Galles Racingis a formerauto racingteam owned byRick Gallesthat competed in theCARTseries,Can-Amand theIndy Racing League.The team won the1990 CART championshipas well as the1992 Indianapolis 500,both with driverAl Unser Jr.The team won a total of 21Indy carraces along its history. In addition to Unser's 1992 victory, the team finished second at Indianapolis on three separate occasions (1989,1990,1996).

Al Unser Jr.'s 1992 Indy 500 winningGalmer.

In 1992, the team notably fielded their own in-houseGalmerchassis. The team achieved two victories with the car during its very brief foray into the sport.

History

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1980s

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The team first competed in a partial CART season in 1980, then was away from CART until 1983 when it fielded a car for rookieAl Unser Jr.Unser left the team after the 1984 season.

For 1985, Galles fielded theBuickV-6 engine at theIndy 500,with driverPancho Carterwinning the pole position. Carter, however, dropped out early and finished last.

In 1986-1987, Galles Racing became the primary support team for the newBrabham-Hondaengine (later known as the Judd AV).Geoff BrabhamandJeff MacPhersonfielded the engine at Indy in 1987, with MacPherson finishing a respectable 8th. Later in the season, Brabham scored second-place finishes at thePocono 500and atRoad America.

In 1988,Al Unser Jr.returned to the team, and the entry was granted a lease for the Ilmor Chevrolet Indy-V-8 engine. In 1989, Unser Jr. then driving his familiarValvoline-sponsored Chevy machine, nearly won theIndy 500,finishing second after crashing out with just over a lap to go in a famous duel withEmerson Fittipaldi.

Bobby Rahal driving the Galles-Kracocar atLaguna Seca Racewayin 1991

Championship years

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After the 1989 season, Galles merged teams with Maurice Kranes (who had fieldedKraco-sponsored cars forMichael Andrettiand thenBobby Rahal). Kranes brought Rahal and Kraco with him, while Unser Jr. remained in the Valvoline-sponsored machine. The team competed asGalles-Kraco Racingfrom 1990 to 1992 and Unser won the1990 CART Championshipwith five wins. The Galles-Kraco duo of Unser andBobby Rahalwas one of the top teams in CART during that period. Unser and Rahal teamed up for three 1-2 finishes, including the 1990Michigan 500.The two drivers finished on the podium in the same race six times. Rahal himself earned an impressive, yet frustrating, eleven second-place finishes for the team in 1990-1991. Rahal finished fourth in the championship in 1990 and second in the championship in 1991, winning one race in 1991.

Al Unser Jr. finished third in points in both 1991 and 1992.

Rahal was replaced in 1992 by veteranDanny Sullivanas the team introduced their new proprietaryGalmerchassis. Unser won the1992 Indianapolis 500in a Galmer in what would be the closest finish in race history. Despite winning, the Galmer chassis was scrapped after only one season. Sullivan won the race at Long Beach, after being involved in a controversial incident with less than four laps to go. Unser Jr. was leading the race, and Sullivan was running second. The two cars tangled, and Unser was sent spinning into a tire barrier, while Sullivan went on to win. The incident created friction inside the team.

Unser and Sullivan retained their seats in 1993, and were joined byKevin Coganand Mexican rookieAdrián Fernández,who would share a third car for selected races throughout the season. At the 1993 Indy 500, Sullivan was the first to retire from the race after a crash, but Unser finished in 8th place and Cogan finished 14th. After a lackluster season that saw only three podium finishes, Unser would leave forPenske Racing,and Sullivan moved into semi-retirement (he raced stock cars in 1994, and raced forPacWestin 1995). The final two wins of Sullivan's Indy car career came with the team, but it was later revealed that behind-the-scenes, there was a toxic atmosphere and internal friction inside the team that got worse when Sullivan tangled with Unser; it led to Sullivan being fired before the season concluded, right when Sullivan was not in a position to easily find himself a new job.[1]

For 1994, Fernández was the team's lone entry, as the team reverted to its Galles Racing name. Fernández was joined by Brazilian journeymanMarco Grecofor 1995, with a 3rd place for Fernández at the Michigan 500 being their best finish for the season.

