 | |||||||
| Category | CART IndyCar | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Penske Cars Ltd | ||||||
| Designer | Nigel Bennett | ||||||
| Predecessor | Penske PC-22 | ||||||
| Successor | Penske PC-24 | ||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||
| Chassis | Carbon-fibermonocoque | ||||||
| Suspension (front) | Pushrod | ||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Pushrod | ||||||
| Length | 190 in (4,826 mm) | ||||||
| Wheelbase | 115 in (2,921 mm) | ||||||
| Engine | Ilmor Indy V-8 Mercedes-Benz 500I (for Indy 500 only) 3.43 L (3,430 cc; 209 cu in)V-8,vee angle 72 degrees, 2 valves per cylinder,pushrod system single-turbochargedMid-engined,longitudinally-mounted | ||||||
| Transmission | 6-speedmanual | ||||||
| Power | 1,024hp @ 9,800rpm (10,500 rpm max.),[1] 550 lb⋅ft (746 N⋅m)torque | ||||||
| Weight | 1,550 lb (703 kg) | ||||||
| Fuel | Mobil and76 methanol | ||||||
| Lubricants | Mobil 1 | ||||||
| Tyres | Goodyear Eagle Speedway Special Radial 25.5in x 9.5in x 15in (front) 27in x 14.5in x 15in (rear) | ||||||
| Competition history | |||||||
| Notable entrants | Penske Racing | ||||||
| Notable drivers | 2Emerson Fittipaldi 3Paul Tracy 31Al Unser Jr. | ||||||
| Debut | 1994 Australian FAI Indycar Grand Prix Surfers Paradise, Australia | ||||||
| |||||||
| Constructors' Championships | 1 (CART) | ||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 1 (CART) | ||||||
ThePenske PC-23 was a highly successfulCART racing car that competed in the1994 IndyCar season withPenske Racing, and in the1995 IndyCar season withBettenhausen Motorsports. It was designed byNigel Bennett,[2] who based its design on the 1993 car, thePC-22, which was a radical departure from the basic concept of the previousPenske cars. The PC-23 was one of the most dominant open-wheel race cars ever developed. It won both the 1994 CART season, and the1994 Indianapolis 500 withAl Unser Jr., together withEmerson Fittipaldi andPaul Tracy scoring 12 wins out of 16 in total, collecting 10 pole positions and 28 podium finishes,[3] in a season that saw Penske also take the Constructor's Cup, and the Manufacturer's Cup with theIlmor-Mercedes-Benz engine. Nevertheless, the car is mostly known for the controversialpushrodMercedes-Benz 500I engine,[4] designed and developed for the single race of Indianapolis, exploiting a loophole in different technical rules between the Indy 500 (which was then sanctioned byUSAC) and CART sanctioning bodies at that time.[5]
The PC-23 was a design evolution of its predecessor, thePC-22,[2] which won the1993 Indianapolis 500, 8 races over the entire season, and missing the1993 CART title by only 8 points.[6] The only substantial difference of the new car from it were the smaller rear wings on theshort ovals, mandatory by rule changes for the 1994 season, and Team Penske put in a lot of test efforts to minimize the effects of these changes. There were also some modifications on the transmission, but the new car was mostly a progression. Plans to fit the PC-23 with anactive suspension system were cancelled due to a ban by CART on such technology.[2] The car and the Ilmor engine were ready for testing by mid-December 1993.
The Indy 500 version of the PC-23, showed a much higher engine cover, required because of the new engine. Other modifications included changes to the input gears of thegearbox, to cope with the lower rpm and higher power andtorque the pushrod engine provided. However, the two versions of the gearbox were of the same weight, thus causing no shift in the weight balance. The Mercedes-Benz 500I engine was slightly lighter than the Ilmor Indy V-8, although because of its longer inlets the centre of gravity of the entire engine was higher than that of the 500I, thus changing the overall balance of the car a bit.[2] The development and testing of the 500I engine, at that time called Ilmor 265E, took place in the utmost secrecy because there was a possibility of the turbocharger boost level being changed, or the engine being banned by the Indy 500 sanctioning body.[2]
The PC23 debuted at1994 Australian FAI Indycar Grand Prix, noted for the sensational debut win ofReynard chassis,[7][8] qualifying 3rd with Fittipaldi, 5th with Al Unser Jr., and 6th with Tracy. In the race, which was shortened by 10 laps due to darkness, Fittipaldi scored a 2nd place, while Unser and Tracy retired for electrical problems. At Phoenix, the first oval race of the season, the PC23 scored its first win, with Fittipaldi ahead of Al Unser Jr. The season continued with six wins in a row, three for Unser:Long Beach,Indianapolis andMilwaukee, where Penske Racing scored a remarkable 1-2-3 win with Fittipaldi second and Tracy third, a win for Tracy atDetroit, and two wins for Unser atPortland, another 1-2-3 sweep for Penske, andCleveland. InToronto however, Unser's engine blew, while Fittipaldi finished 3rd, and Tracy 5th, ending an astonishing streak of seven wins in a row. InMichigan, the entire Penske pack retired, but for the next two races,Mid-Ohio andNew Hampshire, the Penskes scored two 1-2-3 wins in a row, with Unser as the winner on both occasions. Unser won also inVancouver, completing his second row of 3 back to back wins of the season. TheRoad America was won by then-rising starJacques Villeneuve, his first in CART racing, while Unser clinched the championship ahead of Fittipaldi. Two final events of the season,Nazareth andLaguna Seca were won byPaul Tracy. Unser, Fittipaldi, and Tracy ended the season at first three places in season standings respectively.
