# 1981 CART PPG Indy Car World Series

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 |
| Jerry O'Connell Racing | Phoenix | Cosworth | 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 |
| Bignotti-Cotter Racing | Phoenix | Cosworth | 21 | Salt Walther | 5 |
| Team Penske | Penske | Cosworth | 3 | Bobby Unser | All |
| Team Penske | Penske | Cosworth | 6 | Rick Mears | All except 2 |
| Team Penske | Penske | Cosworth | 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 |
| Alex Morales Motorsports | Lightning | Cosworth | 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 |
| Rhoades Competition | Wildcat | Cosworth | 12 | Gary Bettenhausen | 5, 7 |
| Rhoades Competition | Wildcat | Cosworth | 12 | 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. |
| Leader Card Racing | Watson | Cosworth (All except 7-8) Offenhauser (7-8) | 22 | Spike Gehlhausen | 3-4 |
| Patrick Racing | Wildcat | Cosworth | 20 | Gordon Johncock | All |
| Patrick Racing | Wildcat | Cosworth | 40 | Mario Andretti | 1-4, 8-9, 11 |
| Patrick Racing | Wildcat | Cosworth | 40 | Steve Krisiloff | 5, 7 |
| Brayton Racing | Penske | Cosworth | 21 | Mike Mosley | 11 |
| Brayton Racing | Penske | Cosworth | 21 | Chip Ganassi | 12 |
| Brayton Racing | Penske | Cosworth | 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 |
| Luxury Racers | Kingfish | Chevrolet | 65 | Wally Pankratz | 11 |
| Buick Racing | Eagle | Chevrolet | 26 | Jim Buick | 1 |
| Buick Racing | Eagle | Chevrolet | 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 |
| Wysard Racing | Eagle | Cosworth | 34 | 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 |
| Alsup Racing | McLaren | Chevrolet | 47 | Phil Caliva | 3-7, 11 |
| Frey Racing | Eagle | Offenhauser | 42 | Bob Frey | 1 |
| Frey Racing | Eagle | Offenhauser | 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 |
| AMI Racing | Lola | Cosworth | 45 | Harry MacDonald | 5 |
| Rager Racing | Wildcat | Chevrolet | 44 | Roger Rager | 11 |
| Rager Racing | Wildcat | Chevrolet | 66 | Roger Rager | 5-9 |
| Rager Racing | Wildcat | Chevrolet | 66 | Orio Trice | 10 |
| All American Racers | Eagle | Chevrolet | 48 | Mike Mosley | 2-3, 5, 7-8, 11 |
| All American Racers | Eagle | Chevrolet | 48 | Geoff Brabham | 6, 10 |
| All American Racers | Eagle | Chevrolet | 48 | Rocky Moran | 9 |
| Space Racing | Eagle | Cosworth | 49 | Chip Mead | 5, 11 |
| Garza Racing | Penske | Cosworth | 54 | Geoff Brabham | 1 |
| Garza Racing | Penske | Cosworth | 54 | Josele Garza | 2 |
| Garza Racing | Penske | Cosworth | 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 |
| Mergard Racing | McLaren (2, 9) IAM (10) | Chevrolet (2, 9) Donovan (10) | 67 | Teddy Pilette | 9-10 |
| Hodgdon Racing | Penske | Cosworth | 72 | Mike Chandler | 5 |
| Hodgdon Racing | Penske | Cosworth | 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 |
| Cannon Racing | Wildcat | Offenhauser | 95 | Herm Johnson | 4 |
| Cannon Racing | Wildcat | Offenhauser | 96 | Tom Frantz | 1 |
| Cannon Racing | Wildcat | Offenhauser | 96 | Dick Ferguson | 5 |
| Cannon Racing | Wildcat | Offenhauser | 99 | Larry Cannon | 2-5 |
| Cannon Racing | Wildcat | Offenhauser | 99 | 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 left Jerry O'Connell Racing for new team Bignotti-Cotter Racing. The team scaled back to part-time for 1981.
* Team Penske expanded to a three-car operation, with Bill Alsup joining. His owner-driver team Alsup Racing only ran part-time in 1981.
* After racing a limited schedule beforehand, Tony Bettenhausen Jr. ran his first full-time season with his new owner-driver team Bettenhausen Racing.
* Dick Simon replaced Sheldon Kinser at Leader Card Racing, leaving Kinser without a ride. Simon's old team, Vollstedt Enterprises, did not compete.
* Mario Andretti returned to running the majority of the races after a stint in Formula One, driving for Patrick Racing. He replaced Tom Bagley, who was left without a ride.
* Rookie driver Scott Brayton ran a full schedule with family-owned team Brayton Racing.
* After running part-time in 1980, Machinists Union Racing ran a full schedule with driver Larry Dickson.
* Spike Gehlhausen was replaced at Bob Fletcher Racing by rookie driver Bob Lazier.
* Josele Garza ran his first season with family-owned team Garza Racing.
* Steve Chassey ran his first full-time season for the Jet Engineering team.
* AMI Racing only ran two races in 1981 after running full-time in 1980. Gary Bettenhausen was left without a full-time ride.
* Interscope Racing also stopped running full-time, along with driver Danny Ongais.
* At Cannon Racing, Larry Cannon only ran the first few races, with most of the rest driven by Dick Ferguson.
* This was Bobby Unser's final season of IndyCar racing. See the 1981 Indianapolis 500 for more information.

