The roots of the problem: an Indycar TL

[kinnikuniverse]

Round 1: Valvoline 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway


March 20th, 1994.

That date will be remembered for the beginning of the new era of Indycar and the first Indycar start for Ayrton Senna. Already, the media ran wild with stories of the season's battle between Senna and Al Unser Jr and how the young drivers like Jeff Gordon and Robby Gordon would fare against the best driver in the world, and how Senna would fare on ovals.

The answer came on saturday, as Senna took the atlanta motor speedway for his first qualifying lap in the new Penske PC-23 Honda. While he had to fight off the reflex of pressing on the brake heading into the banked turn, Senna didn't look out of place, getting progressively faster as he got more comfortable.

However, to the surprise of everyone, neither Senna or Little Al, or even Emerson Fittipaldi, got pole position. It was reigning 3-time Indycar champion and 2-time Indy 500 winner Michael Andretti, in the supposedly underpowered Lola-Ford, getting pole position, as if saying he wasn't gonna go down without a fight. Robby Gordon, in the brand new Reynard chassis, qualifies 2nd, while Adrian Fernandez, in his first full time indycar season for Galles Racing, beats Senna and Little Al for 4th spot. Quebecois wonderkid Jacques Villeneuve starts in 8th, while Jimmy Vasser confirms della pena's ambitions by starting 10th ahead of 1993 rookie of the year Jeff Gordon, who also runs the new Reynard chassis for Jim Hall and ready to test himself against Senna and Little Al.


ROW 1
Michael Andretti
Robby Gordon

ROW 2
Emerson Fittipaldi
Adrian Fernandez

ROW 3
Al Unser Jr
Ayrton Senna

ROW 4
Eddie Cheever
Jacques Villeneuve

ROW 5
John Andretti
Jimmy Vasser

ROW 6
Jeff Gordon
Scott Sharp

ROW 7
Scott Goodyear
Bryan Herta

ROW 8
Mauricio Gugelmin
Bobby Rahal

ROW 9
Robbie Stanley
Wally Dallenbach Jr

ROW 10
Mario Andretti
Raul Boesel

ROW 11
Robbie Groff
Willy T. Ribs

ROW 12
Hiro Matsushita
Mark Smith

ROW 13
Davy Jones
Davey Hamilton

ROW 14
Robbie Buhl
Jeff Andretti

ROW 15
Buddy Lazier
Chris Smith


The start of the race sees Robby Gordon taking over 1st place from michael, while Senna and Little Al easily passed Fernandez to follow Emmo in their chase for Michael and Robby. The race devolved into a massive attrition fest, with crashes, engine failures and mechanical issues abound. Al Unser Jr was one such victim of electrical issues, while Michael Andretti had to retire following mechanical issues and Fernandez and Villeneuve crashed in the bankings.

Senna led the mid-portion of the race, showing off the penske-honda's potential and his skills adapting well to ovals. Roger Penske and Emmo taught him a lot about oval racing, and it looks like it payed off.

But then, Robby Gordon came out with a big pit strategy by Ganassi's shot caller Mo Nunn, and would find himself in the lead in the late portion. Despite Senna and Emmo threatening him, Robby held on and maamged to win the opening race of the season in a stunning upset, scoring Reynard's first win in their first Indycar start.

The Reynard 94I​

Speaking of upsets, Jimmy Vasser in the della pena reynard finishe din 4th, beating Scott Sharp of Pacwest and Jeff Gordon to do so., while rookies Bryan Herta and Robbie Stanely scores their first points in their first outings.


Atlanta Race Results

1) Robby Gordon 20 pts
2) Ayrton Senna 16 pts
3) Emerson Fittipaldi 14 pts
4) Jimmy Vasser 12 pts
5) Scott Sharp 10 pts
6) Jeff Gordon 6 pts
7) Eddie Cheever 4 pts
8) Bryan Herta 3 pts
9) Robbie Stanley 2 pts
10) Scott Goodyear 1 pt

Round 2: Jimmy Bryant Memorial at Phoenix

April 10th, 1994

At the short oval of Phoenix, Senna continues to impress by scoring pole position, albeit it wasn't a blowout, for Jacques Villeneuve got close to snatchign the pole away from him. Jeff Gordon starts in 8th, outqualifying Al Unser Jr.

ROW 1
Ayrton Senna
Jacques Villeneuve

ROW 2
Michael Andretti
Mario Andretti

ROW 3
Raul Boesel
Emerson Fittipaldi

ROW 4
John Andretti
Jeff Gordon

ROW 5
Al Unser Jr
Robbie Stanley

ROW 6
Jimmy Vasser
Robby Gordon

ROW 7
Scott Sharp
Mauricio Gugelmin

ROW 8
Scott Goodyear
Adrian Fernandez

ROW 9
Davy Jones
Mark Smith

ROW 10
Willy T. Ribs
Bryan Herta

ROW 11
Davey Hamilton
Bobby Rahal

ROW 12
Wally Dallenbach Jr
Robbie Groff

ROW 13
Buddy Lazier
Hiro Matsushita

ROW 14
Jeff Andretti
Eddie Cheever (Penalised for running an illegal setup)

DNQ
Robbie Buhl
Chris Smith

The Phoenix race saw Senna and Michael fight for the lead in the opening laps, but the Penske-Honda juggernaut finally showed itself for the first time, as Senna eventually passed Michael in a trademark aggressive move on the inside, and Emmo and Little Al soon eniugh travelsd to 2dn and 3rd, while Jeff Gorodn followed them.

But then, the crashfest started.

First off, Jacques Villeneuve, running 5th, didn't see the stalled Hiro Matsushita and hit him head on, the cars obliterating in ahlf. However, surprisingly, both drivers would come out in one piece, something which Paul Page expressed his amazement over on commentary.

Moments before Villeneuve's crash​

Later, Mario Andretti collided with backmarker Wally Dallenbach Jr to crash out of the race. This seemed as if the Penske Juggernaut would have a nice and quiet day, and Senna would amazingly score his first indycar race on an oval.

However, his lack of experience on them ended up biting him, for Senna clipped the wall at the first turn, forcing him to retire from the race. He looked visibly disappointed, but he told in interviews that it was a bit complicated driving on ovals, but he is now starting to underatand what he's stepping into.

