| 1995 CART IndyCar season | |
|---|---|
| PPG Indy Car World Series | |
 | |
| Season | |
| Races | 17 |
| Start date | March 5 |
| End date | September 10 |
| Awards | |
| Drivers' champion |  Jacques Villeneuve |
| Constructors' Cup |  Reynard |
| Manufacturers' Cup |  Ford XB |
| Nations' Cup | United States |
| Rookie of the Year |  Gil de Ferran |
| Indianapolis 500 winner | Jacques Villeneuve |
The1995 PPG Indy Car World Series season was the seventeenth in theChampionship Auto Racing Teams (CART) era of U.S.American open-wheel car racing. It consisted of 17 races, beginning inMiami, Florida on March 5 and concluding inMonterey, California on September 10. ThePPG Indy Car World Series Drivers' Champion andIndianapolis 500 winner wasJacques Villeneuve, and the Rookie of the Year wasGil de Ferran. This was the last season before the formation of theIndy Racing League (IRL) byIndianapolis Motor Speedway presidentTony George and the last time theUnited States Auto Club-sanctioned Indianapolis 500 would appear in the Series, while Villeneuve became the last driver to win both the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar drivers' championship in the same season untilDan Wheldon in2005.
Villeneuve, the 1994 IndyCar Rookie of the Year, won the season opener at Miami, a foreshadowing of things to come for the French-Canadian driver. AfterScott Goodyear was penalized, Villeneuve won the1995 Indianapolis 500, despite also receiving a penalty in the race that put him down two laps. He also won at Road America and Cleveland en route to the 1995 IndyCar Championship and an offer fromFrank Williams to drive inFormula One for 1996. ThoughTeam Penske scored five wins (four by 1994 IndyCar championAl Unser Jr.), they were nowhere near the juggernaut they were in 1994, with a low point being that both their drivers (Unser Jr. andEmerson Fittipaldi) failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. TheHonda engine that was abandoned at Indianapolis the previous year led most of the Indy 500 in 1995. TheFirestone Tire and Rubber Company returned to the series and Indianapolis for the first time since 1974.Danny Sullivan's racing career came to an end after a hard crash atMichigan International Speedway.
Several teams went through complete overhauls during the 1994 offseason. AtNewman-Haas Racing,Nigel Mansell left IndyCar andreturned to Formula One, andMario Andretti retired. The team signedMichael Andretti for the seat vacated by his father. CanadianPaul Tracy, who had harsh words about Michael Andretti (notably at Toronto) in 1994 while driving for Marlboro Team Penske, became Michael's teammate (and Mansell's replacement) at Newman-Haas when Team Penske went from three cars to two. Gerry Forsythe andBarry Green, owners of Jacques Villeneuve's car in 1994, went their separate ways. Villeneuve stayed with the newly christenedTeam Green.Rahal-Hogan Racing releasedMike Groff and signed BrazilianRaul Boesel and hisDuracell sponsorship as a teammate to1986 Indianapolis 500 winnerBobby Rahal.Chip Ganassi Racing lost both of its drivers from 1994, Michael Andretti and BrazilianMaurício Gugelmin. The team signedJimmy Vasser from Hayhoe Racing andBryan Herta fromA. J. Foyt Racing.Eddie Cheever replaced Herta at A. J. Foyt Racing.PacWest Racing released bothDominic Dobson andScott Sharp and signed1985 Indianapolis 500 winnerDanny Sullivan and Maurício Gugelmin, who came over from Ganassi Racing.Walker Racing releasedWilly T. Ribbs andMark Smith and signed Brazilian rookieChristian Fittipaldi to team withRobby Gordon.Dick Simon Racing released Raul Boesel andHiro Matsushita, signed Chilean rookieEliseo Salazar, and added a second car at Phoenix for the rest of the season, driven primarily by Mexican rookieCarlos Guerrero.Hall Racing released ItalianTeo Fabi and signed Brazilian rookieGil de Ferran.Galles Racing added a second entry forMarco Greco from Long Beach until the end of the season to team withAdrian Fernandez.Payton/Coyne Racing signed BelgianEric Bachelart as its second driver, teaming withAlessandro Zampedri.
Hayhoe Racing folded, and Jimmy Vasser signed with Chip Ganassi's team.King Racing folded, leaving CanadianScott Goodyear without a full-time ride.Indy Regency Racing folded and returned toIndy Lights, leaving DutchmanArie Luyendyk without a full-time ride.Euromotorsport also folded.
