# 1982 CART PPG Indy Car World Series

The 1982 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season, the fourth in the CART era of U.S. open-wheel racing, consisted of 11 races, beginning in Avondale, Arizona on March 28 and concluding at the same location on November 6. The PPG Indy Car World Series Drivers' Champion was Rick Mears. Rookie of the Year was Bobby Rahal.
Though it was not officially part of the CART calendar, most of the teams and drivers also competed at the USAC-sanctioned 66th Indianapolis 500. Gordon Johncock was victorious at Indy.
Jim Hickman was fatally injured in a practice crash for the Tony Bettenhausen 200 at Milwaukee, he was 39 years old.

## Drivers and constructors

The following teams and drivers competed for the 1982 CART World Series.
| Team/Car Owner | No | Drivers | Rounds |
| Alex Morales Motorsports | 3 | Pancho Carter | All |
| Alsup Racing | 2 | Bill Alsup | All |
| Alsup Racing | 27 | Spike Gehlhausen | 7 |
| Arciero Racing | 66 | Pete Halsmer | 8-9, 11 |
| Armstrong Mould Racing Team | 43 | Greg Leffler | 2 |
| Bettenhausen Racing | 8 | Gary Bettenhausen | 6, 11 |
| Bettenhausen Racing w/ H&R Racing | 6 | Tony Bettenhausen Jr. | 1-3, 5-11 |
| Bignotti-Cotter Racing | 7 | Tom Sneva | All |
| Bignotti-Cotter Racing | 21 | Geoff Brabham | All |
| Brayton Racing | 36 | Patrick Bedard | 1-2, 5 |
| Brayton Racing | 36 | Scott Brayton | 3, 7, 10 |
| Brayton Racing | 37 | Scott Brayton | 1, 5 |
| BVC Racing | 75 | Dennis Firestone | 1 |
| Caliva Racing | 38 | Phil Caliva | 8, 11 |
| Chaparral Racing | 5 | Johnny Rutherford | 1-9, 11 |
| Circle Bar Auto Racing | 39 | Chet Fillip | 11 |
| Doug Shierson Racing | 30 | Howdy Holmes | All |
| Fletcher Racing | 35 | Gordon Smiley | 2 |
| Fletcher Racing | 35 | George Snider | 5, 7 |
| Forsythe Racing | 32 | Héctor Rebaque | 2-5, 8-9 |
| Forsythe Racing | 33 | Danny Sullivan | 2-3 |
| Forsythe Racing | 33 | Al Unser Jr. | 8 |
| Frantz Racing w/ Burger King | 77 | Tom Frantz | 1, 5, 8 |
| Garza Racing | 55 | Josele Garza | All |
| Gilmore Racing | 14 | A. J. Foyt | 3-5, 7, 10 |
| Gohr Racing | 56 | Joe Saldana | 3-4 |
| Gohr Racing | 56 | Gary Bettenhausen | 5, 7-10 |
| Grant King Racers | 65 | Todd Tuttle | 4 |
| GTS Racing | 86 | Al Loquasto | 1, 7 |
| Hamilton Racing | 17 | Ken Hamilton | 5 |
| HBK Racing | 72 | Tom Bigelow | 3-7, 10 |
| HBK Racing | 72 | Bill Whittington | 9 |
| Hodgson-Curb | 29 | Bobby Olivero | 1 |
| Hoffman Racing | 69 | Jerry Sneva | 10 |
| Hoffman Racing w/ Rattlesnake Racing | 42 | Jim Hickman | 2-6 |
| Jamieson Racing | 49 | Chip Mead | 1, 3 |
| Jamieson Racing | 49 | Spike Gehlhausen | 3, 5 |
| Jet Engineering | 64 | Steve Chassey | 1 |
| Jet Engineering | 64 | Bob Frey | 3 |
| Jet Engineering | 64 | Greg Leffler | 6, 8-11 |
| Joe Hunt Magneto | 89 | Phil Krueger | 1-2 |
| Joe Hunt Magneto | 89 | Dick Ferguson | 8 |
| Joe Hunt Magneto | 89 | Jerry Sneva | 11 |
| Joel McCray Racing | 46 | Leroy van Conett | 1 |
| Joel McCray Racing | 46 | Jerry Karl | 4-8 |
| Kraco Enterprises | 18 | Dick Ferguson | 1-2 |
| Kraco Enterprises | 18 | Bill Vukovich II | 3 |
| Kraco Enterprises | 18 | Mike Mosley | 5-7, 10-11 |
| Kraco Enterprises | 99 | Vern Schuppan | 4, 8-9 |
| Leader Card Racers | 22 | Dick Simon | 1-8, 10-11 |
| Leader Card Racers | 24 | Bill Vukovich II | 7 |
| Longhorn Racing | 10 | Al Unser | 1-10 |
| Luxury Racers | 65 | Bob Brutto | 1 |
| Luxury Racers | 65 | Phil Krueger | 5, 7, 9-11 |
| Machinists Union Racing | 31 | Roger Mears | All |
| McElreath Racing | 23 | Jim McElreath | 1, 7-8 |
| Menard Racing | 28 | Herm Johnson | 1-6, 8-9 |
| Metametrix | 47 | Chris Kneifel | 8-9 |
| Metametrix | 47 | Jacques Villeneuve Sr. | 11 |
| Newman Freeman Racing | 68 | Mike Chandler | 8, 11 |
| Patrick Racing | 20 | Gordon Johncock | All |
| Patrick Racing | 40 | Mario Andretti | All |
| Rattlesnake Racing | 11 | Dick Ferguson | 10-11 |
| Ray W Lipper Racing | 73 | Ray Lipper | 1 |
| Rhoades Racing | 12 | Chip Ganassi | 1-2, 4-5, 7, 10 |
| Team Penske | 1 | Rick Mears | All |
| Team Penske | 4 | Kevin Cogan | All |
| Tempero Racing | 15 | Bill Tempero | 1, 4, 6, 8-9, 11 |
| Truesports | 19 | Bobby Rahal | 1, 3-11 |
| Whittington Racing | 91 | Don Whittington | 5 |
| Wysard Racing | 34 | Hurley Haywood | 1-2 |
| Wysard Racing | 34 | Johnny Parsons | 3-5, 7-8, 10 |
| Wysard Racing | 34 | John Paul Jr. | 9 |
| Wysard Racing | 34 | Derek Daly | 11 |

