History Patrick Racing

1 history

1.1 first stint

1.1.1 1989-1990 trade deal


1.2 second stint
1.3 third stint

history

gordon johncock s 1973 indianapolis 500 winning car.



gordon johncock s 1982 indianapolis 500 winning car.



emerson fittipaldi s 1989 indianapolis 500 winning car.



alfa romeo indycar engine


first stint

pat patrick started indy car racing career sponsor of team fielded fellow jackson oilman walt michner in 1967. became co-owner of team in 1970 , established patrick racing.

the team won 1973 , 1982 indianapolis 500 driver gordon johncock. johncock won 1976 usac national championship. team closely associated stp sponsorship.

in mid-1980s, team expanded 2 cars, featuring drivers emerson fittipaldi , kevin cogan. team parted ways stp, , 7-eleven became primary sponsor 1985. in 1986, marlboro joined team. cogan won first , race of career in 1986 @ phoenix. fittipaldi won first cart race, michigan 500, in 1985. cogan finished heartbreaking second place in 1986 indianapolis 500, after being passed on 2 laps go.

for 1987, team secured use of new ilmor chevy indy v-8 engine. fittipaldi won 2 races, , finished 10th in points. after dropping down one-car effort, fittipaldi won 2 more races in 1988, finished 2nd @ indy, , improved 7th in points.

1989-1990 trade deal

in 1989, chip ganassi joined patrick co-owner fittipaldi s #20 marlboro entry. patrick preparing retire sport, , began putting pieces in place sell team @ season s end. patrick struck lucrative deal ganassi, penske racing, , phillip morris. penske supply patrick 2 pc-18 chassis 1989 season fittipaldi drive. in return, penske take driver fittipaldi , sponsor marlboro starting 1990 season. furthermore, penske receive interim marlboro sponsorship field third car (al unser, sr.) @ 3 500-mile races in 1989 (indy 500, michigan 500, pocono 500).

for 1990, chip ganassi take on assets of patrick racing (including 2 coveted pc-18 chassis, important ilmor chevrolet engine lease), use start own team.

the patrick team experienced dominating success in 1989 cart season. after winning 1989 indianapolis 500 , 1989 cart championship, @ point pat patrick changed mind retiring. wheels in motion dissolve existing team, decided explore options, , coaxed out of retirement 1990.

second stint

as planned, ganassi split off form own team in 1990 (chip ganassi racing). pat patrick took on upstart alfa romeo indycar project run alex morales motorsports. roberto guerrero signed on primary driver al unser, sr. driving second car @ indy 500 , michigan 500.

the new patrick racing team landed sponsorship miller. trade between penske , patrick, miller (previously penske) , marlboro (now on @ penske) owned same parent company, phillip morris. services of al unser, sr. trade between 2 outfits.

the team saw little on-track success, , less success in engine development. unser, in fact, had sit out michigan 500 after wrecked in practice, suffering broken leg. unser quit team.

for 1991, danny sullivan took on primary driver (also former penske driver), , team continued fail miserably. end of 1991 cart season, patrick in financial , legal trouble. team collapsing, rumors surfaced patrick team had shipped 1 of ilmor chevrolet v-8 engines on alfa-romeo engine developers in italy, in turn, tore engine down examine , allegedly stole design ideas. returned in pieces , infuriated ilmor officials.

at conclusion of 1991 season, danny sullivan left team, , replaced bobby rahal. sullivan went rahal s old seat @ galles-kraco racing. patrick s contractual obligations alfa-romeo had ended, team attempted resign ilmor, or possibly acquire older ilmor engines newman/haas. due possible fraudulent actions patrick against ilmor, team refused ilmor chevrolet engine lease, despite inking popular rahal. facing decidedly uncompetitive powerplant situation 1992, , escalating legal problems, in december 1991, patrick sold team outright bobby rahal , partner carl hogan. formed rahal-hogan racing, known rahal letterman lanigan racing.

third stint

in mid-1990s, patrick began rebuild team scratch. in 1994, patrick formed testing team firestone tires, , spearheaded firestone s return indycar racing 1995. did not enter races in 1994, , instead tested year. scott pruett signed on driver, , won 1995 marlboro 500.

in next few years, patrick experienced moderate success in cart.

due money issues , constant uncertainty of racing in champ car, patrick racing jumped on irl in 2004. ran al unser, jr. until mid-season retirement , jeff simmons, jaques lazier, , tomáš enge. no sponsorship 2005, team ceased operations , assets put sale.