Truesports
Truesports
The word "Truesports" is a
In 1993, the team was absorbed into what is now
Racing team
Early years
In 1983 and 1984, Truesports continued to succeed with Rahal behind the wheel. They won three more races, and placed 7th at the 1984 Indianapolis 500.
In 1985, Truesports secured the sponsorship of Budweiser. Rahal qualified for the front row at Indy, but early in the race, mechanical problems ended their day. Later in the season, Rahal made a strong charge in the championship points standings. He had a stretch of three wins over a five race span, and placed third in the final points standings.
Concurrent with their primary CART effort, Truesports ventured into
Championship seasons
Truesports racing entered 1986 with considerable anticipation. The highlight of the season was a victory at the 1986 Indianapolis 500. After a two-year battle with cancer, team owner Jim Trueman succumbed to the disease eleven days after the Indy 500 victory. The team dedicated their efforts to Trueman's memory, and Rahal went on to win six races, and the 1986 CART championship.
For 1987, Steve Horne and other members of the Trueman family had assumed day-to-day operations of the team. Truesports switched from March to the
. Despite this, Truesports continued to see success on the track.Hoping to win back-to-back races at Indianapolis, Rahal qualified second. Having switched to the Lola, he enjoyed a comfortable month, while many competitors (particularly those in March and Penske chassis), were experiencing a tumultuous time getting their cars up to speed. Race day, however, ended early for Rahal due to an ignition problem. Rahal won three races during the season, and clinched his second consecutive CART title.
Also in 1987, Truesports won the
Changes
For 1988, Truesports switched to the
In 1989, Truesports signed rookie
In March 1990, Pruett was seriously injured in a preseason testing crash at
Chassis program
In 1985, Trueman and Rahal traveled to Italy to meet with Ferrari and made a demonstration run for them with a March 85C-Cosworth. Later, Ferrari built their own Indy car chassis, the Ferrari 637, and Truesports seemed poised to become the first team to compete with it. The chassis partnership, however, never materialized, and was instead merely a bargaining tool by the Ferrari Formula One team.
Starting in 1990, Truesports began exploring an in-house chassis building program. The Truesports All-American chassis was set to debut for 1991 CART season. Unlike the in-house Penske and Galmer chassis of the time, which were assembled in England, the Truesports chassis notably was constructed entirely in the U.S. The fabrication work was based out of their Hilliard, Ohio shops. In addition, the design team utilized a rolling road wind tunnel at the Aeronautical and Astronautical Research Laboratory at nearby Ohio State University.[5]
Don Halliday did the primary design for the program. In 1990, the team drove the entire season in year-old Lola cars to save cost. When Pruett returned from injury in 1991, he drove the Truesports 91C-Judd machine to a respectable first season.
In 1992, the chassis was further developed, and was powered by the dominant Chevy Indy A engine. Pruett, however, still failed to win any races. Longtime sponsor Budweiser announced they were pulling out and switching to King Racing for 1993. Midway through the 1992 season, facing escalating costs, the team announced they were going to abandon the in-house chassis project. Steve Horne resigned in June.
Demise
Although it was not openly revealed at the time, the association with Ferrari (and subsequent cancellation of the chassis/engine program) in the late 1980s had an effect on the team. Though Rahal was defending champion of both the
After a slumping 1992 season, the Truesports organization decided to reorganize its assets. The team's physical assets, headquarters, and chassis program was first leased, then eventually absorbed into the
In 1993, Rahal-Hogan Racing attempted to continue the Truesports chassis program. It was rebranded the R/H chassis, and quickly scored a second-place finish at
CART Drivers
- Bobby Rahal (1982-1988)
- Scott Pruett (1989, 1991–1992)
- Raul Boesel (1990)
- Geoff Brabham (1991)
ARS Drivers
Business ventures
- Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course - bought by Jim Trueman in 1981 and owned by the Trueman family.