Jeff Gordon tried to catch up with the remaining two penskes, but Emmo and Little Al were simply too strong, and Fittipaldi would win the race with Little Al right behind him in 2nd.

Race Results
1) Emerson Fittipaldi 20 pts
2) Al Unser Jr 16 pts
3) Jeff Gordon 14 pts
4) Michael Andretti 12 pts
5) Jimmy Vasser 10 pts
6) Bryan Herta 6 pts
7) John Andretti 4 pts
8) Raul Boesel 3 pts
9) Scott Sharp 2 pts
10) Robbie Stanley 1 pt

Round 3: Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

April 17th, 1994

A record crowd full of race fans and celebrities from the world over gathered at Long Beach to witness Senna's much anticipated Indycar debut on a street track. As soon as he got into the cockpit, he entered F1 grand prix mode, shattering the track record to get his second pole position, with his teammate Al Unser Jr sitting alongside him in 2nd.

​

This is it. The dream match that the entire world was waiting for. The hundreds of thousands in attendance, the millions watching around the world awaitign the start of the title duel between Senna and Little Al.



ROW 1
Ayrton Senna
Al Unser Jr

ROW 2
Emerson Fittipaldi
Michael Andretti

ROW 3
Robby Gordon
Mario Andretti

ROW 4
Raul Boesel
Mauricio Gugelmin

ROW 5
Eddie Cheever
John Andretti

ROW 6
Bobby Rahal
Jeff Gordon

ROW 7
Wally Dallenbach Jr
Jacques Villeneuve

ROW 8
Mark Smith
Robbie Groff

ROW 9
Scott Sharp
Scott Goodyear

ROW 10
Adrian Fernandez
Dave Kudrave

ROW 11
Hiro Matsushita
Willy T. Ribs

ROW 12
Jimmy Vasser
Bryan Herta

ROW 13
Davy Jones
Robbie Buhl

ROW 14
Robbie Stanley
Jeff Andretti

ROW 15
Buddy Lazier
Chris Smith


And this is exactly what the people is gonna get! As soon as the grene flag waved, Senna and Little Al flew away from the field and began the first chapter of their much anticipated duel. Roger Penske has made it clesr betwedn those two: they will be treated as equals, and they will be allowed to race each other, as long as they can keep things civil between themselves off the track.

The non-american fans watching Indycar for the first time were surprised at Al Unser Jr, this american, matching Senna's pace and even overtaking him for the lead multiple times! This is the king of the beach we are talking about, a 5-time winner of that race. Nobody cared if it was the Penske-Honda showing off its full potential, or that Penske was gonna dominate in the same way that is more common to Formula 1 than Indycar. All eyes were on that duel that, last year, was thought off as only the stuff of a race fan's wildest dreams. But it isn't a dream. It is reality.

Ayrton Senna was battling with Al Unser Jr for the win. On equal machinery.

If senna thought he was gonna have it easy in Indycars, as a lot of european and brazilian fans thought before watching Indycar for the first time, then he was in for a wake-up call, as Little Al was pulling away from him!

This only lit a fire under the three-time F1 champion's ass.

For the last portion of the race, Senna matched Little Al's incredible pace move for move, using all the tricks in the book to pressure Al into a mistake. Little Al held firm, braking as late as he could.

But alas, this wasn't any pretender to his throne at Long Beach he was facing. It was Senna.

Heading into the right turn at the end of shoreline drive, Senna made his move, diving into Al's outside line and taking the lead to the roar of the crowd! Al, despite his best efforts trying to take the fight to the brazilian, had no choice but to admit defeat, and he would simply slow down in order to bring the car home as Senna scores his first Indycar win at Long Beach.

Robby Gordon scores another podium, confirming Ganassi's status as a rising team, while Jeff Gordon had a quiet race, ending up in 9th.

While many people would say that the Reynard-Chevroket package won't be challenging the Penskes anytime soon, it didn't seem to worry Jeff that much. On the contrary, he says that he is confident in his chances at beating the Penskes at Indianapolis in May. While this could simply be seen as youthful confidence from the 23-year old, the real reason behind such a statement is only known to him and Jim Hall.

RACE RESULTS

1) Ayrton Senna 20 pts
2) Al Unser Jr 16 pts
3) Robby Gordon 14 pts
4) Michael Andretti 12 pts
5) Raul Boesel 10 pts
6) John Andretti 6 pts
7) Mauricio Gugelmin 4 pts
8) Wally Dallenbach Jr 3 pts
9) Jeff Gordon 2 pts
10) Robbie Groff 1 pt

A few weeks later, at the Hall workshop at the GM offices in Detroit, Jeff arrived at the precise hour that Jim asked him. Entering the wind tunnel, he was greeted by Jim and two other guests: none other than Bobby Rahal, his old indylights teammate Bryan Herta and Carl Hogan, as well as engineers from germany, ready to reveal what was hidden underneath the Pennzoil Reynard.

"Is it ready?" Jeff asked.

"Oh yes." Jim said. "We're ready to unleash Frankenstein."

"It's gonna cause such a shitstorm at Indy." Bobby Rahal said with a sly grin.

"And there will be nothing Penske or anyone can do about it." Jim said as the reveal bestowed upon them...

To Be Continued in the Month of May...​

 

[Huey Louis IX]

I get the feeling Mr. Penske's feathers are going to be a little ruffled come the month of May.

 

[kinnikuniverse]

Month of May 1994

Once again, the state of Indiana would be swept up in racing fever, as the 78th Indianapolis 500 mile sweepstakes was on the horizon. The usual fanfare and spectacle associated with the event was increased tenfold, this year, all thanks to the presence of one Ayrton Senna.

Media from around the world made the move to Indianapolis to see if Senna, who showed tremendous form on the ovals despite never racing on them before, could achieve victory at the greatest spectacle in racing. The Penske team were the heavy favorites, with their Honda engines showing off its full power during the first three races of the season, while Al Unser Jr looked to bounce back and finally win the event for the first time.

the engine that almost stole Senna's thunder​

While the entire world was focused on Senna competing, american fans, teams and Indycar Inc. Higher-ups were focused on another topic altogether. A secret collaboration between the Rahal-Hogan and Hall VDS outfits with German manufacturer Mercedes-Benz was revealed to the grand day: a purpose-built, V-8 Pushrod engine known as the 500I, meant to exploit a loophole in the Indycar rule book.

