USAC Gold Crown Series (Johnsonverse)

The USAC Gold Crown Series, currently known as the USAC Gold Crown Series presented by NTT under sponsorship, and colloquially known as Gold Crown, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States. It was established in 1956 as a successor to the AAA Championship Car Series following the American Automobile Association's decision to cease sanctioning auto racing the previous year. The series is self-sanctioned by its parent company, United States Auto Club, which began in 1955.
The series' premier event is the Indianapolis 500 (Indy 500).
WORK-IN-PROGRESS
== Overview ==
=== Series name ===
The series was originally named the USAC National Championship Trail from 1956 to 1970, and again from 1972 to 1979. Marlboro was the series' title sponsor in 1971 (as the USAC Marlboro Championship Trail) and again from 1980 to 1997 (as the USAC Marlboro Indy Car World Series from 1980 to 1983, and then the USAC Marlboro Gold Crown Series from 1984 to 1997).
In 1998, Marlboro's contract expired, and NTT Data became the new title sponsor, the series' current name being the USAC Gold Crown Series presented by NTT.
=== Popularity ===
The USAC Gold Crown Series is the second-most popular racing series in the world, behind Formula One and ahead of the NASCAR RCA Cup Series. Despite its size and prestige, many teams entering the series often grossly overestimate how much it actually costs to compete. Gold Crown teams run on a budget 1/16th of that of F1 teams, and 1/32 of NASCAR teams, A typical median annual USAC budget is $600,000; by comparison, a typical median annual NASCAR Cup Series budget is $3 million (also thanks to efforts by Johnson to make competing in NASCAR more affordable), and F1 teams are capped at an annual budget of $135 million. This can be attributed to a series of cost control measures implemented by Johnson over the years, including banning turbochargers in 1979, encouraging more chassis and engine constructors to enter the sport to drive costs down, and fronting multi-million dollar purses; even the last-place finisher will receive $350,000, making racing in the Gold Crown Series profitable even for low-budget teams. Costs are so low, that during the lead-up to the 1998 Indianapolis 500, motorsports journalist Robin Miller controversially declared that "Indy cars are now cheaper than cocaine" (he later said it was a joke).
It is a testament to the popularity of the USAC Gold Crown Series that it is directly responsible for several other open-wheel racing series going defunct. One notable example is the Formula Nippon Championship, a series that ran exclusively in the Japanese States. Prior to the start of the 2008 season, the series filed for bankruptcy, and USAC invited all of the Formula Nippon teams to compete in the Gold Crown Series, bringing 11 teams and 22 drivers, the majority of them Native Japanese. Another example was the Atlantic Championship, whose teams all went over to the USAC Gold Crown Series after it, too, went defunct, though all teams waited until 2014 after the series' 2012 shutdown to make the jump.
== Car history and current specifications ==
===Chassis===
Chassis are constructed either by major automakers, teams, or other constructors. Chassis are divided into three categories: Customer (built to order by constructors such as Dallara, Panoz, Lola, Reynard, and Racefab), Factory (built by automakers or other major companies such as General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Lotus, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, McLaren, Aston Martin, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and General Electric), and Team (chassis built in-house by teams including Team Penske, Stewart-Foyt Racing, Dale Coyne Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Earnhardt-Childress Racing, Petty Enterprises, Roush-Keselowski Racing, Allison-Yates Racing, Trackhouse Racing, Oreca, Welter Racing, Callaway Cars, Ginetta Cars, Vanwall, Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus, Eagle, Stacker & Associates, Williams Racing, Team Red Bull, and AlphaTauri); there is some crossover between the categories, with McLaren and Ligier being considered both a Factory and Team chassis, as both have teams, and sell chassis to other teams. There is a large variance in chassis designs, and before 1983, safety features between chassis were wildly varied, meaning one chassis could be less safe than another.