Tasman Motorsports, which had won the last two Indy Lights championships, moved up from Indy Lights and brought with them one of their Indy Lights drivers, 1994 Indy Lights championship runner-up BrazilianAndre Ribeiro.Patrick Racing returned to the grid full-time after a three-year absence and after spending all of the 1994 season testing the new Firestone tires with driverScott Pruett.Arciero Racing signed Hiro Matsushita and hisPanasonic sponsorship. Gerry Forsythe left Forsythe/Green Racing to form the other new full-time team to the grid,Forsythe Racing, which signed Teo Fabi.
The Rahal-Hogan team switched from Honda to theIlmor-Mercedes engine. Comptech Racing, PacWest Racing and Walker Racing switched from theLola Cars chassis toReynard Motorsport, while Galles Racing switched from Reynard to Lola. Payton/Coyne Racing switched from Goodyear to Firestone tires.
The followingteams anddrivers competed in the 1995Indy Car World Series season.Firestone returned to IndyCar after two decades of absence.
| Icon | Legend |
|---|---|
| O | Oval/Speedway |
| R | Road course |
| S | Street circuit |
* Indianapolis was USAC-sanctioned but counted towards the CART title.
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| Pos | Country | BIC | SUR | PHX | LBH | NAZ | INDY | MIL | BEL | POR | ROA | TOR | CLE | MIS | MOH | NHS | VAN | LAG | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 290 |
| 2 | Canada | 1 | 1 | 4 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 219 |
| 3 | Brazil | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 201 |
| 4 |  Italy | 16 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 16 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 90 |
| 5 |  Mexico | 11 | 26 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 21 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 15 | 10 | 68 |
| 6 |  Sweden | 22 | 17 | 24 | 6 | 3 | 16 | 21 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 23 | 25 | 4 | 14 | 60 |
| 7 |  Chile | 17 | 10 | 15 | 24 | 12 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 10 | 18 | 13 | 13 | 13 | DNQ | 19 |
| 8 |  Belgium | 19 | 22 | 18 | 7 | 28 | 23 | 19 | 11 | 22 | 21 | 16 | 8 | ||||||
| 9 |  Argentina | 7 | 15 | 28 | 13 | 6 | |||||||||||||
| 10 |  Germany | 7 | 22 | 6 | |||||||||||||||
| 11 |  Netherlands | 25 | 7 | 6 | |||||||||||||||
| 12 |  Japan | 26 | 11 | 22 | 19 | DNS | 10 | 19 | 14 | 17 | 13 | 19 | 13 | 20 | 15 | 22 | 17 | 22 | 5 |
| 13 |  Colombia | 16 | 12 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| 14 |  France | 15 | DNQ | DNQ | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 15 |  Austria | 16 | Wth | DNQ | 0 | ||||||||||||||
 Finland | DNQ | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
 Scotland | DNQ | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Pos | Country | BIC | SUR | PHX | LBH | NAZ | INDY | MIL | BEL | POR | ROA | TOR | CLE | MIS | MOH | NHS | VAN | LAG | Pts |
| Pos | Chassis | Pts | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reynard 95I/94I | 302 | 8 |
| 2 | Lola T9500/T9400/T9300 | 273 | 4 |
| 3 | Penske PC-24/PC-23 | 202 | 5 |
| Pos | Chassis | Pts | Wins |
| Pos | Engine | Pts | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ford XB | 331 | 10 |
| 2 | /Ilmor-Mercedes Benz | 267 | 6 |
| 3 | Honda | 47 | 1 |
| 4 | Menard | 7 | 0 |
| Pos | Engine | Pts | Wins |
The return of theGrand Prix of Miami was held aroundBicentennial Park. The race was presented byToyota, who had announced plans to enterIndyCar racing in1996 withDan Gurney'sAll American Racers team. The grand marshal for the race was Mario Andretti, who had retired after the1994 IndyCar season.Polesitter Michael Andretti returned to Newman-Haas Racing after two years with other teams (McLaren in the1993 Formula One World Championship and Ganassi in the 1994 Indy Car World Series). Michael's new teammate Paul Tracy clipped a barrier in the Turn 3chicane on Lap 2, bringing out a full-course yellow. A few laps after the restart Bryan Herta, in his first race for Ganassi, locked up the brakes in Turn 12 but missed the tire wall. At Lap 15 two possible winners dropped from contention; rookie Gil de Ferran, who had qualified an impressive 4th for Jim Hall, lost use of his transmission, and reigning IndyCar champion Al Unser Jr.' s new Penske PC-24 developed an electrical problem. On Lap 19 rookie Christian Fittipaldi made his first IndyCar pit stop and ran over the used left front tire as he left, catching a few inches of air. Eddie Cheever, another Formula One veteran, spun harmlessly in Turn 12 on Lap 22. Two laps later rookieAndre Ribeiro tried to meet theapex of Turn 10, but failed to see Adrian Fernandez in his mirrors. Their accident brought out another full-course yellow.Emerson Fittipaldi's engine failed during the yellow; another contender eliminated. After the restart, leader Michael Andretti was trying to pass rookie backmarkerEliseo Salazar in Turn 1. Salazar came down on him entering Turn 1, squeezing Michael into the inner wall, but he continued without incident and the car seemed to be running just fine. Later on that lap,Dennis Vitolo (perhaps best known for his crash in the1994 Indianapolis 500 withNigel Mansell) spun exiting the Turn 3chicane. He hit the wall in thePagan Racing Reynard but drove back to pits without further incident. On Lap 35 the yellow was out again afterPayton/Coyne Racing's Alessandro Zampedri crashed in Turn 5.