## Schedule

New to the schedule was the 4 mile permanent road course named Road America. Returning to the schedule after a one year absence (1981 was a USAC race) was Pocono Raceway, the 2.5 mile superspeedway would host a 500 mile race in 1982.
The schedule was originally set to feature a doubleheader with Formula One at Las Vegas on October 17. After the F1 Grand Prix on Saturday, the track would be converted to an oval for an Indy car race on Sunday. This was cancelled after FISA rescheduled the Grand Prix for September and instituted a rule that banned two open-wheel series with engines over two liters from competing at the same venue on the same weekend.
A race in Mexico City for October 31 was cancelled.
| Rd | Date | Name | Circuit | Location | TV Broadcaster |
| 1 | March 28 | Kraco Car Stereo 150 | O Phoenix International Raceway | Avondale, Arizona | NBC |
| 2 | May 1* | Stroh's 200 | O Atlanta Motor Speedway | Hampton, Georgia | Untelevised |
| NC | May 30 | Indianapolis 500 | O Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Indianapolis, Indiana | ABC |
| 3 | June 13 | Gould Rex Mays Classic | O Milwaukee Mile | West Allis, Wisconsin | ESPN |
| 4 | July 4 | Budweiser Cleveland 500 | R Burke Lakefront Airport | Cleveland, Ohio | ESPN |
| 5 | July 18 | Norton Michigan 500 | O Michigan International Speedway | Brooklyn, Michigan | NBC |
| 6 | August 1 | Tony Bettenhausen 200 | O Milwaukee Mile | West Allis, Wisconsin | ESPN |
| 7 | August 15 | Domino's Pizza Pocono 500 | O Pocono International Raceway | Long Pond, Pennsylvania | NBC |
| 8 | August 29 | AirCal 500K | R Riverside International Raceway | Riverside, California | ESPN |
| 9 | September 19 | Road America 200 | R Road America | Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin | Untelevised |
| 10 | September 26 | Detroit News Grand Prix | O Michigan International Speedway | Brooklyn, Michigan | ESPN |
| 11 | November 6 | Miller High Life 150 | O Phoenix International Raceway | Avondale, Arizona | NBC |
O Oval/Speedway  R Dedicated road course
*The Stroh's 200 was scheduled for April 25, but postponed a week due to rain. NBC planned to cover on April 25, but did not return for the May 1 running.