In 1983, in response to the deaths of Gordon Smiley and Jim Hickman in 1982, USAC adopted the same monocoque safety cell that had started appearing in Formula One in 1981, the main difference being that it would be mandatory for all chassis to have, while in 1981, only McLaren had safety cells on their cars. Unlike the F1 safety cells, however, the USAC safety cells were initially made of steel.
In 2002, the safety cells were updated following the deaths of Jeff Krosnoff and Greg Moore, and Alex Zanardi's career-ending crash in 2001. The safety cells would now be made of carbon fiber instead of steel, and that 2002 chassis would be required to have a honeycomb kevlar structure, much like their F1 counterparts. Pre-2001 chassis were banned from use as a result.
The safety cell is part of a core rolling chassis that is built by the constructors themselves. Each core rolling chassis typically costs roughly $10,000, and is designed to be used in consecutive seasons. This was a key milestone in greatly reducing costs in the USAC Gold Crown Series; in the second year of the monocoque's use, all teams were running full-time schedules, which forced USAC to adopt new qualifying procedures involving heat races (except for the Indianapolis 500), and led to larger and more diverse fields. Constructors provide new aerokits for the core rolling chassis each season, with the underlying chassis potentially remaining in use for years (for example, Team Penske used the same core rolling chassis from 1983 until the original steel monocoques were banned in 2002, with the only changes being to the aerokit, which includes the front nose, front and rear wing, side pods, engine cowl, and rollbar).
In 2009, following the death of Formula Two driver Henry Surtees, the topic of head protection of some kind was brought back up for the first time since Greg Moore's death. USAC began intense research into head protection for drivers, but not before Dan Wheldon was killed in a crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2011. One idea that had been floated following Jeff Krosnoff's death was to use a cockpit canopy similar to those used on fighter jets, but this was rejected due to concerns that drivers wouldn't be able to escape burning cars, issues keeping the canopy clean (as it would require a very large tear-off like those used on helmets and NASCAR windshields), and cockpit temperatures becoming unbearable. 
Ultimately, USAC adopted an Aeroscreen in 2013 that resembles a cockpit canopy, but has an open top with a forced air-cooling system, as well as a defogger for rainy conditions and tear-aways that are removed during pit stops. The Aeroscreen, which is part of the aerokit provided by constructors for the rolling core chassis, was credited with saving Justin Wilson's life at Pocono in 2015, as it protected him from being hit by a front nosecone that came off of leader Sage Karam's Mopar when spun into the outside wall in turn 1. Simulations showed that, without the Aeroscreen, Wilson would have been hit directly on the head by the nosecone, resulting in fatal injuries. F1 was hesitant to adopt cockpit protection of the kind provided by the Aeroscreen due to cost issues, but the death of Jules Bianchi forced its hand, and the Halo device was adopted by all FIA open-wheel series, as well as most open-wheel series worldwide, in 2018.
Formula One teams competing in the Indianapolis 500 use the same chassis they use in the rest of the season, but with modifications made for oval racing.
=== Transmission, gearbox, and clutch ===
===Brakes===
Since the adoption of the carbon fiber monocoque in 2002, the brake package for the Gold Crown Series was slimmer carbon brake rotors with 4-pot brake calipers and carbon pads on all-oval races until 2011. The thicker steel brake rotors with 6-pot brake calipers and carbon pads were introduced in 2005 for road and street course races for stronger braking while approaching sharper turns even hairpins. From 2012 onwards, USAC ditched the steel brake discs in favor of carbon brake rotors on all types of tracks but the caliper configuration remained the same as 1996–2011.
Current brake package suppliers include PFC, Brembo, and Alcon, with subtle differences between each manufacturer.
=== Wheel rims ===
The wheel rims for all cars are made of aluminum alloy. The size of the wheel rims have been 10 in × 15 in (254 mm × 381 mm) on the front and 14 in × 15 in (356 mm × 381 mm) on the rear since 1996.
