	2–3, 6-7
Menard Cashway Lumber	March 85C	Cosworth DFX	8	Herm Johnson	2
Tom Hess Racing	Lola T800	Cosworth DFX	27 (29)	Dick Ferguson	1
	Lola T900			Derek Daly	2
				Jeff Wood	6
				Ian Ashley	15
Purcell Racing	March 83C	Cosworth DFX	50	Tom Bigelow	2
			51	Phil Krueger	2
Gilmore Racing	March 85C (All other races) Lola T900 (11)	Cosworth DFX	14	A. J. Foyt	2, 5–7, 9, 11, 14-15
	March 84C		41	Mike Nish	2, 14
	March 85C	Chevy	44	George Snider	2
		Cosworth DFX	84	Chip Ganassi	2
Theodore Racing	Theodore	Cosworth DFX	15	Chico Serra	4

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

• Rick Mears was sidelined due to injuries for much of the season. Danny Sullivan left Doug Shierson Racing to join Team Penske.
• Al Unser Jr. left Galles Racing to replace Sullivan at Doug Shierson Racing. He was replaced at Galles Racing by Geoff Brabham, who previously drove for Kraco Racing.
• Mayer Motor Racing, which ran 1984 with drivers Tom Sneva and Howdy Holmes, did not run in 1985. Tom Sneva moved to All American Racers, which expanded to a two car team, while Howdy Holmes moved to Forsythe Racing, who had run 1984 without a steady driver.
• Galles Racing expanded to a two car team. Joining Geoff Brabham, the second car was run by Pancho Carter on the ovals and rookie Roberto Moreno on the road courses.
• Bignotti-Cotter Racing changed its name to Team Cotter, continuing to field a car for Roberto Guerrero.
• Bill Whittington, who did not have a ride in 1984, joined Arciero Racing, replacing Pete Halsmer. Halsmer only ran a few races that year.
• Rookie Arie Luyendyk ran his first full season, driving for Provimi Veal Racing. He replaced Derek Daly, who was left without a full-time ride.
• Geoff Brabham was replaced at Kraco Racing by Kevin Cogan.
• Gordon Johncock retired shortly before the 1985 Indianapolis 500.^[1] He was replaced at Patrick Racing by rookie Bruno Giacomelli.
• Johnny Rutherford returned to full-time driving, replacing Al Holbert at Alex Morales Motorsports. Holbert returned to sports cars.
• Dick Simon scaled back to part-time driving. His ride at Dick Simon Racing was split with Raul Boesel.
• Stan Fox, who ran full-time in 1984, did not run in 1985. A variety of drivers are ran at Leader Card Racing.
• Interscope Racing and driver Danny Ongais only ran part-time in 1985.
• Tom Hess Racing, which drove most of 1984 with Dick Ferguson, also scaled back to part-time.

Rd	Date	Name	Circuit	Location	TV Broadcaster
1	April 14	Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach	R  Streets of Long Beach	Long Beach, California	NBC
2	May 26	Indianapolis 500	O  Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Indianapolis, Indiana	ABC
3	June 2	Miller American 200 in Honor of Rex Mays	O  Milwaukee Mile	West Allis, Wisconsin	ESPN
4	June 16	Stroh's/G.I. Joe's 200	R  Portland International Raceway	Portland, Oregon	ESPN
5	June 30	U.S. Grand Prix at the Meadowlands	R  Meadowlands Sports Complex	East Rutherford, New Jersey	NBC
6	July 7	Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix	R  Burke Lakefront Airport	Cleveland, Ohio	ESPN
7	July 28*	Michigan 500	O  Michigan International Speedway	Brooklyn, Michigan	Untelevised
8	August 4	Provimi Veal 200	R  Road America	Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin	ESPN
9	August 18	Domino's Pizza 500	O  Pocono International Raceway	Long Pond, Pennsylvania	ESPN
10	September 1	Escort Radar Warning 200	R  Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	Lexington, Ohio	ESPN
11	September 8	Molson Indy 300	O  Sanair Super Speedway	Saint-Pie, Quebec	ESPN
12	September 22	Detroit News 200	O  Michigan International Speedway	Brooklyn, Michigan	ESPN
13	October 6	Stroh's 300k	R  Laguna Seca Raceway	Monterey, California	ESPN
14	October 13*	Dana 150	O  Phoenix International Raceway	Avondale, Arizona	ESPN
15	November 9	Beatrice Indy Challenge	R  Tamiami Park	Miami, Florida	NBC

 O  Oval/Speedway
 R  Road/Street course
NC Non-championship event

The Dana 150 was scheduled for March 31, but postponed on March 13 due to track damage sustained over winter testing. On August 6, it was rescheduled for an October 13 date.

