# 1983 CART PPG Indy Car World Series

The 1983 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season was the 5th national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by CART. The season consisted of 13 races. Al Unser was the national champion, and the rookie of the year was Teo Fabi. The 1983 Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned by USAC, but an arrangement was made such that it counted towards the CART points championship. Tom Sneva won the Indy 500, after three previous runner-up finishes.
Al Unser jumped out to the early points lead, with second-place finishes in the first three races of the season. Unser finished second at Indianapolis to Tom Sneva, but not without some controversy. Rookie Al Unser Jr. was accused of blocking for his father, but Sneva prevailed, making the winning pass with ten laps to go. Unser won at Cleveland, finished second at the Michigan 500, and third at Road America. After 6 of 13 races, Unser had a 35-point lead over Tom Sneva in the standings.
Rookie Teo Fabi made headlines at Indianapolis, becoming the first rookie to win the pole since 1950. His car dropped out, however, with a failed fuel o-ring. After a mixed start to the year, Fabi's season came alive in July, winning his first career race at the Pocono 500. Fabi jumped from 8th in points to as high as second following his win at Mid-Ohio. Fabi began to whittle away at Unser's point lead. Unser was running consistently, and had no finish worse than 11th.
In the next-to-last race of the season at Laguna Seca, Fabi dominated. He won the pole position and led 95 of 98 laps, winning his third race of the season. With only one race to go, Unser's point lead was down to 15 points. At the season finale in Phoenix, Fabi put in another dominating performance. He won the pole and led 138 of 150 laps. Fabi's championship hopes, however, fell just short as Al Unser came home 4th. Al Unser won the title by a mere 5 points over Fabi.
Other top stories from 1983 included Newman/Haas Racing joining the series with driver Mario Andretti plus a new chassis from Lola, and the rookie debut of Al Unser Jr. Though Unser Jr. did not win any races, he had ten top-10 finishes en route to 7th in points.