In an effort to appeal to engine manufacturers and smaller, independent engine builders, Indycar Inc. Permitted traditional stock block engines, with an increased 3.43 L engine capacity as an equivalent formula to the 2.65 L Ford Cosworth, Chevy Ilmor and Buick Aurora V-8 engines used by most Indycar teams, for the Indy 500. Initially, it had to have stock components, but in 1991, Indycar removed that restriction, leading to engines such as the home-made Menard V6 engine. Nobody really thought of investing significant amounts of money into developing an indy-only engine as Mercedes-Benz did, however.

The results was a 1000 HP beast that had almost 200 more HP than even the Honda Engines. Bobby Rahal and Jeff Gordon now have what it takes to beat the Penskes at Indy, and to say that engine saw vivid and varied reactions across the paddock would be a massive understatement. Penske pleaded for Hall and Rahal-Hogan to be thrown out of the event, but Indycar stayed firm, saying that the engine was perfectly legal. Regardless of what happens at Indy, there will be a meeting to figure out what to do with the engine regulations afterwards.


It wouldn't be long before it made itself known. Ayrton Senna, with the sold out crowd cheering him own, put his Penske-Honda at 220 mph in his first practice run, while Scott Brayton in the Lola-Menard posted 227 mph. Jeff Gordon, driving the Pennzoil Reynard equipped with the controversial engine, almost matched Brayton with a 226.

Raul Boesel broke the 230 mph barrier, the first to do so since Roberto Guerrero in 1992. The Penske-Hondas and the Mercedes misfits managed to match Boesel's speed as time trials began.

Boesel struck first, with a 227 mph. Al Unser Jr, who spent the first days of practice at Michigan to test for the Honda engine's reliability, upped the ante with a 228 mph. Senna then seemingly took pole position with a 228.20 mph and the Rahal-Hogan-mercedes of Bobby and Bryan Herta couldn't match it, but Jeff Gordon came out and did a flying lap, achieving 229 MPH and getting pole position, to the roar of the indiana crowd, happy that the homegrown star beat the multi-time formula 1 world champion.

Jeff Gordon exiting the pits for his pole-winning lap​

The stage is set for perhaps the most anticipated Indy 500 in history. The homegrown stars Jeff Gordon and Little Al against Senna, the mercedes pushrod engine against the hi-tech Honda V8. A true battle of america vs the world.


STARTING GRID

ROW 1
Jeff Gordon
Ayrton Senna (R)
Al Unser Jr

ROW 2
Raul Boesel
Bobby Rahal
Emerson Fittipaldi

ROW 3
Bryan Herta (R)
Jacques Villeneuve (R)
Robby Gordon

ROW 4
Lyn St. James
Michael Andretti
Arie Luyendyk

ROW 5
Mario Andretti
John Andretti
Eddie Cheever

ROW 6
Robbie Groff
Stan Fox
Hideshi Matsuda (R)

ROW 7
Robbie Stanley
Jimmy Vasser
Scott Sharp

ROW 8
Chris Smith (R)
David Empringham (R)
Mark Smith

ROW 9
Scott Brayton
Wally Dallenbach Jr
Adrian Fernandez (R)

ROW 10
Davey Hamilton
Davy Jones
Willy T. Ribs

ROW 11
Scott Goodyear
Mauricio Gugelmin
John Paul Jr.

DNQ
Claude Bourbonnais (R)
Didier Theys
Brian Till
Jeff Andretti
Geoff Brabham
Pancho Carter
Gary Bettenhausen
Michael Greenfield
Stéphan Grégoire
Buddy Lazier
Johnny Parsons


START YOUR ENGINES!

 

[kinnikuniverse]

1994 indy 500 Race Report


Clear blue skies dawned on race day, with temperatures in the mid-70s. The command to start engines was made on-time at 10:52 a.m. EST, and the field pulled away for the pace laps. Jeff Gordon, in his Mercedes-powered Pennzoil Hall Reynard, led the Penske-Hondas of Ayrton Senna and Al Unser Jr.

At the exit of turn 4, Gordon immediately pressed on the gas, with the Penske-Hondas following him closely as the green flag waved, with Bobby Rahal in his Lola-Mercedes getting into the fight in 4th. As expected, the mercedes-powered cars and the Penskes were the class of the field.



Later on lap 20, Wally Dallenbach Jr crashed in turn two, leading to the leaders pitting three laps later, where Jeff Gordon would concede the lead to Ayrton Senna following a stall at the pit exit, which was a big concern about the Mercedes engine.

Mario Andretti retired with ignition problems, while reigning champion Michael Andretti punctured his tires and stalled in his subsequent pitsop, going a lap down.

By lap 85, Senna was way out in front, almost 24 seconds in front of Jeff Gordon and Little Al. Jacques Villeneuve and Bobby Rahal were following them. On Lap 92 Hideshi Matsuda crashed in Turn 2. Under the yellow, John Paul Jr. then spun and crashed in turn 3. As the field was circulating through turn three warm-up lane behind the pace car, Scott Brayton was barreling down the backstretch trying to catch up with the field. He misjudged the speed of the field, and approached the line of cars too fast. He ran into the back of John Andretti's car, touched wheels with him, and spun forward in a clockwise rotation The back of the car then rammed the back of Michael Andretti's car, and climbed up it sideways. Al Unser Jr., among others, narrowly escaped the incident. Brayton was found on top of Michael, and the cars were sideways in the infield grass. Hot coolant and oil began to leak from Brayton's car, and dripped into Michael's cockpit. Michael scurried out of the car and was tackled to the ground by corner workers in an effort to put out any fire.

At the halfway point, both Jeff Gordon and Ayrton Senna led for 98 of the first 100 laps. Emerson fittipaldi in the third Penske car retired with a failing turbocharger.

By the last 30 laps, Senna, Unser and Jeff Gordon were the only cars on the lead lap. 4th place Villeneuve. With a quick splah and go pitstop on lap 194, Senna picked up the pace, outright lapping Gordon and Unser.

