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Galles Racing is a formerauto racing team owned byRick Galles that competed in theCART series,Can-Am and theIndy Racing League. The team won the1990 CART championship as well as the1992 Indianapolis 500, both with driverAl Unser Jr. The team won a total of 21Indy car races along its history. In addition to Unser's 1992 victory, the team finished second at Indianapolis on three separate occasions (1989,1990,1996).
In 1992, the team notably fielded their own in-houseGalmer chassis. The team achieved two victories with the car during its very brief foray into the sport.
The team first competed in a partial CART season in 1980, then was away from CART until 1983 when it fielded a car for rookieAl Unser Jr. Unser left the team after the 1984 season.
For 1985, Galles fielded theBuick V-6 engine at theIndy 500, with driverPancho Carter winning the pole position. Carter, however, dropped out early and finished last.
In 1986-1987, Galles Racing became the primary support team for the newBrabham-Honda engine (later known as the Judd AV).Geoff Brabham andJeff MacPherson fielded the engine at Indy in 1987, with MacPherson finishing a respectable 8th. Later in the season, Brabham scored second-place finishes at thePocono 500 and atRoad America.
In 1988,Al Unser Jr. returned to the team, and the entry was granted a lease for the Ilmor Chevrolet Indy-V-8 engine. In 1989, Unser Jr. then driving his familiarValvoline-sponsored Chevy machine, nearly won theIndy 500, finishing second after crashing out with just over a lap to go in a famous duel withEmerson Fittipaldi.

After the 1989 season, Galles merged teams with Maurice Kranes (who had fieldedKraco-sponsored cars forMichael Andretti and thenBobby Rahal). Kranes brought Rahal and Kraco with him, while Unser Jr. remained in the Valvoline-sponsored machine. The team competed asGalles-Kraco Racing from 1990 to 1992 and Unser won the1990 CART Championship with five wins. The Galles-Kraco duo of Unser andBobby Rahal was one of the top teams in CART during that period. Unser and Rahal teamed up for three 1-2 finishes, including the 1990Michigan 500. The two drivers finished on the podium in the same race six times. Rahal himself earned an impressive, yet frustrating, eleven second-place finishes for the team in 1990-1991. Rahal finished fourth in the championship in 1990 and second in the championship in 1991, winning one race in 1991.
Al Unser Jr. finished third in points in both 1991 and 1992.
Rahal was replaced in 1992 by veteranDanny Sullivan as the team introduced their new proprietaryGalmer chassis. Unser won the1992 Indianapolis 500 in a Galmer in what would be the closest finish in race history. Despite winning, the Galmer chassis was scrapped after only one season. Sullivan won the race at Long Beach, after being involved in a controversial incident with less than four laps to go. Unser Jr. was leading the race, and Sullivan was running second. The two cars tangled, and Unser was sent spinning into a tire barrier, while Sullivan went on to win. The incident created friction inside the team.
Unser and Sullivan retained their seats in 1993, and were joined byKevin Cogan and Mexican rookieAdrián Fernández, who would share a third car for selected races throughout the season. At the 1993 Indy 500, Sullivan was the first to retire from the race after a crash, but Unser finished in 8th place and Cogan finished 14th. After a lackluster season that saw only three podium finishes, Unser would leave forPenske Racing, and Sullivan moved into semi-retirement (he raced stock cars in 1994, and raced forPacWest in 1995). The final two wins of Sullivan's Indy car career came with the team, but it was later revealed that behind-the-scenes, there was a toxic atmosphere and internal friction inside the team that got worse when Sullivan tangled with Unser; it led to Sullivan being fired before the season concluded, right when Sullivan was not in a position to easily find himself a new job.[1]
For 1994, Fernández was the team's lone entry, as the team reverted to its Galles Racing name. Fernández was joined by Brazilian journeymanMarco Greco for 1995, with a 3rd place for Fernández at the Michigan 500 being their best finish for the season.
1996 saw several drivers in Galles cars as the team was one of the few CART teams to cross over and compete in the rival Indy Racing League's firstIndianapolis 500 with driverDavy Jones who finished second. Jones also drove a partial schedule in CART while rookie and former Motorcycle championEddie Lawson drove Galles' full-time CART entry. In1997 the team moved full-time to the IRL with rookieKenny Bräck. Bräck switched toA. J. Foyt Enterprises for1998 and the team again ceased operations. Galles returned in1999 with veteranDavey Hamilton. Hamilton was replaced in2000 by a returning Al Unser Jr., who was switching over from CART after being released from Penske Racing. Unser was one of the first CART stars to switch full-time to the IRL. The team's final year was2001 where Unser was joined by rookiesDidier André andCasey Mears.
