Patrick Racing

Gordon Johncock driving for Patrick Racing at Pocono in the familiar red and blue STP colors.

Patrick Racing was an auto racing team in both Champ Car and the Indy Racing League. Patrick Racing was started by Pat Patrick in the 1970s. The team is best known for winning the Indianapolis 500 on three occasions (1973, 1982, 1989), and the Indy car title twice (1976, 1989).

The team fielded its own cars from 1975 to 1983 under the name Wildcat.

Over its history, the team has had three distinct manifestations.

History

Indy car champions

Year Champion Wins Chassis Engine Tyres
1976 United States Gordon Johncock 2 Wildcat Mk 1
Wildcat Mk 2
DSG Goodyear
1989 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 5 Penske PC-17
Penske PC-18
Chevrolet A Goodyear

Indianapolis 500 victories

Year Champion Chassis Engine Tyres
1973 United States Gordon Johncock Eagle 72 Offenhauser Goodyear
1982 United States Gordon Johncock (2) Wildcat Mk.VIIIB Cosworth DFX Goodyear
1989 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Penske PC-18 Chevrolet A Goodyear

First stint

Pat Patrick started his Indy Car racing career as a sponsor of the team fielded by fellow Jackson oilman Walt Michner in 1967. He became a co-owner of the team in 1970 and established Patrick Racing.

The team won the 1973 and 1982 Indianapolis 500 with driver Gordon Johncock. Johncock also won the 1976 USAC National Championship. The team was closely associated with STP sponsorship.

In the mid-1980s, the team expanded to two cars, featuring drivers Emerson Fittipaldi and Kevin Cogan. The team parted ways with STP, and 7-Eleven became their primary sponsor for 1985. In 1986, Marlboro joined the team. Cogan won his first and only race of his career in 1986 at Phoenix. Fittipaldi won his first CART race, the Michigan 500, in 1985. Cogan finished a heartbreaking second place in the 1986 Indianapolis 500, after being passed with just over two laps to go.

For 1987, the team secured the use of the new Ilmor Chevy Indy V-8 engine. Fittipaldi won two races, and finished 10th in points. After dropping back down to a one-car effort, Fittipaldi won two more races in 1988, finished 2nd at Indy, and improved to 7th in points.

1989-1990 "trade" deal

In 1989, Chip Ganassi joined Patrick as co-owner for Fittipaldi's #20 Marlboro entry. Patrick was preparing to retire from the sport, and began putting the pieces in place to sell the team at season's end. Patrick struck a lucrative deal with Ganassi, Penske Racing, and Phillip Morris. Penske would supply Patrick with two PC-18 chassis for the 1989 season for Fittipaldi to drive. In return, Penske would take driver Fittipaldi and sponsor Marlboro starting with the 1990 season. Furthermore, Penske would receive interim Marlboro sponsorship to field a third car (Al Unser, Sr.) at the three 500-mile races in 1989 (Indy 500, Michigan 500, Pocono 500).

For 1990, Chip Ganassi would take over the assets of Patrick Racing (including the two coveted PC-18 chassis, as well as the important Ilmor Chevrolet engine lease), which he would use to start his own team.

The Patrick team experienced dominating success in the 1989 CART season. After winning the 1989 Indianapolis 500 and the 1989 CART championship, at some point Pat Patrick changed his mind about retiring. With the wheels already in motion to dissolve his existing team, he decided to explore options, and was coaxed out of retirement for 1990.

Second stint

Alfa Romeo Indycar engine

As planned, Ganassi split off to form his own team in 1990 (Chip Ganassi Racing). Pat Patrick took over the upstart Alfa Romeo Indycar project previously run by Alex Morales Motorsports. Roberto Guerrero signed on as primary driver with Al Unser, Sr. driving a second car at the Indy 500 and the Michigan 500.