===Tires===
Upon Johnson's acquisition of USAC in 1979, Goodyear was the tire supplier for the National Championship Trail. In 1995, Firestone, which had not been seen in the Gold Crown Series in two decades, returned to the series, and by 2000, Goodyear had pulled out of USAC to focus on its NASCAR and NHRA obligations. As of 2024, Firestone is the sole tire supplier for the USAC Gold Crown Series.
Formula One teams competing in the Indianapolis 500 initially used their own tires. This meant that Bridgestone and Michelin competed in the race. In 2005, Michelin tires experienced numerous failures, and all Michelin teams who qualified for the Indianapolis 500 pulled off the track during the parade laps, to a chorus of boos from spectators. USAC delayed the start of the race so that teams who had failed to qualify for the race could get their drivers and cars ready to fill the gaps in the field. The entire debacle was widely seen as an embarrassment for the FIA, and in 2006, USAC began tightening its control over F1 teams competing in the Indy 500, including mandating that all teams, regardless of series, must use Firestone tires.
===Suspension===
The suspension of all Gold Crown Series cars is double A-arm, pushrod, with third spring and anti-roll bar configuration multilink. The exact suspension design differs between chassis constructors.
=== Cockpit and safety components ===
All USAC Gold Crown Series cars use carbon-fiber shell driver's seats with 6-point safety restraints. The cars' steering wheels are designed by Cosworth with a system of buttons that allow the drivers to make adjustments to their cars mid-race. All Gold Crown cars were equipped with Pi Research Sigma Wheel to Display data display units from 2001–2017 until they were replaced by Cosworth's Configurable Display Unit 4.3 display from 2018 onwards (although in 2018 some smaller low-budget Gold Crown teams still utilized old Pi Research Sigma Wheel instead of new Cosworth Configurable Display Unit 4.3 due to cost reasons).
The cockpits of all Gold Crown Series cars are still open but protected by zylon, a foot protection bulkhead, and cockpit padding.
From the 2013 season onwards, the Gold Crown Series implemented a cockpit protection system. This consists of a reinforced windscreen dubbed the "aeroscreen", provided as part of the aerokit created by chassis constructors, to lessen the probability of traumatic head injuries from flying debris.
===Other components===
All Gold Crown Series cars carry an Electronic Control Unit. Live telemetry is used only for television broadcasts, but the data can be recorded from the ECU to the computer if the car is in the garage tents and not on the track. ECU units are provided by the engine manufacturers, and are different for each.
Rearview mirrors for all Gold Crown Series cars are fully mandated to easily enable viewing opponents behind.
=== Fuel ===
====Methanol====
At the time Johnson acquired USAC, the series used methanol racing fuel, which had been the de facto standard in American open-wheel racing since the 1964 Indianapolis 500 Eddie Sachs - Dave MacDonald crash. Methanol had long provided a safer alternative to gasoline. It had a higher flash point, was easily extinguishable with water, and burned invisible. With the series' introduction of night races in 1997, the burning of methanol fuel was visible for the first time, seen with a light blue haze. With this in mind, in an effort to make it more visible in case of fire during daylight hours, especially following the 1981 Indianapolis 500 when Rick Mears suffered a methanol fire on pit road that was invisible, additional mixtures were placed in the fuel. As a safety feature, the methanol would burn with color.
Methanol fuel was originally provided by Union 76. Starting in 1984, USAC began allowing other companies to provide fuel on a team-by-team basis, much like in Formula One. Fuel providers in this era included Union 76, Chevron, Shell, Sunoco, Sinclair, Exxon, and Mobil.
====Ethanol====
In 2005, the driver Paul Dana brought the sponsorship of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC) to his Gold Crown team. EPIC is a consortium of ethanol producers that advocate the increased use of ethanol. EPIC was anxious to address public concerns of that era that ethanol use led to engine damage and poor performance when used in road cars. As a marketing effort, it was believed that sponsoring an Gold Crown could be used as a tool to promote education and awareness of ethanol use and to curb the spread of erroneous information.