Throughout the team's 22-year history, their drivers captured 21 wins - 18 by Al Unser Jr. (6 in 1990, 4 in 1988, 2 in 1991 and 1 each in 1984, 1989, 1992, 1993, 2000, and 2001), two by Danny Sullivan (1 each in 1992 and 1993), and one by Bobby Rahal in 1991 in addition to capturing the 1990 CART championship and 1992 Indianapolis 500 with Unser.
(key)
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Pts Pos | Pos | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galles Racing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983 | ATL | INDY | MIL | CLE | MCH | ROA | POC | RIV | MDO | MCH | CPL | LAG | PHX | |||||||||||||||
| Eagle 83 | CosworthDFXV8t | G | 17 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 4* | 18 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 7th | 89 | |||||||||||||
| 19 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| March 83C | 17 | 13 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1984 | LBH | PHX | INDY | MIL | POR | MEA | CLE | MCH | ROA | POC | MDO | SAN | MCH | PHX | LAG | CPL | ||||||||||||
| March 84C | CosworthDFXV8t | G | 7 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 3 | 1* | 4 | Ret | Ret | 13 | Ret | Ret | 6 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6th | 103 | |||||||
| 77 | 17 | Ret | Ret | 40th | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | 7 | 11 | 21st | 22 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1985 | LBH | INDY | MIL | POR | MEA | CLE | MCH | ROA | POC | MDO | SAN | MCH | LAG | PHX | MIA | |||||||||||||
| March 85C | Buick3300V6t | G | 6 | 13 | 33 | 16th | 37 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| CosworthDFXV8t | 5 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 2 | 10 | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 28 | 16 | 25 | 16 | 5 | 28th | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | 6 | 19 | 12 | 14 | 24 | 2 | 29 | 15 | 19 | 13 | 4 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 15th | 41 | |||||||||||
| 1986 | PHX | LBH | INDY | MIL | POR | MEA | CLE | TOR | MCH | POC | MDO | SAN | MCH | ROA | LAG | PHX | MIA | |||||||||||
| Lola T86/00 | CosworthDFXV8t | G | 8 | 10 | 3 | 12 | 21 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 12th | 64 | ||||||||||||||
| Brabham-HondaV8t | 7 | 22 | 14 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 20 | 22 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| CosworthDFXV8t | 9 | 20 | 6 | 19 | 13 | 18 | 18 | 25 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 6 | 16 | 20 | 10 | 17 | 16th | 30 | |||||||||
| 15 | 19th | 28 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 | 16 | 3 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1987 | LBH | PHX | INDY | MIL | POR | MEA | CLE | TOR | MCH | POC | ROA | MDO | NAZ | LAG | MIA | |||||||||||||
| March 87C | Brabham-HondaV8t | G | 11 | 10 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 17 | 22 | 23 | 19th | 21 | ||||||||||||||
| CosworthDFXV8t | 20 | 9 | 9 | 24 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lola T86/00 | Brabham-HondaV8t | 25 | 21 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| March 87C | 15 | 16 | 8 | 24 | 12 | 9 | 4 | 22 | DNS | 8 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 8th | 90 | ||||||||||
| 1988 | PHX | LBH | INDY | MIL | POR | CLE | TOR | MEA | MCH | POC | MDO | ROA | NAZ | LAG | MIA | |||||||||||||
| March 88C | Chevrolet265AV8t | G | 3 | 18 | 1* | 13 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 1* | 1 | 21 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 19 | 6 | 1* | 2nd | 149 | ||||||||
| 1989 | PHX | LBH | INDY | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | MEA | TOR | MCH | POC | MDO | ROA | NAZ | LAG | |||||||||||||
| Lola T89/00 | Chevrolet265AV8t | G | 2 | 2 | 1* | 2 | 8 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 20 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 20 | 4 | 3 | 5th | 136 | ||||||||