## Drivers and constructors

The following teams and drivers competed for the 1983 CART World Series. All competitors utilized Goodyear tires.
| Team/Car Owner | No | Drivers | Rounds |
| Alex Morales Motorsports | 21 | Pancho Carter | All |
| All American Racers | 98 | Jeff Wood | 11-12 |
| Alsup Racing | 11 | Bill Alsup | 1, 3-5, 7, 9-10, 12-13 |
| Arciero Racing | 66 | Pete Halsmer | 1, 3-13 |
| Arciero Racing | 66 | Johnny Parsons | 2 |
| Armstrong Mould Racing Team | 43 | Steve Krisiloff | 2 |
| BC Pace Racing | 36 | Chuck Ciprich | 7 |
| Bettenhausen Racing | 10 | Tony Bettenhausen Jr. | All |
| Bettenhausen Racing | 82 | Gary Bettenhausen | 13 |
| Bettenhausen Racing | 90 | Derek Daly | 6, 9, 11-13 |
| Bignotti-Cotter Racing | 5 | Tom Sneva | All |
| Bignotti-Cotter Racing | 6 | Kevin Cogan | 1, 3-13 |
| Bignotti-Cotter Racing | 16 | Kevin Cogan | 2 |
| Bob Ward Racing | 47 | Bob Ward | 8 |
| Brayton Racing | 35 | Patrick Bedard | 2, 5, 7 |
| Brayton Racing | 37 | Scott Brayton | 2, 4-5, 7, 10-11 |
| Circle Bar Auto Racing | 38 | Chet Fillip | 1-2, 10 |
| Circle Bar Auto Racing w/ Caliva Racing | 38 | Phil Caliva | 8 |
| Dick Simon Racing | 32 | Dick Simon | 6 |
| Dick Simon Racing | 22 | Dick Simon | 1-3, 5, 8-11, 13 |
| Dick Simon Racing | 22 | Jorge Koechlin | 12 |
| Doug Shierson Racing | 30 | Howdy Holmes | All |
| Douglas Schulz | 48 | Tom Klausler | 6, 8 |
| Forsythe Racing | 33 | Teo Fabi | All |
| Galles Racing | 17 | Al Unser Jr. | 1, 3-13 |
| Galles Racing | 19 | Al Unser Jr. | 2 |
| Gilmore Racing | 1 | George Snider | 2 |
| Gilmore Racing | 14 | A. J. Foyt | 2 |
| Gohr Racing | 56 | Steve Chassey | 1-8, 11-13 |
| GTS Racing | 86 | Drake Olson | 6 |
| GTS Racing | 86 | Al Loquasto | 7 |
| H&R Racing | 28 | Gary Bettenhausen | 3, 7, 9 |
| H&R Racing | 28 | Herm Johnson | 9 |
| HBK Racing | 70 | Tom Bigelow | 3 |
| HBK Racing | 78 | Tom Bigelow | 5 |
| Herm Johnson Racing | 42 | Herm Johnson | 4-5 |
| Hoffman Racing | 86 | Dick Ferguson | 5 |
| Intercomp Racing | 92 | John Mahler | 2 |
| Interscope Racing | 25 | Danny Ongais | 2 |
| Jet Engineering | 64 | Greg Leffler | 6, 8-9 |
| Jet Engineering | 64 | Tom Bigelow | 12 |
| Joel McCray Racing | 46 | Phil Krueger | 1, 3-4, 9 |
| Kraco Enterprises | 18 | Mike Mosley | 1-8, 10, 13 |
| Kraco Enterprises | 18 | Geoff Brabham | 11-12 |
| Kraco Enterprises | 99 | Geoff Brabham | 8, 10 |
| Kraco Enterprises | 99 | Michael Andretti | 11-13 |
| Leader Card Racers | 8 | Johnny Parsons | 5 |
| Leader Card Racers | 8 | Tom Bagley | 7 |
| Leader Card Racers | 8 | Randy Lewis | 12 |
| Leader Card Racers | 24 | Chip Mead | 9-10 |
| Machinists Union Racing | 9 | Roger Mears | 1-4, 6-13 |
| Machinists Union Racing | 55 | Josele Garza | 2, 4-12 |
| McElreath Racing | 23 | Jim McElreath | 1, 5, 7 |
| Newman/Haas Racing | 3 | Mario Andretti | All |
| Patrick Racing | 40 | Johnny Rutherford | 1, 7, 10-11, 13 |
| Patrick Racing | 40 | Danny Ongais | 4-6 |
| Patrick Racing | 60 | Danny Ongais | 3 |
| Patrick Racing | 20 | Danny Ongais | 7-9 |
| Patrick Racing | 60 | Chip Ganassi | 2, 4-5, 7, 9-13 |
| Patrick Racing | 20 | Chip Ganassi | 6 |
| Patrick Racing | 20 | Gordon Johncock | 1-5 |
| Primus Racing | 72 | Chris Kneifel | 2, 4-13 |
| Racing Team VDS | 12 | John Paul Jr. | 1, 4-13 |
| Racing Team VDS | 12 | Geoff Brabham | 2 |
| Rattlesnake Racing w/ Agajanian Curb | 29 | Mike Chandler | 2 |
| Rattlesnake Racing w/ Agajanian Curb | 19 | Mike Chandler | 5 |
| Rattlesnake Racing w/ Agajanian Curb | 19 | Dick Ferguson | 7 |
| Rhoades Racing | 41 | Doug Heveron | 1 |
| Rhoades Racing | 46 | Jerry Karl | 7-8 |
| Rhoades Racing | 61 | Jerry Karl | 3, 5 |
| Simpson Sports | 90 | Dennis Firestone | 2 |
| Team Penske | 1 | Rick Mears | 1, 3-13 |
| Team Penske | 2 | Rick Mears | 2 |
| Team Penske | 7 | Al Unser | All |
| Tempero Racing | 15 | Bill Tempero | 4, 9 |
| Truesports | 2 | Bobby Rahal | 1, 3-12 |
| Truesports | 4 | Bobby Rahal | 2 |
| Whittington Racing | 91 | Don Whittington | 2, 5, 7 |
| Whittington Racing | 94 | Bill Whittington | 2, 4, 7 |
| Wysard Racing | 34 | Derek Daly | 1-2 |
| Wysard Racing | 34 | Desiré Wilson | 3, 6-9, 11-13 |
| Wysard Racing | 34 | Geoff Brabham | 5 |

