1993 USAC Gold Crown Series (Johnsonverse)

The 1993 USAC Marlboro Gold Crown Series season was the 38th national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by USAC. The season consisted of 29 races. Nigel Mansell was the national champion as well as the Rookie of the Year. Emerson Fittipaldi won the Indianapolis 500, his second career victory in that event.
The biggest story going into the season involved Newman/Haas Racing. Nigel Mansell, the reigning Formula One World Champion switched from Formula One to the USAC Gold Crown Series. Mansell joined Newman/Haas Racing as teammate to Mario Andretti, taking the seat formerly held by Michael Andretti, who departed for one year to McLaren. Mansell came to the American open wheel series with considerable fanfare and huge media attention. He won the season-opener at Surfers Paradise, the first USAC "rookie" to win his first start. At Phoenix, Mansell crashed during practice and was forced to sit out the race due to a back injury. At Indianapolis, he was leading the race with 16 laps to go when he was passed on a restart by Emerson Fittipaldi and Arie Luyendyk, and wound up third. He still won the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year award. Despite having missed the race at Phoenix, Mansell won five races (four of which were on ovals) en route to the USAC championship. His team Newman/Haas Racing would still manage to win the one oval race Mansell missed with Mario Andretti scoring his 52nd and final victory of his Indy car career at Phoenix, Andretti would finish 6th in the final championship standings.
After winning his third USAC championship in 1992, Bobby Rahal entered the 1993 season driving the R/H chassis (formerly the Truesports chassis). He finished second at Long Beach, but struggled to get his car up to speed, and failed to qualify at Indianapolis. He would run the remainder of the season with a 1993 Lola chassis, but with no victories. He did however finish 4th in points.
In the Constructors' Cup, yet another heated battle took place, this time between Penske, Lola, and Mopar. Penske won the cup with seven wins, with Lola and Mopar tied for second; Lola won on a tiebreaker.
==Drivers and constructors==
=== Chassis constructors ===
Constructor 	Chassis	First year
Lola Cars 	LT93/00	1993
Lola Cars 	T92/00 	1992
March Engineering 	93C 	1993
March Engineering 	92C 	1992
Team Penske 	PC-22 	1993
Team Penske 	PC-21 	1992
Équipe Ligier 	JS38 	1993
Ferrari 	I93 	1993
Williams 	IW93 	1993
Dallara 	IR-93 	1993
Tatuus 	US93 	1993
McLaren 	M40 	1993
Galles Racing 	93 	1993
Galles Racing 	92B 	1992
A. J. Watson 	93 	1993
Rahal-Hogan Racing 	RH-001 	1993
General Motors 	93C 	1993
Minardi 	I193 	1993
Dale Coyne Racing 	DC-8 	1993
Mopar 	M93 	1993
Toyota Racing Development	TO93 	1993
Vollstedt Racing 	93 	1993
Tyrrell 	022I 	1993
=== Engines ===
Manufacturer 	Marquee 	Type 	Turbocharged?
General Motors 	Pontiac 	V8 (cross-plane) 	No
General Motors 	Chevrolet 	V8 (single-plane)	Yes
General Motors 	Buick 	V6 	Yes
General Motors 	Menard (Buick-derived)	V6 	Yes
Ford Motor Company 	Cosworth 	V8 (single-plane 	Yes
Porsche 	Porsche 	V6 	Yes
Johnson Motors 	Mopar 	V10 	No
Johnson Motors 	Lamborghini 	V12 	No
Johnson Motors 	Buffalo 	V8 	No
Toyota Motor Corporation	Toyota 	V6 	Yes
Racing Developments Ltd.	Judd 	V8 (single-plane)	No
Offenhauser 	Offenhauser 	V8 (cross-plane) 	No
Ferrari SPA 	Ferrari 	V12 	No
==== Engine notes ====
In 1992, Dodge introduced the new Viper V10 into USAC competition, the same engine used in its high-performance Dodge Viper sports car. All other teams were either using V6 or V8 engines, and many races won by Mopar teams had wide margins between first and second place.