Transition to IRL

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1996 saw several drivers in Galles cars as the team was one of the few CART teams to cross over and compete in the rival Indy Racing League's firstIndianapolis 500with driverDavy Joneswho finished second. Jones also drove a partial schedule in CART while rookie and former Motorcycle championEddie Lawsondrove Galles' full-time CART entry. In1997the team moved full-time to the IRL with rookieKenny Bräck.Bräck switched toA. J. Foyt Enterprisesfor1998and the team again ceased operations. Galles returned in1999with veteranDavey Hamilton.Hamilton was replaced in2000by a returning Al Unser Jr., who was switching over from CART after being released from Penske Racing. Unser was one of the first CART stars to switch full-time to the IRL. The team's final year was2001where Unser was joined by rookiesDidier AndréandCasey Mears.

Summary

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Throughout the team's 22-year history, their drivers captured 21 wins - 18 by Al Unser Jr. (6 in 1990, 4 in 1988, 2 in 1991 and 1 each in 1984, 1989, 1992, 1993, 2000, and 2001), two by Danny Sullivan (1 each in 1992 and 1993), and one by Bobby Rahal in 1991 in addition to capturing the 1990 CART championship and 1992 Indianapolis 500 with Unser.

Former drivers

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CART

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Racing Results

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Complete CART results

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(key)