At halfway the leaders were Michael Andretti, Maurício Gugelmin, Jacques Villeneuve, Danny Sullivan, Scott Pruett, and Bobby Rahal. For seventh place some intense racing took place betweenChip Ganassi's new hireJimmy Vasser and Walker Racing teammates Robby Gordon and Christian Fittipaldi. On Lap 50 Andretti made his final pit stop, but ended his day because the suspension damage in the right front (from the contact with Salazar) was too severe. This handed the lead to Gugelmin, Andretti's former teammate, for the first time in his IndyCar career. Soon after Andre Ribeiro found the Turn 5 tire barrier, meaning that final pit stops would occur under the yellow. Jacques Villeneuve's team won the battle out of the pits. With less than 20 laps to go, Sullivan spun out of 5th place right in front of Robby Gordon. The1988 PPG Cup Champion stalled the engine,[who?] as he had not raced an IndyCar in 18 months, and the yellows were waved again. Bryan Herta was another victim of the Turn 5 wall a few laps later, but was rescued from the tires and finished the race. On Lap 84 Gordon crashed heavily in Turn 6 but walked away. Villeneuve held off Gugelmin and Rahal to win the first race of the new season.
Sophomore driverBryan Herta won his first career pole with a new track record. In traffic, Herta andPaul Tracy diced for the lead untilMichael Andretti took the lead on Lap 33. On Lap 39 rookieAndre Ribeiro crashed in Turn 2, bringing out the first yellow of the day. Andretti stayed in the lead, but polesitter Herta ran over hisair hose and received a stop and go penalty after the restart. Tracy took the lead in Turn 1 with a four wide pass on the inside of Michael,Robby Gordon, andDean Hall on the far right. Gordon, who was one lap down, took his lap back in Lap 61. Ten laps later Michael Andretti retook the lead. By halfway,last year's winnerEmerson Fittipaldi was in striking distance of the lead. He passed Andretti on Lap 105 to lead his first laps of the season. Soon after, the second caution flag was waved whenStefan Johansson'sBettenhausen-preparedPenske PC-23 trailed smoke. Michael Andretti was hoping for an adjustment in the left rear but it wasn't made. When the race restarted, Tracy briefly took the lead from Fittipaldi. FrontrunnerScott Pruett was charged with a stop and go penalty for a blend line violation during the yellow.
With less than 50 laps to go, rookieGil de Ferran spun off Turn 2 and hit the inside tire wall and brought out the yellow flag again. On the restart Tracy took the lead from Fittipaldi again, and touched withScott Pruett, one lap back after his stop and go. Pruett lost two more laps after a precautionary pit stop. Both Tracy and Fittipaldi pitted for a "splash-and-go", Emerson doing so with 7 laps to go. Michael Andretti was the new leader, but his crew did not inform him of this, and he allowed Robby Gordon to pass him for the win with 5 laps to go. Michael toldABC'sGary Gerould, "I had no idea I was in the lead.".
A battle for third place went wrong on Lap 17 whenPaul Tracy tried to pass rookieGil de Ferran in Turn 3. The two collided and brought out thesafety car.Bobby Rahal,Emerson Fittipaldi, andMichael Andretti all encountered troubles later while running second toAl Unser Jr. Andretti nearly spun at Lap 55 when he had simultaneously overtaken Unser and backmarkerDean Hall on the backstretch and locked up the rear brakes. He didn't crash, but dropped to 6th. Rahal took second, and nearly took the lead afterpit stops, but histransmission failed after 77 laps. Fittipaldi'sengine expired with 20 laps remaining. Andretti fought back to reclaim 2nd, but repeated his Lap 55 mistake on Lap 102. Because he had lost first gear earlier in the race, he stalled while trying to restart with 2nd gear.Teo Fabi stole 2nd, but was penalised because he did so under Andretti's local yellow flag.Eddie Cheever ran out of fuel on the final lap, andChristian Fittipaldi (who would have been on the lead lap) ran out before he could take the white flag, dropping to 14th. Unser won his record 6th Long Beach Grand Prix by 23 seconds.