...or so it seems!

Senna, trying to pass Gordon, drove over the rumble strips, his rear tires losing their grip as he slids off and tagged the outside wall at the exit of turn 4!

After leqding 145 laps, and looking untouchabke in only his third oval race and first attempt at the Indy 500, Ayrton Senna crashes out of the race!

Now, it was all about Al Unser Jr vs Jeff Gordon. Honda vs Mercedes. Penske vs Hall. The present vs the future.

As the laps winded down, Little Al, inheriting the lead, tried to pull away from Gordon, who used the mercedes power to get close to the 2-time Indycar champion. Unser's radio broke down, meaning he wouldn't hear the Penske pit crew voicing their worries about having enough fuel to end the race and beat the young Gordon. The laps went down, and Gordon got closer and closer, memacing right behind Little Al.

Feeling like it was now or never, Little Al used whatever was left of his fuel tank to desperately try to hold on.

And that final push would pay off, for the fuel tank would barely last the distance as Al Unser Jr finally, after all those heartbreaking losses, wins the Indianapolis 500, Honda's first win at the event in their first attempt!

Round 4: 78th Indy 500​

1) Al Unser Jr 20 pts
2) Jeff Gordon 16 pts
3) Bobby Rahal 14 pts
4) Jacques Villeneuve 12 pts (R)
5) Jimmy Vasser 10 pts
6) Robby Gordon 6 pts
7) Bryan Herta 4 pts (R)
8) Eddie Cheever 3 pts
9) Stan Fox 2 pts
10) John Andretti 1 pt



The race might be over, but the battle has only begun for Jeff Gordon, Jim Hall and the Rahal-Hogan team. An emergency meeting has been scheduled for after the Rex Mays Classic at the Milwaukee Mile, with the subject being the Mercedes pushrod engine and its legality and use beyond the Indy 500...

To be Continued...​

 

[Huey Louis IX]

Nice to see Little Al and Roger throwing up the V for Victory sign, haha.

Will there be a need to ban or restrict the pushrod Mercedes? Frankenstein didn't dominate Indy the way the Beast did IOTL, and without Little Lord Anton Hulman George and his animosity towards CART/Penske I'd think that the pushrod would be fine for regular competition ITTL. Besides, it seems like Honda is the engine to beat this season, I guess Roger only likes an "unfair advantage" when he's the one that benefits. Anyway, good work as usual, I'm interested to see where this goes next.

 

[kinnikuniverse]

Nice to see Little Al and Roger throwing up the V for Victory sign, haha.

Will there be a need to ban or restrict the pushrod Mercedes? Frankenstein didn't dominate Indy the way the Beast did IOTL, and without Little Lord Anton Hulman George and his animosity towards CART/Penske I'd think that the pushrod would be fine for regular competition ITTL. Besides, it seems like Honda is the engine to beat this season, I guess Roger only likes an "unfair advantage" when he's the one that benefits. Anyway, good work as usual, I'm interested to see where this goes next.

I'll be honest with you, i went back and forth on whether 24 or Little Al would win. Like, having Jeff Gordon win it would mimick his real life win at Indy in NASCAR that same year...but in the end, i went with Little Al. He already lost the 92 500 to Scott Goodyear and lost the 1992 title by only one point, so might as well give him a bone

 

[kinnikuniverse]

Sorry for the wait, guys. I'm just not finding the motivation right now, and i'm busy focusing on other stuff.

 

[Inferno60]

I hope this continues.

 

[kinnikuniverse]

I hope this continues.

Oh, it will. I wrote down all the race results, i just need to find time and motivation

 

[Huey Louis IX]

Oh, it will. I wrote down all the race results, i just need to find time and motivation

Better to leave it for now and jump back in when you're fresh and enthusiastic about it, than to trudge along without inspiration and crank out a potentially inferior product. We can wait.

 

[SealTheRealDeal]

Will Roger Penske buy Saturn (the car company, not the planet) iTTL as he almost did iOTL back in 2009?

 

[kinnikuniverse]

1994 Marlboro Indycar World Series part 2

Round 5: rex mays classic at Milwaukee

June 5th, 1994


The 1994 Indianapolis 500 was the most talked about race in the past few years, with the novelty of Ayrton Senna raising the bar in Indycar racing and the Mercedes pushrod engine almost propulsing Jeff Gordon to victory. Said engine is the subject of much contriversy and debate, and while it wasn't as dominant as expected, mainly due to Penske developing the Honda Engine to match its power output, the teams using the mercs, Jim Hall VDS and Rahal-Hogan Racing, have been requesting Indycar Inc. Permission to use the Mercs for the rest of the season in order to keep up with the Penske Hondas. Naturally, the captain, and especially the Ford, Buick and Chevy teams, the latter not particularly happy that their main teams would switch to another manufacturer at Indy, doesn't want to simply let them be. Ford, Buick and Chevy eventually proposed that, should Indycar Inc. Allow Hall amd Rahal-Hogan to run the Mercs for the full season, then they should let them increase the number of litres on their V8 engines to compensate for the sheer power output of the pushrod Merc and the Hondas.

Indycar Inc. Eventually gave reason to Ford, Buick and Chevy, with their engine receiving increased horsepower in exchange for the mercs being used for the rest of the season. Said upgrades will arrive at Portland.

Jeff Gordon, now armed with the merc engine, manages to once again beat Ayrton Senna for the pole position at the Milwaukee Mile. The race would be between those two and Raul Boesel, who is making Milwaukee his favorite track ever since winning last year at that same venue.

However, Al Unser Jr, starting 10th, used his momentum from his long awaited Indy 500 to climb up the crowded mile long oval and reach Senna and Jeff Gordon. With Gordon giving them trouble up front, Senna and Little Al opted to double team the young californian by sandwiching him in a three-wide overtake at the first turn, with Little Al taking the lead and Senna taking second. A breathtaking battle of three for the win followed, with Little Al holding off Senna and Gordon to score his second consecutive win this season.