In the1995, not counting the brief and unfortunate attempt to qualify at Indy 500 with their year-old car,[9] Penske Racing was running with the newPC-24, although with much less success. However, theBettenhausen Motorsports team used the PC-23 for almost the entire season, with the Indy 500 and Milwaukee as sole exceptions.[10] Bettenhausen driverStefan Johansson scored points in eight races and finished 13th place in the final standings, with on third place as its best result. In1996, the PC-23 had one final run, at the inauguralU.S. 500 withGary Bettenhausen, who crashed out of the race in lap 89, while in the 21st place.[10]
Much to the surprise of competitors,media, and fans,Marlboro Team Penske arrived at theIndianapolis Motor Speedway with a brand new, secretly-built 209 cidMercedes-Benzpushrod engine, which was capable of a reported 1000horsepower.[11] Despite reliability issues with the engine[11] and handling difficulties with the chassis,[12] the three-car Penske team (Unser,Emerson Fittipaldi andPaul Tracy) dominated most of the month, and nearly the entire race. This engine used a provision in the rules intended for stock blockpushrod engines such as theV6 Buick engines that allowed an extra 650 cm³ and 10 inches (4.9 psi/33.8 kPa) of boost. This extra power (1,024horsepower,[13] which was up a 150-200 hp advantage over the conventional V-8s.[12]) allowed the Penskes to run significantly faster, giving them the pole and outside front row on the grid for the78th Indianapolis 500.Al Unser Jr. andEmerson Fittipaldi dominated the race, eventually lapping the field with 16 laps to go in the 200 lap race when Emerson made contact with a wall coming out of Turn 4, givingAl Unser Jr. the lead and win. The only other driver who finished on the lead lap was rookieJacques Villeneuve.
In the summer and fall of 1993,[12] Ilmor and Penske engaged in a new engine program. Under complete secrecy,[12] a 209 cid purpose-built, pushrod engine was being developed.[11]Mercedes stepped in near the end of development and paid a fee in order to badge the engine as theMercedes-Benz 500I. The engine was designed to exploit a perceived "loophole" that existed inUSAC's rulebook since 1991.[12] While CART sanctioned the rest of the Indycar season, the Indianapolis 500 itself was conducted by USAC under slightly different rules.
In an effort to appeal to smaller engine-building companies, USAC had permitted "stock-block" pushrod engines (generally defined as singlenon-OHC units fitted with twovalves per cylinder actuated bypushrod androcker arm). The traditional "stock blocks," saw some limited use in the early 1980s, but became mainstream at Indy starting with the introduction of theBuick V-6 Indy engine. Initially, the stock blocks were required to have some production-based parts. However, in 1991, USAC quietly lifted the requirement, and purpose-built pushrod engines were permitted to be designed for racing at the onset. Attempting to create an equivalency formula,[12] both pushrod engine formats were allowed increaseddisplacement (209.3 cid vs. 161.7),[11] and increasedturbocharger boost (55 inHG vs. 45 inHG)[11]
Team Penske mated the engine with the in-house Penske chassis, the PC-23. It was introduced to the public in April, just days before opening day at Indy.
The car in its Indy 500 version caused a considerable uproar at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and in theracing world in general. Subsequently, the PC-23 was recognized as one of the triggers of theCART/IRL split,.[14]
In 2014, author Jade Gurss published a book detailing the efforts to create the PC-23. CalledBeast, the book explored what happened in the year leading up to the 1994 Indy-500.[15]
(key) (Results inbold indicate pole position; results initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Engine | Tyres | Driver | No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Points | D.C. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Marlboro Team Penske | Ilmor265DV-8-turbo Mercedes-Benz 500IV-8-turbo | G | SFR | PHX | LBH | INDY | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | TOR | MCH | MDO | NHA | VAN | ROA | NAZ | LAG | |||||
 Emerson Fittipaldi | 2 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 178 | 2nd | |||||
 Paul Tracy | 3 | 16 | 23 | 20 | 23 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 152 | 3rd | |||||
 Al Unser Jr. | 31 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 29 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 225 | 1st | |||||
| 1995 | Bettenhausen Motorsports | Mercedes-Benz IC108BV8t | G | MIA | SFR | PHX | LBH | NAZ | INDY | MIL | DET | POR | ROA | TOR | CLE | MCH | MDO | NHA | VAN | LAG | ||||
 Stefan Johansson | 16 | 22 | 17 | 24 | 6 | 3 | DNQ1 | 21 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 23 | 25 | 4 | 14 | 60 | 13th | ||||
| Marlboro Team Penske | Mercedes-Benz IC108BV8t | G | Emerson Fittipaldi2 | 89 | DNQ | -2 | NC2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1996 | Bettenhausen Racing | Mercedes-Benz IC108BV8t | G | MIA | RIO | SFR | LBH | NAZ | 500 | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | TOR | MCH | MDO | ROA | VAN | LAG | |||||
| Gary Bettenhausen | 26 | 21 | 0 | 39th |
1 Johansson did qualify aReynard 94I -FordXBV8t.
2 Only the #89 car results are counted. Fittipaldi run entire season with the PC-24 chassis, scoring 67 points and 11th final place.
| Chassis | Top Team | Top Driver | SFR | PHX | LBH | INDY | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | TOR | MCH | MDO | NHA | VAN | ROA | NAZ | LAG | Points | Rk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penske PC-23 Penske PC-22 | Marlboro Team Penske | Al Unser Jr. | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 313 | 1 |