Eddie Cheever started 21st and made his second and final pit stop at Lap 106.Car owner and race engineerA. J. Foyt planned to keep Cheever on the track to the checkered flag, hoping for his first win as an owner since Foyt himself won thePocono 500 in the1981USAC season. Cheever was looking for his first careerIndyCar win; his best result had been 2nd toBobby Rahal atPhoenix in1992. Separate incidents forhometown favoriteMichael Andretti and rookieGil de Ferran helped Cheever conserve fuel. The race resumed at Lap 195 with Cheever in the lead. He rocketed away as the instrument panel indicated that he had ample fuel. However, fuelgremlins hadn't left Foyt's team since Long Beach, as the #14 ran out of fuel again in Turn 2 on Lap 199.Emerson Fittipaldi took the lead, held offJacques Villeneuve, winning in eleven consecutive seasons (dating back to1985), and claiming what would be his 22nd and final IndyCar victory.
The Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned byUSAC but was included in the championship.
See1995 Indianapolis 500 for race results and other information.
Italy'sTeo Fabi, driving forForsythe Racing won his first pole sinceDenver in1990 for thePorsche team. The start was aborted after an improper field alignment, but the start was clean on Lap 2. On Lap 7Michael Andretti touchedRobby Gordon's left rear tire with his right front wing; the contact was dramatic but harmless. Fabi led the first 27 laps untilAl Unser Jr. (looking to put the DNQ atIndy behind him) overtook him in traffic. Behind him,Paul Tracy was making bold passes on the outside in the same traffic. Fabi was the first to make a pit stop at Lap 63, followed by Unser at Lap 65. Tracy came in ten laps later, followed by histeammate Andretti, who stalled exiting his pit and lost several seconds before continuing. Unser reclaimed the lead after the first round of stops. At Lap 124 the first real yellow of the day (the aborted start counting as the first) came whenChilean rookieEliseo Salazar spun in Turn 4.Emerson Fittipaldi attempted to sneak into the pits for his final stop, but after he slowed to avoid Salazar he collectedmarbles on his tires which, adding to hisoversteer condition, caused him to spin into the pitlane and he nudged the inside wall with the right rear. He was done for the day. Under the yellow the leaders made their second and final pit stops, and Tracy beat Unser out of the pits. Al Jr. retook the lead from Tracy on Lap 144, and as they sliced through lapped traffic Tracy took the lead with 22 laps to go. A few laps later, Tracy tried to pass a group of cars (trailed byAlessandro Zampedri) on the outside, and he lost traction momentarily but continued without further incident. Fuel concerns were eminent in both thePenske andNewman-Haas pits, but Tracy took the checkered flag ahead of a fast-closing Unser by less than one second.
Al Unser Jr. took the chequered flag, butJimmy Vasser was declared the winner. Unser was disqualified because of ride height issues. This was caused byerosion of the skidplate on the kerbing. Shortly after the season was over, Unser was re-declared the winner, taking from Vasser what would have been his firstCART IndyCar win.
IndyCar point leaderJacques Villeneuve set a newtrack record (57.230 seconds) in winning his third consecutive pole for the 10th annualMolson Indy Toronto. Inaugural winnerBobby Rahal and four-time Toronto winnerMichael Andretti, neither of whom had won in 1995, started in Row 3. The first incident of the day began whenStefan Johansson tried to sneak aroundRaul Boesel in Turn 3 (a hard braking zone and passing opportunity where many incidents take place) but bumpedBryan Herta into the wall. Herta then bounced offEddie Cheever, damaging the right front suspension, and stalled the engine after missing the corner. On Lap 9 the order was Villeuenve,Vasser,Pruett, Andretti, Tracy,Fabi, Rahal, Unser and de Ferran, followed byRobby Gordon and rookieAndre Ribeiro, who tried to outbrake Gordon in Turn 3 in a battle for 10th place. Ribeiro spun after they touched and dropped to last. On Lap 17 Pruett spun out of 3rd place in Turn 8. On the next lap Unser tried to outbrake Rahal (who was stuck behind Fabi, who was a bit off the pace) in Turn 3, but the two champions touched and Unser tagged the outside wall, and the first full-course yellow was brought out.Stefan Johansson, who had just pitted, lost his right rear tire coming onto the backstretch. Pruett then retired with a leak in the cooling system after setting thefastest lap of the race. In a strange scoring error, leader Villeneuve was dropped to 5th after hispit stop because he was not picked up as the leader. Car ownerBarry Green was not pleased. The restart was interrupted by an unusual situation at the back of the field. 16th placedÉric Bachelart was involved in a spectacular Turn 7 accident that also involvedEliseo Salazar,Marco Greco, andCarlos Guerrero, who was launched overAlessandro Zampedri. Bachelart said in his interview withGary Gerould that the field, several seconds in front of him, suddenly slowed down after catching the leaders. Turn 7 is a flat corner (taken without lifting off the throttle) and a blind corner, catching the cars involved by surprise. Guerrero shared Bachelart's opinion. No one was injured in the melee.
