1981 USAC Indy Car World Series (Johnsonverse)

The 1981 USAC Marlboro Indy Car World Series season was the 26th national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by USAC. The season consisted of 18 races, beginning in Avondale, Arizona on March 22 and concluding at the same location on October 31. The USAC National Champion was Tom Sneva and the Indianapolis 500 winner was Bobby Unser.
==Drivers and constructors==
=== Chassis constructors ===
Constructor 	Chassis 	First year
Roger Penske 	Penske PC-9B 	1981
Roger Penske 	Penske PC-9 	1980
Roger Penske 	Penske PC-7 	1979
Roger Penske 	Penske PC-6 	1978
Chaparral Cars 	Chaparral 2K 	1979
Gordon Kimball 	Phoenix 80 	1980
Gordon Kimball 	Phoenix PR-01 	1981
March Engineering 	March 81C 	1981
Dave Bruns 	Lightning 81C 	1981
Dan Gurney 	Eagle 81C 	1981
Dan Gurney 	Eagle 80C 	1980
George Bignotti 	Wildcat Mk. VII 	1980
George Bignotti 	Wildcat Mk. VIII 	1981
McLaren 	McLaren M24 	1978
McLaren 	McLaren M16E 	1980
Bob Riley 	Coyote (unknown model)	????
A. J. Watson 	Watson 79 	1979
Grant King 	Kingfish 73 	1973
Longhorn Racing 	Longhorn LR-01 	1980
Longhorn Racing 	Longhorn LR-02 	1981
Longhorn Racing 	Longhorn LR-03 	1981
Jerry Karl 	Karl 81 	1981
AMI Racing 	Armstrong 	1981
Lola Cars 	Lola T500 	1978
Bob Riley 	Riley 	1981
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers	IAM 001 	1980
=== Engine manufacturers ===
Manufacturer 	Marquee 	Type
Cosworth 	Cosworth 	V6
General Motors	Chevrolet 	V8
Offenhauser 	Offenhauser	I4
Ed Donovan 	Donovan 	V6
=== Drivers and teams ===
The following teams and drivers competed for the 1981 USAC Indy Car World Series.
Team/Car Owner 	Chassis 	Engine 	# 	Drivers
Chaparral Cars 	Chaparral 2K 	Cosworth 	1 	Johnny Rutherford
Jerry O'Connell Racing 	Phoenix PR-01 	Cosworth 	2 	Tom Sneva
Jerry O'Connell Racing 	Phoenix PR-01 	Cosworth 	32	Kevin Cogan
Bignotti-Cotter Racing 	March 81C
Phoenix 80	Cosworth 	2 	Tom Sneva
Bignotti-Cotter Racing 	Phoenix 80 	Cosworth 	21	Salt Walther
Team Penske 	Penske PC-9B 	Cosworth 	3 	Bobby Unser
Team Penske 	Penske PC-9B 	Cosworth 	6 	Rick Mears
Team Penske 	Penske PC-9B 	Cosworth 	7 	Bill Alsup
Alex Morales Motorsports	Penske PC-9
Lightning 81C	Cosworth 	5 	Pancho Carter
Alex Morales Motorsports	Lightning 81C 	Cosworth 	75	Steve Chassey
Longhorn Racing 	Longhorn LR-03
Eagle 81C	Cosworth 	8 	Al Unser
Rhoades Competition 	Wildcat Mk.VII 	Cosworth 	12	Dennis Firestone
Rhoades Competition 	Wildcat Mk.VII 	Cosworth 	12	Gary Bettenhausen
Rhoades Competition 	Wildcat Mk.VII 	Cosworth 	12	Gordon Smiley
Gilmore Racing 	Coyote 	Cosworth 	14	A. J. Foyt
Tempero Racing 	McLaren M24 	Chevrolet 	15	Bill Tempero
Bettenhausen Racing 	McLaren M24
Longhorn LR-02
Phoenix 80	Cosworth 	16	Tony Bettenhausen Jr.