The Michigan 500 was scheduled for July 21, but postponed a week due to tire concerns. NBC did not return to televise the race.

Rd	Event Name	Pole Position	Winner	Winning Team	Race time
1	Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach	Mario Andretti	Mario Andretti	Newman/Haas Racing	1:42:50
2	Indianapolis 500	Pancho Carter	Danny Sullivan	Team Penske	3:16:06
3	Miller American 200 in Honor of Rex Mays	Mario Andretti	Mario Andretti	Newman/Haas Racing	1:36:38
4	Stroh's/G.I. Joe's 200	Danny Sullivan	Mario Andretti	Newman/Haas Racing	1:51:35
5	U.S. Grand Prix at the Meadowlands	Mario Andretti	Al Unser Jr.	Doug Shierson Racing	1:51:55
6	Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix	Bobby Rahal	Al Unser Jr.	Doug Shierson Racing	1:45:31
7	Michigan 500	Rick Mears	Emerson Fittipaldi	Patrick Racing	3:53:58
8	Provimi Veal 200	Danny Sullivan	Jacques Villeneuve Sr.	Canadian Tire Racing	1:45:12
9	Domino's Pizza 500	Rick Mears	Rick Mears	Team Penske	3:17:47
10	Escort Radar Warning 200	Bobby Rahal	Bobby Rahal	Truesports	1:52:23
11	Molson Indy 300	Bobby Rahal	Johnny Rutherford	Alex Morales Motorsports	2:03:54
12	Detroit News 200	Bobby Rahal	Bobby Rahal	Truesports	1:13:19
13	Stroh's 300k	Bobby Rahal	Bobby Rahal	Truesports	1:38:56
14	Dana 150	Al Unser	Al Unser	Team Penske	1:14:35
15	Beatrice Indy Challenge	Bobby Rahal	Danny Sullivan	Team Penske	2:04:59

• Indianapolis was USAC-sanctioned but counted towards the CART title.

