In 1981, Theodore fielded their own car. They first appeared at the Indianapolis 500 (part of the USAC Gold Crown Series with the No. 33 Red Roof Inns McLaren M24-Cosworth|Cosworth DFX with Vern Schuppan driving. The car qualified in 18th place and finish in third place. The team also raced at the Van Scoy Diamond Mines 500 at Pocono International Raceway. The car started in fifth place and retired in 17th place due to a loss of oil pressure. Schuppan went on the finish 10th in the USAC standings. The team also competed in the &lt;a href="1981%20IndyCar%20season"&gt;CART/PPG World Series&lt;/a&gt;, with Schuppan driving. The team first appeared at the Norton Michigan 500 at Michigan International Speedway finishing in 24th place due to a blown engine. The team then went into partnership with Thomas W. Barrett III for the AirCal 500K at Riverside International Raceway, the II Copa Mexico 150 at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and the Miller High Life 150 at Phoenix International Raceway. The team replaced the McLaren M24 with a March 81C for Riverside. Schuppan achieved a best finish of 15th place at Phoenix and finished 36th in points.