1981 CART PPG Indy Car World Series

1981 CART season
1979 IndyCar season
PPG Indy Car World Series
Season
Races	11
Start date	March 22
End date	October 31
Awards
Drivers' champion	Rick Mears
Constructors' Cup	Penske
Manufacturers' Cup	Cosworth
Nations' Cup	United States
Rookie of the Year	Bob Lazier
Chronology
Previous season	Next season
1980	1982

The 1981 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season, the third in the CART era of U.S. open-wheel racing, consisted of 11 races, beginning in Avondale, Arizona on March 22 and concluding at the same location on October 31. The PPG Indy Car World Series Drivers' Champion was Rick Mears. Rookie of the Year was Bob Lazier. After the disagreement with the USAC during the previous season, the 65th Indianapolis 500 was not part of the Series, however no competing race was scheduled and most CART teams and drivers did take part.

Drivers and constructors

The following teams and drivers competed for the 1981 CART World Series.

Team/Car Owner	Chassis	Engine	Tires	#	Drivers	Notes
Chaparral Cars	Chaparral	Cosworth	G	1	Johnny Rutherford
Jerry O´Connell Racing	Phoenix	Cosworth	G	2	Tom Sneva	Phoenix (1) only.
				32	Kevin Cogan	Milwaukee (both), Atlanta (1), Michigan (1) and Riverside only.
Bignotti-Cotter Racing	March Phoenix	Cosworth	G	2	Tom Sneva	All races except Phoenix (1) and Atlanta (both). Used the Phoenix chassis at Milwaukee (1) only.
				21	Salt Walther	Michigan (1) only. Used the Phoenix chassis.
Team Penske	Penske	Cosworth	G	3	Bobby Unser
				6	Rick Mears	Injured while competing at Indianapolis (not counted towards the championship), missed Milwaukee (1) only.
				7	Bill Alsup	All races except Phoenix (1), Michigan (2) and Watkins Glen only.
Morales Motorsports	Penske Lightning	Cosworth	G	5	Pancho Carter	Used the Lightning chassis at Milwaukee (1) and Watkins Glen only.
				75	Steve Chassey	Atlanta (2) only. Used the Lightning chassis.
Longhorn Racing	Longhorn Eagle	Cosworth	G	8	Al Unser	Used the Eagle chassis at Michigan (2) only.
Rhoades Competition	Wildcat	Cosworth	G	12	Dennis Firestone Gary Bettenhausen Gordon Smiley	Firestone drove the car at Atlanta (1) only. Bettenhausen drove the car at Michigan (1) and Milwaukee (2) only. Smiley drove the car at Riverside, Mexico City and Phoenix (2).
Gilmore Racing	Coyote	Cosworth	G	14	A. J. Foyt	Michigan (1) only.
Tempero Racing	McLaren	Chevrolet	G	15	Bill Tempero	All races except Milwaukee (1) only.
Bettenhausen Racing	McLaren Longhorn Phoenix	Cosworth	G	16	Tony Bettenhausen, Jr.	All races except Phoenix (1) only. Used the Longhorn chassis at Milwaukee (2) only and the Phoenixx chassis at Michigan (2), Watkins Glen and Mexico City only.
Leader Card Racing	Watson	Cosworth Offenhauser	G	22	Dick Simon Spike Gehlhausen	Simon drove the car at all races except Atlanta (both). Gehlhausen drove the car at Atlanta (both) only. Used the Offenhauser engine at Milwaukee (2) and Michigan (2) only.
Patrick Racing	Wildcat	Cosworth	G	20	Gordon Johncock
				40	Mario Andretti Steve Krisiloff	Andretti drove the car at all races except Michigan (1), Milwaukee (2), Riverside and Mexico City only. Krisiloff drove the car at Michigan (1) and Milwaukee (2) only.
Brayton Racing	Penske	Cosworth	G	21	Mike Mosley Chip Ganassi	Mosely drove the car at Mexico City only. Ganassi drove the car at Phoenix (2) only.
				37	Scott Brayton
McElreath Racing	Eagle	Offenhauser Chevrolet	G	23	Jim McElreath	Phoenix (both), Michigan (2), Watkins Glen and Mexico City only. Used the Chevrolet engine at Michigan (2) only.
Luxury Racers	Kingfish	Chevrolet	G	24	Wally Pankratz	Riverside only.
				65	Wally Pankratz	Phoenix (2) only.
Buick Racing	Eagle	Chevrolet	G	26	Jim Buick	Phoenix (1) only.
				86	Jim Buick	Milwaukee (1), Atlanta (both) and Michigan (1) only.
Menard Racing	Lightning Eagle	Chevrolet	G	28	Herm Johnson	All races except Phoenix (1), Milwaukee (1), Atlanta (2) and Michigan (2) only. Used the Eagle chassis at Watkins Glen, Mexico City and Phoenix (2) only.
Beaudoin Racing	McLaren	Cosworth	G	29	Billy Engelhart	Milwaukee (both) and Michigan (1) only.
Machinists Union Racing	Penske	Cosworth	G	31	Larry Dickson	All races except Phoenix (1) only.