To help less-powerful engines, USAC made the decision to lift the 1979 turbocharger ban. The new rules only allowed turbochargers to be used on engines under a certain displacement so the naturally-aspirated engines wouldn't be left behind, and are not allowed on V10 or V12 engines. Chevrolet, Buick, Cosworth, Porsche, and Toyota were all under the displacement mark, so they were allowed to use turbochargers. As a result of the return of turbochargers, chassis constructors had to offer two types of bodykits: one for turbocharged engines, and one for naturally-aspirated engines (the difference being that the central air intake is absent on the turbocharger bodykits).
To keep costs down, a system was put in place in which teams lease engines from the manufacturers instead of purchasing them (Menard Racing continued purchasing and modifying its own Buick engines, as such modifications wouldn't be allowed under the lease system); engines that need rebuilding after a certain amount of races are replaced by the manufacturer for free.
=== Teams and drivers ===
Team 	Chassis 	Engine 	No.	Driver(s)
Newman/Haas Racing 	Lola T93/00 	Pontiac 	5 	Nigel Mansell
Newman/Haas Racing 	Lola T93/00 	Pontiac 	6 	Mario Andretti
A. J. Foyt Enterprises 	Watson 93 	Offenhauser	14 	A. J. Foyt
A. J. Foyt Enterprises 	Watson 93 	Offenhauser	14 	Robby Gordon
A. J. Foyt Enterprises 	Watson 93 	Offenhauser	41 	Robby Gordon
A. J. Foyt Enterprises 	Watson 93 	Offenhauser	84 	John Andretti
Chip Ganassi Racing Teams	Mopar M93 	Dodge 	10 	Arie Luyendyk
Turley Motorsports 	Penske PC-21 	Chevrolet 	97 	Brian Till
Team Penske 	Penske PC-22 	Chevrolet 	4 	Emerson Fittipaldi
Team Penske 	Penske PC-22 	Chevrolet 	12 	Paul Tracy
Galles Racing 	Galmer 92B
Galmer 93	Chevrolet 	3 	Al Unser Jr.
Galles Racing 	Galmer 92B
Galmer 93	Chevrolet 	7 	Danny Sullivan
Galles Racing 	Galmer 92B
Galmer 93	Chevrolet 	7 	Adrián Fernández
Galles Racing 	Galmer 92B
Galmer 93	Chevrolet 	11 	Adrián Fernández
Walker Motorsport 	March 93C 	Cosworth 	2 	Scott Goodyear
Walker Motorsport 	March 93C 	Cosworth 	15 	Hiro Matsushita
Rahal/Hogan Racing 	Rahal-Hogan RH-001	Offenhauser	1 	Bobby Rahal
Rahal/Hogan Racing 	Rahal-Hogan RH-001	Offenhauser	26 	Mike Groff
Dick Simon Racing 	Lola T93/00
Lola T92/00	Buick 	9 	Raul Boesel
Dick Simon Racing 	Lola T93/00
Lola T92/00	Buick 	22 	Scott Brayton
Dick Simon Racing 	Lola T93/00
Lola T92/00	Buick 	23 	Didier Theys
Dick Simon Racing 	Lola T93/00
Lola T92/00	Buick 	36 	Stéphan Grégoire
Dick Simon Racing 	Lola T93/00
Lola T92/00	Buick 	44 	John Brooks
Dick Simon Racing 	Lola T93/00
Lola T92/00	Buick 	90 	Gary Brabham
Hall/VDS Racing 	Toyota TO93 	Toyota 	8 	Teo Fabi
Dale Coyne Racing 	Coyne DC-8 	Offenhauser	19 	Robbie Buhl
Dale Coyne Racing 	Coyne DC-8 	Offenhauser	32 	Éric Bachelart
Dale Coyne Racing 	Coyne DC-8 	Offenhauser	39 	Ross Bentley
Bettenhausen Motorsports 	Penske PC-22 	Chevrolet 	16 	Stefan Johansson
Bettenhausen Motorsports 	Penske PC-22 	Chevrolet 	33 	Scott Sharp
Bettenhausen Motorsports 	Penske PC-22 	Chevrolet 	76 	Tony Bettenhausen Jr.
