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Sports season
The 1981 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season, the third in the CART era of U.S. open-wheel racing , consisted of 11 races, beginning in Avondale , Arizona on March 22 and concluding at the same location on October 31. The PPG Indy Car World Series Drivers' Champion was Rick Mears despite missing Round 2 at Milwaukee due to injuries sustained in the Indianapolis 500 . Rookie of the Year was Bob Lazier . After the disagreement with the USAC during the previous season, the 65th Indianapolis 500 was not part of the Series, however no competing race was scheduled and most CART teams and drivers did take part.
Drivers and constructors
The following teams and drivers competed for the 1981 CART World Series .
Team/Car Owner
Chassis
Engine
#
Drivers
Rounds
Chaparral Cars
Chaparral
Cosworth
1
Johnny Rutherford
All
Jerry O'Connell Racing
Phoenix
Cosworth
2
Tom Sneva
1
32
Kevin Cogan
2-3, 5-7
Bignotti-Cotter Racing
March (5-11)
Phoenix (2)
Cosworth
2
Tom Sneva
All except 1 and 3-4
Phoenix
21
Salt Walther
5
Team Penske
Penske
Cosworth
3
Bobby Unser
All
6
Rick Mears
All except 2
7
Bill Alsup
All except 1 and 8-9
Alex Morales Motorsports
Penske (all except 2, 9) Lightning (2, 9)
Cosworth
5
Pancho Carter
All
Lightning
75
Steve Chassey
4
Longhorn Racing
Longhorn (All except 8)
Eagle (8)
Cosworth
8
Al Unser
All
Rhoades Competition
Wildcat
Cosworth
12
Dennis Firestone
3
Gary Bettenhausen
5, 7
Gordon Smiley
6, 10-11
Gilmore Racing
Coyote
Cosworth
14
A. J. Foyt
5
Tempero Racing
McLaren
Chevrolet
15
Bill Tempero
All except 2
Bettenhausen Racing
McLaren (1-6)
Longhorn (7)
Phoenix (8-11)
Cosworth
16
Tony Bettenhausen Jr.
All except 1
Leader Card Racing
Watson
Cosworth (All except 7-8)
Offenhauser (7-8)
22
Dick Simon
All except 3-4.
Spike Gehlhausen
3-4
Patrick Racing
Wildcat
Cosworth
20
Gordon Johncock
All
40
Mario Andretti
1-4, 8-9, 11
Steve Krisiloff
5, 7
Brayton Racing
Penske
Cosworth
21
Mike Mosley
11
Chip Ganassi
12
37
Scott Brayton
All
McElreath Racing
Eagle
Offenhauser
(1, 9-11)Chevrolet (8)
23
Jim McElreath
1, 8-11
Luxury Racers
Kingfish
Chevrolet
24
Wally Pankratz
6
65
Wally Pankratz
11
Buick Racing
Eagle
Chevrolet
26
Jim Buick
1
86
Jim Buick
2-5
Menard Racing
Lightning (1-8)
Eagle (9-11)
Chevrolet
28
Herm Johnson
All except 1-2, 4, and 8
Beaudoin Racing
McLaren
Cosworth
29
Billy Engelhart
2, 5, 7
Machinists Union Racing
Penske
Cosworth
31
Larry Dickson
All except 1
Theodore Racing
McLaren (5, 10-11)
March (6)
Cosworth
33
Vern Schuppan
5-6, 10-11
Wysard Racing
Eagle
Cosworth
34
Hurley Haywood
6, 9-10
Johnny Parsons
11
Bob Fletcher Racing
Penske (1-6)
March (7-11)
Cosworth
35
Bob Lazier
All
Karl Racing
McLaren (1)
Karl (2-7, 9-10)
Chevrolet
38
Jerry Karl
All except 8 and 11
Alsup Racing
Penske
Cosworth
41
Bill Alsup
1, 8-9
McLaren
Chevrolet
47
Phil Caliva
3-7, 11
Frey Racing
Eagle
Offenhauser
42
Bob Frey
1
71
Bob Frey
2, 5
Rattlesnake Racing
Watson
Offenhauser
42
Bill Vukovich II
5-6, 8, 10
AMI Racing
Armstrong
Cosworth
43
Greg Leffler
11
Lola
45
Harry MacDonald
5
Rager Racing
Wildcat
Chevrolet
44
Roger Rager
11
66
Roger Rager
5-9
Orio Trice
10
All American Racers
Eagle
Chevrolet
48
Mike Mosley
2-3, 5, 7-8, 11
Geoff Brabham
6, 10
Rocky Moran
9
Space Racing
Eagle
Cosworth
49
Chip Mead
5, 11
Garza Racing
Penske
Cosworth
54
Geoff Brabham
1
Josele Garza
2
55
Josele Garza
All except 2
Gohr Racing
Penske
Chevrolet
56
Tom Bigelow
3, 5, 7-8, 11
Metro Racing
McLaren
Offenhauser
57
Cliff Hucul
2, 5, 8
Hamilton Racing
Riley
Chevrolet
63
Ken Hamilton
6, 11
Jet Engineering
Eagle
Chevrolet
64
Steve Chassey
All except 4 and 10
Mergard Racing
McLaren (2, 9)
IAM (10)
Chevrolet (2, 9)
Donovan (10)
67
Phil Threshie
2
Teddy Pilette
9-10
Hodgdon Racing
Penske
Cosworth
72
Mike Chandler
5
74
Mike Chandler
6, 10-11
Davis Racing
Wildcat
Offenhauser (3-4, 7-9, 11)
Chevrolet (6)
77
Ross Davis
3-4, 6-9, 11
Joe Hunt Magneto
Eagle
Chevrolet (1, 6, 10)
Offenhauser (11)
89
Phil Krueger
1, 6, 10-11
Intercomp
Penske
Offenhauser (2, 6-7)
Chevrolet (11)
92
John Mahler
2, 6-7, 11
Grupo-Acypsa
Penske
Offenhauser
93
Michel Jourdain Sr.
