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In 1982 Variety Ruled At Indianapolis
- Updated: January 16, 2015

A young rookie named Chip Ganassi drove this ex-Mario Andretti 1981 Wildcat XVIII-Cosworth at Indianapolis in 1982. The young rookie started the race in the fourth row and ended up 15th due to losing an engine after 147-laps. Photo courtesy of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
They say variety is the spice of life. Today’s racing fans bemoan the lack of variety of race cars in many of main racing series. Spec cars at Daytona, spec cars at Indianapolis. Sure, there are some slight differences, different engines, front valences, etc. Go back to Indianapolis in May of 1982, and you’ll see arguably the last gasp of great diversity seen in open wheel racing on a national level.

Gordon Johncock’s STP-Patrick Racing Wildcat XIIIB-Cosworth (notice the difference in noses compared to the Ganassi car) and Rick Mears Gould Charge Penske PC10-Cosworth will be forever remembered for their epic battle for the lead in the latter stages of the 1982 Indianapolis 500. Photo courtesy of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Over eight chassis types made the Greatest Spectacle in Racing (Wildcat, Penske, March, Longhorn, Chaparral, Eagle, Lightning and Interscope). From those eight chassis types there were also subsets which included Wildcat (Mk VIII, Mk VIII-B) March (82C, 82x and 81C) and Penske (PC-10, PC-9B). The All-American Racers built 1981 Eagles in which six qualified had three different power plants, a two stock-block based (Chevrolet and Milodon) and the more conventional Cosworth-powered. The amount of variety of cars that did not qualify are spectacular. Over two dozen ground-effect and older flat-bottom styled cars made it to the track but failed to qualify or did not make a qualifying run. Close to a dozen older Penske PC7-Cosworths failed to achieve the necessary speed as did several March-Cosworths. Also missing the race included several 1981 Eagles and a lone 1980 Eagle. Several one off chassis such as the unique stock block-powered Eagle Aircraft DW-2 and the Jackie Howerton-built Swingler cars generated considerable buzz from the railbirds but lacked the necessary speed to make the highly competitive field. A few relics from the past such as an original flat-bottom Lightning chassis, a McLaren M24 and Grant King built PC7 copy also missed the race. 1982 saw the one of the last Offenhauser-powered cars to make an appearance when Rusty Schmidt practiced in the Vollstedt-Offy flat bottom car.
The race is remembered for the fantastic battle over the last ten laps between wily veteran and eventual winner Gordon Johncock in his Wildcat VIII-Cossworth and a young Rick Mears in his Penske Racing needle-nosed Penske PC10-Cosworth. Two drivers from very different backgrounds. Just as the cars were different and varied, so were the drivers. A dozen came from what was considered the traditional way, via the dirt tracks of America and eventually through the United States Auto Club (USAC). About 17 came from a road racing background in which many also drove in the old Super-Vee series which was a major stepping stone to Indy Cars in the late-1970’s-early 1980’s. The rest, such as brothers Rick and Roger Mears came from non-traditional routes such as off-road racing.
Sadly, those fans who are in their early forties and older are the only ones that may remember this memorable time in Indy Car racing.
Indianapolis 500-Mile Race
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
2.5 Mile Paved Oval
200 Laps/500 Miles
May 29, 1982
Finish | Start | Driver | Car # | Sponsor/Name | Chassis | Engine | Laps | Status | Points |
1 | 5 | Gordon Johncock | 20 | STP Oil Treatment | Wildcat 8B | Cosworth | 200 | 3:05:09.14 162.026 | 1,000 |
2 | 1 | Rick Mears | 1 | Gould Charge | Penske PC-10 | Cosworth | 200 | 3:05:09.3 | 800 |
3 | 10 | Pancho Carter | 3 | Alex Foods | March 82X | Cosworth | 199 | Flagged | |
