Truesports^[1] was an automobile racing team founded byJim Trueman^[2] based inHilliard, Ohio. The team is best known for winning the1986 Indianapolis 500 and back-to-backCART championships in 1986 and 1987. The team won 19 points-payingIndy car races.

The word "Truesports" is aportmanteau of thesurname "Trueman" and the word "sports" or perhaps the word "motorsports." The primary crew chief of the team wasSteve Horne, who would later startTasman Motorsports.

In 1993, the team was absorbed into what is nowRahal Letterman Racing.^[3]

Jim Trueman himself started racing sports cars in 1962. In the 1970s,^[1] Trueman met up withBobby Rahal,^[4] and they entered theCan-Am series. After several seasons in Can-Am, Trueman and Rahal began to look towards theCART series and theIndianapolis 500.

In 1981, Trueman sponsored the car of owner/driverVern Schuppan in theIndianapolis 500 through hisRed Roof Inn motel business. The car came home third. Starting in 1982, the Truesports CART team was founded with Bobby Rahal driving. Rahal won his first race midway through the season atCleveland. He followed that up with another win at Michigan, a second-place finish in the season standings, and clinched the CART rookie of the year award.

In 1983 and 1984, Truesports continued to succeed with Rahal behind the wheel. They won three more races, and placed 7th at the1984 Indianapolis 500.

In 1985, Truesports secured the sponsorship ofBudweiser. Rahal qualified for the front row atIndy, but early in the race, mechanical problems ended their day. Later in the season, Rahal made a strong charge in the championship points standings. He had a stretch of three wins over a five race span, and placed third in the final points standings.

Concurrent with their primary CART effort, Truesports ventured intoIMSA racing on several occasions in the mid-1980s. In 1982, Trueman and Rahal finished second at the12 Hours of Sebring. The duo also teamed up to race in the 198224 Hours of Le Mans with Garretson Developments, who Rahal won the 198124 Hours of Daytona.

Truesports racing entered 1986 with considerable anticipation. The highlight of the season was a victory at the1986 Indianapolis 500. After a two-year battle with cancer, team ownerJim Trueman succumbed to the disease eleven days after the Indy 500 victory. The team dedicated their efforts to Trueman's memory, and Rahal went on to win six races, and the 1986 CART championship.

For 1987, Steve Horne and other members of the Trueman family had assumed day-to-day operations of the team. Truesports switched from March to theLola chassis, and remained with the reliableCosworth DFX powerplant. Several of the top team in CART (Penske,Patrick, andNewman/Haas) had moved to the more powerfulChevrolet-Ilmor. Despite this, Truesports continued to see success on the track.

Hoping to win back-to-back races atIndianapolis, Rahal qualified second. Having switched to the Lola, he enjoyed a comfortable month, while many competitors (particularly those in March and Penske chassis), were experiencing a tumultuous time getting their cars up to speed. Race day, however, ended early for Rahal due to an ignition problem. Rahal won three races during the season, and clinched his second consecutive CART title.

Also in 1987, Truesports won theARS Championship with driverDidier Theys. ARS was the precursor to the modern dayIndy Lights series.

For 1988, Truesports switched to theJudd engine. It was known to be underpowered but very reliable and competitive in the 500-mile races due to its high fuel economy. Rahal finished 4th atIndianapolis, second in theMichigan 500, and won thePocono 500. The Pocono win, however, was the lone win of the season, and Rahal chose to leave the team at the end of the year.

In 1989, Truesports signed rookieScott Pruett as driver. Pruett wonco-Rookie of the Year at Indianapolis, and had one second-place finish (Detroit). He went into the Detroit race with a decided advantage. He was one of few drivers in the field familiar with theDetroit street circuit (previously a Formula One course), and had won theSCCATrans-AmMotor City 100 (a support race for the Formula One event) in 1987.

In March 1990, Pruett was seriously injured in a preseason testing crash atWest Palm Beach, Florida, anIMSA street course.Raul Boesel drove as a replacement for the entire season. His best finish was 6th place. Pruett spend the entire 1990 season on the sidelines in physical rehab.

In 1985, Trueman and Rahal traveled to Italy to meet withFerrari and made a demonstration run for them with aMarch 85C-Cosworth. Later, Ferrari built their own Indy car chassis, theFerrari 637, and Truesports seemed poised to become the first team to compete with it. The chassis partnership, however, never materialized, and was instead merely a bargaining tool by the FerrariFormula One team.