The new Patrick Racing team landed sponsorship from Miller. It was effectively another "trade" between Penske and Patrick, as Miller (previously with Penske) and Marlboro (now over at Penske) were owned by the same parent company, Phillip Morris. The services of Al Unser, Sr. were also effectively a trade between the two outfits.

The team saw little on-track success, and even less success in the engine development. Unser, in fact, had to sit out the Michigan 500 after he wrecked in practice, suffering a broken leg. Unser then quit the team.

For 1991, Danny Sullivan took over as primary driver (also another former Penske driver), and the team continued to fail miserably. By the end of the 1991 CART season, Patrick was in financial and legal trouble. As the team was collapsing, rumors surfaced that Patrick had shipped one of the Ilmor Chevrolet engines over to the Alfa-Romeo engine developers,[1] who in turn, tore the engine down to examine it and allegedly stole design ideas. It was returned in pieces.

At the conclusion of the 1991 season, Danny Sullivan left the team, and was replaced by Bobby Rahal. Sullivan went to Rahal's old seat at Galles-Kraco Racing. Due to the possible fraudulent actions by Patrick against Ilmor, the team was refused a Chevy engine lease, despite inking the popular Rahal. Facing a decidedly uncompetitive powerplant situation for 1992, and escalating legal problems, in December 1991, Patrick sold the team outright to Bobby Rahal and Carl Hogan. They formed Rahal-Hogan Racing, which is now known as Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

Third stint

In the mid-1990s, Patrick began to rebuild his team from scratch. In 1994, Patrick formed a testing team for Firestone tires, and spearheaded Firestone's return to Indycar racing for 1995. They did not enter any races in 1994, and instead tested all year. Scott Pruett signed on as the driver, and won the 1995 Michigan 500.

In the next few years, Patrick experienced moderate success in CART.

Due to money issues and the constant uncertainty of racing in Champ Car, Patrick Racing jumped over the IRL in 2004. They ran Al Unser, Jr. until his mid-season retirement and then Jeff Simmons, Jaques Lazier, and Tomáš Enge. With no sponsorship for 2005, the team ceased operations and the assets were put up for sale.

CART drivers

IRL drivers

All IRL drivers drove in 2004 only.