Year Chassis Engine Tyres Drivers No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Pts Pos Pos
Galles Racing
1983 ATL INDY MIL CLE MCH ROA POC RIV MDO MCH CPL LAG PHX
Eagle83 CosworthDFXV8t G Al Unser Jr. 17 6 9 7 2 4* 18 10 10 4 8 7th 89
19 10
March83C 17 13 2
1984 LBH PHX INDY MIL POR MEA CLE MCH ROA POC MDO SAN MCH PHX LAG CPL
March84C CosworthDFXV8t G Al Unser Jr. 7 Ret Ret Ret 3 1* 4 Ret Ret 13 Ret Ret 6 6 2 4 4 6th 103
Tom Gloy 77 17 Ret Ret 40th 0
Pancho Carter 6 7 11 21st 22
1985 LBH INDY MIL POR MEA CLE MCH ROA POC MDO SAN MCH LAG PHX MIA
March85C Buick3300V6t G Pancho Carter 6 13 33 16th 37
CosworthDFXV8t 5 13 16 16 12 2 10 7
Roberto Moreno 28 16 25 16 5 28th 10
Geoff Brabham 7 6 19 12 14 24 2 29 15 19 13 4 16 10 12 22 15th 41
1986 PHX LBH INDY MIL POR MEA CLE TOR MCH POC MDO SAN MCH ROA LAG PHX MIA
LolaT86/00 CosworthDFXV8t G Geoff Brabham 8 10 3 12 21 11 11 6 8 5 12th 64
Brabham-HondaV8t 7 22 14 14 4 12 20 22
CosworthDFXV8t Roberto Moreno 9 20 6 19 13 18 18 25 18 6 10 16 6 16 20 10 17 16th 30
Pancho Carter 15 19th 28
15 16 3 3
1987 LBH PHX INDY MIL POR MEA CLE TOR MCH POC ROA MDO NAZ LAG MIA
March87C Brabham-HondaV8t G Jeff MacPherson 11 10 13 8 8 13 21 17 22 23 19th 21
CosworthDFXV8t 20 9 9 24
LolaT86/00 Brabham-HondaV8t 25 21
March87C Geoff Brabham 15 16 8 24 12 9 4 22 DNS 8 2 2 7 12 5 3 8th 90
1988 PHX LBH INDY MIL POR CLE TOR MEA MCH POC MDO ROA NAZ LAG MIA
March88C Chevrolet265AV8t G Al Unser Jr. 3 18 1* 13 20 4 4 1* 1 21 2 4 7 19 6 1* 2nd 149
1989 PHX LBH INDY MIL DET POR CLE MEA TOR MCH POC MDO ROA NAZ LAG
LolaT89/00 Chevrolet265AV8t G Al Unser Jr. 2 2 1* 2 8 21 10 7 5 20 4 9 2 20 4 3 5th 136
Galles-KracoRacing
1990 PHX LBH INDY MIL DET POR CLE MEA TOR MCH DEN VAN MDO ROA NAZ LAG
LolaT90/00 Chevrolet265AV8t G Al Unser Jr. 5 3 1* 4 1 27 3 15* 11 1* 1 1* 1* 3 4 16 2 1st 210
Bobby Rahal 18 2 12 2 4 2 11 2 25 22 2 3 8 6 7 3 5 4th 153
1991 SFR LBH PHX INDY MIL DET POR CLE MEA TOR MCH DEN VAN MDO ROA NAZ LAG
LolaT91/00 Chevrolet265AV8t G Al Unser Jr. 1 16* 1* 6 4 19 4 4 4 2 23 3 1* 3 5 2 4 2 3rd 197
Bobby Rahal 18 2 2 2 19 4 2 3 3 1* 3 11 20 2 3 4 2 24 2nd 200
1992 SFR PHX LBH INDY DET POR MIL NHA TOR MCH CLE ROA VAN MDO NAZ LAG
GalmerG92 Chevrolet265AV8t G Al Unser Jr. 3 4 5 4* 1 9 3 7 8 7 4 3 2 2 3 11 9 3rd 169
Danny Sullivan 18 5 12 1 5 5 12 12 9 3 8 20 7 7 8 17 7 7th 99
Galles Racing
1993 SFR PHX LBH INDY MIL DET POR CLE TOR MCH NHA ROA VAN MDO NAZ LAG
LolaT93/07 Chevrolet265CV8t G Al Unser Jr. 3 15 4 21 8 5 6 5 19 5 8 8 25 1 8 25 5 7th 100
Danny Sullivan 7 13 23 8 33 16 1* 14 14 3 Wth 22 26 10 27 20 27 12th 43
Adrian Fernández DNS 24th 7
11 23 21 7 29
Kevin Cogan 14 27 13 15 35th 0
1994 SFR PHX LBH INDY MIL DET POR CLE TOR MCH MDO NHA VAN ROA NAZ LAG
Reynard94i Ilmor265DV8t G Adrian Fernández 7 13 10 8 28 16 23 10 7 13 23 6 8 22 5 21 7 13th 46
1995 MIA SFR PHX LBH NAZ INDY MIL DET POR ROA TOR CLE MCH MDO NHA VAN LAG
LolaT95/00 Mercedes-BenzIC108BV8t G Adrian Fernández 10 11 26 12 18 9 21 10 6 9 6 7 12 3 4 26 22 10 12th 66
Marco Greco 55 13 21 DNQ 13 11 23 20 15 22 20 25 23 29th 2
1996 MIA RIO SFR LBH NAZ 500 MIL DET POR CLE TOR MCH MDO ROA VAN LAG
LolaT96/00 Mercedes-BenzIC108CV8t G Eddie Lawson 10 15 21 7 9 17 6 20 6 15 24 15 20th 26
Davy Jones 12 16 24 14 14 31st 1

Indy Racing League results

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(key)

Year Chassis Engine Tyres Drivers No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pts Pos Pos
1996 WDW PHX INDY
LolaT95/00 Mercedes-BenzIC108CV8t G Davy Jones 70 2 26th 33
1996–97 NHA LSV WDW PHX INDY TXS PPIR CLT NHA LSV
G-ForceGF01 OldsmobileAuroraV8 G Davy Jones 4 Wth 0
Jeff Ward 16 30th 69
Kenny Bräck 11 33 18 14 5 5 20 19th 139
Marco Greco 70 13 9 20 10 3rd 230
1999 WDW PHX CLT INDY TXS PPIR ATL DOV PPIR LSV TXS
G-ForceGF01C OldsmobileAuroraV8 G Davey Hamilton 9 8 4th 237
DallaraIR9 11 7 3 7 23 2 13 2
2000 WDW PHX LSV INDY TXS PPIR ATL KTY TXS
G-ForceGF05 OldsmobileAuroraV8 F Al Unser Jr. 3 25 9 1 29 3* 10 3 27 17* 9th 188
2001 PHX HMS ATL INDY TXS PPIR RIR KAN NSH KTY GAT CHI TXS
G-ForceGF05 OldsmobileAuroraV8 F Al Unser Jr. 3 23 6 17 30 8 11 3 20 14 4 1 8 6 7th 287
Casey Mears 31 20 11 23 DNQ 31st 36
Didier André 32 27 10 13 DNQ 17 19 4 16 21 11 12 13 15 20th 188