Milwaukee Race Results
1) Al Unser Jr 20 pts
2) Ayrton Senna 16 pts
3) Jeff Gordon 14 pts
4) Emerson Fittipaldi 12 pts
5) Michael Andretti 10 pts
6) Bobby Rahal 6 pts
7) Robby Gordon 4 pts
8) Raul Boessl 3 pts
9) Jacques Villeneuve 2 pts
10) Bryan Herta 1 pt

Round 6: Budweiser Grand Prix of New York at Watkins Glen

June 12th, 1994

ROW 1
Al Unser Jr
Michael Andretti

ROW 2
Ayrton Senna
Jeff Gordon

ROW 3
Bryan Herta
Bobby Rahal

ROW 4
Jacques Villeneuve
Emerson Fittipaldi

ROW 5
Robby Gordon
Eddie Cheever

ROW 6
Wally Dallenbach Jr
Adrian Fernandez

ROW 7
Mauricio Gugelmin
Raul Boesel

ROW 8
Scott Sharp
John Andretti

ROW 9
Scott Goodyear
Davy Jones

ROW 10
Jimmy Vasser
Dave Kudrave

ROW 11
Robbie Stanley
Mark Smith

ROW 12
Willy T. Ribs
Robbie Groff

ROW 13
Robbie Buhl
Jeff Andretti

ROW 14
Buddy Lazier
Chris Smith

DNQ
Mario Andretti (withdrew due to sustaining a minor injury in a crash during qualifying)

At the Glen, Little Al, Senna and Penske once again dominated, while Emmo saw himself dueling with Jeff Gordon and Bobby Rahal for third while the Fords and Chevys were off the pace. They can't wait for portland...

Back at the front, Little Al and Senna wrote the second chapter of their 1994 battles. Unser defended well against the Brazilian icon, but Senna used a trick from his old F1 days, aggressively diving at a small gap into the boot and almost pushing away Little Al off the track, something which Unser didn't appreciate. Little Al then leveld up the aggression to match Senna's pace, yet it would prove costly, for a missed overtaking opportunity at the first turn saw Little al off the track and clipping his front win into the wall, forcing him to pit for a new wing in a long pit stop that essentially gave the win away to Senna.

With the Senna-Little Al on-track rivalry heating up and ford and chevy with new upgrades at Portland, are Penske Honda starting to sweat a little?


Watkins Glen Race Results


1) Ayrton Senna 20 pts
2) Jeff Gordon 16 pts
3) Emerson Fittipaldi 14 pts
4) Bobby Rahal 12 pts
5) Michael Andretti 10 pts
6) John Andretti 6 pts
7) Jacques Villeneuve 4 pts
8) Mauricio Gugelmin 3 pts
9) Bryan Herta 2 pts
10) Al Unser Jr 1 pt

Round 7: GI Joe's 200 at Portland

July 26th, 1994

The upgrades to Ford and Chevy finally arrived, and safe to say, Ford and Cosworth pulled out all the stops. 6 put of the first ten starters, including Pole Sitter Michael Andretti, drove Ford Cosworths, with Michael outqualifying all three penskes and Jimmy Vasser scores the young Della Pena team its best qualifying result ever alongside Forsythe Green's Jacques Villeneuve. Jeff Gordon, Bobby Rahal and Bryan Herta sees themselves starting 10th, 11tha dn 12th. It seems the Mercs need to upgrade as well, as the arms race is now on!


ROW 1
Michael Andretti
Al Unser Jr

ROW 2
Emerson Fittipaldi
Ayrton Senna

ROW 3
Jacques Villeneuve
Jimmy Vasser

ROW 4
John Andretti
Robby Gordon

ROW 5
Eddie Cheever
Jeff Gordon

ROW 6
Bryan Herta
Bobby Rahal

ROW 7
Scott Goodyear
Adrian Fernandez

ROW 8
Mauricio gugelmin
Mario Andretti

ROW 9
Claude Bourbonnais
Scott Sharp

ROW 10
Robbie Stanley
David Empringham

ROW 11
Wally Dallenbach Jr
Dave Kudrave

ROW 12
Willy T. Ribs
Mark Smith


ROW 13
Davy Jones
Jeff Andretti

ROW 14
Chris Smith
Robbie Groff

ROW 15
Hiro Matsushita
Jeff Wood

ROW 16
Robbie Buhl
Buddy Lazier


The race was a great spectacle, with Michael denfending himself against Little Al, while Senna and Emmo tried to fend off Villeneuve and Robby Gordon. The quebecois, son of Legend Gilles Villeneuve, impressed the paddock by going toe to toe with Emmo and Senna.

​

JV showing off his chops against the best​

Eventually, Michael would be passed by Little Al, and a later trip off track brought him down a few positions and ended his win bid. This led to Unser and Senna go at it again, with Senna and Unser often going side by side at the fast parts of the track. In the end, Senna made his way the ahrd way against Little Al, almost coming close to contact but keeping it clean as he wins his third win of the season. A bad day for Merc, as all of them blew up their engines.

Portland Race Results
1) Ayrton Senna 20 pts
2) Al Unser Jr 16 pts
3) Emerson Fittipaldi 14 pts
4) Robby Gordon 12 pts
5) Michael Andretti 10 pts
6) Jacques Villeneuve 6 pts
7) Willy T. Ribs 4 pts
8) Robbie Groff 3 pts
9) Mario Andretti 2 pts
10) Adrian Fernandez 1 pt

Round 8: New England 200

July 10th, 1994


At the New Hampshire motor Speedway in Loudon, Penske utterly dominated proceedings despite a strong challenge by Jeff Gordon. It was a bad day for the mercedes engines, as Jeff and Bryan Herta blew up their engines while Bobby Rahal suffered from a leaking engine, barely crossing the line for 9th place. Little Al, this time, blew Senna out the window, crushing the competition en route to his 3rd win of the season.