## Schedule

Of the notable changes to the schedule, there were the additions of the Caesars Palace Grand Prix, which was formerly a Formula One championship event, and Laguna Seca Raceway. The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio returned to the schedule after a 2 year hiatus, and finally starting this season there would only be one race per season at the Milwaukee Mile.
| Rd | Date | Name | Circuit | Location | TV Broadcaster |
| - | March 20 | Kraco Car Stereo 150 | O Phoenix International Raceway | Avondale, Arizona | N/A |
| 1 | April 17 | Kraco Dixie 200 | O Atlanta Motor Speedway | Hampton, Georgia | NBC |
| 2 | May 29 | Indianapolis 500 | O Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Indianapolis, Indiana | ABC |
| 3 | June 12 | Gould Rex Mays Classic | O Milwaukee Mile | West Allis, Wisconsin | ESPN |
| 4 | July 3 | Budweiser Cleveland 500 | s Burke Lakefront Airport | Cleveland, Ohio | ESPN |
| 5 | July 17 | Norton Michigan 500 | O Michigan International Speedway | Brooklyn, Michigan | NBC |
| 6 | July 31 | Provimi Veal 200 | R Road America | Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin | TNN |
| 7 | August 14 | Domino's Pizza 500 | O Pocono International Raceway | Long Pond, Pennsylvania | NBC |
| 8 | August 29* | Budweiser 500K | R Riverside International Raceway | Riverside, California | ESPN |
| 9 | September 11 | Escort Radar Warning 200 | R Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Lexington, Ohio | ESPN |
| 10 | September 26 | Detroit News Grand Prix | O Michigan International Speedway | Brooklyn, Michigan | ESPN |
| 11 | October 8 | Caesars Palace Grand Prix | S Caesars Palace | Las Vegas, Nevada | NBC |
| 12 | October 23 | Cribari Wines 300k | R Laguna Seca Raceway | Monterey, California | ESPN |
| 13 | October 29 | Miller High Life 150 | O Phoenix International Raceway | Avondale, Arizona | NBC |
O Oval/Speedway  R Dedicated road course  S Street circuit
* The season-opening Phoenix race was cancelled due to flooding.
* The Riverside race was scheduled for August 28, but pushed a day due to rain.

## Season Summary
### Race results

| Rd | Race Name | Pole Position | Fastest Lap | Winning driver | Winning team | Race time | Report |
| 1 | Kraco Dixie 200 | Rick Mears | 26.730 | Gordon Johncock | Patrick Racing | 1:22:29 | Report |
| 2 | Indianapolis 500 | Teo Fabi | 2:53.582 | Tom Sneva | Bignotti-Cotter Racing | 3:05:03 | Report |
| 3 | Gould Rex Mays Classic | Teo Fabi | 26.259 | Tom Sneva | Bignotti-Cotter Racing | 1:17:42 | Report |
| 4 | Budweiser Cleveland 500 | Mario Andretti | 1:13.516 | Al Unser | Penske Racing | 2:51:54 | Report |
| 5 | Norton Michigan 500 | Teo Fabi | 35.621 | John Paul Jr. | VDS Racing | 3:42:27 | Report |
| 6 | Provimi Veal 200 | Mario Andretti | 1:58.898 | Mario Andretti | Newman/Haas Racing | 2:00:42 | Report |
| 7 | Domino's Pizza 500 | Tom Sneva | 46.912 | Teo Fabi | Forsythe Racing | 3:42:28 | Report |
| 8 | Budweiser 500K | Teo Fabi | 1:30.887 | Bobby Rahal | Truesports | 2:45:28 | Report |
| 9 | Escort Radar Warning 200 | Bobby Rahal | 1:21.364 | Teo Fabi | Forsythe Racing | 2:01:49 | Report |
| 10 | Detroit News Grand Prix | Bobby Rahal | 35.075 | Rick Mears | Penske Racing | 1:05:49 | Report |
| 11 | Caesars Palace Grand Prix | John Paul Jr. | 34.888 | Mario Andretti | Newman/Haas Racing | 2:17:48 | Report |
| 12 | Cribari Wines 300k | Teo Fabi | 56.920 | Teo Fabi | Forsythe Racing | 1:44:28 | Report |
| 13 | Miller High Life 150 | Teo Fabi | 24.947 | Teo Fabi | Forsythe Racing | 1:11:03 | Report |
* Indianapolis was USAC-sanctioned but counted towards the CART title.