4 | 7 | Tom Sneva | 7 | Texaco Star | March 82C | Cosworth | 197 | Engine | 600 |
5 | 16 | Al Unser | 10 | Longhorn Racing | Longhorn LR-03 | Cosworth | 197 | Flagged | |
6 | 8 | Don Whittington | 91 | Simoniz Finish | March 82C | Cosworth | 196 | Flagged | 400 |
7 | 24 | Jim Hickman | 42 | Stroh’s Beer | March 81C | Cosworth | 189 | Flagged | 300 |
8 | 12 | Johnny Rutherford | 5 | Pennzoil | Chaparral | Cosworth | 187 | Engine | |
9 | 14 | Herm Johnson | 28 | Menard Lumber | Eagle 81 | Chevy | 186 | Flagged | 200 |
10 | 18 | Howdy Holmes | 30 | Domino’s Pizza | March 82C | Cosworth | 186 | Flagged | 150 |
11 | 17 | Bobby Rahal | 19 | Red Roof Inns | March 82C | Cosworth | 174 | Engine | 100 |
12 | 30 | Gary Bettenhausen | 18 | Kraco Car Stereo | Lightning | Cosworth | 158 | Engine | 50 |
13 | 15 | Héctor Rebaque | 32 | Carta Blanca-Indeck | March 82C | Cosworth | 150 | Pit fire | 25 |
14 | 13 | Danny Sullivan | 53 | Forsythe-Brown | March 82C | Cosworth | 148 | Wrecked | 25 |
15 | 11 | Chip Ganassi | 12 | 1st Commercial Corp. | Wildcat | Cosworth | 147 | Engine | 25 |
16 | 6 | Bill Whittington | 94 | Whittington/Hodgdon | March 81C | Cosworth | 121 | Engine | 25 |
17 | 22 | Michael Chandler | 68 | Freeman/Gurney | Eagle 81 | Chevy | 104 | Gearbox | 20 |
18 | 31 | Tom Bigelow | 72 | H B K Racing | Eagle 81 | Chevy | 96 | Engine | 20 |
19 | 3 | A. J. Foyt | 14 | Valvoline-Gilmore | March 82C | Cosworth | 95 | Transmission | 20 |
20 | 25 | Johnny Parsons | 34 | Silhouette | March 82C | Cosworth | 92 | Wrecked | 20 |
21 | 26 | George Snider | 35 | Cobre Tire | March 82C | Cosworth | 87 | Transmission | 15 |
22 | 9 | Danny Ongais | 25 | Interscope Racing | Interscope-03 | Cosworth | 62 | Wrecked | |
23 | 28 | Jerry Sneva | 69 | Great American | March 81C | Cosworth | 61 | Wrecked | 15 |
24 | 29 | Chet Fillip | 39 | Circle Bar Truck | Eagle 81 | Cosworth | 60 | Body damage | |
25 | 32 | Pete Halsmer | 66 | Arciero/Colonial | Eagle 81 | Chevy | 38 | Transmission | |
26 | 27 | Tony Bettenhausen, Jr. | 6 | Provimi Veal | March 82C | Cosworth | 37 | Wrecked | 10 |
27 | 21 | Dennis Firestone | 75 | BVC Racing | Eagle 81 | Milodon | 37 | Rear end | 10 |
28 | 20 | Geoff Brabham | 21 | Pentax Super | March 82C | Cosworth | 12 | Engine | 10 |
29 | 33 | Josele Garza | 55 | Schlitz Gusto | March 82C | Cosworth | 1 | Engine | 5 |
30 | 2 | Kevin Cogan | 4 | Norton Spirit | Penske PC-10 | Cosworth | 0 | Wrecked | 5 |
31 | 4 | Mario Andretti | 40 | STP – Intermedics | Wildcat 8B | Cosworth | 0 | Wrecked | 5 |
32 | 19 | Roger Mears | 31 | Machinists Union | Penske PC-9B | Cosworth | 0 | Wrecked | 5 |
33 | 23 | Dale Whittington | 95 | Whittington/Hodgdon | March 82C | Cosworth | 0 | Wrecked |
Box score courtesy of ChampCarStats.com

Steve Zautke, a Milwaukee, WI native, was raised in the sport of auto racing. His father, Bill, was a movie photographer that shot racing footage at tracks such as the Milwaukee Mile and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the 1960’s and 1970’s Steve’s first professional job in racing was as an Emergency Medical Technician at tracks such as Angell Park and Hales Corners Speedway (1988-1991). Steve has also worked for the Milwaukee Mile as videographer, in media relations and historian (1993-2011). Steve also has worked as a reporter for Racing Information Systems (RIS) and has written features for ‘Vintage Oval Racing’ and ‘Victory Lane’ magazines. Most recently, Steve has written a book on Road America for Arcadia Publishing. ( http://www.amazon.com/Road-America-Nascar-Library-Collection/dp/1467111457 ) Steve co-hosts “Sparky’s Final Inspection” a motorsports-based radio show with hosts, Steve “Sparky” Fifer and “NASCAR Girl” Summer Santana on Sports Radio 1250AM in Milwaukee and is also available on the internet at www.Sportradio1250.com. A member of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame Induction Committee, Steve follows all types of racing from the dirt tracks to Formula One.