Starting in 1990, Truesports began exploring an in-house chassis building program. The Truesports All-American chassis was set to debut for1991 CART season. Unlike the in-housePenske andGalmer chassis of the time, which were assembled in England, the Truesports chassis notably was constructed entirely in the U.S. The fabrication work was based out of their Hilliard, Ohio shops. In addition, the design team utilized a rolling roadwind tunnel at theAeronautical and Astronautical Research Laboratory at nearbyOhio State University.^[5]

Don Halliday did the primary design for the program. In 1990, the team drove the entire season in year-old Lola cars to save cost. When Pruett returned from injury in 1991, he drove the Truesports 91C-Judd machine to a respectable first season.

In 1992, the chassis was further developed, and was powered by the dominant Chevy Indy A engine. Pruett, however, still failed to win any races. Longtime sponsor Budweiser announced they were pulling out and switching toKing Racing for 1993. Midway through the 1992 season, facing escalating costs, the team announced they were going to abandon the in-house chassis project. Steve Horne resigned in June.

Although it was not openly revealed at the time, the association with Ferrari (and subsequent cancellation of the chassis/engine program) in the late 1980s had an effect on the team. Though Rahal was defending champion of both theIndy 500 and theCART title, the team did not have the preferredIlmor Chevy Indy V-8 engine for 1987 or 1988. The lack of a competitive engine was a key reason why Rahal left the team. Rahal's 1988 win at Pocono was the team's final triumph.

After a slumping 1992 season, the Truesports organization decided to reorganize its assets. The team's physical assets, headquarters, and chassis program was first leased, then eventually absorbed into theRahal-Hogan Racing team, co-owned by former Truesports driverBobby Rahal. The remainder of the Trueman family businesses operated separately.

In 1993, Rahal-Hogan Racing attempted to continue the Truesports chassis program. It was rebranded the R/H chassis, and quickly scored a second-place finish atLong Beach. The success was short-lived however, as the chassis proved uncompetitive on superspeedways. The team was dealt a massive blow when Rahal failed to qualify atIndianapolis a month later. The following week they switched to the more conventionalLola, while team driverMike Groff attempted to salvage a season out of the R/H. By the end of the year, the chassis project was abandoned permanently.

• Bobby Rahal (1982–1988)
• Scott Pruett (1989, 1991–1992)
• Raul Boesel (1990)
• Geoff Brabham (1991)

• Didier Theys
• Colin Trueman
• Steve Millen

• Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course - bought by Jim Trueman in 1981 and owned by the Trueman family.
• The Mid-Ohio School - A comprehensive driving and riding school, focusing on high performance, defensive driving, fleet training and competition licensing, since 1993
• Truesports Choice - A high performance automobile parts company
• Truepower - engine development organization
• Trueperformance - A high-line collision repair facility

(key)

Year	Chassis	Engine	Drivers	No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Pts Pos	Pos
1982					PHX	ATL	MIL	CLE	MCH	MIL	POC	RIV	ROA	MCH	PHX
	March 82C	CosworthDFX	Bobby Rahal(R)	19	18		20	1	3	2	3	15	3*	1*	5							2nd	242
1983					ATL	INDY	MIL	CLE	MCH	ROA	POC	RIV	MDO	MCH	CPL	LAG	PHX
	March 83C	CosworthDFX	Bobby Rahal	4		20																5th	94
				2	21		6	19	5	10*	5	1		2
		ChevroletV8											3		9	7	DNQ
1984					LBH	PHX	INDY	MIL	POR	MEA	CLE	MCH	ROA	POC	MDO	SAN	MCH	PHX	LAG	CPL
	March 84C	CosworthDFX	Bobby Rahal	5	14	7	7	14	Ret	11	14*	Ret	2	3	2	2*	5	1*	1*	7		3rd	137
1985					LBH	INDY	MIL	POR	MEA	CLE	MCH	ROA	POC	MDO	SAN	MCH	LAG	PHX	MIA
	March 85C	CosworthDFX	Bobby Rahal	3	27		9	20	25	28	6	4	4	1*	10	1*	1*	6	2*			3rd	133
				10		27
			Ludwig Heimrath, Jr.(R)	8										26								58th	0
1986					PHX	LBH	INDY	MIL	POR	MEA	CLE	TOR	MCH	POC	MDO	SAN	MCH	ROA	LAG	PHX	MIA
	March 86C	CosworthDFX	Bobby Rahal	3	16	18	1	6	20	3	15	1	10*	14	1	1*	1	5	1*	3	8	1st	179
1987					LBH	PHX	INDY	MIL	POR	MEA	CLE	TOR	MCH	POC	ROA	MDO	NAZ	LAG	MIA
	Lola T87/00	CosworthDFX	Bobby Rahal	1	23	2	26	2	1*	1*	2	3	3	5	23	2*	5	1	7			1st	188
			Didier Theys(R)	2															17			30th	6
1988					PHX	LBH	INDY	MIL	POR	CLE	TOR	MEA	MCH	POC	MDO	ROA	NAZ	LAG	MIA
	Lola T88/00	Judd AV	Bobby Rahal	1	16	2		6	12	2	5	5	2	1	18	2	12	4	18			3rd	136
				4			5
1989					PHX	LBH	INDY	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	MEA	TOR	MCH	POC	MDO	ROA	NAZ	LAG
	Lola T89/00	Judd AV	Scott Pruett	3	11	DNS	10	5	2	5	6	3	6	17	8	19	8	6	4			8th	101
1990					PHX	LBH	INDY	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	MEA	TOR	MCH	DEN	VAN	MDO	ROA	NAZ	LAG
	Lola T89/00	Judd AV	Raul Boesel	8	18	8		6	6	18	20	13	10	9	28	19	9	10	8	11		12th	42
				19			28
			Geoff Brabham	21			19															41st	0
1991					SFR	LBH	PHX	INDY	MIL	DET	POR	CLE	MEA	TOR	MCH	DEN	VAN	MDO	ROA	NAZ	LAG
	Truesports 91C	Judd AV	Scott Pruett	11	5	24	12		13	17	8	23	17	4	13	5	5	4	17	18	7	10th	67
				19				12
			Geoff Brabham	21				20														44th	0
1992					SFR	PHX	LBH	INDY	DET	POR	MIL	NHA	TOR	MCH	CLE	ROA	VAN	MDO	NAZ	LAG
	Truesports 92C	Chevrolet265A	Scott Pruett	10	18	7	9	30	19	10	11	6	25	5	7	9	4	9	10	14		11th	62

