1990 USAC Gold Crown Series (Johnsonverse)

The 1990 USAC Marlboro Gold Crown Series season was the 35th national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by USAC. The season consisted of 28 races, and one non-points exhibition event. Al Unser Jr. was the national champion, and the rookie of the year was Eddie Cheever. Arie Luyendyk won the Indianapolis 500, his first-ever victory in championship-level competition, and the fastest 500 until the 2013 Indianapolis 500.
Al Unser Jr. won a total of six races, one pole position, and had a total of ten podium finishes en route to the championship. He finished 4th at Indy, and won his first career oval race a week later at Milwaukee. He also tied a series record by winning four consecutive races during a stretch in July–August. Unser's victory at the Michigan 500 was his first superspeedway win. Michael Andretti was Unser's nearest competitor, winning five races and four poles. Andretti narrowed Unser's points lead to 37 points with two key victories late in the season. In the second-to-last race of the season at Nazareth, Unser crashed out, giving Andretti a huge opportunity to close the gap. Andretti managed only a 6th-place finish, and could not capitalize on Unser's misfortune. Unser left Nazareth with a 27-point lead, enough to clinch the championship regardless of the results at the season finale at Laguna Seca.
For 1990, Bobby Rahal's team owned by Maurice Kranes merged with Rick Galles's and it became a two-car effort known as Galles-KRACO Racing. Al Unser Jr. and Rahal became teammates, and Rahal got use of the Chevy Ilmor V-8 engine for the first time. Despite the upgrade in equipment, Rahal suffered a snake bitten season in 1990, finishing second five times, including runner-up finishes at both the Indy 500 and the Michigan 500. Despite finishing in the points in 14 races, it was the first season of his Indy car career he failed to win any races, and he managed only a 4th-place ranking in the final championship standings. Other team and driver shifts for 1990 included shake-ups at Penske and Patrick. Emerson Fittipaldi left Patrick Racing to join the Penske, and the original Patrick Racing Team transferred ownership to Chip Ganassi to become Chip Ganassi Racing. Pat Patrick returned with a new team, taking over the Alfa Romeo Indy car effort with Ligier chassis.
In terms of the Constructors' Cup, 1990 was Mopar's breakout year. Several teams, including Doug Shierson, Galles-Kraco, Chip Ganassi, U.S. Engineering, Bettenhausen, P. I. G., and Conseco, eagerly lined up to purchase the Mopar M90 chassis; the popularity of the M90 was due to the strong performance of the M88 and M89 chassis on the restrictor-plate tracks, as well as the fact that its associated Dodge engine was included in the purchase at no extra cost, meaning teams were getting a bargain when purchasing from Chrysler (it helped that the engine bay in Mopar M-Series chassis is shaped specifically for a Dodge engine, meaning any teams who purchase the chassis are effectively forced to use the Dodge engines, though no Mopar customers have ever expressed any discontent with this arrangement due to Dodge engines having less moving parts, and therefore, being much more reliable; on a related note, this season saw the Dodge engine being decoupled from its NASCAR counterpart, switching to a single-plane configuration). The Mopar M90 and Dodge engine combination dominated the 1990 season, winning 11 of 28 races. Lola and Penske both had their share of wins, as well, with A. J. Foyt winning the Target 200 at Riverside in a Watson chassis, Rocky Moran winning the Coca-Cola 200 at Denver in a Gazoo chassis, Ian Ashley winning the March Engineering 200 at Suzuka in a McLaren chassis, Jim Crawford winning the Howard Johnson 200 at Pikes Peak in a Williams chassis, and Johnny Rutherford winning the California 500 in a Ferrari chassis. March Engineering's slump continued, as not only had it lost all of its major teams, it once again went winless; only two teams purchased the March 90C, mainly because March sold it at a discount.
==Drivers and constructors==
The following teams and drivers competed for the 1990 USAC Gold Crown Series.
Team 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	No	Drivers
Newman/Haas Racing 	Lola-Pontiac 	Lola T90/00 	Pontiac 	3 	Michael Andretti
Newman/Haas Racing 	Lola-Pontiac 	Lola T90/00 	Pontiac 	6 	Mario Andretti
Doug Shierson Racing 	Mopar 	Mopar M90 	Dodge 	28	Scott Goodyear
Doug Shierson Racing 	Mopar 	Mopar M90 	Dodge 	30	Arie Luyendyk
Patrick Racing 	Ligier-Alfa Romeo 	Ligier IS32 	Alfa Romeo 	20	Roberto Guerrero
Patrick Racing 	Ligier-Alfa Romeo 	Ligier IS32 	Alfa Romeo 	40	Al Unser
Porsche North America 	Porsche 	Porsche 2710 	Porsche 	4 	Teo Fabi
Porsche North America 	Porsche 	Porsche 2710 	Porsche 	41	John Andretti
Team Penske 	Penske-Chevrolet 	Penske PC-19 	Chevrolet 	1 	Emerson Fittipaldi
Team Penske 	Penske-Chevrolet 	Penske PC-19 	Chevrolet 	2 	Rick Mears
Team Penske 	Penske-Chevrolet 	Penske PC-19 	Chevrolet 	7 	Danny Sullivan
Galles-Kraco Racing 	Mopar 	Mopar M90 	Dodge 	5 	Al Unser Jr.