| Galles-Kraco Racing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990 | PHX | LBH | INDY | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | MEA | TOR | MCH | DEN | VAN | MDO | ROA | NAZ | LAG | ||||||||||||
| Lola T90/00 | Chevrolet265AV8t | G | 5 | 3 | 1* | 4 | 1 | 27 | 3 | 15* | 11 | 1* | 1 | 1* | 1* | 3 | 4 | 16 | 2 | 1st | 210 | |||||||
| 18 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 25 | 22 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 4th | 153 | ||||||||||
| 1991 | SFR | LBH | PHX | INDY | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | MEA | TOR | MCH | DEN | VAN | MDO | ROA | NAZ | LAG | |||||||||||
| Lola T91/00 | Chevrolet265AV8t | G | 1 | 16* | 1* | 6 | 4 | 19 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 3 | 1* | 3 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3rd | 197 | ||||||
| 18 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1* | 3 | 11 | 20 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 24 | 2nd | 200 | |||||||||
| 1992 | SFR | PHX | LBH | INDY | DET | POR | MIL | NHA | TOR | MCH | CLE | ROA | VAN | MDO | NAZ | LAG | ||||||||||||
| Galmer G92 | Chevrolet265AV8t | G | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4* | 1 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 9 | 3rd | 169 | |||||||
| 18 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 17 | 7 | 7th | 99 | ||||||||||
| Galles Racing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993 | SFR | PHX | LBH | INDY | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | TOR | MCH | NHA | ROA | VAN | MDO | NAZ | LAG | ||||||||||||
| Lola T93/07 | Chevrolet265CV8t | G | 3 | 15 | 4 | 21 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 25 | 1 | 8 | 25 | 5 | 7th | 100 | |||||||
| 7 | 13 | 23 | 8 | 33 | 16 | 1* | 14 | 14 | 3 | Wth | 22 | 26 | 10 | 27 | 20 | 27 | 12th | 43 | ||||||||||
| DNS | 24th | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | 23 | 21 | 7 | 29 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14 | 27 | 13 | 15 | 35th | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994 | SFR | PHX | LBH | INDY | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | TOR | MCH | MDO | NHA | VAN | ROA | NAZ | LAG | ||||||||||||
| Reynard 94i | Ilmor265DV8t | G | 7 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 28 | 16 | 23 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 23 | 6 | 8 | 22 | 5 | 21 | 7 | 13th | 46 | |||||||
| 1995 | MIA | SFR | PHX | LBH | NAZ | INDY | MIL | DET | POR | ROA | TOR | CLE | MCH | MDO | NHA | VAN | LAG | |||||||||||
| Lola T95/00 | Mercedes-Benz IC108BV8t | G | 10 | 11 | 26 | 12 | 18 | 9 | 21 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 26 | 22 | 10 | 12th | 66 | ||||||
| 55 | 13 | 21 | DNQ | 13 | 11 | 23 | 20 | 15 | 22 | 20 | 25 | 23 | 29th | 2 | ||||||||||||||
| 1996 | MIA | RIO | SFR | LBH | NAZ | 500 | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | TOR | MCH | MDO | ROA | VAN | LAG | ||||||||||||
| Lola T96/00 | Mercedes-Benz IC108CV8t | G | 10 | 15 | 21 | 7 | 9 | 17 | 6 | 20 | 6 | 15 | 24 | 15 | 20th | 26 | ||||||||||||
| 12 | 16 | 24 | 14 | 14 | 31st | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(key)
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Pts Pos | Pos | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | WDW | PHX | INDY | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lola T95/00 | Mercedes-Benz IC108CV8t | G | 70 | 2 | 26th | 33 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–97 | NHA | LSV | WDW | PHX | INDY | TXS | PPIR | CLT | NHA | LSV | ||||||||||||||||
| G-Force GF01 | OldsmobileAuroraV8 | G | 4 | Wth | — | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 16 | 30th | 69 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11 | 33 | 18 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 20 | 19th | 139 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 70 | 13 | 9 | 20 | 10 | 3rd | 230 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | WDW | PHX | CLT | INDY | TXS | PPIR | ATL | DOV | PPIR | LSV | TXS | |||||||||||||||
