Andretti joined the PPG Indy Car World Series (CART) in 1987, winning the Rookie of the Year award. In his debut at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1988, he reached as high as seventh place before mechanical problems forced him to finish 21st. In 1991 he won the only race of his CART career, the Gold Coast Grand Prix in Surfer's Paradise, Australia. He finished a career-best fifth in the 1991 Indianapolis 500. The 1994 Indy 500 was his last appearance in that race until 2007.