Galles-Kraco Racing 	Mopar 	Mopar M90 	Dodge 	18	Bobby Rahal
Truesports 	Lola-Offenhauser 	Lola T90/00 	Offenhauser	34	Raul Boesel
Truesports 	Lola-Offenhauser 	Lola T90/00 	Offenhauser	21	Geoff Brabham
Chip Ganassi Racing 	Mopar 	Mopar M90 	Dodge 	15	Eddie Cheever
Leader Card Racing 	Lola-Cosworth 	Lola T90/00 	Cosworth 	29	Pancho Carter
U.S. Engineering 	Mopar 	Mopar M90 	Dodge 	44	Jeff Wood
Bettenhausen Motorsports 	Mopar 	Mopar M90 	Dodge 	16	Tony Bettenhausen Jr.
Euromotorsport 	Ferrari-Cosworth 	Ferrari I90 	Cosworth 	50	Guido Daccò
Greenfield Engineering 	Ligier-Cosworth 	Ligier IS32 	Cosworth 	42	Michael Greenfield
Team Menard 	Williams-Buick 	Williams IW90	Buick 	15	Jim Crawford
Team Menard 	Williams-Buick 	Williams IW90	Buick 	55	Gary Bettenhausen
Arciero Racing 	Tatuus-Offenhauser 	Tatuus US90 	Offenhauser	12	Randy Lewis
Arciero Racing 	Tatuus-Offenhauser 	Tatuus US90 	Offenhauser	24	Steve Bren
Arciero Racing 	Tatuus-Offenhauser 	Tatuus US90 	Offenhauser	8 	Rich Vogler
Dick Simon Racing 	Lola-Cosworth 	Lola T90/00 	Cosworth 	10	Hiro Matsushita
Dick Simon Racing 	Lola-Cosworth 	Lola T90/00 	Cosworth 	22	Scott Brayton
Dick Simon Racing 	Lola-Cosworth 	Lola T90/00 	Cosworth 	23	Joe Sposato
Dale Coyne Racing 	Coyne-Cosworth 	Coyne DC-5 	Cosworth 	19	Dean Hall
Gohr Racing 	Toyota 	Toyota GR90 	Toyota 	56	Rocky Moran
A. J. Foyt Enterprises 	Watson-Offenhauser 	Watson 90 	Offenhauser	14	A. J. Foyt
Vince Granatelli Racing 	Eagle-Buick 	Eagle 90CG 	Buick 	38	Didier Theys
Vince Granatelli Racing 	Eagle-Buick 	Eagle 90CG 	Buick 	11	Kevin Cogan
Vince Granatelli Racing 	Eagle-Buick 	Eagle 90CG 	Buick 	9 	Tom Sneva
Bayside Motorsports 	Lola-Cosworth 	Lola T90/00 	Cosworth 	86	Dominic Dobson
P. I. G. Racing 	Mopar 	Mopar M90 	Dodge 	31	Jon Beekhuis
Raynor Racing 	Lola-Judd 	Lola T90/00 	Judd 	25	Willy T. Ribbs
Mann Motorsports 	Lola-Buick 	Lola T90/00 	Buick 	93	John Paul Jr.