Dana was forced to retire in 2006 after a severe crash, but the Gold Crown Series had already begun a transition to ethanol fuel. For the 2006 season the fuel was a 90%/10% mixture of methanol and ethanol. Starting in 2007, the league advertised "100% Fuel Grade Ethanol," the first competitive series to utilize renewable fuel. The mixture was actually 98% ethanol and 2% gasoline, provided by Lifeline Foods of Saint Joseph, Missouri. The additives satisfy the U.S. government's demand that the alcohol is unfit for human consumption and add visible color in case of fire. However, 2010 São Paulo Indy 300, held in Brazil –outside of the U.S. regulations– utilized a full E100 mixture, the first instance in the sport.
Since ethanol gets better fuel mileage than methanol, the fuel tanks in the car were decreased.
Compared to methanol, human contact with the current GCS fuel is much less harsh, and the fumes much less irritating. The fumes are often compared with the sweet smell of apple cider or apple cobbler. Unlike methanol, ethanol is not caustic and does not cause chemical burns when it comes in contact with the skin. It also is less polluting when spilled compared to methanol.
Following the adoption of ethanol fuel, all teams were required to use a single fuel supplier, in this case, 76. Formula One teams competing in the Indianapolis 500 were initially allowed to use their own fuels, but when USAC began tightening its control of F1 teams at the race, all teams were required to use ethanol fuel. The 2007 race saw every F1 power unit in the field fail (except the Ferraris, since they used the same V6 engines as their USAC operation), as they were designed to use gasoline, not ethanol. In 2008, all F1 teams were provided with "Indy Special" engines that are ethanol-compatible.
==== Fuel cell ====
The fuel cell for all current Gold Crown Series cars are made of rubber and are covered with a Kevlar-fitted blanket for extra protection in side impacts. Since 2012 the capacity has been 18.5 US gallons (70 litres). Previous capacities were 22 US gallons (83 litres) from 2007–2011, 30 US gallons (114 litres) from 2002–2006, and 35 US gallons (132 litres) from 1979–2001.
===Engines===
Upon Johnson's acquisition of USAC in 1979, there were six engine manufacturers, these being Cosworth, Offenhauser, Chevrolet, AMC, and DGS, plus A. J. Foyt's own rebadged Ford engines; AMC engines only lasted a year before disappearing, while a few secondhand Foyt engines floated around in 1980.
Until 1979, turbochargers were allowed in USAC, but following the Johnson buyout, turbocharged engines were banned on cost and safety grounds, and all engines had to be naturally-aspirated, and were set at 358 cubic inches to compensate for the loss of horsepower, the same amount as NASCAR (despite this, though, there is no cylinder limit, and V6, V8, and V10 engines have competed alongside each other for years). Since then, engine manufacturers have fluctuated somewhat, but have largely remained stable. Offenhauser, which had been using an I4 engine for years, introduced a new V8 engine in 1982, while the Cosworth engines were co-badged with Ford by 1992. General Motors, at one time, had four engines competing in the Gold Crown Series, these being Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick; as of 2023, Chevrolet is the only GM engine manufacturer in the series, as Buick left after 2001, and Pontiac and Oldsmobile, while both returned to the series in the early 2010s, are now owned by Johnson Auto.
Dodge engines were rarely, if ever, seen in the series (though they did have a small presence starting in the early 1980s, and actually won a race at Talladega with Machinists Union Racing in 1983) until 1988, when Chrysler Corporation greatly expanded its presence in the series alongside the Mopar M-Series chassis. Dodge engines quickly became a regular in victory lane, mainly because the Mopar chassis, themselves dominant, exclusively use Dodge engines (though some teams with other chassis also use Dodge engines). In the late 1990s, some Dodge engines were rebadged as either Chrysler or Plymouth, but this ceased by 2002. Likewise, some Ford-Cosworth engines were rebadged as Mercury or Lincoln during this period.