| G-Force GF01C | OldsmobileAuroraV8 | G | 9 | 8 | 4th | 237 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Dallara IR9 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 23 | 2 | 13 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2000 | WDW | PHX | LSV | INDY | TXS | PPIR | ATL | KTY | TXS | |||||||||||||||||
| G-Force GF05 | OldsmobileAuroraV8 | F | 3 | 25 | 9 | 1 | 29 | 3* | 10 | 3 | 27 | 17* | 9th | 188 | ||||||||||||
| 2001 | PHX | HMS | ATL | INDY | TXS | PPIR | RIR | KAN | NSH | KTY | GAT | CHI | TXS | |||||||||||||
| G-Force GF05 | OldsmobileAuroraV8 | F | 3 | 23 | 6 | 17 | 30 | 8 | 11 | 3 | 20 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 7th | 287 | ||||||||
| 31 | 20 | 11 | 23 | DNQ | 31st | 36 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 32 | 27 | 10 | 13 | DNQ | 17 | 19 | 4 | 16 | 21 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 20th | 188 | |||||||||||
| # | Season | Date | Sanction | Track / Race | No. | Winning driver | Chassis | Engine | Tire | Grid | Laps Led |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1984 | June 17 | CART | Grand Prix of Portland(R) | 7 | March 84C | CosworthDFXV8t | Goodyear | 10 | 68 | |
| 2 | 1988 | April 17 | CART | Grand Prix of Long Beach(S) | 3 | March 88C | Chevrolet265AV8t | Goodyear | 4 | 73 | |
| 3 | July 17 | CART | Streets of Toronto(S) | 3 | March 88C | Chevrolet 265A V8t | Goodyear | 3 | 85 | ||
| 4 | July 24 | CART | Meadowlands Street Circuit(S) | 3 | March 88C | Chevrolet 265A V8t | Goodyear | 6 | 32 | ||
| 5 | November 6 | CART | Tamiami Park, Miami(S) | 3 | March 88C | Chevrolet 265A V8t | Goodyear | 5 | 82 | ||
| 6 | 1989 | April 16 | CART | Grand Prix of Long Beach(S) | 2 | Lola T89/00 | Chevrolet 265A V8t | Goodyear | Pole | 84 | |
| NC | October 14 | CART | Laguna Seca Raceway(R) | 2 | Lola T89/00 | Chevrolet 265A V8t | Goodyear | 6 | 33 | ||
| 7 | 1990 | April 22 | CART | Grand Prix of Long Beach(S) | 5 | Lola T90/00 | Chevrolet 265A V8t | Goodyear | Pole | 91 | |
| 8 | June 3 | CART | Milwaukee Mile(O) | 5 | Lola T90/00 | Chevrolet 265A V8t | Goodyear | 9 | 82 | ||
| 9 | July 22 | CART | Streets of Toronto(S) | 5 | Lola T90/00 | Chevrolet 265A V8t | Goodyear | 8 | 62 | ||
| 10 | August 5 | CART | Michigan 500(O) | 5 | Lola T90/00 | Chevrolet 265A V8t | Goodyear | 5 | 40 | ||
| 11 | August 26 | CART | Streets of Denver(S) | 5 | Lola T90/00 | Chevrolet 265A V8t | Goodyear | 2 | 33 | ||
| 12 | September 2 | CART | Streets of Vancouver(S) | 5 | Lola T90/00 | Chevrolet 265A V8t | Goodyear | 6 | 58 | ||
| 13 | 1991 | April 14 | CART | Grand Prix of Long Beach(S) | 1 | Lola T91/00 | Chevrolet 265A V8t | Goodyear | 2 | 93 | |
| 14 | July 14 | CART | Meadowlands Street Circuit(S) | 18 | Lola T91/00 | Chevrolet 265A V8t | Goodyear | 4 | 89 | ||
| 15 | August 25 | CART | Streets of Denver(S) | 1 | Lola T91/00 | Chevrolet 265A V8t | Goodyear | 3 | 64 | ||
| 16 | 1992 | April 12 | CART | Grand Prix of Long Beach(S) | 18 | Galmer G92 | Chevrolet 265A V8t | Goodyear | 2 | 7 | |
| 17 | 1992 | May 24 | USAC | Indianapolis 500(O) | 3 | Galmer G92 | Chevrolet 265A V8t | Goodyear | 12 | 25 | |
| 18 | 1993 | June 13 | CART | Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix(S) | 7 | Lola T93/07 | Chevrolet265C V8t | Goodyear | 10 | 30 | |
| 19 | August 29 | CART | Streets of Vancouver(S) | 3 | Lola T93/07 | Chevrolet 265C V8t | Goodyear | 5 | 38 | ||
| 20 | 2000 | April 22 | IRL | Las Vegas Motor Speedway(O) | 3 | G-Force GF05 | OldsmobileAuroraV8 | Firestone | 21 | 21 | |
| 21 | 2001 | August 26 | IRL | Gateway Motorsports Park(O) | 3 | G-Force GF05 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | Firestone | 8 | 75 |