10
Whittington Bros. Racing
March
Cosworth
94
Bill Whittington
5
Cannon Racing
Wildcat
Offenhauser
95
Larry Cannon
1
Herm Johnson
4
96
Tom Frantz
1
Dick Ferguson
5
99
Larry Cannon
2-5
Dick Ferguson
6-7, 10-11
Vetrock Racing
Eagle
Chevrolet
X
Dean Vetrock
2
Ohio Racing Associates
Longhorn
Cosworth
49
Steve Krisiloff
8
Notable team and driver changes
Tom Sneva leaves Jerry O'Connell Racing for new team Bignotti-Cotter Racing. The team scales back to part-time for 1981.
Team Penske expands to a three-car operation, with Bill Alsup joining. His owner-driver team Alsup Racing only runs part-time in 1981.
After racing limited schedule beforehand, Tony Bettenhausen Jr. runs his first full-time season with new owner-driver team Bettenhausen Racing .
Dick Simon replaces Sheldon Kinser at Leader Card Racing, leaving Kinser without a ride. Simon's old team, Vollstedt Enterprises, does not compete.
Mario Andretti returns to running the majority of the races after a stint in Formula One, driving for Patrick Racing . He replaces Tom Bagley , who is left without a ride.
Rookie driver Scott Brayton runs a full schedule with family owned team Brayton Racing.
After running part-time in 1980, Machinists Union Racing runs a full schedule with driver Larry Dickson .
Spike Gehlhausen is replaced at Bob Fletcher Racing by rookie driver Bob Lazier .
Josele Garza runs his first season with family-owned team Garza Racing.
Steve Chassey runs his first full-time season for the Jet Engineering team.
AMI Racing only runs two races in 1981 after running full-time in 1980. Gary Bettenhausen is left without a full-time ride.
Interscope Racing also stops running full-time, along with driver Danny Ongais .
At Cannon Racing, Larry Cannon only runs the first few races, with most of the rest driven by Dick Ferguson .
This is Bobby Unser 's final season of IndyCar racing. See the 1981 Indianapolis 500 for more information.
Notable Equipment Changes
Schedule
Of note is the addition of the inaugural Michigan 500 to replace the California 500 at the now closed Ontario Motor Speedway .
Rd
Date
Name
Circuit
Location
TV Broadcaster
1
March 22
Kraco Car Stereo 150
O Phoenix International Raceway
Avondale, Arizona
NBC
NC
May 24
Indianapolis 500
O Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indianapolis, Indiana
ABC
2
June 8
Gould Rex Mays Classic
O Milwaukee Mile
West Allis, Wisconsin
ESPN
3
June 28
Kraco Twin 125
O Atlanta Motor Speedway
Hampton, Georgia
NBC /ESPN
4
5
July 25
Norton Michigan 500
O Michigan International Speedway
Brooklyn, Michigan
NBC
6
August 30
Los Angeles Times 500
R Riverside International Raceway
Riverside, California
ESPN
7
September 5
Tony Bettenhausen 200
O Milwaukee Mile
West Allis, Wisconsin
8
September 20
Detroit News Grand Prix
O Michigan International Speedway
Brooklyn, Michigan
9
October 4
Watkins Glen 200
R Watkins Glen International
Watkins Glen, New York
10
October 18
I Copa México 150
R Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez
Mexico City, Mexico
Untelevised
11
November 8
Miller High Life 150
O Phoenix International Raceway
Avondale, Arizona
NBC
- The Detroit News Grand Prix was supposed to run for 150 miles, but was shortened due to a scoring error.
O Oval/Speedway R Dedicated road course
Season Summary
Race Results
Non-championship event
Note, the total time of the Norton Michigan 500 does not include red flag stoppage time as the race was stopped for nearly 1 hour due to a bad pit lane fire
Final driver standings
Color
Result
Gold
Winner
Silver
2nd place
Bronze
3rd place
Green
4th & 5th place
Light Blue
6th-10th place
Dark Blue
Finished (Outside Top 10)
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)
Not competing
In-line notation
Bold
Pole position
Italics
Ran fastest race lap
*
Led most race laps
RY
Rookie of the Year
R
Rookie
See also
References