On the restart Michael Andretti ledMaurício Gugelmin andPaul Tracy. Tracy tried to outbrake Gugelmin on the outside of Turn 3, but the two touched wheels and Tracy spun. Michael and "Big Mo" were now trailed byBobby Rahal, Villeneuve, andJimmy Vasser. Rahal began losing ground behind Gugelmin, who had yet to pit, and was trapped behind him until theBrazilian pitted at Lap 43. At the same time, backmarkerBuddy Lazier spun theProject Indy car in Turn 3. A lap later Andretti caught backmarkerHiro Matsushita, already infamous for not yielding to the leaders, and lost 4 of the 9 seconds he had gained over Rahal. The two pitted on Lap 63 with over 15 seconds over 3rd placedJacques Villeneuve, who pitted on the next lap. No change among the leaders through pit stops, but Rahal caught Andretti in lapped traffic; the pack included Johansson, Ribeiro, Cheever, andDanny Sullivan, who lost 5 laps after a tow back to the pits. At Lap 75 Sullivan passed Cheever, who tried to meet his apex after being passed. When Cheever turned in he touched the leader Andretti, who was trying to lap him. The light contact didn't appear to damage the car. 4th place Vasser dropped from the race with 13 laps to go with a broken header. Michael Andretti took the win ahead of Rahal and point leader Villeneuve.
RookieGil de Ferran claimed his first CARTpole position with a new track record (58.328 seconds, 146.2 mph). At the start, in Turns 9 and 10 (the final chicane), rookieAndre Ribeiro and1993 Cleveland winnerPaul Tracy touched wheels and spun off. Both made unsuccessful attempts to continue in the race, and retired early.Scott Pruett was also caught up in the mess, losing a lap before returning. Throughout the bulk of the race de Ferran exploited the potential of his car, proving to be difficult to beat. Second placedTeo Fabi, if anybody, seemed to be the only man who could outrun him. Behind them,Michael Andretti andBryan Herta were in close proximity for most of the race. They were later joined byRobby Gordon and point leaderJacques Villeneuve as the "best of the rest". Mid-race, Gordon and Villeneuve showed their own competitive spirits (perhaps too competitive) by pressing on each other through Turn 2 and missing Turn 3. Each ran through the grass and continued on.Teo Fabi stayed out several laps longer than de Ferran for final pit stops, coming in at Lap 66. He left with a 4-second lead over de Ferran, but came back in immediately and retired the car with a brokenheader.
Éric Bachelart crashed in Turn 9 to bring out the final caution flag. On the restart, 4th placedRobby Gordon took the lead briefly with a very deep entry into Turn 1. de Ferran held the lead, but was again challenged next time around in Turn 1 when Andretti passed him on the outside as Gordon passed him on the inside (ironically, all three cars were sponsored by rival brands ofmotor oil). Gordon slowed with a flat tyre (blaming Andretti over the radio toDerrick Walker), dropping from contention. With 5 laps to go, de Ferran passed Andretti for the lead exiting Turn 8 and was about to lap Scott Pruett as well. Proper racing etiquette is that a lapped car, regardless of pace should yield to a lead lap car. However, Pruett did not do this, and collided with de Ferran (who perhaps was not close enough to make Pruett think that he would attempt a pass), putting them both out of the race. The order was now Andretti, Herta, and Villeneuve. On Lap 89 (of 90) Herta went for the lead in Turn 9, but he slowed to let Andretti by because of the local yellow (overtaking is illegal in a yellow zone). Jacques Villeneuve had the proper momentum to pass both of them, and after a touch with Andretti in Turn 1, he took off and won his 5th race in 28 starts.ABC Sports'Sam Posey called this race the greatest of the year, and pointed out that the widest course on the schedule was producing the closest racing.