## Season Summary
### Race results

| Rd | Race | Pole Position | Winning driver | Winning team | Race time | Report |
| 1 | Phoenix 1 | Rick Mears | Rick Mears | Team Penske | 1:15:48 | Report |
| 2 | Atlanta | Rick Mears | Rick Mears | Team Penske | 1:13:10 | Report |
| NC | Indianapolis 500 | Rick Mears | Gordon Johncock | Patrick Racing | 3:05:09 | Report |
| 3 | Milwaukee 1 | Gordon Johncock | Gordon Johncock | Patrick Racing | 1:10:52 | Report |
| 4 | Cleveland | Kevin Cogan | Bobby Rahal | Truesports | 3:03:44 | Report |
| 5 | Michigan 1 | Rick Mears / Mario Andretti | Gordon Johncock | Patrick Racing | 3:14:54 | Report |
| 6 | Milwaukee 2 | Rick Mears | Tom Sneva | Bignotti-Cotter Racing | 1:49:57 | Report |
| 7 | Pocono | Rick Mears | Rick Mears | Team Penske | 3:25:39 | Report |
| 8 | Riverside | Kevin Cogan | Rick Mears | Team Penske | 2:42:14 | Report |
| 9 | Road America | Rick Mears | Héctor Rebaque | Forsythe Racing | 1:49:56 | Report |
| 10 | Michigan 2 | Rick Mears | Bobby Rahal | Truesports | 1:04:03 | Report |
| 11 | Phoenix 2 | Rick Mears | Tom Sneva | Bignotti-Cotter Racing | 1:21:05 | Report |
Mario Andretti was credited with winning the pole position for the Michigan 500, although he started 33rd due to a pre-race practice accident. Rick Mears started on the pole and both he and Andretti were credited with pole positions.