Leader Card Racing 	Watson 79 	Cosworth
Offenhauser	22	Dick Simon
Leader Card Racing 	Watson 79 	Cosworth
Offenhauser	22	Spike Gehlhausen
Patrick Racing 	Wildcat Mk.VIII	Cosworth 	20	Gordon Johncock
Patrick Racing 	Wildcat Mk.VIII	Cosworth 	40	Mario Andretti
Patrick Racing 	Wildcat Mk.VIII	Cosworth 	40	Steve Krisiloff
Brayton Racing 	Penske PC-7 	Cosworth 	21	Mike Mosley
Brayton Racing 	Penske PC-7 	Cosworth 	21	Chip Ganassi
Brayton Racing 	Penske PC-7 	Cosworth 	37	Scott Brayton
McElreath Racing 	Eagle 81C 	Offenhauser
Chevrolet	23	Jim McElreath
Luxury Racers 	Kingfish 73 	Chevrolet 	24	Wally Pankratz
Luxury Racers 	Kingfish 73 	Chevrolet 	65	Wally Pankratz
Buick Racing 	Eagle 80C 	Chevrolet 	26	Jim Buick
Buick Racing 	Eagle 80C 	Chevrolet 	86	Jim Buick
Menard Racing 	Lightning LR-03
Eagle 81C	Chevrolet 	28	Herm Johnson
Beaudoin Racing 	McLaren M24 	Cosworth 	29	Billy Engelhart
Machinists Union Racing 	Penske PC-6 	Cosworth 	31	Larry Dickson
Theodore Racing 	McLaren M24
March 80C	Cosworth 	33	Vern Schuppan
Wysard Racing 	Eagle 80C 	Cosworth 	34	Hurley Haywood
Wysard Racing 	Eagle 80C 	Cosworth 	34	Johnny Parsons
Bob Fletcher Racing 	Penske PC-7
March 80C	Cosworth 	35	Bob Lazier
Karl Racing 	McLaren M24
Karl 81	Chevrolet 	38	Jerry Karl
Alsup Racing 	Penske PC-9 	Cosworth 	41	Bill Alsup
Alsup Racing 	McLaren M24 	Chevrolet 	47	Phil Caliva
Frey Racing 	Eagle 80C 	Offenhauser	42	Bob Frey
Frey Racing 	Eagle 80C 	Offenhauser	71	Bob Frey
Rattlesnake Racing 	Watson 79 	Offenhauser	42	Bill Vukovich II
AMI Racing 	Armstrong 	Cosworth 	43	Greg Leffler
AMI Racing 	Lola T500 	Cosworth 	45	Harry MacDonald
Rager Racing 	Wildcat Mk.VIII	Chevrolet 	44	Roger Rager
Rager Racing 	Wildcat Mk.VIII	Chevrolet 	66	Roger Rager
Rager Racing 	Wildcat Mk.VIII	Chevrolet 	66	Orio Trice
All American Racers 	Eagle 81C 	Chevrolet 	48	Mike Mosley
All American Racers 	Eagle 81C 	Chevrolet 	48	Geoff Brabham
All American Racers 	Eagle 81C 	Chevrolet 	48	Rocky Moran
Space Racing 	Eagle 81C 	Cosworth 	49	Chip Mead
Garza Racing 	Penske PC-6 	Cosworth 	54	Geoff Brabham
Garza Racing 	Penske PC-6 	Cosworth 	54	Josele Garza
Garza Racing 	Penske PC-6 	Cosworth 	55	Josele Garza
Gohr Racing 	Penske PC-6 	Chevrolet 	56	Tom Bigelow
Metro Racing 	McLaren M16 	Offenhauser	57	Cliff Hucul
Hamilton Racing 	Riley 	Chevrolet 	63	Ken Hamilton
Jet Engineering 	Eagle 81C 	Chevrolet 	64	Steve Chassey
Mergard Racing 	McLaren M24
IAM 001	Chevrolet
Donovan	67	Phil Threshie
Mergard Racing 	McLaren M24
IAM 001	Chevrolet
Donovan	67	Teddy Pilette
Hodgdon Racing 	Penske PC-6 	Cosworth 	72	Mike Chandler
Hodgdon Racing 	Penske PC-6 	Cosworth 	74	Mike Chandler
Davis Racing 	Wildcat Mk.VIII	Offenhauser
Chevrolet	77	Ross Davis
Joe Hunt Magneto 	Eagle 81C 	Chevrolet (1, 6, 10)
Offenhauser (11)	89	Phil Krueger
Intercomp 	Penske PC-9B 	Offenhauser
Chevrolet	92	John Mahler
Grupo-Acypsa 	Penske PC-7 	Offenhauser	93	Michel Jourdain Sr.