Theodore Racing	McLaren March	Cosworth	G	33	Vern Schuppan	Michigan (1), Riverside, Mexico City and Phoenix (2) only. Used the March chassis at Riverside only (the McLaren chassis was also entered).
Wysard Racing	Eagle	Cosworth	G	34	Hurley Haywood Johnny Parsons	Haywood drove the car at Riverside, Watkins Glen and Mexico City only. Parsons drove the car at Phoenix (2) only.
Bob Fletcher Racing	Penske March	Cosworth	G	35	Bob Lazier	Used the March chassis at Milwaukee (2), Michigan (2), Mexico City and Phoenix (2) only.
Karl Racing	McLaren Karl	Chevrolet	G	38	Jerry Karl	All races except Michigan (2) and Phoenix (2) only. Used the McLaren chassis at Phoenix (1) only.
Alsup Racing	Penske McLaren	Cosworth Chevrolet	G	41	Bill Alsup	Phoenix (1), Michigan (2) and Watkins Glen only. Used the Penske chassis and the Cosworth engine.
				47	Phil Caliva	Atlanta (both), Michigan (1), Riverside, Milwaukee (2) and Phoenix (2) only.
Frey Racing	Eagle	Offenhauser	G	42	Bob Frey	Phoenix (1) only.
				71	Bob Frey	Milwaukee (1) and Michigan (1) only.
Rattlesnake Racing	Watson	Offenhauser	G	42	Billy Vukovich II	Michigan (both), Riverside and Mexico City only.
AMI Racing	Lola Armstrong	Cosworth	G	43	Greg Leffler	Phoenix (2) only. Used the Armstrong chassis.
				45	Harry MacDonald	Michigan (1) only.
Rager Racing	Wildcat	Chevrolet	G	44	Roger Rager	Phoenix (2) only.
				66	Roger Rager Orio Trice	Rager drove the car at Michigan (both), Riverside, Milwaukee (2) and Watkins Glen only. Trice drove the car at Mexico City only.
All American Racers	Eagle	Chevrolet	G	48	Mike Mosley Geoff Brabham Rocky Moran	Mosley drove the car at Milwaukee (both), Atlanta (1), Michigan (both) and Phoenix (2) only. Brabham drove the car at Riverside and Mexico City only. Moran drove the car at Watkins Glen only.
Space Racing	Eagle	Cosworth	G	49	Chip Mead	Michigan (1) and Phoenix (2) only.
Garza Racing	Penske	Cosworth	G	54	Geoff Brabham Josele Garza	Brabham drove the car at Phoenix (1) only. Garza drove the car at Milwaukee (1) only.
				55	Josele Garza	All races except Milwaukee (1) only.
Gohr Racing	Penske	Chevrolet	G	56	Tom Bigelow	Milwaukee (both), Michigan (both) and Phoenix (2) only.
Metro Racing	McLaren	Offenhauser	G	57	Cliff Hucul	Milwaukee (1) and Michigan (both) only.
Hamilton Racing	Riley	Chevrolet	G	63	Ken Hamilton	Riverside and Phoenix (2) only.
Jet Engineering	Eagle|	Chevrolet|	G	64	Steve Chassey	All races except Atlanta (2) and Mexico City only.
Mergard Racing	McLaren IAM	Chevrolet Donovan	G	67	Phil Threshie Teddy Pilette	Threshie drove the car at Milwaukee (1) only. Pilette drove the car at Watkins Glen and Mexico City only. Team ran in conjunction with Mchinists Union Racing at Mexico City only. Used the IAM chassis and the Donovan engine at Mexico City only.
Hodgdon Racing	Penske	Cosworth	G	72	Michael Chandler	Michigan (1) only.
				74	Michael Chandler	Riverside, Mexico City and Phoenix (2) only.
Davis Racing	Wildcat	Offenhauser Chevrolet	G	77	Ross Davis	Atlanta (both), Riverside, Milwaukee (2), Michigan (2), Watkins Glen and Phoenix (2) only. Used the Chevrolet engine at Riverside only.
Joe Hunt Magneto	Eagle	Chevrolet Offenhauser	G	89	Phil Krueger	Phoenix (both), Riverside and Mexico City only. Used the Offenhauser engine at Phoenix (2) only.
Intercomp	Penske	Offenhauser Chevrolet	G	92	John Mahler	Milwaukee (both), Riverside and Phoenix (2) only. Used the Chevrolet engine at Phoenix (2) only.
Grupo-Acypsa	Penske	Offenhauser	G	93	Michel Jourdain	Mexico City only.
Whittington Bros. Racing	March	Cosworth	G	94	Bill Whittington	Michigan (1) only.
Cannon Racing	Wildcat	Offenhauser	G	95	Larry Cannon Herm Johnson	Cannon drove the car at Phoenix (1) only. Johnson drove the car at Atlanta (2) only.
				96	Tom Frantz Dick Ferguson	Frantz drove the car at Phoenix (1) only. Ferguson drove the car at Michigan (1) only.
				99	Larry Cannon Dick Ferguson	Cannon drove the car at Milwaukee (1), Atlanta (both) and Michigan (1) only. Ferguson drove the car at Riverside, Michigan (2), Mexico City and Phoenix (2) only.
Vetrock Racing	Eagle	Chevrolet	G	X	Dean Vetrock	Milwaukee (1) only. Number was unknown.
Ohio Racing Associates	Longhorn	Cosworth	G	X	Steve Krisiloff	Michigan (2) only. Number was unknown.