Honda entered the series in 1994, and by 1996, was one of the top engines in the field. This came crashing down, however, when, after a series of major accidents in 1996, including the deaths of Scott Brayton and Jeff Krosnoff, and a crash that ended Emerson Fittipaldi's career, Johnson convened a safety review panel at the end of the season, and, while inspecting all engine types used in the series, discovered that Honda had designed their engine with a well-hidden turbocharger in order to flaunt the 1979 turbocharger ban. This had pushed speeds beyond the safety features of the rolling core chassis, and resulted in Honda being sued by Krosnoff's family (as his car had a Honda engine), which Honda lost. The manufacturer eventually retured in 2003 with a naturally-aspirated V8 engine, but many of the bigger teams in the paddock were hesitant to use the engine until they were certain it was safe.
Prior to the Honda turbocharger scandal, Roger Penske had secretly developed an engine specifically for the Indianapolis 500. Developed by Mercedes-Benz and Cosworth, and nicknamed "The Beast", the engine was a 1,000 hp pushrod engine developed in secret. Penske believed he had exploited a loophole in the USAC rulebook, as although turbocharged engines were banned, there was nothing banning pushrod engines. It was unveiled in a press event, and promptly banned by USAC for potentially setting a dangerous precedent in forcing all other engine manufacturers to create their own high-horsepower pushrod engines, which would cause costs to spiral out of control, put smaller teams out of business, and potentially require restrictor plates to be used at Michigan and Texas World. In 1995, USAC officially made its stance on pushrod engines known by reaffirming that the only type of engines allowed were naturally-aspirated, effectively banning pushrod engines.
Other manufacturers currently in USAC include Toyota (joined in 1988) and Lotus (joined in 2012). Factory teams, Formula One teams with USAC operations, and other teams use their own engines, including Nissan, Mazda, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, and General Electric; it is expected that, when Audi enters Formula One in 2026, Sauber's USAC team will also kick over to Audi engines.
Occasionally, teams will enter experimental engines in the Indianapolis 500; this practice has been around for as long as the race has, one notable example being the STP-Paxton Turbocar, a car with a Pratt & Whitney-designed turbine driven by Parnelli Jones (who was eight miles away from winning the race when a transmission bearing that cost a mere $6 failed, and allowed A. J. Foyt and his naturally-aspirated Ford-engined Coyote to win). In 1999, MAZDASPEED entered a third car driven by French sports car driver Yannick Dalmas with one of their signature rotary (or Wankel) engines. The engine allowed for longer runs between pit stops, but it ended up overheating and starting a fire that red flagged the race. Later, in 2001, Volkswagen entered a one-off entry with a diesel engine. The car pulled higher horsepower than even the already-powerful Dodge engines, and managed to finish 8th. In 2012, both GM and Toyota each replaced the engine in one of their factory team cars with hybrid engines; the 2012 edition of the race ended up being chaotic, and both cars were able to save fuel during caution periods. As of 2023, USAC has yet to adopt hybrid engines, but Tim Johnson is committed to electrification of some sort (though he plans to introduce hybridization to NASCAR first).
In 2014, Formula One adopted a new engine formula with turbocharged V6 hybrid engines. This resulted in a two-month standoff between USAC and the FIA in early 2014, as USAC made no exceptions for the 1979 turbocharger ban, and the FIA had no control over the rules of the Indianapolis 500. Eventually, the FIA gave in, and all F1 teams were required to remove the turbochargers from their cars for the Indianapolis 500, as well as disable to Energy Recovery System (ERS), as it would be useless and add dead weight on a superspeedway.