Arciero Racing 	Tatuus US93 	Buick 	25 	Mark Smith
Budweiser King Racing 	Lola T93/00 	Chevrolet 	40 	Roberto Guerrero
Budweiser King Racing 	Lola T93/00 	Chevrolet 	70 	Jim Crawford
Budweiser King Racing 	Lola T93/00 	Chevrolet 	94 	Al Unser
Euromotorsport 	Ferrari I93 	Cosworth 	42 	Andrea Chiesa
Euromotorsport 	Ferrari I93 	Cosworth 	50 	Andrea Montermini
Leadercard 	Dallara IR-93 	Buick 	20 	Buddy Lazier
Leadercard 	Dallara IR-93 	Buick 	98 	Brian Bonner
International Sport 	Williams IW93 	Judd 	30 	Marco Greco
International Sport 	Williams IW93 	Judd 	46 	Rocky Moran
Hayhoe Racing 	March 93C 	Cosworth 	18 	Jimmy Vasser
ProFormance Motorsports 	Lola T93/00 	Chevrolet 	47 	Scott Pruett
Indy Regency Racing 	Ligier JS38 	Chevrolet 	29 	Olivier Grouillard
Menard Racing 	Lola T93/00 	Menard 	27 	Geoff Brabham
Menard Racing 	Lola T93/00 	Menard 	55 	Gary Bettenhausen
Menard Racing 	Lola T93/00 	Menard 	68 	Eddie Cheever
Menard Racing 	Lola T93/00 	Menard 	77 	Nelson Piquet
Hemelgarn Racing 	Dallara IR-93 	Buick 	91 	Stan Fox
Burns Motor Sports 	Galmer 92B 	Chevrolet 	67 	Dominic Dobson
Mann Motorsports 	Mopar M93 	Dodge 	93 	John Paul Jr.
Pagan 	Lola T92/00 	Buick 	21 	Jeff Andretti
Nu-Tech 	March 92C 	Offenhauser	28 	Johnny Unser
Nu-Tech 	March 92C 	Offenhauser	33 	Dennis Vitolo
PacWest Racing 	Galmer 92B 	Chevrolet 	17 	Dominic Dobson
Vollstedt Racing 	Vollstedt 93 	Oldsmobile 	52 	Keith Kauffman
Della Penna Motorsports 	March 93C 	Cosworth 	72 	Vinicio Salmi
Ferrari Racing 	Ferrari I93 	Ferrari 	53 	Christian Danner
Ferrari Racing 	Ferrari I93 	Ferrari 	83 	Lyn St. James
Williams Indy Engineering	Williams IW93 	Cosworth 	49 	Gregor Foitek
Williams Indy Engineering	Williams IW93 	Cosworth 	51 	Franck Fréon
McLaren-Moore 	McLaren M40 	Porsche 	62 	Tero Palmroth
McLaren-Moore 	McLaren M40 	Porsche 	64 	Ian Ashley
Équipe Ligier 	Ligier JS38 	Lamborghini	89 	Mark Dismore
Équipe Ligier 	Ligier JS38 	Lamborghini	96 	Bertrand Gachot
Team Tyrrell 	Tyrrell 022I 	Chevrolet 	43 	David Kudrave
Team Tyrrell 	Tyrrell 022I 	Chevrolet 	45 	Ted Prappas
Minardi Indy 	Minardi I193 	Lamborghini	65 	Maurício Gugelmin
Minardi Indy 	Minardi I193 	Lamborghini	66 	Jon Beekhuis
GM Performance Racing 	GM 93C 	Chevrolet 	79 	Willy T. Ribbs
GM Performance Racing 	GM 93C 	Chevrolet 	99 	Kevin Cogan
Dallara Racing 	Dallara IR-93 	Chevrolet 	78 	George Snider
Dallara Racing 	Dallara IR-93 	Chevrolet 	82 	Steve Chassey
Tatuus Racing 	Tatuus US93 	Chevrolet 	73 	Jovy Marcelo
Tatuus Racing 	Tatuus US93 	Chevrolet 	74 	Jeff Wood
Mopar Racing 	Mopar M93 	Dodge 	60 	Jack Hewitt
Mopar Racing 	Mopar M93 	Dodge 	75 	Steve Butler
Mopar Racing 	Mopar M93 	Dodge 	80 	Dean Hall
Toyota Racing Development	Toyota TO93 	Toyota 	54 	Davy Jones
Toyota Racing Development	Toyota TO93 	Toyota 	59 	Bruce Field
Stacker & Associates 	Stacker 93B 	Buffalo 	56 	Guido Daccò
Stacker & Associates 	Stacker 93B 	Buffalo 	58 	John Jones
==Schedule==
No.	Race title 	Track 	Track Type 	Date
1 	Gilroy Garlic 500 	San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy, California 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	February 28
2 	Pennzoil 200 	Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Virginia 	Short oval 	March 14