Before qualifications,Walker Racing'sRobby Gordon had a hard practice accident, forcing theValvoline crew to withdraw.Parker Johnstone won the first IndyCarpole position forHonda. The start was aborted twice, due to improper alignment of the field, but the rookie polesitter was not at fault. Later on, championship leaderJacques Villeneuve came into the pitlane unexpectedly with wheel hub problems. Johnstone soon had the same issues, as didMaurício Gugelmin. This problem was thought to be limited to theReynard cars, but this myth was dispelled whenBobby Rahal'sLola was similarly diagnosed.
Nearing halfway rookieAndre Ribeiro established himself as the car to beat, but after a routinepit stop his car failed to get up to race pace. He then retired with electrical issues. Polesitter Parker Johnstone also dropped out withbrake failure, and 3rd place runnerEddie Cheever'sgearbox quit. At Lap 194Danny Sullivan's great career ended when he crashed in Turn 1.Lyn St. James, driving forDick Simon, lost an engine while running in the Top 10 and Sullivan lost control in theoil.Bryan Herta struck a straytyre from the accident, ending his day as well. Sullivan's injuries included abroken pelvis, and had to withdraw from theBrickyard 400 the following weekend. He later announced his retirement fromauto racing (later becoming adriver analyst forABC and ESPN's IndyCar coverage).Scott Pruett andAl Unser Jr. were alone in the lead lap and made their final scheduled stops during this long yellow flag.
The race resumed at Lap 207 with Unser beating Pruett out of the pitlane. Unser appeared to be out of contention at Lap 230 when he pitted with blistering on the right rear tyre, but he stayed in the lead lap and caught a lucky yellow thanks to an unfortunateAlessandro Zampedri, who crashed in Turn 4 at Lap 238. When the race restarted Unser, in his 200th IndyCar start, was flying through the field, and it was only a matter of time before he caughtPatrick Racing's Pruett. TheCalifornian barely led at the white flag as Unser swept around him, but he made great use of thedraft and pulled the same move through Turns 3 and 4. At the pit entry Pruett had the lead and beat Unser by a carlength, givingFirestone Tires their first IndyCar win since the 1970s, andPatrick's first win sinceNazareth in September of1989 withEmerson Fittipaldi.
Point leaderJacques Villeneuve set a new track record in qualifying; the eight such occurrence of the season.Al Unser Jr., starting in Row 4, came in during theparade laps with a flat tire. At the start AmericansEddie Cheever andScott Pruett touched wheels and collected compatriotParker Johnstone, who spun off in Turn 4 (the starts atMid-Ohio take place on the backstretch, just after Turn 3). Johnstone's day was over before it started. A few laps later,BraziliansRaul Boesel andAndre Ribeiro received stop and go penalties for overtaking under the Turn 4 yellow, the site of Johnstone's accident. Through the first 20 laps onlyMichael Andretti could match the pace of polesitter Villeneuve, both men several seconds ahead of third placedMaurício Gugelmin. By this time, however, thewicker on Andretti's rear wing came loose, and ultimately the left side of the wicker flew off. But Andretti stayed on Villeneuve, apparently unaffected by the "wing change".Little Al made his first pit stop at Lap 23, a bit earlier than the leaders who were negotiating traffic.Pay driversHiro Matsushita,Eliseo Salazar, andCarlos Guerrero were not easy for Jacques and Michael to overtake. The duo pitted on Lap 29, with no position change, but Michael made a dramatic pass in Turn 7 (a part of the esses, or the "twisty bits", as they are also called at Mid-Ohio) to take the spot. The pass was not for the lead, however, because rookieGil de Ferran stayed out for a few more laps on a light fuel load. De Ferran went from 5th to 3rd after his pit stops completed the first round of stops. Soon after pit stops second place Villeneuve reported braking problems, which was later diagnosed as aboiling problem on a very warm and humid day. Rookie Andre Ribeiro was soon very warm when he brought theTasman car into the pits unscheduled; a fire developed in the rear of the car when the fuel vent stack stuck open allowing fuel to gush out and ignite on the exhaust. De Ferran took second from Villeneuve whose pace had slowed due to concern over the brakes. On Lap 39Bobby Rahal, the crowd favorite who had moved up from 8th to 4th in the pit stops, tried Villeneuve on the outside of Turn 5. They touched wheels and Rahal was sent into the wall. Neither he nor the crowd were pleased with Villeneuve, who was given enough room according to Rahal. Al Unser Jr., off sequence with the leaders, pitted under the full course yellow.