Grands Prix

Rd	Date	Race Name	Circuit	City/Location	Pole Position	Winning driver	Winning team
1	March 22	Kraco Car Stereo 200	Phoenix International Raceway	Phoenix, Arizona	Bobby Unser	Johnny Rutherford	Chaparral
NC	May 24	Indianapolis 500-Mile Race	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana	Bobby Unser	Bobby Unser	Team Penske
2	June 7	Gould-Rex Mays 150	Milwaukee Mile	West Allis, Wisconsin	Gordon Johncock	Mike Mosley	All American Racers
3	June 21	Kraco Twin 125	Atlanta Motor Speedway	Hampton, Georgia	Johnny Rutherford	Rick Mears	Team Penske
4					Rick Mears	Rick Mears	Team Penske
5	July 25	Norton Michigan 500	Michigan International Speedway	Brooklyn, Michigan	Tom Sneva	Pancho Carter	Alex Foods
6	August 30	Los Angeles Times 500	Riverside International Raceway	Riverside, California	Geoff Brabham	Rick Mears	Team Penske
7	September 5	Tony Bettenhausen 200	Milwaukee Mile	West Allis, Wisconsin	Johnny Rutherford	Tom Sneva	Bignotti-Cotter
8	September 20	Detroit News Grand Prix	Michigan International Speedway	Brooklyn, Michigan	Rick Mears	Rick Mears	Team Penske
9	October 4	Watkins Glen 150	Watkins Glen International	Watkins Glen, New York	Mario Andretti	Rick Mears	Team Penske
10	October 18	II Copa Mexico 150	Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez	Mexico City, Mexico	Bobby Unser	Rick Mears	Team Penske
11	October 31	Miller High Life 150	Phoenix International Raceway	Phoenix, Arizona	Bobby Unser	Tom Sneva	Bignotti-Cotter