3 	Australian FAI IndyCar Grand Prix 	Surfers Paradise Street Circuit, Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia	Street course 	March 21
4 	Valvoline 200 Presented by Phoenix International Raceway and the Fiesta Bowl	Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale, Arizona 	One-mile oval 	April 4
5 	Mopar 200 	Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario, California 	Superspeedway (unrestricted)	April 11
6 	Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach 	Streets of Long Beach, California 	Street course 	April 18
7 	March Engineering 200 	Suzuka International Raceway, Suzuka, Kansai 	Road course 	April 25
8 	Indianapolis 500 	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana 	Superspeedway (unrestricted)	May 30
9 	Miller Genuine Draft 200 	Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wisconsin 	Mile-long oval 	June 6
10 	ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix 	The Raceway on Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Michigan 	Street course 	June 13
11 	Dallara 200 	Monza Circuit, Monza, Lombardy, Italy 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	June 20
12 	Texaco/Havoline Presents the Budweiser/G. I. Joe's 200 	Portland International Raceway, Portland, Oregon 	Road course 	June 27
13 	Coca-Cola Firecracker 300 	Denver International Speedway, Denver, Colorado 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	July 4
14 	Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by Dairy Mart 	Burke Lakefront Airport, Cleveland, Ohio 	Road course 	July 11
15 	Molson Indy Toronto 	Exhibition Place, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 	Street course 	July 18
16 	Quaker State 500 	Pocono International Raceway, Long Pond, Pennsylvania 	Superspeedway (unrestricted)	July 25
17 	Marlboro 500 	Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan 	Superspeedway (unrestricted)	August 1
18 	New England 200 	New Hampshire International Speedway, Loudon, New Hampshire 	Mile-long oval 	August 8
19 	Howard Johnson's 225 	Pikes Peak International Raceway, Fountain, Colorado 	Intermediate oval 	August 15
20 	The Chicago Tribune Presents the Texaco/Havoline 200 	Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin 	Road course 	August 22
21 	Molson Indy Vancouver 	Streets of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 	Street course 	August 29
22 	California 500 	Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario, California 	Superspeedway (unrestricted)	September 5
23 	Pioneer Electronics 200 Presented by Miller Genuine Draft 	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio 	Road course 	September 12
24 	Bosch Spark Plugs Grand Prix 	Nazareth Speedway, Nazareth, Pennsylvania 	Mile-long oval 	September 19
25 	Molson 300 	Fuji Speedway, Fuji, Kanto 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	September 26
26 	Toyota Monterey Grand Prix Featuring the Makita 300 	Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey, California 	Road course 	October 3
27 	Alabama 500K 	Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln, Alabama 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	October 10
