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	Gordon Johncock	2	Wildcat Mk 1 Wildcat Mk 2	DSG	Goodyear
1989	Emerson Fittipaldi	5	Penske PC-17 Penske PC-18	Chevrolet A	Goodyear

Indianapolis 500 victories

Year	Champion	Chassis	Engine	Tyres
1973	Gordon Johncock	Eagle 72	Offenhauser	Goodyear
1982	Gordon Johncock (2)	Wildcat Mk.VIIIB	Cosworth DFX	Goodyear
1989	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, 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

• Mario Andretti (1981–1982)
• Tom Bagley (1980)
• Townsend Bell (2001–2002)
• Raul Boesel (1997)
• Pancho Carter (1984)
• Kevin Cogan (1986–1987)
• Wally Dallenbach Sr. (1979)
• Adrian Fernandez (1998–2000)
• Emerson Fittipaldi (1984–1990)
• Chip Ganassi (1983–1984)
• Spike Gehlhausen (1980)
• Bruno Giacomelli (1984–1985)
• Roberto Guerrero (1990–1991)

• Gordon Johncock (1979–1984)
• P. J. Jones (1999)
• Steve Krisiloff (1981)
• Jan Magnussen (1999)
• Roger Mears (1979)
• Roberto Moreno (2000)
• Danny Ongais (1983)
• John Paul, Jr. (1984)
• Scott Pruett (1995–1998)
• Johnny Rutherford (1983)
• Oriol Servia (2002–2003)
• Gordon Smiley (1980)
• Danny Sullivan (1991)
• Sammy Swindell (1985)
• Al Unser (1990)
• Jimmy Vasser (2001)
• Rich Vogler (1985)
• Don Whittington (1985)

IRL drivers

• Tomáš Enge
• Jaques Lazier
• Jeff Simmons
• Al Unser, Jr.

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
			Gordon Johncock	20	1	4	9		3	5	1	4	3	16	15	13	2	4
				3				6
			Wally Dallenbach	40	7	11	8		4	2	5	10	14	4	24	6	4	12
				6				27
			Roger Mears	60											13
			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
			Gordon Johncock	20	3	4	3	DNQ	2	5	21	23	23	24	19	24
			Tom Bagley	40	5	28	23	29	DNS	8	6	4	15	8	18	16
			Gordon Smiley	60	6
				70		25
1981	Wildcat Mk.VIII	Cosworth DFX V8t			PHX	MIL	ATL		MCH	RIR	MIL	MCH	WGL	MXC	PHX
			Gordon Johncock	20	6	16	4	4	36	2	6	5	10	3	3
			Mario Andretti	40	11	3	3	2				2*	16*		4
			Steve Krisiloff						17		7
1982	Wildcat Mk.VIIIB	Cosworth DFX V8t			PHX	ATL	MIL	CLE	MCH	MIL	POC	RIV	ROA	MCH	PHX
			Gordon Johncock	20	5	2	1*	5	1	11	6	26	22	15	23
			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
			Gordon Johncock	20	1	14	23	26	26
			Chip Ganassi							21				6	3	3	5
				60		8		13	8		26		25
			Danny Ongais				12
				20							24	10	5
				40				28	23	18
			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
			Gordon Johncock	20	11	10	25	6	9	12	18	4	9	11	10	17	DNQ	13		DNS
			Chip Ganassi	20	25	11	28	11	15	9	2	27
			John Paul Jr.										6
			Pancho Carter															7
			Bruno Giacomelli																8
			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
			Bruno Giacomelli	20	18			10	5	10		22		6	16		6		14
			Gordon Johncock			Wth
			Don Whittington, Jr.			24	DNQ									20		24
			Sammy Swindell								23		25
			Emerson Fittipaldi	40	2	13	8	3	2	8	1	5	6	8	25	13	24	8	26
			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
			Kevin Cogan	7	1	17	2	12	14	21	23	5	22	2	4	4	4	20	9	14	4
			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
			Gordon Johncock	2			22
			Jim Crawford				Inj
	March 87C	Chevrolet 265A V8t	Kevin Cogan	7	18	21	31	18		12	21	13	27	9	19	5	5	18	21
			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
			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
			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
			Roberto Guerrero	20	16	14	23	18	21	8	19	15		5	17	24	26	8	9	18
			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
			Danny Sullivan	20	4	11	7	10	5	10	21	9	6	14	18	18	9	17	16	20	9
			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
			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
			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
			Scott Pruett	20	5	1	3	10	3	19	9	24	17	8	5	14	9	5	18	16	7
			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
			Scott Pruett	20	5	21	12	22	18	5	10	9	2	4	6	4	2	20	3	18	11	4	20
			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
			Jan Magnussen	20													18	14	24	7	17	13	11
			P. J. Jones		13	15	12	2	7	8	20	21	15	17	10	16								12
				40														15	7	21
			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
			Roberto Moreno	20	2	9	6	3	14	5	17	2	1*	13	23	6	11	4	10	25	3	11	19	2
			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
			Townsend Bell	19															13	12
			Roberto Moreno	20	27	11	12	10	15	3	2	8	11	12	20	6	11	1	23	13	22	22	22*	19
			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
			Townsend Bell	20	19	15	14	13	7	4	12	15	18
			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
			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
			Al Unser, Jr.	20				17	11	21
			Jeff Simmons								19
			Jaques Lazier									21	17	18	15	8	14	18
			Tomáš Enge																16	13