1) Al Unser Jr 20 pts
2) Ayrton Senna 16 pts
3) Emerson Fittipaldi 14 pts
4) Raul Boesel 12 pts
5) Michael Andretti 10 pts
6) Scott Sharp 6 pts
7) Jimmy Vasser 4 pts
8) Adrian Fernandez 3 pts
9) Bobby Rahal 2 pts
10) Robbie Stanley 1 pt

Round 9: Molson Indy Toronto

July 17th, 1994

At Exhibition Place, the thousands gathered in downtown Toronto were treated with an exciting race with lots of dramatic passes. John Andretti, getting his first pole, led the first two laps before being passed by Robby Gordon for Ganassi. Robby the tried to hod off Michael Andretti, Bobby Rahal and Jeff Gordon for the win, with the Penskes looking off the pace for the first time this season. Al Unser Jr retired from an engine failure, while Senna and Emmo tried their damnest with Robby fizzling out due to better timed pit stops frol the Penskes, but Michael and Bobby Rahal were imperial that day. Senna did have a nice scrap with Jeff Gordon, though. The Pennzoil car finally ahd a proper duel with the F1 legend, and while Senna ultimately prevailed and got the podium today, the Californian turned many heads and showed he was no pushover against Senna.

In the end, it was Michael Andretti who holds off Bobby Rahal and wins once again at Toronto, scoring Ford's second win of the season, while Chevy are making fools out of themselves, even with the increased horsepower, as their reliability issues were badly exposed.


1) Michael Andretti 20 pts
2) Bobby Rahal 16 pts
3) Ayrton Senna 14 pts
4) Jeff Gordon 12 pts
5) Emerson Fittipaldi 10 pts
6) Robby Gordon 6 pts
7) John Andretti 4 pts
8) Jacques Villeneuve 3 pts
9) Scott Goodyear 2 pts
10) David Empringham 1 pt


Depsite the close calls, the experts and the man himself knew one thing that's for sure. Jeff Gordon's first Indycar win is coming, and some might say even soon....

To be continued...

​

man, this TL is turning more and more into my way of coping with life and my fading love for motorsports nowadays...

Will Roger Penske buy Saturn (the car company, not the planet) iTTL as he almost did iOTL back in 2009?

...I'm sorry, what?

 

[SealTheRealDeal]

...I'm sorry, what?

Saturn Corporation - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[kinnikuniverse]

Saturn Corporation - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Wow, i didn't know that. I dunno if its gonna have any importance in this TL, but it is fascinating. I thought Saturn was a canadian make, actually, since they were popular cars in my home country of Canada

 

[SealTheRealDeal]

Wow, i didn't know that. I dunno if its gonna have any importance in this TL, but it is fascinating. I thought Saturn was a canadian make, actually, since they were popular cars in my home country of Canada

Speaking of popular cars in Canada, maybe Penske could go for Pontiac instead, given it's motorsport heritage would jive better with the rest of Mr. Penske's portfolio

 

[kinnikuniverse]

Speaking of popular cars in Canada, maybe Penske could go for Pontiac instead, given it's motorsport heritage would jive better with the rest of Mr. Penske's portfolio

Plus, who knows? Maybe Penske would bring Pontiac back to NASCAR

 

[kinnikuniverse]

While waiting for the 1994 Marlboro Michigan 500 and the continuation fo Jeff Gordon, Ayrton Senna and the Indycar stars's exploits, here's a little update on the racing world in this TL so far (at least, as far as 4 wheels are concerned):

Tracks owned by Indycar Inc. So far

-Indianapolis Motor Speedway
-Ontario Motor Speedway
-Watkins Glen International
-Road America
-Portland International Raceway
-Riverside Raceway
-Texas World Speedway
-Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

Other series news

NASCAR

The 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup season went down as quite possibly the greatest in the sport's history, with no less than 6 contenders, including Davey Allison, Dale Earnhardt, Bill Elliot, 1990 champion Mark Martin and Kyle Petty all in contention heading into the final round at Atlanta. Yet it would be the cinderella story of one man, Alan Kulwicki, who wiuld survive a potentially devastating incident to win the title by scoring the most lap led bonus point to win the cup. Dale Eanrhardt would strike back the following year, however, beating Rusty Wallace and Allisson for his 5th Winston Cup title.

Now, of course, without a certain california kid in the Winston Cup and Kulwicki and Allison still alive, the 1994 driver market goes drastically different, and so is the championship, thus far. Hungry for a Winston Cup title, Davey Allison and Robert Yates pulled out all the stops for this season, taking the fight to the Intimidator and becoming Dale's biggest challenger as we headed into the dog days of summer, with both men 40 points off of each other, while their closest pursuers, Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin, were way off them by almost 200 points. The stage is set for an exciting title duel.

IMSA

with Group C dying due to the typical costs rising and the usual end of the Sportscar cycles, IMSA, still adhering to GTP rules, became the spot for manufacturers such as Mazda, Jaguar and Nissan to continue running their Group C machinery. Porsche arrived with its new machine, the 963, taking the fight to Eagle-Toyota, who found 1993 to be a much tougher fight for their title defense against Porsche and the rotary-engined Mazda 787C. The latter so far has dominated proceedings in IMSA in 1994, winning 4 races while Porsche, Eagle and the surprising Upstarts Riley and Scott Mark 3 won the last 3 races.

World Touring Car Championship.

The World Touring Car Championship managed to get off the ground for 1988 after a fun, but difficult first season that saw BMW winning the championship with Team Schnitzer. 1988 would see the Ford Sierra Cosworths of Rouse Racing and Zakspeed dominate in the class A, only to have met their match with the Nissan Skyline GTR R32 and the Holden Commodore, who gave the Sierra a tough fight in 1989 before Godzilla utterly dominated 1990 and 1991 in class A. In class B, the BMW M3, the Mercedes 190E and the Audi Quattro were the cars to beat, with the Toyota Supra also occasionally causing surprises.

In 1990, Australian Alan Gow took over the running of the BTCC and created the new class 2 category, dubbed Super Touring for marketing reasons. This simple, single class system proved to be very popular, and with the group A touring cars seeing dwindling aprticipation nunbers due to the costs, Gow also took over the WTCC and replaced the multi-Class Group A with Super Touring for the 1992 season. This new class resulted in plenty of manufacturers and privateer entries and spectacular, close combat racing, with drivers such as David Leslie, Alain Menu, Bernd Schneider, Paul Radisich, Frank BielaJo Winckelhock and Tim Harvey becoming household names.