IndyCar wins

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# Season Date Sanction Track / Race No. Winning Driver Chassis Engine Tire Grid Laps Led
1 1984 June 17 CART Grand Prix of Portland(R) 7 Al Unser Jr. March84C CosworthDFXV8t Goodyear 10 68
2 1988 April 17 CART Grand Prix of Long Beach(S) 3 Al Unser Jr. (2) March 88C Chevrolet265AV8t Goodyear 4 73
3 July 17 CART Streets of Toronto(S) 3 Al Unser Jr. (3) March 88C Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 3 85
4 July 24 CART Meadowlands Street Circuit(S) 3 Al Unser Jr. (4) March 88C Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 6 32
5 November 6 CART Tamiami Park, Miami(S) 3 Al Unser Jr. (5) March 88C Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 5 82
6 1989 April 16 CART Grand Prix of Long Beach(S) 2 Al Unser Jr. (6) LolaT89/00 Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear Pole 84
NC October 14 CART Laguna Seca Raceway(R) 2 Al Unser Jr. Lola T89/00 Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 6 33
7 1990 April 22 CART Grand Prix of Long Beach(S) 5 Al Unser Jr. (7) Lola T90/00 Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear Pole 91
8 June 3 CART Milwaukee Mile(O) 5 Al Unser Jr. (8) Lola T90/00 Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 9 82
9 July 22 CART Streets of Toronto(S) 5 Al Unser Jr. (9) Lola T90/00 Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 8 62
10 August 5 CART Michigan 500(O) 5 Al Unser Jr. (10) Lola T90/00 Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 5 40
11 August 26 CART Streets of Denver(S) 5 Al Unser Jr. (11) Lola T90/00 Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 2 33
12 September 2 CART Streets of Vancouver(S) 5 Al Unser Jr. (12) Lola T90/00 Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 6 58
13 1991 April 14 CART Grand Prix of Long Beach(S) 1 Al Unser Jr. (13) Lola T91/00 Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 2 93
14 July 14 CART Meadowlands Street Circuit(S) 18 Bobby Rahal Lola T91/00 Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 4 89
15 August 25 CART Streets of Denver(S) 1 Al Unser Jr. (14) Lola T91/00 Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 3 64
16 1992 April 12 CART Grand Prix of Long Beach(S) 18 Danny Sullivan GalmerG92 Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 2 7
17 1992 May 24 USAC Indianapolis 500(O) 3 Al Unser Jr. (15) Galmer G92 Chevrolet 265A V8t Goodyear 12 25
18 1993 June 13 CART Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix(S) 7 Danny Sullivan (2) Lola T93/07 Chevrolet265CV8t Goodyear 10 30
19 August 29 CART Streets of Vancouver(S) 3 Al Unser Jr. (16) Lola T93/07 Chevrolet 265C V8t Goodyear 5 38
20 2000 April 22 IRL Las Vegas Motor Speedway(O) 3 Al Unser Jr. (17) G-ForceGF05 OldsmobileAuroraV8 Firestone 21 21
21 2001 August 26 IRL Gateway Motorsports Park(O) 3 Al Unser Jr. (18) G-Force GF05 Oldsmobile Aurora V8 Firestone 8 75

References

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  1. ^Pruett, Marshall (April 6, 2017)."Danny Sullivan on His 1992 Long Beach IndyCar Win".The Marshall Pruett Podcast.Episode 133.RetrievedJuly 16,2019.
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