### Notable equipment changes

* Tempero Racing switched from an Eagle to McLaren chassis.
* Menard Racing switched from an Offenhauser to Chevrolet engine. With this shift the Cannon Racing team was the only full-time team that still used Offenhauser engines.

## Schedule

Of note was the addition of the inaugural Michigan 500 to replace the California 500 at the now-closed Ontario Motor Speedway. The Tony Bettenhausen 200 at Milwaukee was originally scheduled for August 2, but was rained out and postponed until September 5.
| 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 | June 28 | Kraco Twin 125 | O Atlanta Motor Speedway | Hampton, Georgia | NBC/ESPN |
| 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 | NBC |
| 8 | September 20 | Detroit News Grand Prix | O Michigan International Speedway | Brooklyn, Michigan | Untelevised |
| 9 | October 4 | Watkins Glen 200 | R Watkins Glen International | Watkins Glen, New York | Untelevised |
| 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

| Rd | Race | Pole Position | Winning driver | Winning team | Race time |
| 1 | Kraco Car Stereo 150 | Bobby Unser | Johnny Rutherford | Chaparral | 1:17:08 |
| NC | Indianapolis 500 | Bobby Unser | Bobby Unser | Team Penske | 3:35:42 |
| 2 | Gould Rex Mays Classic | Gordon Johncock | Mike Mosley | All American Racers | 1:19:03 |
| 3 | Kraco Twin 125 | Johnny Rutherford | Rick Mears | Team Penske | 0:51:29 |
| 4 | Kraco Twin 125 | Rick Mears | Rick Mears | Team Penske | 0:45:20 |
| 5 | Norton Michigan 500 | Tom Sneva | Pancho Carter | Alex Foods | 3:45:45 |
| 6 | Los Angeles Times 500 | Geoff Brabham | Rick Mears | Team Penske | 2:43:40 |
| 7 | Tony Bettenhausen 200 | Johnny Rutherford | Tom Sneva | Bignotti-Cotter | 1:41:41 |
| 8 | Detroit News Grand Prix | Rick Mears | Rick Mears | Team Penske | 1:10:30 |
| 9 | Watkins Glen 200 | Mario Andretti | Rick Mears | Team Penske | 1:52:17 |
| 10 | I Copa México 150 | Bobby Unser | Rick Mears | Team Penske | 1:24:48 |
| 11 | Miller High Life 150 | Bobby Unser | Tom Sneva | Bignotti-Cotter | 1:20:10 |
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