1992 sees David Leslie of Toyota fend off Bernd Schneider in the Opel Vectra and Johnny Ceccoto in the BMW E83 in a tense three-way fight to win the first title if the super touring era. Beemer would then win the 1993 title with Smokin Jo Winckelhock amidst strong competition from the newcomers Alfa Romeo and Gabriele Tarquini, with also strong performances from Toyota with Alain Menu and David Brabham, Nissan who won the RAC Tourist Trophy at Silverstone witha 1-2 from Will Hoy/ Keiichi Tsuchiya and Eric Van De Poele/Kieth O'Dor as well as the arrival of the Rouse-engineered Ford Mondeo with Paul Radisich onboard.

1994 thus far, however, sees Alfa Romeo dominate with its controversial winged 155, with Tarquini currently having a commanding lead over Schneider in the Joest Opel Vectra, Radisich in the Ford Mondeo and the surprise package of Renault and Alain Menu. Notable newcomers coming in this season includes the new Mercedes C-Class super tourer entered by Zakspeed and driven by Klaus Ludwig and Christian Danner, and the strange, but surprisingly quick Volvo Station Wagon build by Tom Walkinshaw and driven by young prospect Rickard Rydell and veteran Jan Lammers.

Formula 1

1994 is bound to be a season of significant change in Formula 1. the champions of the past 6 years, McLaren's Ayrton Senna, Ferrari's Nigel Mansell and Williams's Alain Prost, all left the sport, with the new generation led by Jean Alesi, Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher now the new protagonists of this new era. The FIA also changed the rules so that driver aids are banned to mitigate Williams's dominance.

If the first two grand Prixs were anything to go by, then it seemed like Benetton will be the new kid on the block, as Schumacher dominated the Brazilian and Pacific Grand Prixs. However, suspicions were arisen towards the british-Italian team about Schumi's almost too perfect starts. An investigation followed, and it was revealed that Benetton had been using a launch control device hidden underneath the chassis, prompting Schumi's disqualification and the suspension of the team until they removed the traction control device from the car.

This would lead to the San Marino GP, where the track's lack of safety and the idea of banning driver aids were badly exposed, as Jordan's Rubens Barrichello, the retroactive winner of the Pacific GP, had a near fatal shunt with the wall at Tamburello, while Roland Ratzenberger, who formerly drove for BMW team Schnitzer in the endurance rounds of the WTCC, wasn't so lucky, becoming F1's first on-track fatality since Ricardo Paletti in Montreal back in 1982.

The race itself, however, would be a great race full of twists, with Jean Alesi for Williams (who retroactively got the win in Brazil) initially leading before some great strategy calls from Ferrari's Jean Todt, McLaren's Ron Dennis and Peter Sauber led to a 4-way fight for the win between Alesi, McLaren's Mika Hakkinen, Sauber's Karl Wendlinger and Ferarri's surprising young Italian Alex Zanardi, signed on as Gerhard Berger's number 2, now taking the fight to Alesi and Hakkinen. Alesi's engine failure led to the other 3 fighting for the win, with Karl Wendlinger giving his all, passing Zanardi and Hakkinen to offer Sauber its first ever win and Mercedes's first win since coming back to F1.

At Monaco, McLaren would come back in full force, however, with its brash canadian rookie Paul Tracy managing to win his first F1 race in his fourth F1 start, while Jean Alesi wins in Barcelona, the last Grand Prix before Benetton came back with the B-spec B194, now with the launch control device removed.

Alesi would win in Montreal, but Schumahcer would claim the Frenchman's home GP at Magny-Cours. Silverstone would see Damon Hill score an emotional first win in front of all of England. However, nothing would go right for the favorites at Hockenheim, where almost everyone retired, with Gerhard Berger holding on to win it for Ferrar, with the Ligier of Olivier Panis and Arrows's Christian Fittipaldi rounding up a surprising podium.

Right now, Jean Alesi leads the championship, but with Schumi and Benetton coming back, Ferrari and McLaren showing good pace (if they finished, that is), as well as the surprising pace of many smaller teams, such as Sauber, this season is already shaping up to be the most exciting season in Formula 1 in quite some time.

 

[kinnikuniverse]

1994 Marlboro Indycar World Series standings after 9 rounds:

1. Ayrton Senna (R) 16 0 20 0 16 20 20 16 14 122 pts

2. Al Unser Jr 0 16 16 20 20 1 16 20 0 109 pts

3. Emerson Fittipaldi 14 20 0 0 12 14 14 14 10 98 pts

4. Jeff Gordon 6 14 2 16 14 16 0 0 12 80 pts

5. Michael Andretti 0 12 12 0 0 10 10 10 20 74 pts

6. Robby Gordon 20 0 14 6 0 12 0 6 58 pts

7. Bobby Rahal 0 0 0 14 6 12 0 2 16 50 pts

8. Jimmy Vasser 12 10 0 10 0 0 0 4 0 36 pts

9. Jacques Villeneuve (R) 0 0 0 12 2 4 6 0 3 27 pts

10. Raul Boesel 0 3 10 0 3 0 0 12 0 25 pts

the 1994 mid-season standings paints a very clear picture: there is a huge gap between Penske-Honda and everybody else. Ayrton Senna adapted to Indycars in no time, with his best performances obviously being on the road courses and street tracks, and his lead atop the standings would've been even greater had he not hit the wall at Indianapolis. Al Unser Jr would take advantage of that at Indy, and also dominate on the ovals to close the gap with Senna in a thrilling title duel.

However, the arrival of the Mercedes Pushrod engines and the upgrades to the Ford Cosworths have shuffled the cards a bit, with 1993 rookie of the year Jeff Gordon putting in very consistent performances as he pushes for an ambitious late charge. The Cosworths, meanwhile, greatly benefitted Michael Andretti, with his win at Toronto propulsing him to 5th, while Jimmy Vasser causes the big surprise with his strong early season being good enough for 8th in the standings. Robby Gordon, with his win at the season opener in Atlanta and his strong performances when he finished, confirms Ganassi's rise as a darkhorse in the championship, while Jacques Villeneuve leads the non-Senna rookies in 9th. Raul Boesel is the only non Honda, Merc and Ford entry in the top 10.