### Final points standings

| Pos | Driver | ATL | INDY | MIL | CLE | MIC | ROA | POC | RIV | MDO | MIC | CPL | LAG | PHX | Pts |
| 1 | Al Unser | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1* | 2 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 151 |
| 2 | Teo Fabi RY | 20 | 26 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 15 | 1* | 2 | 1* | 3 | 25 | 1* | 1* | 146 |
| 3 | Mario Andretti | 5 | 23 | 18 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 1* | 2 | 2 | 133 |
| 4 | Tom Sneva | 14 | 1* | 1* | 5 | 25 | 4 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 21 | 15 | 18 | 3 | 96 |
| 5 | Bobby Rahal | 21 | 20 | 6 | 19 | 5 | 10* | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 7 | DNS | 94 |
| 6 | Rick Mears | 8* | 3 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 17 | 3 | 19 | 9 | 1* | 13 | 21 | 17 | 92 |
| 7 | Al Unser Jr. R | 6 | 10 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4* | 18 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 89 |
| 8 | John Paul Jr. R | 3 | DNQ | | 21 | 1* | 5 | 29 | 3 | 20 | 7 | 2 | 26 | 11 | 84 |
| 9 | Chip Ganassi | | 8 | | 13 | 8 | 21 | 26 | | 25 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 56 |
| 10 | Pancho Carter | 16 | 7 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 15 | 6 | 25 | 10 | 53 |
| 11 | Pete Halsmer | 4 | DNQ | 9 | 2 | 33 | 14 | 14 | 27 | 24 | 14 | 5 | 20 | 7 | 48 |
| 12 | Roger Mears | 7 | 28 | 8 | 6 | DNQ | 8 | 16 | 9 | 12 | 16 | 7 | 6 | 16 | 43 |
| 13 | Howdy Holmes | 9 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 32 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 17 | 5 | 21 | 39 |
| 14 | Mike Mosley | 13 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 25 | 4 | 24 | DNQ | 11 | | | 24 | 36 |
| 15 | Kevin Cogan | 15 | 5 | 20 | 25 | 27 | 19 | 15 | 21 | 6 | 20 | 16 | 22 | 6 | 26 |
| 16 | Gordon Johncock | 1 | 14 | 23 | 26 | 26 | | | | | | | | | 20 |
| 17 | Chris Kneifel R | | 12 | | 27 | 9 | 26 | 8 | 22 | 13 | 24 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 19 |
| 18 | Tony Bettenhausen Jr. | 10 | 17 | 10 | 18 | 18 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 9 | 21 | 14 | 18 | 19 |
| 19 | Steve Chassey | 17 | 11 | 19 | 22 | 10 | 6 | 25 | 17 | | | 12 | 10 | 19 | 17 |
| 20 | Danny Ongais | | 21 | 12 | 28 | 23 | 18 | 24 | 10 | 5 | | | | | 14 |
| 21 | Geoff Brabham | | 4 | | | 22 | | | 18 | | 12 | 20 | 16 | | 13 |
| 22 | Josele Garza | | 25 | | 17 | 19 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 23 | 17 | 11 | 12 | | 9 |
| 23 | Tom Klausler R | | | | | | 22 | | 6 | | | DNQ | | | 8 |
| 24 | Jeff Wood R | | | | | | | | | | | 22 | 8 | | 5 |
| 25 | Scott Brayton | | 9 | | 24 | 12 | | 28 | | | 13 | 26 | | | 5 |
| 26 | Derek Daly R | 22 | 19 | | DNS | | 9 | | | 22 | | 18 | 23 | 22 | 4 |
| 27 | Michael Andretti R | | | | | | | | | | | 19 | 24 | 9 | 4 |
| 28 | Desiré Wilson R | | DNQ | | 10 | | 20 | 31 | 14 | 16 | | 23 | 19 | 13 | 3 |
| 29 | Dick Simon | DNQ | 15 | 11 | | 14 | 13 | | 25 | 15 | 19 | 14 | | 23 | 2 |
| 30 | Jim McElreath | 11 | | | | 13 | | 23 | | | | | | | 2 |
| 31 | Greg Leffler | | DNQ | | DNQ | | 24 | | 15 | 11 | | | | | 2 |
| 32 | Phil Krueger | DNQ | DNQ | 17 | 11 | | | | | 27 | | | | | 2 |
| 33 | Dick Ferguson | | DNQ | | | 11 | | 22 | | | | | | | 2 |
| 34 | Jerry Karl | | DNQ | 16 | DNQ | 21 | | 32 | 12 | | | | | | 1 |
| 35 | Gary Bettenhausen | | DNQ | 22 | | | | 27 | | DNS | | | | 12 | 1 |
| 36 | Doug Heveron R | 12 | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| 37 | Randy Lewis R | | | | | | | | | | | | 13 | | 0 |
| 38 | Bill Alsup | DNS | DNQ | 21 | 20 | 16 | | 20 | | 19 | 22 | | 27 | 14 | 0 |
| 39 | Tom Bigelow | | DNQ | 15 | DNQ | 29 | | | | | | | 17 | DNQ | 0 |
| 40 | Bill Whittington R | | 18 | | 15 | | | 19 | | | | | | | 0 |