#	Season	Date	Sanction	Track / Race	No.	Winning Driver	Chassis	Engine	Tire	Grid	Laps Led
1	1982	July 4	CART	Grand Prix of Cleveland(A)	19	Bobby Rahal(R)	March 82C	CosworthDFXV8t	Goodyear	2	26
2		September 26	CART	Michigan International Speedway(O)	19	Bobby Rahal(R) (2)	March 82C	Cosworth DFX V8t	Goodyear	5	29
3	1983	August 29	CART	Riverside International Raceway(R)	2	Bobby Rahal (3)	March 83C	Cosworth DFX V8t	Goodyear	4	21
4	1984	October 14	CART	Phoenix International Raceway(O)	5	Bobby Rahal (4)	March 84C	Cosworth DFX V8t	Goodyear	2	75
5		October 21	CART	Laguna Seca Raceway(R)	5	Bobby Rahal (5)	March 84C	Cosworth DFX V8t	Goodyear	2	74
6	1985	September 1	CART	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course(R)	3	Bobby Rahal (6)	March 85C	Cosworth DFX V8t	Goodyear	Pole	83
7		September 22	CART	Michigan International Speedway(O)	3	Bobby Rahal (7)	March 85C	Cosworth DFX V8t	Goodyear	Pole	70
8		October 6	CART	Laguna Seca Raceway(R)	3	Bobby Rahal (8)	March 85C	Cosworth DFX V8t	Goodyear	Pole	70
9	1986	May 31	USAC	Indianapolis 500(O)	3	Bobby Rahal (9)	March 86C	Cosworth DFX V8t	Goodyear	4	58
10	1986	July 20	CART	Streets of Toronto(S)	3	Bobby Rahal (10)	March 86C	Cosworth DFX V8t	Goodyear	2	15
11		August 31	CART	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course(R)	3	Bobby Rahal (11)	March 86C	Cosworth DFX V8t	Goodyear	4	10
12		September 7	CART	Sanair Super Speedway(O)	3	Bobby Rahal (12)	March 86C	Cosworth DFX V8t	Goodyear	3	137
13		September 28	CART	Michigan International Speedway(O)	3	Bobby Rahal (13)	March 86C	Cosworth DFX V8t	Goodyear	8	24
14		October 12	CART	Laguna Seca Raceway(R)	3	Bobby Rahal (14)	March 86C	Cosworth DFX V8t	Goodyear	2	86
15	1987	June 14	CART	Portland International Raceway(R)	1	Bobby Rahal (15)	Lola T87/00	Cosworth DFX V8t	Goodyear	3	56
16		June 28	CART	Meadowlands Street Circuit(S)	1	Bobby Rahal (15)	Lola T87/00	Cosworth DFX V8t	Goodyear	2	68
17		October 11	CART	Laguna Seca Raceway(R)	1	Bobby Rahal (17)	Lola T87/00	Cosworth DFX V8t	Goodyear	3	31
NC		October 31	CART	Tamiami Park, Miami(S)	1	Bobby Rahal	Lola T87/00	Cosworth DFX V8t	Goodyear	2	28
18	1988	August 21	CART	Pocono 500(O)	1	Bobby Rahal (18)	Lola T88/00	Judd AV V8t	Goodyear	3	32

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