Rookie of the year Standings

Ayrton Senna 122 pts

Jacques Villeneuve 27 pts

Bryan Herta 16 pts

Robbie Stanley 4 pts

David Empringham 1 pt

Welp, there is no doubt who will win the 1994 Rookie honors....what is interesting, though, is the battle between Villeneuve and 1993 Indy lights champion Bryan Herta. USAC ace Robbie Stanley didn't look out of place in Indycars, especially on ovals, so his 4 points doesn't indicate the whole picture. Finally, part-timer David Empringham scores a well-deserved point at his home race in Toronto for Derrick Walker.

Up Next: the 1994 Marlboro Michigan 500, one of the craziest races in Indycar history...​

 

[kinnikuniverse]

Round 10: Marlboro Michigan 500

July 31st, 1994

On a hot summer day in July 1994, one of the craziest Indycar races ever just happened.

It started out typically enough. Michael Andretti continued his good run of form ever since the Ford Cosworth upgrades arrived, getting the pole by narrowly beating Jeff Gordon in his Hall VDS Reynard-Mercedes. What's new, however, is that Robby Gordon of Chip Ganassi Racing will start alongside them, as Indycar Inc. brought back the three-wide starting rows at Michigan for this year's race. What was also surprising is that the Penske-Hondas were not on the first two rows on the grid, with John Andretti, Mario Andretti and Raul Boesel being on row 2. Emerson Fittipaldi started on row 3, Ayrton Senna got outqualified by Jacques Villeneuve on row 4 while Little Al started in the 5th row on the grid.


Many felt that this was it for Jeff Gordon. The California Kid, who quickly became Indycar's hottest new star, is now in a prime position to score his first career Indycar win and Mercedes's first.

the front row aligning for the start​

As the green flag waved, though, it was polesitter Michael Andretti who rocketed to the front. The upgraded ford cosworth propulsed the reigning 3-time champion to a commanding lead already in the first 20 laps, while Jeff was battling Robby Gordon in the Ganassi Reynard for 2nd place. Meanwhile, Raul Boesel was getting up to pace with the leading trio, and the Penskes slowly climbed up as well, opting for a more cautious approach, taking advantage of every opportunity and retirements in front of them.

Speaking of retirements, the first of the race was a huge one, as Michael Andretti was forced to end his race early due to his throttle being jammed. Michael in interview with Gary Gerould said that this was one of the scariest moments of his entire career.

This led to the two Gordons battling it out for the lead. The two young americans brought the sold out crowd in Brooklyn alive with their aggressive styles leading to many daring passing manoeuvres in a high-speed game of cat and mouse. Meanwhile, a teist in the championship fight as Ayrton Senna retires in the pits from mechanical issues, a disappointing exit for the points leader.

And then, at the same time Senna was leaving the marlboro car, Robby Gordon crashed into the wall, prompting a full course yellow and giving the lead to Jeff Gordon, with Raul Boesel behind hom in second. A few laps later, Jacques Villeneuve suffered a similar crash to Robby Gordon that prompted another yellow: a big, impactful hit on the wall gping on the highside. Robbie Stanley of Budweiser King Racing, running 4th, ran out of fuel on lap 170 and returned to the pits for a full splash.

Jacques Villeneuve and his Player's Forsythe-Green Reynard post-crash.​

The late race sees Jeff Gordon now battling with Raul Boesel and Al Unser Jr for the win, with those three being the only cars on the lead lap as now, only 10 cars remained. Gordon's Mercedes pushrod enggne got to show its full power on the 2-mile oval, while Raul Boesel's Buick engine would blow up in smokes with 25 laps remaining.


Feeling like this is the moment to take the championship lead away from Senna, Little Al picked up the pace and seriously challenged Jeff Gordon. Lap after lap, the present and the future of Indycar dueled for the win, continuing where they left off at Indy. This time, it is Unser who chases the young pretender, using the power of his Honda engine to catch up.

Said use of its power proved costly. With twenty laps to go, Unser's engine blew up, retreating back into the pits in disappointement.

The crowd at Michigan stood up and applauded Gordon everytime he passed by the start-finish line as one by one, the laps counted down, the crowning moment for Indycar's new poster child seemingly imminent.

Is this it? The moment the world has been waiting for?​

But then, Robbie Stanley in the Budweiser car started getting closer...

And closer...

And closer...

Surprised, Jeff pressed on the throttle...but the engine didn't roar louder.

Confused, Jeff looked at his speed-o-meter.

It was slowly going down...

Slowly going down...

Slowly going down...

The crowd and the Hall pits stood in disbelief as smoke appeared out of nowhere at the back of Jeff's Pennzoil Reynard and Robbie Stanley unlapped himself.

With the energy of despair, Jeff did everything to squeeze whatever power that was left in his deteriorating Merc engine, hoping to hold on and get his much coveted first win.

But alas, the budweiser car passed him at the backstraight.

Gordon could only watch as Robbie Stanley ran away and crossed the finish line first in quite possibly the most stunning upset in Indycar history.

Robbie Stanley. From USAC champion to Indycar race winner. Somewhere in Indiana, some random joe blow is orgasming out of pure joy.​

The King Racing pitcrew flooded the pitlane upon Stanley's arrival into the winners circle, with the 2-time USAC silver crown champion in pure euphoria on the top step of the podium as he drowned his entire team in champagne. Meanwhile, Jeff managed to hold on to 2nd place ahead of a hard charging Scott Sharp for Pacwest, but as soon as he got out of the Pennzoil Reynard, he walked furiously towards his RV, accidentaly bumping into Jim Hall's shoulder along the way and violently slamming the door of his RV.

Jim looked on, seeing Jeff pace back and forth inside his RV, visibly swearing the anger and frustration out of his system before slumping into the RV's bench, leaning forward and grabbing his head. There was nothing Jim could do, really. It was best to leave him alone.

"At least, he ain't taking it out on the equipment." Jim said as he walked away towards the team truck.


Michigan Race Results

1) Robbie Stanley 20 pts
2) Jeff Gordon 16 pts
3) Scott Sharp 14 pts
4) Scott Goodyear 12 pts
5) John Andretti 10 pts
6) Hiro Matsushita 6 pts
7) Willy T. Ribbs 4 pts
8) Al Unser Jr 3 pts
9) Raul Boesel 2 pts
10) David Empringham 1 pt




To be Continued...

 

[Inferno60]

Well that was a Michigan race @kinnikuniverse?

Also, you need to fix the spelling.