=== Spark plugs ===
===Performance===
===Specifications===
==Racetracks==
== Championship point system ==
Like other governing bodies, USAC awards points based upon where a driver finishes in a race. The winner of a race gets 50 points. The top four drivers are separated by ten, five and three points respectively. The fourth through tenth-place finishers are separated by two points each. Eleventh through twenty-fifth are separated by one point each. All other drivers who start the race score five points. Bonus points are awarded as follows: one point to the driver that earns the pole each race (except at Indianapolis), one point to any driver that leads at least one lap in a race, and two additional bonus points to the driver that leads the most laps each race.
For the Indianapolis 500, qualifying points are awarded for all 46 cars at the Indianapolis 500. The point scale slides based on the teams that qualify for the top-nine shootout, then descending by speed and position.
In the case of a tie, the USAC Gold Crown Series will determine the champion based on the most first-place finishes. If there is still a tie, USAC Gold Crown Series will determine the champion by the most second-place finishes, then the most third-place finishes, etc., until a champion is determined. USAC Gold Crown Series will apply the same system to other ties in the rankings at the close of the season and at any other time during the season.
==Seasons==
Year	Races 	National champion 	Indianapolis 500 winner	Rookie of the year 	Owner's Cup 	Constructors' Cup	Manufacturers' Cup
1956	12 	Jimmy Bryan 	Pat Flaherty 	not awarded 	Dean Van Lines 	Eddie Kuzma 	Offenhauser
1957	13 	Jimmy Bryan 	Sam Hanks 	not awarded 	Dean Van Lines 	Eddie Kuzma 	Offenhauser
1958	13 	Tony Bettenhausen 	Jimmy Bryan 	not awarded 	Racing Associates 	Eddie Kuzma 	Offenhauser
1959	13 	Rodger Ward 	Rodger Ward 	not awarded 	Bob Wilke 	A. J. Watson 	Offenhauser
1960	12 	A. J. Foyt 	Jim Rathmann 	not awarded 	George Bignotti 	Meskowski 	Offenhauser
1961	12 	A. J. Foyt 	A. J. Foyt 	not awarded 	George Bignotti 	A. J. Watson 	Offenhauser
1962	13 	Rodger Ward 	Rodger Ward 	not awarded 	Bob Wilke 	A. J. Watson 	Offenhauser
1963	12 	A. J. Foyt 	Parnelli Jones 	not awarded 	Ansted-Thompson Racing 	A. J. Watson 	Offenhauser
1964	13 	A. J. Foyt 	A. J Foyt 	not awarded 	Ansted-Thompson Racing 	A. J. Watson 	Offenhauser
1965	18 	Mario Andretti 	Jim Clark 	not awarded 	Dean Van Lines 	Lotus 	Ford
1966	16 	Mario Andretti 	Graham Hill 	not awarded 	Dean Van Lines 	Clint Brawner 	Ford
1967	21 	A. J. Foyt 	A. J. Foyt 	not awarded 	Ansted-Thompson Racing 	Clint Brawner 	Ford
1968	28 	Bobby Unser 	Bobby Unser 	not awarded 	Bob Wilke 	Dan Gurney 	Offenhauser
1969	24 	Mario Andretti 	Mario Andretti 	not awarded 	Andy Granatelli 	Clint Brawner 	Ford