Hemelgarn Racing 	Lola-Buick 	Lola T90/00 	Buick 	81	Bill Vukovich III
Hemelgarn Racing 	Lola-Buick 	Lola T90/00 	Buick 	91	Buddy Lazier
Kent Baker Racing 	Tatuus-Buick 	Tatuus US90 	Buick 	97	Stan Fox
Andale Racing 	Dallara-Buick 	Dallara IR-90	Buick 	69	Bernard Jourdain
Burns Racing Team 	Dallara-Judd 	Dallara IR-90	Judd 	66	Guido Daccò
TEAMKAR International 	Tatuus-Cosworth 	Tatuus US90 	Cosworth 	98	Jeff Andretti
TEAMKAR International 	Tatuus-Cosworth 	Tatuus US90 	Cosworth 	99	Kenji Momota
Conseco Racing 	Mopar 	Mopar M90 	Dodge 	17	Kevin Cogan
Walther Motorsports 	Penske-Cosworth 	Penske PC-19 	Cosworth 	77	Salt Walther
Nu-Tech Motorsports 	March-Cosworth 	March 90C 	Cosworth 	33	Guido Daccò
Spirit of Vancouver 	March-Cosworth 	March 90C 	Cosworth 	27	Ross Bentley
Vollstedt Racing 	Vollstedt-Oldsmobile	Vollstedt 90 	Oldsmobile 	52	Keith Kauffman
Scuderia Ferrari 	Ferrari 	Ferrari I90 	Ferrari 	53	Johnny Rutherford
Scuderia Ferrari 	Ferrari 	Ferrari I90 	Ferrari 	83	John Morton
Williams Indy 	Williams-Cosworth 	Williams IW90	Cosworth 	49	Drake Olson
Williams Indy 	Williams-Cosworth 	Williams IW90	Cosworth 	51	Kenny Acheson
McLaren-Moore 	McLaren-Porsche 	McLaren M37 	Porsche 	62	Phil Krueger
McLaren-Moore 	McLaren-Porsche 	McLaren M37 	Porsche 	64	Ian Ashley
Team Lotus 	Lola-Cosworth 	Lotus 102I 	Cosworth 	26	Dennis Vitolo
Team Lotus 	Lola-Cosworth 	Lotus 102I 	Cosworth 	32	Fulvio Ballabio
Équipe Ligier 	Ligier-Judd 	Ligier IS32 	Judd 	89	Mark Dismore
Équipe Ligier 	Ligier-Judd 	Ligier IS32 	Judd 	96	Mike Groff
Brabham 	Brabham-BMW 	Brabham IT59 	BMW 	63	Chip Robinson
Brabham 	Brabham-BMW 	Brabham IT59 	BMW 	72	Tero Palmroth
Footwork 	Arrows-BMW 	Arrows I13 	BMW 	70	Wally Dallenbach Jr.
Team Tyrrell 	Tyrrell-Cosworth 	Tyrrell 19I 	Cosworth 	43	David Kudrave
Team Tyrrell 	Tyrrell-Cosworth 	Tyrrell 19I 	Cosworth 	45	Ted Prappas
Scuderia Dallara 	Dallara-Chevrolet 	Dallara IR-90	Chevrolet 	78	José Romano
Scuderia Dallara 	Dallara-Chevrolet 	Dallara IR-90	Chevrolet 	82	P. J. Jones
Tatuus 	Tatuus-Chevrolet 	Tatuus US90 	Chevrolet 	73	Scott Pruett
Tatuus 	Tatuus-Chevrolet 	Tatuus US90 	Chevrolet 	74	Tommy Byrne
Mopar Racing 	Mopar 	Mopar M90 	Dodge 	60	Jack Hewitt
Mopar Racing 	Mopar 	Mopar M90 	Dodge 	75	Steve Butler
Mopar Racing 	Mopar 	Mopar M90 	Dodge 	80	P. J. Jones
Toyota Racing Development	Toyota 	Toyota GR90 	Toyota 	54	Davey Jones
Toyota Racing Development	Toyota 	Toyota GR90 	Toyota 	59	Bruce Field
==Schedule==
No.	Race title 	Track 	Track Type 	Date
1 	Gilroy Garlic 500 	San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy, California 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	March 4
2 	Target 200 	Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California 	Road course 	March 11
3 	Mopar 200 	Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario, California 	Superspeedway (unrestricted)	March 25
4 	Autoworks 200 Presented by Phoenix International Raceway and the Fiesta Bowl	Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale, Arizona 	One-mile oval 	April 8
5 	Coca-Cola 200 	Denver International Speedway, Denver, Colorado 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	April 15
6 	Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach 	Long Beach Street Circuit, Long Beach, California 	Street circuit 	April 22
7 	Indianapolis 500 	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana 	Superspeedway (unrestricted)	May 27
8 	Miller Genuine Draft 200, in Honor of Rex Mays 	Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wisconsin 	One-mile oval 	June 3
9 	Dallara 200 	Monza Circuit, Monza, Lombardy, Italy 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	June 10
10 	Valvoline Detroit Grand Prix 	Streets of Detroit, Michigan 	Street course 	June 17
11 	Budweiser/G. I. Joe's 200 	Portland International Raceway, Portland, Oregon 	Road course 	June 24
12 	March Engineering 200 	Suzuka International Raceway, Suzuka, Kansai 	Road course 	July 1
13 	Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix 	Burke Lakefront Airport, Cleveland, Ohio 	Road course 	July 8
14 	Howard Johnson's 200 	Pikes Peak International Raceway, Fountain, Colorado 	Intermediate oval 	July 15
15 	Molson Indy Toronto 	Exhibition Place, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 	Street course 	July 22
16 	Quaker State 500 	Pocono International Raceway, Long Pond, Pennsylvania 	Superspeedway (unrestricted)	July 29
17 	Marlboro 500 	Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan 	Superspeedway (unrestricted)	August 5
18 	California 500 	Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario, California 	Superspeedway (unrestricted)	August 12