Whittington Bros. Racing	March 81C 	Cosworth 	94	Bill Whittington
Cannon Racing 	Wildcat Mk.VII 	Offenhauser	95	Larry Cannon
Cannon Racing 	Wildcat Mk.VII 	Offenhauser	95	Herm Johnson
Cannon Racing 	Wildcat Mk.VII 	Offenhauser	96	Tom Frantz
Cannon Racing 	Wildcat Mk.VII 	Offenhauser	96	Dick Ferguson
Cannon Racing 	Wildcat Mk.VII 	Offenhauser	99	Larry Cannon
Cannon Racing 	Wildcat Mk.VII 	Offenhauser	99	Dick Ferguson
Vetrock Racing 	Eagle 80C 	Chevrolet 	X 	Dean Vetrock
Ohio Racing Associates 	Longhorn LR-01 	Cosworth 	49	Steve Krisiloff
=== Notable team and driver changes ===
* Tom Sneva left Jerry O'Connell Racing for new team Bignotti-Cotter Racing. The team scaled back to part-time for 1981.
* Team Penske expanded to a three-car operation, with Bill Alsup joining. His owner-driver team Alsup Racing only ran part-time in 1981.
* After racing limited schedule beforehand, Tony Bettenhausen Jr. ran his first full-time season with new owner-driver team Bettenhausen Racing.
* Dick Simon replaced Sheldon Kinser at Leader Card Racing, leaving Kinser without a ride. Simon's old team, Vollstedt Enterprises, did not compete, but returned in 1982.
* Mario Andretti returned to running the majority of the races after a stint in Formula One, driving for Patrick Racing. He replaced Tom Bagley, who was left without a ride.
* Rookie driver Scott Brayton ran a full schedule with family owned team Brayton Racing.
* After running part-time in 1980, Machinists Union Racing ran a full schedule with driver Larry Dickson.
* Spike Gehlhausen was replaced at Bob Fletcher Racing by rookie driver Bob Lazier.
* Josele Garza ran his first season with family-owned team Garza Racing.
* Steve Chassey ran his first full-time season for the Jet Engineering team.
* AMI Racing only ran two races in 1981 after running full-time in 1980. Gary Bettenhausen was left without a full-time ride.
* Interscope Racing also stopped running full-time, along with driver Danny Ongais, following Ongais' near-fatal crash at the 1981 Indianapolis 500. Interscope would still run a two-car team in what is now the Silver Crown Series, and both the team and Ongais would return to full-time racing in the Indy Car World Series in 1983.
* At Cannon Racing, Larry Cannon only ran the first few races, with most of the rest driven by Dick Ferguson.
* This was Bobby Unser's final season of IndyCar racing.
=== Notable Equipment Changes ===
* Tempero Racing switched from an Eagle to McLaren chassis.
* Menard Racing switched from an Offenhauser to Chevrolet engine. With this shift, the Cannon Racing team became the only full-time team that still uses Offenhauser engines, but this downward trend would be reversed in 1982 when Offenhauser debuted a brand-new V8 engine.