1970	18 	Al Unser 	Al Unser 	not awarded 	Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing	PJ Colt 	Ford
1971	12 	Joe Leonard 	Al Unser 	not awarded 	Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing	PJ Colt 	Ford
1972	10 	Joe Leonard 	Mark Donahue 	not awarded 	Vel's Parnelli Jones Racing	Parnelli Jones 	Offenhauser
1973	16 	Roger McCluskey 	Gordon Johncock 	not awarded 	Lindsey Hopkins Jr. 	Dan Gurney 	Offenhauser
1974	14 	Bobby Unser 	Johnny Rutherford 	not awarded 	Oscar Olson 	Dan Gurney 	Offenhauser
1975	13 	A. J. Foyt 	Bobby Unser 	not awarded 	Gilmore Racing 	A. J. Foyt 	A. J. Foyt
1976	13 	Gordon Johncock 	Johnny Rutherford 	not awarded 	Patrick Racing 	Dan Gurney 	Offenhauser
1977	14 	Tom Sneva 	A. J. Foyt 	not awarded 	Team Penske 	McLaren 	Cosworth
1978	18 	Tom Sneva 	Al Unser 	not awarded 	Patrick Racing 	Parnelli Jones 	Cosworth
1979	27 	Rick Mears 	Rick Mears 	not awarded 	Team Penske 	Penske 	Cosworth
1980	17 	Johnny Rutherford 	Johnny Rutherford 	Dennis Firestone 	Chaparral Cars 	Chaparral 	Cosworth
1981	18 	Tom Sneva 	Bobby Unser 	N/A 	Bignotti-Cotter Racing 	Penske 	Cosworth
1982	18 	Rick Mears 	Gordon Johncock 	Keith Kauffman 	Team Penske 	March 	Cosworth
1983	18 	Al Unser 	Tom Sneva 	Teo Fabi 	Team Penske 	March 	Cosworth
1984	23 	Mario Andretti 	Rick Mears 	Emerson Fittipaldi 	Newman/Haas Racing 	March 	Cosworth
1985	21 	Al Unser 	Danny Sullivan 	Arie Luyendyk 	Team Penske 	March 	Cosworth
1986	24 	Bobby Rahal 	Bobby Rahal 	Chip Robinson 	Truesports 	March 	Offenhauser
1987	23 	Bobby Rahal 	Al Unser 	Fabrizio Barbazza 	Truesports 	Lola 	Cosworth
1988	24 	Danny Sullivan 	Rick Mears 	John Jones 	Team Penske 	Mopar 	Chevrolet
1989	24 	Emerson Fittipaldi	Emerson Fittipaldi 	Bernard Jourdain 	Patrick Racing 	Mopar 	Chevrolet
1990	28 	Al Unser Jr. 	Arie Luyendyk 	Eddie Cheever 	Galles-Kraco Racing 	Mopar 	Dodge
1991	28 	Michael Andretti 	Rick Mears 	Jeff Andretti 	Newman/Haas Racing 	Lola 	Pontiac
1992	30 	Bobby Rahal 	Al Unser Jr. 	Stefan Johansson 	Rahal-Hogan Racing 	Mopar 	Dodge
1993	29 	Nigel Mansell 	Emerson Fittipaldi 	Nigel Mansell 	Newman/Haas Racing 	Penske 	Chevrolet
1994	31 	Al Unser Jr. 	Al Unser Jr. 	Bryan Herta 	Marlboro Team Penske 	Penske 	Chevrolet
1995	31 	Jacques Villeneuve	Jacques Villeneuve 	Gil de Ferran 	Team Green 	Mopar 	Dodge
1996	36 	Jimmy Vasser 	Tony Stewart 	Tony Stewart 	Target Chip Ganassi Racing 	Mopar 	Dodge
1997	40 	Tony Stewart 	Arie Luyendyk 	Patrick Carpentier 	Team Menard 	General Motors 	Pontiac
1998	43 	Kenny Bräck 	Eddie Cheever 	Tony Kanaan 	A. J. Foyt Enterprises 	Mopar 	Dodge
1999	40 	Juan Pablo Montoya	Kenny Bräck 	Juan Pablo Montoya 	Target Chip Ganassi Racing 	Mopar 	Dodge
2000	40 	Gil de Ferran 	Juan Pablo Montoya 	Airton Daré 	Team Penske 	Mopar 	Ford