After the restart rookie point leaderChristian Fittipaldi jumped out in his pit stall with a fire in the back. 2nd placed de Ferran dropped out with engine failure, meaning that the top three rookies were all out of the race. Final stops began on Lap 54 whenRobby Gordon brought theWalker Racing #5 car in. The air gun for the right front tire changer failed, adding nearly 30 seconds to the pit stop time. Robby expressed his displeasure over the radio toDerrick Walker, lamenting that their race had been thrown away. Leader Michael Andretti pitted with 24 laps to go, and did not lead again until Vileneuve,Paul Tracy, and Unser made their pit stops. Unser stretched his fuel to Lap 70; 14 laps to go. Typical ofRoger Penske's strategic thinking, this pit sequence moved Unser up to second, behind Andretti and ahead of Andretti's teammate Tracy. Andretti's lead was unassailable with 4 laps to go, but heslowed with a broken header and could only sit forlornly in Turn 6, pondering what might have been. Despite the unusual pit strategy, Al Unser Jr. captured the win over Tracy, Villeneuve,Adrian Fernandez, andBryan Herta.
Andre Ribeiro won his first pole with a new track record.Adrian Fernandez crashed in Turn 2 on Lap 1 (he had crashed in Turn 3 in Friday practice). On Lap 42Scott Pruett crashed in front ofMichael Andretti, who took the lead during the pit stops. At halfwayPaul Tracy was black flagged for anoil leak, and was prevented byCART officials from returning to the race, leaving theCanadian fuming. With three laps to go a battle for 20th went wrong asMarco Greco andBuddy Lazier (both 13 laps down) crashed, and the race ended under yellow.Indy Lightsgraduate Andre Ribeiro won his first IndyCar race; also the first forhis team and forHonda.
Jacques Villeneuve won his fifthpole position of the year, setting yet another track record (which was no longer a surprise by this time of the season). The point for the pole was crucial for Villeneuve, who could eliminateAl Unser Jr. from championship contention, and thus become the 1995 champion. The start was clean, but in Turn 5 (a tight and trickychicane) Unser tangled with rookieGil de Ferran in a battle for 7th. Unser continued but de Ferran, who was on the outside, was flung into the air after wheel contact and struck the barrier. Thered flag was issued and the first lap was nullified.De Ferran's team managed to prepare the backup car for the second start. The second attempt was aborted when Villeneuve jumped the green flag. The third start was the official start.Rookie leaderChristian Fittipaldi slowed with a flat right rear tire after contact with uncleEmmo, who pitted for a newnosecone behind Villeneuve,Jimmy Vasser,Bobby Rahal,Scott Goodyear (in his third start of the year), andMichael Andretti. Vasser dropped out on Lap 7 with a broken header, movingRobby Gordon into the Top 5. At the same timeFormula One veteranDomenico Schiattarella spun theProject Indy car in Turn 5, bringing outJohnny Rutherford in thesafety car again. By Lap 20 the leaders had caughtHiro Matsushita, which compressed the Top 6 cars (Villeneuve, Rahal, Andretti, Gordon, Unser, andTeo Fabi). On lap 23 Andretti made one of his trademark bold passes in Turn 10 to get second from Rahal, and behind them Al Jr. passed Gordon. Rahal pitted on Lap 25, and the lead changed hands when Andretti repeated his Lap 23 pass on Villeneuve. TheFrench-Canadian's loss of pace was because of a loss of grip, as he locked up tires and stepped the back end out on acceleration trying to keep second place ahead of Al Junior. He locked up the fronts in Turn 5, allowing Unser to set up a great exit and launch around Villeneuve, who dropped to 7th by Turn 8 and pitted on that lap, taking the harder compound ofGoodyear Eagles. On Lap 39 Unser pitted andTeo Fabi spun theForsythe car in Turn 5. He did not hit a wall or stall the engine, but leader Andretti took no chances and made his first pit stop.