28 	Lola Cars 200 	Mallory Park, Leicestershire, United Kingdom 	Mile-long oval 	October 17
29 	Florida Citrus Growers 500 	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	October 31
==Results==
No.	Race title 	Pole position 	Winner 	Team 	Chassis/Engine
1 	Gilroy Garlic 500 	Buddy Lazier 	Arie Luyendyk 	Chip Ganassi Racing Teams	Mopar/Dodge
2 	Pennzoil 200 	Nigel Mansell 	David Kudrave 	Team Tyrrell 	Tyrrell/Chevrolet
3 	Australian FAI IndyCar Grand Prix 	Nigel Mansell 	Nigel Mansell 	Newman/Haas Racing 	Lola/Pontiac
4 	Valvoline 200 Presented by Phoenix International Raceway and the Fiesta Bowl	Scott Goodyear 	Mario Andretti 	Newman/Haas Racing 	Lola/Pontiac
5 	Mopar 200 	Nigel Mansell 	Guido Daccò 	Stacker & Associates 	Stacker/Buffalo
6 	Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach 	Nigel Mansell 	Paul Tracy 	Team Penske 	Penske/Chevrolet
7 	March Engineering 200 	Jon Beekhuis 	Jimmy Vasser 	Hayhoe Racing 	March/Cosworth
8 	Indianapolis 500 	Arie Luyendyk 	Emerson Fittipaldi	Team Penske 	Penske/Chevrolet
9 	Miller Genuine Draft 200 	Raul Boesel 	Nigel Mansell 	Newman/Haas Racing 	Lola/Pontiac
10 	ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix 	Nigel Mansell 	Danny Sullivan 	Galles Racing 	Galmer/Chevrolet
11 	Dallara 200 	Guido Daccò 	Jack Hewitt 	Mopar Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
12 	Texaco/Havoline Presents the Budweiser/G. I. Joe's 200 	Nigel Mansell 	Emerson Fittipaldi	Team Penske 	Penske/Chevrolet
13 	Coca-Cola Firecracker 300 	Lyn St. James 	Jack Hewitt 	Mopar Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
14 	Budweiser Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by Dairy Mart 	Paul Tracy 	Paul Tracy 	Team Penske 	Penske/Chevrolet
15 	Molson Indy Toronto 	Emerson Fittipaldi	Paul Tracy 	Team Penske 	Penske/Chevrolet
16 	Quaker State 500 	Keith Kauffman 	Guido Daccò 	Stacker & Associates 	Stacker/Buffalo
17 	Marlboro 500 	Mario Andretti 	Nigel Mansell 	Newman/Haas Racing 	Lola/Pontiac
18 	New England 200 	Nigel Mansell 	Nigel Mansell 	Newman/Haas Racing 	Lola/Pontiac
19 	Howard Johnson's 225 	Guido Daccò 	Stan Fox 	Hemelgarn Racing 	Dallara/Buick
20 	The Chicago Tribune Presents the Texaco/Havoline 200 	Paul Tracy 	Paul Tracy 	Team Penske 	Penske/Chevrolet
21 	Molson Indy Vancouver 	Scott Goodyear 	Al Unser Jr. 	Galles Racing 	Galmer/Chevrolet
22 	California 500 	Robby Gordon 	Keith Kauffman 	Vollstedt Racing 	Vollstedt/Oldsmobile
23 	Pioneer Electronics 200 Presented by Miller Genuine Draft 	Nigel Mansell 	Emerson Fittipaldi	Team Penske 	Penske/Chevrolet
24 	Bosch Spark Plugs Grand Prix 	Nigel Mansell 	Nigel Mansell 	Newman/Haas Racing 	Lola/Pontiac
25 	Molson 300 	Arie Luyendyk 	Jack Hewitt 	Mopar Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
26 	Toyota Monterey Grand Prix Featuring the Makita 300 	Emerson Fittipaldi	Paul Tracy 	Team Penske 	Penske/Chevrolet
27 	Alabama 500K 	John Jones 	Jack Hewitt 	Mopar Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
28 	Lola Cars 200 	Gary Bettenhausen 	Guido Daccò 	Stacker & Associates 	Stacker/Buffalo
29 	Florida Citrus Growers 500 	Lyn St. James 	Arie Luyendyk 	Chip Ganassi Racing Teams	Mopar/Dodge
Category:Johnsonverse