  Oval/Speedway

  Road Course/Street Circuit

Final driver standings

Pos Driver PHX1 MIL1 ATL1 ATL2 MIC1 RIR MIL2 MIC2 WTG MXC PHX2 Pts 1 Rick Mears 4 1 1* 3 1* 2 1 1 1 8 304 2 Bill Alsup 5 8 8 4 3 11 4 3 5 Ret 175 3 Pancho Carter 7 Ret 5 5 1* Ret 10 Ret 15 6 5 166 4 Gordon Johncock 6 16 4 4 Ret 2 6 5 10 3 3 142 5 Johnny Rutherford 1* 6 2* 3 Ret Ret 4 Ret 2 Ret Ret 120 6 Tony Bettenhausen Jr 12 7 11 2 DNS 14 10 8 11 Ret 107 7 Bobby Unser 2 Ret 13 6 Ret 9 3 7 Ret 15* 2 99 8 Tom Sneva 3 4 Ret Ret 1* Ret Ret Ret 1* 96 9 Bob Lazier 12 13 17 9 10 5 16 13 4 4 13 92 10 Al Unser Ret 5 6 7 11 Ret 5 3 14 2 Ret 90 11 Mario Andretti 11 3 3 2 2* Ret* 4 81 12 Tom Bigelow 9 5 Ret 9 11 60 13 Scott Brayton 15 11 9 10 7 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret DNQ 57 14 Larry Dickson 10 10 12 9 Ret 12 8 7 Ret DNQ 49 15 Gary Bettenhausen 6 Ret 42 16 Dick Simon 10 7 Ret 6 Ret Ret 11 Ret Ret 38 16 Herm Johnson Ret Ret 17 Ret 7 13 9 8 9 38 18 Mike Chandler Ret 4 16 DNQ 37 19 Mike Mosley 1* DNS Ret DNS Ret 7 Ret 32 20 Steve Chassey DNQ Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 15 12 5 DNQ 31 21 Josele Garza Ret 14 12 Ret Ret Ret 8 Ret Ret 18 6 30 22 Phil Caliva Ret 15 8 DNS DNS DNQ 27 23 Kevin Cogan 2 16 Ret Ret Ret 23 24 Dick Ferguson Ret Ret 6 10 7 20 25 Steve Krisiloff Ret 7 17 18 26 Rocky Moran 6 16 27 Geoff Brabham 9 Ret 9 14 28 Jerry Karl 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 13 29 Billy Engelhart 8 Ret 9 11 30 Larry Cannon Ret 15 11 Ret 12 10 30 Roger Rager 13 Ret Ret Ret DNQ DNQ 10 32 Bill Tempero Ret 15 14 Ret Ret 17 15 Ret 12 DNQ 7 33 Phil Krueger 14 Ret 14 16 6 33 Bill Vukovich II Ret DNQ 14 Ret 6 35 Gordon Smiley Ret Ret 10 5 36 Jim McElreath Ret 11 DNQ 13 DNQ 4 36 Ross Davis DNQ Ret DNQ DNS 16 13 DNQ 4 36 Vern Schuppan Ret Ret Ret 15 4 36 Jim Buick Ret 19 Ret 16 DNS 4 40 Hurley Haywood Ret 12 17 3 41 Bob Frey 13 17 DNQ 2 41 Spike Gehlhausen 14 13 2 41 John Mahler Ret Ret Ret DNQ 2 44 Jerry Sneva DNS 12 1 44 Chip Mead Ret 14 1 44 Dennis Firestone Ret 1 44 Johnny Parsons Ret 1 44 Phil Threshie 18 1 Pos Driver PHX1 MIL1 ATL1 ATL2 MIC1 RIR MIL2 MIC2 WTG MXC PHX2 Pts

Color Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green 4th & 5th place Light Blue 6th-10th place Dark Blue Finished (Outside Top 10) Purple Did not finish (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Brown Withdrawn (Wth) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Blank Did not participate (DNP) Not competing In-line notation Bold Pole position Italics Ran fastest race lap * Led most race laps DNS Any driver who qualifies but does not start (DNS) Rookie of the Year Rookie

See also

• 1981 Indianapolis 500
• 1981-82 USAC Championship Car season