bob jennings' WORLD O' RACING   

December 23, 2005 (originally presented 05/15/99)

Team Penske drivers, Danny Sullivan, Rick Mears and Al Unser discuss lap speeds during early morning practice, on Pole day, for the 1986 "Indianapolis 500"

This is the archive page, from which you can link to the "scrap heap" of this newest version of Bob Jennings' World O' Racing. Since I've decided to revise this website, for the third time, I'll stick those essays (for want of a better description) that comprised most of the second version of Bob Jennings' World O' Racing (12/98 - 05/99) out of the mainstream, back in this archive section. I put a lot of work into those things, however, and I don't want to throw them away. So, I'll put them into an area, off by themselves, like an outcast relative or something. The archive content has been modified to fit into the new format, but the content remains the same, as originally presented, warts and all. Who knows? Maybe I'll dig out some of the old 3 x 5 diskettes, from my old 486 computer, with some of the content from the original Bob Jennings' World O' Racing (07/96 - 07/97) and link it to this page too. Perhaps some of you remember those "classics," like "Crown Prince O' the IRL," "Little Al versus the World" and "To Floyd go the Spoils" or whatever they were called. I'm just kidding about the "classics" part. 

Sorry for the border at the bottom of the photo, on this page. I haven't quite mastered Adobe software yet. I spent so long producing this website on my old Compudyne 486 that I can't get used to all this new technology.

Speaking of "scrap heaps," does it blow you away that the once all conquering Penske team has become so uncompetitive in the CART series over the past three or four seasons? I still have difficulty accepting that the Marlboro cars (actually it's just Marlboro car this season) is one of the least competitive package in the CART series. Brazilian drivers can't even make the Penske cars go fast. Now, the "Captain" Roger Penske has resorted to buying a 1999 Lola, from Tony Bettenhausen, who's been put out of business by a change of management at longtime sponsor Alumax and an incompetent Japanese driver, named Shigeaki Hattori, who keeps crashing poor Tony B's cars. 

Ah, but there was a time, long ago, when Roger Penske had the best of everything; the best sponsors, the best cars and the best drivers. In Indy car racing, the "goodies" went to the Penske team and whatever was left was distributed among the competition, who Penske basically hand picked.

During the years, 1985 through 1989, when Roger Penske brought Rick Mears, Danny Sullivan and Al Unser to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, each May, the trio was arguably the most talented collection of drivers, on a single team, in "500" history.

On Pole day 1986, the Penske drivers were working well, and at the end of the day, all three drivers had qualified in the first two rows of the "500" field. Mears won the third of his record six "Indianapolis 500" poles, with a run, of  216.928 mph. Mears was in a yellow Pennzoil 1986 March - Cosworth. Next to Rick was defending "Indianapolis 500" winner, Danny Sullivan, in the red and white Miller American 86 March - Cosworth, with an average speed, of 215.382 mph. Qualifying sixth was Unser, at 212.295 mph. Al was in a new yellow Hertz Penske, with the brand new Chevy Indy V8 engine, from Ilmor Engineering.

Al being the first driver to race the new Chevrolet engine was sort of a continuance of a tradition in that he seemed to be the first driver to race brand new engines, in Indy car racing. He was the first driver to have the turbo version of Ford Cosworth Formula One engine, in Indy car racing, in 1975. Likewise, he was the original driver to race the Porsche Indy car, at Laguna Seca, in 1987.

The Penskes were beaten on race day, at Indianapolis, in 1986, by Bobby Rahal's Budweiser/Truesports March - Cosworth. Mears finished third, directly behind Rahal and second place finisher Kevin Cogan, in one of the most exciting finishes, seen at the Speedway. Sullivan suffered an ill-handling car, to finish ninth. Al dropped out of the race, after 149 laps, because his car was vibrating so badly, he couldn't hold on to the wheel.