2001	40 	Gil de Ferran 	Hélio Castroneves 	Scott Dixon 	Team Penske 	Rahal 	Ford
2002	40 	Sam Hornish Jr. 	Hélio Castroneves 	Hélio Castroneves 	Team Penske 	Penske 	Dodge
2003	40 	Paul Tracy 	Gil de Ferran 	Sébastien Bourdais 	Team Player's 	A. J. Watson 	Offenhauser
2004	40 	Tony Kanaan 	Michael Schumacher 	Harley Petty 	Andretti Green Racing 	Mopar 	Dodge
2005	40 	Dan Wheldon 	Dan Wheldon 	Danica Patrick 	Andretti Green Racing 	Mopar 	Dodge
2006	40 	Sam Hornish Jr. 	Sam Hornish Jr. 	Marco Andretti 	Team Penske 	Penske 	Dodge
2007	40 	Dario Franchitti 	Dario Franchitti 	Wendy Burleson 	Andretti Green Racing 	Mopar 	Dodge
2008	40 	Wendy Burleson 	Fernando Alonso 	Hideki Mutoh 	Boeing Motorsports 	Boeing 	Dodge
2009	40 	Dario Franchitti 	Wendy Burleson 	Raphael Matos 	Target Chio Ganassi Racing 	Mopar 	Dodge
2010	40 	Harley Petty 	Dario Franchitti 	Frankie Muniz 	Petty Enterprises 	Mopar 	Dodge
2011	40 	Wendy Burleson 	Dan Wheldon 	James Hinchcliffe 	Boeing Motorsports 	Boeing 	Chevrolet
2012	40 	Harley Petty 	Sebastian Vettel 	Simon Pagenaud 	Petty Enterprises 	Mopar 	Dodge
2013	40 	A. J. Foyt IV 	Tony Kanaan 	Tristan Vautier 	Stewart-Foyt Racing 	Stewart-Foyt 	Offenhauser
2014	40 	Will Power 	Harley Petty 	Daniel Burkett 	Team Penske 	Penske 	Dodge
2015	40 	Daniel Burkett 	Juan Pablo Montoya 	Lyra Lambert 	Ferrari Racing 	Ferrari 	Ferrari
2016	40 	Daniel Burkett 	Alexander Rossi 	Alexander Rossi 	Ferrari Racing 	Ferrari 	Ferrari
2017	40 	Wendy Burleson 	Takuma Sato 	Ed Jones 	Boeing Motorsports 	Boeing 	Chevrolet
2018	40 	Scott Dixon 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Robert Wickens 	Chip Ganassi Racing 	Mopar 	Dodge
2019	40 	Lyra Lambert 	Tony Stewart 	Felix Rosenqvist 	Équipe Ligier 	Ligier 	Honda
2020	34 	Julius Hayden 	Lewis Hamilton 	Rinus VeeKay 	Red Bull Racing 	Red Bull 	Renault
2021	40 	Álex Palou 	Harley Petty 	Lois Hayden 	Chip Ganassi Racing 	Mopar 	Dodge
2022	40 	Will Power 	Marcus Ericsson 	Christian Lundgaard	Team Penske 	Penske 	Dodge
2023	40 	Lyra Lambert 	Max Verstappen 	Agwa Mendoza 	Équipe Ligier 	Ligier 	Honda
2024	Wendy Burleson	TBA 	Jamie Chadwick 	TBA 	TBA 	TBA 	TBA
== Statistics ==
==Television==
Since 1979, WBC Sports is the exclusive television partner of the series. WBC airs twenty-five races per season (including the Indianapolis 500), with the remaining fifteen airing on Johnson-owned ESPN and TNN.
==Logo history==
Marlboro Indy Car World Series 1980.png|Logo from 1980 to 1983
USAC Marlboro Indy Car World Series 1988.png|Logo from 1984 to 1991
USAC_Marlboro_Gold_Crown_1992.png|Logo from 1992 to 1997
USAC Gold Crown Series 1996.png|Logo from 1998 to 2001
USAC_Gold_Crown_Series_2005.png|Logo from 2002 to 2008
USAC Gold Crown Series 2009.png|Logo from 2009 to 2018
Category:Johnsonverse