==Schedule==
No.	Race title 	Track 	Date
1 	Kraco Car Stereo 150 	Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale, Arizona 	March 22
2 	Datsun Twin 200 	Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario, California 	April 12
3 	Texas Grand Prix 	Texas World Speedway, College Station, Texas 	April 25
4 	Indianapolis 500 	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana 	May 24
5 	Gould Rex Mays Classic 	Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wisconsin 	June 8
6 	Van Scoy Diamond Mines 500	Pocono International Speedway, Long Pond, Pennsylvania	June 21
7 	Kraco Twin 125 	Atlanta International Raceway, Hampton, Georgia 	June 28
8 	Kraco Twin 125 	Atlanta International Raceway, Hampton, Georgia 	June 28
9 	Red Roof Inns 200 	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio 	July 12
10 	Norton Michigan 500 	Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan 	July 25
11 	Chaparral 200 	Dover Downs International Speedway, Dover, Delaware 	August 15
12 	California 500 	Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario, California 	August 30
13 	Tony Bettenhausen 200 	Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wisconsin 	September 5
14 	Detroit News Grand Prix 	Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan 	September 20
15 	Alabama 500K 	Alabama International Motor Speedway, Lincoln, Alabama	September 28
16 	Watkins Glen 200 	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York 	October 4
17 	I Copa México 150 	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City, Mexico 	October 18
18 	Miller High Life 150 	Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale, Arizona 	November 4
== Results ==
No.	Race title 	Pole Position 	Winner 	Team 	Chassis/Engine
1 	Kraco Car Stereo 150 	Bobby Unser 	Johnny Rutherford	Chaparral Cars 	Chaparral/Cosworth
2 	Datsun Twin 200 	Tom Sneva 	Steve Chassey 	Jet Engineering 	Eagle/Chevrolet
3 	Texas Grand Prix 	Gordon Johncock 	Al Unser 	Longhorn Racing 	Longhorn/Cosworth
4 	Indianapolis 500 	Bobby Unser 	Bobby Unser 	Team Penske 	Penske/Cosworth
5 	Gould Rex Mays Classic 	Gordon Johncock 	Mike Mosley 	All-American Racers 	Eagle/Cosworth
6 	Van Scoy Diamond Mines 500	A.J. Foyt 	A.J. Foyt 	Gilmore Racing 	Coyote/Cosworth
7 	Kraco Twin 125 	Johnny Rutherford	Rick Mears 	Team Penske 	Penske/Cosworth
8 	Kraco Twin 125 	Rick Mears 	Mario Andretti 	Patrick Racing 	Wildcat/Cosworth
9 	Red Roof Inns 200 	Bob Lazier 	John Mahler 	Intercomp 	Penske/Offenhauser
10 	Norton Michigan 500 	Tom Sneva 	Pancho Carter 	Alex Morales Motorsports	Lightning/Cosworth
11 	Chaparral 200 	Rick Mears 	Gordon Johncock 	Patrick Racing 	Wildcat/Cosworth
12 	California 500 	Geoff Brabham 	Tom Sneva 	Bignotti-Carter Racing 	March/Cosworth
13 	Tony Bettenhausen 200 	Johnny Rutherford	Tom Sneva 	Bignotti-Carter Racing 	March/Cosworth
14 	Detroit News Grand Prix 	Rick Mears 	Rick Mears 	Team Penske 	Penske/Cosworth
15 	Alabama 500K 	A.J. Foyt 	Larry Dickson 	Machinists Union Racing 	Penske/Cosworth
16 	Watkins Glen 200 	Mario Andretti 	Scott Brayton 	Brayton Racing 	Penske/Cosworth
17 	I Copa México 150 	Bobby Unser 	A.J. Foyt 	Gilmore Racing 	Coyote/Cosworth
18 	Miller High Life 150 	Bobby Unser 	Tom Sneva 	Bignotti-Carter Racing 	March/Cosworth
Category:Johnsonverse