Pos Driver LBH   INDY   MIL   POR   MEA   CLE   MIC1   ROA   POC   MDO   SAN   MIC2   LAG   PHX   MIA   Pts 1   Al Unser 5 4 4 3 3 2* 7 3 27 13* 12 2 1* 4 151 2   Al Unser Jr. 9 25 7 2* 1* 1 15 17* 2* 4 3 23 3 2 3 150 3   Bobby Rahal 27 27 9 20 25 28 6 4 4 1* 10 1* 1* 6 2* 133 4   Danny Sullivan 3 1 4 27 18 27 14 13 5 2 5 8 8 4 1 126 5   Mario Andretti 1* 2* 1* 1 26 14* 10 7 7 15 21 11 3 27 114 6   Emerson Fittipaldi 2 13 8 3 2 8 1 5 6 8 25 13 24 8 26 104 7   Tom Sneva 8 20 2 24 6 11 3 21 8 15 7 5 19 19 21 66 8   Jacques Villeneuve Sr. 7 DNQ 22 23 21 4 1 3 11 25 13 17 54 9   Michael Andretti 19 8 19 28 4 7 27 2 13 14 19 25 9 5 25 53 10   Rick Mears 21 3 30 1 2 51 11   Johnny Rutherford 10 6 23 9 14 15 4 DNS 14 22 1 9 21 26 19 51 12   Josele Garza 28 31 7 12 27 6 19 18 26 11 6 6 7 10 9 46 13   Ed Pimm 12 9 21 19 DNS 5 11 20 9 8 3 14 9 12 45 14   Kevin Cogan 23 11 16 5 7 9 7 25 17 21 9 4 17 22 24 44 15   Geoff Brabham 6 19 12 14 24 2 29 15 19 13 4 16 10 12 22 41 16   Pancho Carter 13 33 5 13 16 16 12 2 10 7 37 17   Roberto Guerrero 26 3 6 15 DNS 19 13 19 18 18 23 24 4 21 28 34 18   Arie Luyendyk  RY  17 7 17 21 10 5 Wth 6 DNS 18 15 22 25 7 33 19   Bruno Giacomelli  R  18 10 5 10 22 6 16 6 14 32 20   Jim Crawford 4 16 DNS 9 13 20 15 16 16 21   Bill Whittington 16 14 DNS 26 16 24 24 5 17 DNQ 8 15 22   Scott Brayton 11 30 DNQ 6 15 25 8 16 22 26 18 DNQ 15 23   Alan Jones 3 14 24   Danny Ongais DNQ 17 20 22 7 14 6 14 25   Howdy Holmes 14 10 11 17 13 22 9 10 21 16 21 18 DNS 12 26   Jan Lammers 16 12 5 20 13 11 27   Michael Roe  R  21 DNQ 7 8 26 11 28   Roberto Moreno  R  28 16 25 16 5 10 29   Johnny Parsons 5 10 30   Raul Boesel  R  20 18 11 11 12 28 8 23 20 23 10 31   Enrique Mansilla 9 10 12 8 32   Pete Halsmer DNQ 15 8 19 11 7 33   Dennis Firestone 22 DNQ 20 18 DNQ 21 11 20 9 17 14 DNS 23 6 34   Steve Chassey DNQ DNS DNQ 20 DNS 12 26 11 12 14 15 11 DNQ 6 35   Rupert Keegan  R  19 12 10 4 36   Dick Simon 26 13 17 25 10 17 19 DNQ 3 37   Chet Fillip DNQ 10 18 17 3 38   Dominic Dobson DNS 18 11 2 39   Herm Johnson DNQ 12 24 1 40   Derek Daly 12 1 41   Randy Lanier 24 DNQ 22 22 20 14 20 13 17 15 0 42   Spike Gehlhausen 14 18 0 43   John Paul Jr. 15 17 0 44   Phil Krueger DNQ DNQ 21 15 0 45   Rocky Moran  R  15 DNQ DNQ 0 46   Gary Bettenhausen 22 DNS 16 0 47   Tom Bigelow DNQ 18 26 23 0 48   Ian Ashley 18 0 49   A. J. Foyt 28 23 Wth 24 24 23 20 0 50   Don Whittington 24 DNQ 20 20 24 0 51   Chip Ganassi 22 22 0 52   Dale Coyne DNQ DNS DNQ DNQ DNS 24 23 27 28 DNS 27 DNQ DNQ 0 53   Sammy Swindell 23 25 0 54   Rich Vogler 23 0 55   Jeff Wood 23 0 56   Dick Ferguson 25 DNQ 0 57   Chico Serra 25 0 58   Ludwig Heimrath Jr.  R  26 0 59   Tony Bettenhausen Jr. 29 0 60   George Snider 32 0 –   Darin Brassfield  R  DNQ - –   Frank Chianelli  R  DNQ - –   Gordon Johncock Wth - –   Jerry Karl DNQ - –   Mike Nish  R  DNQ EX - –   Willy T. Ribbs  R  Wth - –   Ken Schrader DNP - Pos Driver LBH   INDY   MIL   POR   MEA   CLE   MIC1   ROA   POC   MDO   SAN   MIC2   LAG   PHX   MIA   Pts

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 not participate (DNP) Driver replacement (Rpl) Injured (Inj) Race not held (NH) Not competing In-line notation Bold Pole position Italics Ran fastest race lap * Led most race laps  RY  Rookie of the Year  R  Rookie

In the Sanair race (Molson Indy 300), Roberto Guerrero had a strong lead until he lost control and spun. Later in the race Jacques Villeneuve Sr. collided with leader Bobby Rahal in attempt to challenge for the lead, taking both out. The race finished under a yellow flag, but the safety car entered pit lane on the final lap, and thinking there would be a final restart, Pancho Carter passed Johnny Rutherford after the safety car entered pit lane and before the finish line. CART initially declared Carter the winner, but an appeals panel later overturned the decision and confirmed Rutherford's victory. In many codes of motorsport (typically FIA Code) the safety car enters pit lane as the field is on the final lap, and the cars cross the checkered flag together without the safety car on course. However, this practice is not accepted in North America, where the safety car leads the leaders to the finish line if the safety car situation exists.

• 1985 Indianapolis 500

• Åberg, Andreas. "PPG Indy Car World Series 1985". Driver Database. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
• "1985 PPG Indy Car World Series". Champ Car Stats. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
• "Official Box Score: 69th Indianapolis 500-Mile Race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway". Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
• "Champ Car > Standings after Beatrice Indy Challange [sic]". Champ Car World Series. October 24, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-10-22. Retrieved July 17, 2011.
• ChampCarStats.com (Archived 2009-07-26)]