| Pos | Driver | PHX1 | MIL1 | ATL1 | ATL2 | MIC1 | RIR | MIL2 | MIC2 | WTG | MXC | PHX2 | Pts |
| 1 | Rick Mears | 4 | | 1 | 1* | 3 | 1* | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 304 |
| 2 | Bill Alsup | 5 | | 8 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 175 |
| 3 | Pancho Carter | 7 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 1* | 10 | 10 | 18 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 166 |
| 4 | Gordon Johncock | 6 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 142 |
| 5 | Johnny Rutherford | 1* | 6 | 2* | 3 | 22 | 21 | 4 | 20 | 2 | 26 | 21 | 120 |
| 6 | Tony Bettenhausen Jr. | | 12 | 7 | 11 | 2 | DNS | 14 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 107 |
| 7 | Bobby Unser | 2 | 21 | 13 | 6 | 16 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 17 | 15* | 2 | 99 |
| 8 | Tom Sneva | 3 | 4 | | | 23 | 24 | 1* | 19 | 21 | 20 | 1* | 96 |
| 9 | Bob Lazier RY | 12 | 13 | 17 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 16 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 92 |
| 10 | Al Unser | 17 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 2 | 22 | 90 |
| 11 | Mario Andretti | 11 | 3 | 3 | 2 | | | | 2* | 16* | | 4 | 81 |
| 12 | Tom Bigelow | | 9 | | | 5 | | 24 | 9 | | | 11 | 60 |
| 13 | Scott Brayton R | 15 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 21 | 24 | 20 | 23 | DNQ | 57 |
| 14 | Larry Dickson | | 10 | 10 | 12 | 9 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 22 | DNQ | 49 |
| 15 | Gary Bettenhausen | | | | | 6 | | 19 | | | | | 42 |
| 16 | Dick Simon | 10 | 7 | | | 31 | 6 | 22 | 25 | 11 | 25 | 20 | 38 |
| 17 | Herm Johnson | | 22 | 22 | 17 | 33 | 7 | 13 | | 9 | 8 | 9 | 38 |
| 18 | Mike Chandler | | | | | 27 | 4 | | | | 16 | DNQ | 37 |
| 19 | Mike Mosley | | 1* | DNS | | 18 | | DNS | 26 | | 7 | 24 | 32 |
| 20 | Steve Chassey | DNQ | 24 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 5 | | DNQ | 31 |
| 21 | Josele Garza | 21 | 14 | 12 | 18 | 19 | 12 | 8 | 23 | 24 | 18 | 6 | 30 |
| 22 | Phil Caliva | | | 19 | 15 | 8 | DNS | DNS | | | | DNQ | 27 |
| 23 | Kevin Cogan | | 2 | 16 | | 28 | 11 | 23 | | | | | 23 |
| 24 | Dick Ferguson | | | | | 30 | 18 | | 6 | | 10 | 7 | 20 |
| 25 | Steve Krisiloff | | | | | 17 | | 7 | 17 | | | | 18 |
| 26 | Rocky Moran R | | | | | | | | | 6 | | | 16 |
| 27 | Geoff Brabham R | 9 | | | | | 19 | | | | 9 | | 14 |
| 28 | Jerry Karl | 8 | 23 | 21 | 21 | 14 | 22 | 25 | | 19 | 19 | | 13 |
| 29 | Billy Engelhart | | 8 | | | 35 | | 9 | | | | | 11 |
| 30 | Larry Cannon | 20 | 15 | 11 | 20 | 12 | | | | | | | 10 |
| 30 | Roger Rager | | | | | 13 | 13 | 18 | 21 | DNQ | | DNQ | 10 |
| 32 | Bill Tempero | 18 | | 15 | 14 | 34 | 28 | 17 | 15 | 23 | 12 | DNQ | 7 |
| 33 | Phil Krueger R | 14 | | | | | 20 | | | | 14 | 16 | 6 |
| 33 | Bill Vukovich II | | | | | 15 | DNQ | | 14 | | 27 | | 6 |
| 35 | Gordon Smiley | | | | | | 25 | | | 18 | | 10 | 5 |
| 36 | Jim McElreath | 19 | | | | | | | 11 | DNQ | 13 | DNQ | 4 |
| 36 | Ross Davis | | | DNQ | 19 | | DNQ | DNS | 16 | 13 | | DNQ | 4 |
| 36 | Vern Schuppan | | | | | 24 | 17 | | | | 21 | 15 | 4 |
| 36 | Jim Buick R | 16 | 19 | 20 | 16 | DNS | | | | | | | 4 |
| 40 | Hurley Haywood | | | | | | 26 | | | 12 | 17 | | 3 |
| 41 | Spike Gehlhausen | | | 14 | 13 | | | | | | | | 2 |
| 41 | Bob Frey | 13 | 17 | | | DNQ | | | | | | | 2 |
| 41 | John Mahler | | 25 | | | | 27 | 20 | | | | DNQ | 2 |
| 44 | Jerry Sneva | | | | | DNS | | | | | | 12 | 1 |
| 44 | Chip Mead | | | | | 29 | | | | | | 14 | 1 |
| 44 | Phil Threshie | | 18 | | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| 44 | Dennis Firestone | | | 18 | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| 44 | Johnny Parsons | | | | | | | | | | | 18 | 1 |
| | Harry MacDonald | | | | | 21 | | | | | | | 0 |
| | Cliff Hucul | | 26 | | | 25 | | | 22 | | | | 0 |
| | Tom Frantz | 22 | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| | Teddy Pilette | | | | | | | | | 22 | | | 0 |
| | Ken Hamilton | | | | | | 23 | | | | | | 0 |
| | Greg Leffler | | | | | | | | | | | 23 | 0 |
| | Michel Jourdain Sr. | | | | | | | | | | 24 | | 0 |
| | A. J. Foyt | | | | | 26 | | | | | | | 0 |
| | Salt Walther | | | | | 32 | | | | | | | 0 |
| | Bill Whittington | | | | | 37 | | | | | | | 0 |
| | Chip Ganassi | | | | | | | | | | | DNQ | 0 |
| | Wally Pankratz | | | | | | DNQ | | | | | DNQ | 0 |
| | Orio Trice | | | | | | | | | | DNQ | | 0 |
| | Dean Vetrock | | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| Pos | Driver | PHX1 | MIL1 | ATL1 | ATL2 | MIC1 | RIR | MIL2 | MIC2 | WTG | MXC | PHX2 | Pts |
| 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) |
| Blank | Not competing |
In-line notation :
| Bold | Pole position |
| Italics | Ran fastest race lap |
| * | Led most race laps |
| RY | Rookie of the Year |
| R | Rookie |