At Lap 49 Andretti and Unser, the only former winners of theMolson Indy Vancouver, were in close proximity some 17 seconds ahead of third placePaul Tracy when the yellow was waved forMarco Greco, whoseGalles Racing entry was stopped on the pit straight. After the restartGil de Ferran, who had done very well in the early going to keep his backup car in 5th place, could not pass the lapped car ofCarlos Guerrero. Behind him,Andre Ribeiro attempted to pass him on the pit straight, but running side by side through the first turn usually doesn't work, and Ribeiro clipped the wall with the right front and brought out the yellow again. Unser, who had set thefastest lap earlier, passed Andretti for the lead on Lap 60. It wasn't long before Andretti lost use of second gear, the culprit fromLong Beach. Though Michael was no longer a threat to Unser's bid for the win, having dropped out of the race, Unser was getting fed up withRaul Boesel who was on the tail end of the lead lap. On Lap 66 Tracy made a pass onBryan Herta for 3rd in Turn 3, but locked up the rear tires and collected Herta and 5th placeMaurício Gugelmin, ending theBrazilian's day. With 20 laps to go,Jacques Villeneuve was running 5th behind Unser, Rahal, de Ferran, and Gordon, when he suddenly lost 5th and 6th gears.Scott Goodyear, one lap down, swerved to avoid hitting Villeneuve, and clipped him coming into the sweeping Turn 9. Goodyear nearly hit the tire barrier in Turn 10 as his left rear was flattened by Jacques' front wing. AfterBobby Rahal pitted from 2nd, "AlbuquerqueAl" was unchallenged on his way to his 30th IndyCar win (pending the appeal from Portland) ahead ofGil de Ferran. Al would keep the championship fight alive ifTeam Penske won the appeal.
With the Portland appeal set to take place after the conclusion of the season, the championship was not entirely settled. AssumingTeam Penske won the appeal,Al Unser Jr. still had a chance, but as long as point leaderJacques Villeneuve finished 8th or better, he would be the champion regardless of Unser's result. Jacques won his 6th pole of the season, with another track record and a precious championship point. Unser started a lowly 14th.
The full course yellow was displayed on the opening lap asRobby Gordon spun out of Turn 1 after a touch withAdrian Fernandez. As Villeneuve led from the start, his front rowmateBryan Herta lost several positions before losing 5 laps in the pitlane with engine problems inChip Ganassi Racing's final race with theFord-Cosworth powerplants. A lap laterParker Johnstone spun and stalled in Turn 1, but the corner workers got him rolling again to avoid another safety car deployment. As Unser marched into the Top 10,Alessandro Zampedri spun hisDale Coyne Racing entry in Turn 11 and brought out the second full course caution. After maintaining the lead, Villeneuve pitted on Lap 29, followed by rookieGil de Ferran and1983 Laguna winnerTeo Fabi one lap later. De Ferran'sJim Hall-led crew got the drop onTeam Green, which was crucial for theBrazilian's slim chances of leapfrogging countrymanChristian Fittipaldi for IndyCar Rookie of the Year. After trailing de Ferran for a few laps, Villeneuve suddenly made an unscheduled stop due to a slow puncture on the right front. This dropped him to 13th, over 35 seconds out of the lead, and about 25 seconds behind title rival Unser, who had climbed up to 6th after pitting a few laps early. Just beyond halfway, the order was de Ferran,Paul Tracy,Mauricio Gugelmin, Unser Jr, and Fabi.
At Lap 45, Villeneuve pitted a 3rd time, while the other leaders had yet to begin the second round of pit stops. The problem was the same as before: a slow right front puncture, but the culprit was the brake vent which had apparently been rubbing the tire. De Ferran pitted from the lead on Lap 54, maintaining his comfortable lead over Tracy after Gugelmin led briefly. Gordon found trouble again, this time in Turn 11 because of contact with backmarkerMarco Greco; Gordon came in to replace a broken front wing, and Greco with a flailing left rear tire carcass. With Unser running 7th at the completion of scheduled pit stops, Villeneuve came in for a 4th stop to replace the front wing, with adjusted placement of the brake vents.
The final caution flag of the day was displayed with 20 laps to go when rookieAndre Ribeiro collided with the lapped car of Bryan Herta, sending the New Hampshire winner into the wall leading up to Turn 3. Rookie leader Christian Fittipaldi spun exiting Turn 5, retiring shortly afterwards and surrendering any opportunity to contest rookie honors with de Ferran controlling the race. De Ferran claimed Rookie of the Year by taking his first IndyCar win by 8 seconds over twice defending race winner Paul Tracy. Mauricio Gugelmin,Michael Andretti, andScott Pruett completed the Top 5. Unser came home 6th, ahead ofBobby Rahal,Jimmy Vasser, Teo Fabi, and Adrian Fernandez on the lead lap. 11th place Jacques Villeneuve became the youngest national champion in the modern era at the age of 24, and the 2nd youngest in history (Louis Meyer was also 24 in1928). The F1-bound French-Canadian was a lap down withRaul Boesel, who claimed the final point.