### Final points standings

| Pos | Driver | PHX | ATL | MIL | CLE | MIC | MIL | POC | RIV | ROA | MIC | PHX | Pts |
| 1 | Rick Mears | 1* | 1* | 3 | 4 | 15* | 12* | 1* | 1* | 5 | 25 | 2 | 294 |
| 2 | Bobby Rahal RY | 18 | | 20 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 3* | 1* | 5 | 242 |
| 3 | Mario Andretti | 2 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 23 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 188 |
| 4 | Gordon Johncock | 5 | 2 | 1* | 5 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 26 | 22 | 15 | 23 | 186 |
| 5 | Tom Sneva | 7 | 17 | 4 | 20 | 32 | 1 | 19 | 2 | 9 | 19 | 1* | 144 |
| 6 | Kevin Cogan | 3 | 18 | 5 | 10* | 14 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 25 | 22 | 4 | 136 |
| 7 | Al Unser | 21 | 8 | 17 | 3 | 4 | DNS | 23 | 17 | 2 | 18 | | 125 |
| 8 | Geoff Brabham | 15 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 28 | 15 | 3 | 20 | 110 |
| 9 | Roger Mears | 8 | 4 | 22 | 21 | 17 | 14 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 103 |
| 10 | Tony Bettenhausen Jr. | 12 | 19 | 12 | | 10 | 20 | 5 | 18 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 80 |
| 11 | Bill Alsup | 11 | 5 | 16 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 70 |
| 12 | Johnny Rutherford | 4 | DNS | 15 | 23 | 28 | 17 | 12 | 3 | 12 | DNS | 21 | 62 |
| 13 | Howdy Holmes | 16 | | 10 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 27 | 16 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 56 |
| 14 | Josele Garza | 13 | 16 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 8 | 15 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 18 | 56 |
| 15 | Héctor Rebaque R | | 13 | DNS | 18 | 25 | | | 20 | 1 | | | 48 |
| 16 | Gary Bettenhausen | | | | | 6 | 13 | 8 | DNQ | 20 | 17 | 9 | 48 |
| 17 | Pancho Carter | 6 | 10 | 13 | 19 | 18 | 6 | 28 | 19 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 47 |
| 18 | Johnny Parsons | | | 6 | 9 | 16 | | 7 | 25 | | DNS | | 41 |
| 19 | Mike Mosley | | | | | 8 | 7 | 16 | | | 7 | 12 | 37 |
| 20 | Tom Bigelow | | | 18 | DNQ | 5 | 22 | 25 | | | 20 | | 32 |
| 21 | Al Unser Jr. R | | | | | | | | 5 | | | | 30 |
| 22 | Danny Sullivan R | | 3 | 21 | | | | | | | | | 28 |
| 23 | Phil Krueger | DNQ | 12 | | DNQ | 30 | | 11 | | 6 | 11 | 17 | 27 |
| 24 | Greg Leffler | | DNQ | | | DNQ | 21 | | 6 | 13 | 24 | 13 | 27 |
| 25 | Dick Simon | DNQ | DNS | 19 | 17 | 21 | 15 | 22 | 7 | DNQ | 13 | 19 | 26 |
| 26 | Herm Johnson | 19 | 6 | 23 | 13 | 34 | 16 | | 22 | 17 | | | 24 |
| 27 | Jim Hickman R | | 7 | DNQ | 24 | 9 | DNQ | | | | | | 24 |
| 28 | A. J. Foyt | | | 2 | 22 | 20 | | 20 | | | 23 | | 22 |
| 29 | Bill Tempero | DNQ | | | 8 | | 19 | | 14 | 18 | | DNQ | 22 |
| 30 | Vern Schuppan | | | | 7 | | | | 27 | 24 | | | 18 |
| 31 | Jerry Karl | | | | 15 | 24 | 18 | 10 | 12 | | | | 17 |
| 32 | Mike Chandler | | | | | | | | 9 | | | 16 | 13 |
| 33 | Scott Brayton | 14 | | 14 | | 11 | | 24 | | | 10 | | 11 |
| 34 | Chip Ganassi R | 22 | | | 11 | 31 | | 17 | | | 16 | | 10 |
| 35 | Gordon Smiley | | 9 | | | | | | | | | | 8 |
| 36 | Chris Kneifel R | | | | | | | | 11 | 23 | | | 6 |
| 37 | Chip Mead | 9 | | DNQ | | | | | | | | | 4 |
| 38 | Hurley Haywood | 10 | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | 3 |
| 39 | Jim McElreath | DNQ | | | | | | 18 | DNQ | | | | 3 |
| 40 | George Snider | | | | | 19 | | 21 | | | | | 3 |
| 41 | Bill Vukovich II | | | 11 | | | | 29 | | | | | 2 |
| 42 | Patrick Bedard | | 14 | | | 29 | | | | | | | 2 |
| 43 | Pete Halsmer R | | | | | | | | 24 | 19 | | 24 | 2 |
| 44 | Jerry Sneva | | | | | | | | | | 14 | DNQ | 1 |
| 45 | Jacques Villeneuve Sr. R | | | | | | | | | | | 14 | 1 |
| 46 | Chet Fillip R | | | | | | | | | | | 15 | 1 |
| 47 | Dick Ferguson | 17 | | | | | | | 21 | | 21 | 22 | 1 |
| 48 | Dennis Firestone | 20 | | | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| 49 | John Paul Jr. R | | | | | | | | | 21 | | | 0 |
| 50 | Spike Gehlhausen | | | DNQ | | 23 | | 30 | | | | | 0 |
| 51 | Derek Daly R | | | | | | | | | | | 25 | 0 |
| 52 | Al Loquasto | DNQ | | | | | | 26 | | | | | 0 |
| 53 | Don Whittington | | | | | 26 | | | | | | | 0 |
| 54 | Ken Hamilton R | | | | | 27 | | | | | | | 0 |
| 55 | Tom Frantz | DNQ | | | | 33 | | | DNQ | | | | 0 |
| - | Rich Vogler | | | | | | | | | | | DNS | 0 |
| - | Bill Whittington | | | | | | | | | DNS | | | 0 |
| - | Richard Hubbard | | | | | | | | | DNQ | | DNQ | 0 |
| - | Bob Frey | | | DNQ | DNQ | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Joe Saldana | | | DNQ | DNQ | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Rick DeLorto | | | | | | DNQ | | | DNQ | | | 0 |
| - | Phil Caliva | | | | | | | | DNQ | | | DNQ | 0 |
| - | Bob Brutto | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Steve Chassey | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Ray Lipper | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Bobby Olivero | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Leroy van Conett | DNQ | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| - | Tod Tuttle | | | | DNQ | | | | | | | | 0 |
| Pos | Driver | PHX | ATL | MIL | CLE | MIC | MIL | POC | RIV | ROA | MIC | PHX | 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 |