Racing results

Complete CART Series results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position) (results in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Chassis Engine Drivers No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
1979 Penske PC-6
Wildcat Mk.V
Cosworth DFX V8t PHX ATL INDY TRT MCH WGL TRT ONT MCH ATL PHX
United States Gordon Johncock 20 1 4 9 3 5 1 4 3 16 15 13 2 4
3 6
United States Wally Dallenbach 40 7 11 8 4 2 5 10 14 4 24 6 4 12
6 27
United States Roger Mears 60 13
United States Steve Krisiloff 6
1980 Penske PC-6
Wildcat Mk.VI
Phoenix 80
Cosworth DFX V8t ONT INDY MIL POC MDO MCH WGL MIL ONT MCH MXC PHX
United States Gordon Johncock 20 3 4 3 DNQ 2 5 21 23 23 24 19 24
United States Tom Bagley 40 5 28 23 29 DNS 8 6 4 15 8 18 16
United States Gordon Smiley 60 6
70 25
1981 Wildcat Mk.VIII Cosworth DFX V8t PHX MIL ATL MCH RIR MIL MCH WGL MXC PHX
United States Gordon Johncock 20 6 16 4 4 36 2 6 5 10 3 3
United States Mario Andretti 40 11 3 3 2 2* 16* 4
United States Steve Krisiloff 17 7
1982 Wildcat Mk.VIIIB Cosworth DFX V8t PHX ATL MIL CLE MCH MIL POC RIV ROA MCH PHX
United States Gordon Johncock 20 5 2 1* 5 1 11 6 26 22 15 23
United States Mario Andretti 40 2 11 9 2 2 3 14 23 14 2 3
1983 Wildcat Mk.IX
Wildcat Mk.IXB
March 83C
Cosworth DFX V8t ATL INDY MIL CLE MCH ROA POC RIV MDO MCH CPL LAG PHX
United States Gordon Johncock 20 1 14 23 26 26
United States Chip Ganassi 21 6 3 3 5
60 8 13 8 26 25
United States Danny Ongais 12
20 24 10 5
40 28 23 18
United States Johnny Rutherford 18 DNQ 21 DNP 23 24 20
1984 March 84C
Wildcat Mk.X
Cosworth DFX V8t LBH PHX INDY MIL POR MEA CLE MCH ROA POC MDO SAN MCH PHX LAG CPL
United States Gordon Johncock 20 11 10 25 6 9 12 18 4 9 11 10 17 DNQ 13 DNS
United States Chip Ganassi 20 25 11 28 11 15 9 2 27
United States John Paul Jr. 6
United States Pancho Carter 7
Italy Bruno Giacomelli 8
Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 4 18 12 13
1985 March 85C Cosworth DFX V8t LBH INDY MIL POR MEA CLE MCH ROA POC MDO SAN MCH LAG PHX MIA
Italy Bruno Giacomelli 20 18 10 5 10 22 6 16 6 14
United States Gordon Johncock Wth
United States Don Whittington, Jr. 24 DNQ 20 24
United States Sammy Swindell 23 25
Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 40 2 13 8 3 2 8 1 5 6 8 25 13 24 8 26
United States Rich Vogler 60 23
1986 March 86C Cosworth DFX V8t PHX LBH INDY MIL POR MEA CLE TOR MCH POC MDO SAN MCH ROA LAG PHX MIA
United States Kevin Cogan 7 1 17 2 12 14 21 23 5 22 2 4 4 4 20 9 14 4
Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 20 3 16 7 24 12 2 13 17 20 19 21 3 3 1 7 5 20
1987 March 86C Buick 3300 V6t LBH PHX INDY MIL POR MEA CLE TOR MCH POC ROA MDO NAZ LAG MIA
United States Gordon Johncock 2 22
United Kingdom Jim Crawford Inj
March 87C Chevrolet 265A V8t United States Kevin Cogan 7 18 21 31 18 12 21 13 27 9 19 5 5 18 21
Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 20 19 18 16 7 14 3 1 1* 7 18 18 6 21 20 10
1988 March 88C
Lola T88/00
Lola T87/00
Chevrolet 265A V8t PHX LBH INDY MIL POR CLE TOR MEA MIC POC MDO ROA NAZ LAG MIA
Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 20 21 16 2 3 3 19 4 14* 19 21 1* 1* 8 16 20
1989 Penske PC-17
Penske PC-18