| 41 | Jorge Koechlin R | | | | | | | | | | | | 15 | | 0 |
| 42 | Herm Johnson | | DNQ | | 16 | 24 | DNQ | | | 17 | | | | | 0 |
| 43 | Mike Chandler | | 16 | | | 31 | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| 44 | Patrick Bedard R | | 30 | | | 28 | | 17 | | | | | | | 0 |
| 45 | Chet Fillip R | 19 | 33 | | | | | | | DNQ | 18 | | | | 0 |
| 46 | Johnny Rutherford | 18 | Wth | | | | | 21 | | | 23 | 24 | | 20 | 0 |
| 47 | Al Loquasto | | DNQ | | | | | 18 | | | | | | | 0 |
| 48 | Don Whittington | | 27 | | | 20 | | 33 | | | | | | | 0 |
| 49 | Bill Tempero | | DNQ | | 23 | | DNQ | | | 21 | | | | | 0 |
| 50 | Johnny Parsons | | 22 | | | 30 | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| 51 | Phil Caliva | | DNQ | | | | | | 23 | | | | | | 0 |
| 52 | Drake Olson R | | | | DNQ | | 23 | | | | | | | | 0 |
| 53 | Dennis Firestone | | 24 | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| 54 | Chip Mead | | | | | | | | | 26 | 25 | | | | 0 |
| 55 | Bob Ward R | | | | | | | | 26 | | | DNQ | | DNS | 0 |
| 56 | Steve Krisiloff | | 29 | | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| 57 | Chuck Ciprich R | | DNQ | | | | | 30 | | | | | | | 0 |
| 58 | A. J. Foyt | | 31 | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| 59 | George Snider | | 32 | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| 60 | Tom Bagley | | | | DNQ | | | 34 | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Richard Hubbard | | | | DNQ | | DNQ | | | DNQ | | | | | 0 |
| - | Barry Ruble | | | | DNQ | | DNQ | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Teddy Pilette | | DNQ | | DNS | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Harry MacDonald | | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Mark Alderson | | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Jim Buick | | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Larry Cannon | | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Bob Frey | | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Amber Furst | | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Spike Gehlhausen | | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Bob Harkey | | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Sheldon Kinser | | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Bob Lazier | | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | John Mahler | | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Mack McClellan | | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Graham McRae | | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Dave Peperak | | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Roger Rager | | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Ken Schrader | | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Jerry Sneva | | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Rich Vogler | | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Bill Vukovich II | | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | John Morton | | | | | | | | DNQ | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Lee Kunzman | | DNP | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Dave McMillan | | DNP | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Bobby Olivero | | DNP | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Bill Puterbaugh | | DNP | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Larry Rice | | DNP | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Dale Whittington | | DNP | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| Pos | Driver | ATL | INDY | MIL | CLE | MIC | ROA | POC | RIV | MDO | MIC | CPL | LAG | PHX | 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) |
| 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 |