19 	Golden State 200 	San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy, California 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	August 19
20 	Talladega 500K 	Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln, Alabama 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	August 26
21 	Molson Indy Vancouver 	Streets of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 	Street course 	September 2
22 	Molson 200 	Fuji Speedway, Fuji, Kanto 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	September 9
23 	Red Roof Inns 200 Presented by Budweiser 	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio 	Road course 	September 16
24 	Texaco/Havoline 200 	Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsinn 	Road course 	September 23
25 	Lola Cars 200 	Mallory Park, Leicestershire, United Kingdom 	One-mile oval 	September 30
26 	Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix 	Pennsylvania International Raceway, Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania	One-mile oval 	October 7
27 	Toyota Monterey Grand Prix Featuring the Champion Spark Plug 300 	Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey, California 	Road course 	October 14
NC 	Marlboro Challenge 	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	October 20
28 	Florida Citrus Growers 500 	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	October 21
==Results==
No.	Race title 	Pole position 	Winner 	Team 	Chassis/Engine
1 	Gilroy Garlic 500 	Arie Luyendyk 	Jack Hewitt 	Mopar Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
2 	Target 200 	Tom Sneva 	A. J. Foyt 	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Watson/Offenhauser
3 	Mopar 200 	Al Unser Jr. 	Al Unser Jr. 	Galles-Kraco Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
4 	Autoworks 200 Presented by Phoenix International Raceway and the Fiesta Bowl	Rick Mears 	Rick Mears 	Team Penske 	Penske/Chevrolet
5 	Coca-Cola 200 	Jack Hewitt 	Rocky Moran 	Gohr Racing 	Gazoo/Toyota
6 	Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach 	Al Unser Jr. 	Al Unser Jr. 	Galles-Kraco Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
7 	Indianapolis 500 	Emerson Fittipaldi	Arie Luyendyk 	Doug Shierson Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
8 	Miller Genuine Draft 200, in Honor of Rex Mays 	Rick Mears 	Al Unser Jr. 	Galles-Kraco Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
9 	Dallara 200 	Danny Sullivan 	Jack Hewitt 	Mopar Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
10 	Valvoline Detroit Grand Prix 	Michael Andretti 	Michael Andretti 	Newman/Haas Racing 	Lola/Pontiac
11 	Budweiser/G. I. Joe's 200 	Danny Sullivan 	Michael Andretti 	Newman/Haas Racing 	Lola/Pontiac
12 	March Engineering 200 	Ian Ashley 	Ian Ashely 	McLaren-Moore 	McLaren/Porsche
13 	Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix 	Rick Mears 	Danny Sullivan 	Team Penske 	Penske/Chevrolet
14 	Howard Johnson's 200 	Teo Fabi 	Jim Crawford 	Team Menard 	Williams/Buick
15 	Molson Indy Toronto 	Danny Sullivan 	Al Unser Jr. 	Galles-Kraco Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
16 	Quaker State 500 	Pancho Carter 	Buddy Lazier 	Hemelgarn Racing 	Lola/Buick
17 	Marlboro 500 	Emerson Fittipaldi	Al Unser Jr. 	Galles-Kraco Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
18 	California 500 	Teo Fabi 	Johnny Rutherford 	Scuderia Ferrari 	Ferrari/Ferrari
19 	Golden State 200 	Scott Goodyear 	Salt Walther 	Walther Motorsports 	Penske/Cosworth
20 	Talladega 500K 	Al Unser Jr. 	Geoff Brabham 	Truesports 	Lola/Cosworth
21 	Molson Indy Vancouver 	Michael Andretti 	Al Unser Jr. 	Galles-Kraco Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
22 	Molson 200 	Mark Dismore 	Jack Hewitt 	Mopar Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
23 	Red Roof Inns 200 Presented by Budweiser 	Michael Andretti 	Michael Andretti 	Newman/Haas Racing 	Lola/Pontiac
24 	Texaco/Havoline 200 	Danny Sullivan 	Michael Andretti 	Newman/Haas Racing 	Lola/Pontiac
25 	Lola Cars 200 	Johnny Rutherford 	Pancho Carter 	Leader Card Racing 	Lola/Cosworth
26 	Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix 	Bobby Rahal 	Emerson Fittipaldi	Team Penske 	Penske/Chevrolet
27 	Toyota Monterey Grand Prix Featuring the Champion Spark Plug 300 	Danny Sullivan 	Danny Sullivan 	Team Penske 	Penske/Chevrolet
NC 	Marlboro Challenge 	Michael Andretti 	Rick Mears 	Team Penske 	Penske/Chevrolet
28 	Florida Citrus Growers 500 	Scott Goodyear 	Eddie Cheever 	Chip Ganassi Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
Category:Johnsonverse