Chevrolet 265A V8t PHX LBH INDY MIL DET POR CLE MEA TOR MCH POC MDO ROA NAZ LAG
Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi 20 5 3 1* 16 1 1* 1* 2 2 14 19 4 5 1* 5
1990 March 90CA
Lola T90/00
Alfa Romeo Indy V8t PHX LBH INDY MIL DET POR CLE MEA TOR MCH DEN VAN MDO ROA NAZ LAG
Colombia Roberto Guerrero 20 16 14 23 18 21 8 19 15 5 17 24 26 8 9 18
United States Al Unser 40 13 DNS
1991 Lola T91/00 Alfa Romeo Indy V8t SFR LBH PHX INDY MIL DET POR CLE MEA TOR MCH DEN VAN MDO ROA NAZ LAG
United States Danny Sullivan 20 4 11 7 10 5 10 21 9 6 14 18 18 9 17 16 20 9
Colombia Roberto Guerrero 40 30
1995 Lola T95/00 Ford XB V8t MIA SFR PHX LBH NAZ INDY MIL DET POR ROA TOR CLE MCH MDO NHA VAN LAG
United States Scott Pruett 20 4 3 9 2 8 19 12 3 13 7 25 16 1 11 24 6 5
1996 Lola T96/00 Ford XD V8t MIA RIO SFR LBH NAZ 500 MIL DET POR CLE TOR MCH MDO ROA VAN LAG
United States Scott Pruett 20 4 3 2 11 8 26 12 10 23 8 10 13 21 7 20 3
1997 Reynard 97i Ford XD V8t MIA SFR LBH NAZ RIO GAT MIL DET POR CLE TOR MCH MDO ROA VAN LAG FON
United States Scott Pruett 20 5 1 3 10 3 19 9 24 17 8 5 14 9 5 18 16 7
Brazil Raul Boesel 40 17 7 8 8 5 14 4 6 3 16 8 18 4 21 6 8 20
1998 Reynard 98i
Reynard 97i
Ford XD V8t MIA MOT LBH NAZ RIO GAT MIL DET POR CLE TOR MCH MDO ROA VAN LAG HOU SFR FON
United States Scott Pruett 20 5 21 12 22 18 5 10 9 2 4 6 4 2 20 3 18 11 4 20
Mexico Adrián Fernández 40 6 1* 4 26 3 18 9 2 24 5 9 23 1 5 15 7 6 6 4
1999 Reynard 99i
Reynard 98i
Reynard 97i
Swift 010.c
Ford XD V8t MIA MOT LBH NAZ RIO GAT MIL POR CLE ROA TOR MCH DET MDO CHI VAN LAG HOU SRF FON
Denmark Jan Magnussen 20 18 14 24 7 17 13 11
United States P. J. Jones 13 15 12 2 7 8 20 21 15 17 10 16 12
40 15 7 21
Mexico Adrián Fernández 20 1* 4 5 20 21 5 4 19 3 6 6 DNS 5 12 3 1
2000 Reynard 2Ki Ford XF V8t MIA LBH RIO MOT NAZ MIL DET POR CLE TOR MCH CHI MDO ROA VAN LAG GAT HOU SRF FON
Brazil Roberto Moreno 20 2 9 6 3 14 5 17 2 1* 13 23 6 11 4 10 25 3 11 19 2
Mexico Adrián Fernández 40 21 24 1 10 5 8 21 12 7 2 6 5 6 2 3 12 10 7 1* 5
2001 Reynard 01i Toyota RV8F V8t MTY LBH NAZ MOT MIL DET POR CLE TOR MCH CHI MDO ROA VAN LAU ROC HOU LAG SRF FON
United States Townsend Bell 19 13 12
Brazil Roberto Moreno 20 27 11 12 10 15 3 2 8 11 12 20 6 11 1 23 13 22 22 22* 19
United States Jimmy Vasser 40 6 5 4 5 21 18 16 5 26 23 14 23 21 19 15 7 11 5 6 12
2002 Reynard 02i Toyota RV8F V8t MTY LBH MOT MIL LAG POR CHI TOR CLE VAN MDO ROA MTL DEN ROC MIA SFR FON MXC
United States Townsend Bell 20 19 15 14 13 7 4 12 15 18
Spain Oriol Servià 14 10 16 16 11 4 17 16 5 9
2003 Lola B02/00 Ford XFE V8t STP MTY LBH BRH LAU MIL LAG POR CLE TOR VAN ROA MDO MTL DEN MIA MXC SFR
Spain Oriol Servià 20 12 18 12 4 5 2 6 5 6 5 16 18 18 2 3 19 13 19

Complete IRL IndyCar Series results

(key)

Year Chassis Engine Drivers No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
2004 Dallara IR-04 Chevrolet Indy V8 HMS PHX MOT INDY TXS RIR KAN NSH MIL MCH KTY PPIR NAZ CHI FON TXS
United States Al Unser, Jr. 20 17 11 21
United States Jeff Simmons 19
United States Jaques Lazier 21 17 18 15 8 14 18
Czech Republic Tomáš Enge 16 13

References

  1. IndyCar Engine Woes have Deep Roots, More Front Wing, May 17, 2012, Retrieved 2013-01-18
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