- The Mid-Ohio School - A comprehensive driving and riding school, focusing on high performance, defensive driving, fleet training and competition licensing, since 1993
- Truesports Choice - A high performance automobile parts company
- Truepower - engine development organization
- Trueperformance - A high-line collision repair facility
Complete Racing Results
PPG CART Indycar World Series
(key)
Year | Chassis | Engine | Drivers | No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Pts Pos | Pos | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1982
|
PHX | ATL | MIL | CLE | MCH | MIL | POC | RIV | ROA | MCH | PHX | ||||||||||||||||
March 82C | Cosworth DFX | Bobby Rahal (R) | 19 | 18 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 3* | 1* | 5 | 2nd | 242 | ||||||||||||
1983
|
ATL | INDY | MIL | CLE | MCH | ROA | POC | RIV | MDO | MCH | CPL | LAG | PHX | ||||||||||||||
March 83C | Cosworth DFX | Bobby Rahal | 4 | 20 | 5th | 94 | |||||||||||||||||||||
2 | 21 | 6 | 19 | 5 | 10* | 5 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
Chevrolet V8 | 3 | 9 | 7 | DNQ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1984
|
LBH | PHX | INDY | MIL | POR | MEA | CLE | MCH | ROA | POC | MDO | SAN | MCH | PHX | LAG | CPL | |||||||||||
March 84C | Cosworth DFX | Bobby Rahal | 5 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 14 | Ret | 11 | 14* | Ret | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2* | 5 | 1* | 1* | 7 | 3rd | 137 | ||||||
1985
|
LBH | INDY | MIL | POR | MEA | CLE | MCH | ROA | POC | MDO | SAN | MCH | LAG | PHX | MIA | ||||||||||||
March 85C | Cosworth DFX | Bobby Rahal | 3 | 27 | 9 | 20 | 25 | 28 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 1* | 10 | 1* | 1* | 6 | 2* | 3rd | 133 | ||||||||
10 | 27 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ludwig Heimrath, Jr. (R)
|
8 | 26 | 58th | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1986
|
PHX | LBH | INDY | MIL | POR | MEA | CLE | TOR | MCH | POC | MDO | SAN | MCH | ROA | LAG | PHX | MIA | ||||||||||
March 86C | Cosworth DFX | Bobby Rahal | 3 | 16 | 18 | 1 | 6 | 20 | 3 | 15 | 1 | 10* | 14 | 1 | 1* | 1 | 5 | 1* | 3 | 8 | 1st | 179 | |||||
1987
|
LBH | PHX | INDY | MIL | POR | MEA | CLE | TOR | MCH | POC | ROA | MDO | NAZ | LAG | MIA | ||||||||||||
Lola T87/00 | Cosworth DFX | Bobby Rahal | 1 | 23 | 2 | 26 | 2 | 1* | 1* | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 23 | 2* | 5 | 1 | 7 | 1st | 188 | |||||||
Didier Theys (R) | 2 | 17 | 30th | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1988
|
PHX | LBH | INDY | MIL | POR | CLE | TOR | MEA | MCH | POC | MDO | ROA | NAZ | LAG | MIA | ||||||||||||
Lola T88/00 | Judd AV | Bobby Rahal | 1 | 16 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 18 | 3rd | 136 | ||||||||
4 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1989
|
PHX | LBH | INDY | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | MEA | TOR | MCH | POC | MDO | ROA | NAZ | LAG | ||||||||||||
Lola T89/00 | Judd AV | Scott Pruett | 3 | 11 | DNS | 10 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 8 | 19 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 8th | 101 | |||||||
1990
|
PHX | LBH | INDY | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | MEA | TOR | MCH | DEN | VAN | MDO | ROA | NAZ | LAG | |||||||||||
Lola T89/00 | Judd AV | Raul Boesel | 8 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 20 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 28 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 12th | 42 | |||||||
19 | 28 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Geoff Brabham | 21 | 19 | 41st | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1991
|
SFR | LBH | PHX | INDY | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | MEA | TOR | MCH | DEN | VAN | MDO | ROA | NAZ | LAG | ||||||||||
Truesports 91C
|
Judd AV | Scott Pruett | 11 | 5 | 24 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 8 | 23 | 17 | 4 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 18 | 7 | 10th | 67 | ||||||
19 | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Geoff Brabham | 21 | 20 | 44th | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1992
|
SFR
|
PHX | LBH | INDY | DET | POR | MIL | NHA | TOR | MCH | CLE | ROA | VAN | MDO | NAZ | LAG | |||||||||||
Truesports 92C
|
Chevrolet 265A | Scott Pruett | 10 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 30 | 19 | 10 | 11 | 6 | 25 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 11th | 62 |
IndyCar wins
# | Season | Date | Sanction | Track / Race | No. | Winning Driver | Chassis | Engine | Tire | Grid | Laps Led |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1982 | July 4 | CART
|
Grand Prix of Cleveland (A) | 19 | Bobby Rahal (R) | March 82C | Cosworth DFX V8t | Goodyear | 2 | 26 |
2 | September 26 | CART | Michigan International Speedway (O) | 19 | Bobby Rahal (R) (2) | March 82C | Cosworth DFX V8t | Goodyear | 5 | 29 | |
3 | 1983 | August 29 | CART | Riverside International Raceway (R) | 2 | Bobby Rahal (3) | March 83C | Cosworth DFX V8t | Goodyear | 4 | 21 |
4 | 1984 | October 14 | CART | Phoenix International Raceway (O)
|
5 | Bobby Rahal (4) | March 84C | Cosworth DFX V8t | Goodyear | 2 | 75 |
5 | October 21 | CART | Laguna Seca Raceway (R)
|
5 | Bobby Rahal (5) | March 84C | Cosworth DFX V8t | Goodyear | 2 | 74 | |
6 | 1985 | September 1 | CART | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (R) | 3 | Bobby Rahal (6) | March 85C | Cosworth DFX V8t | Goodyear | Pole | 83 |
7 | September 22 | CART | Michigan International Speedway (O) | 3 | Bobby Rahal (7) | March 85C | Cosworth DFX V8t | Goodyear | Pole | 70 | |
8 | October 6 | CART | Laguna Seca Raceway (R) | 3 | Bobby Rahal (8) | March 85C | Cosworth DFX V8t | Goodyear | Pole | 70 | |
9 | 1986
|
May 31 | USAC | Indianapolis 500 (O) | 3 | Bobby Rahal (9) | March 86C | Cosworth DFX V8t | Goodyear | 4 | 58 |
10 | 1986 | July 20 | CART | Streets of Toronto (S)
|
3 | Bobby Rahal (10) | March 86C | Cosworth DFX V8t | Goodyear | 2 | 15 |
11 | August 31 | CART | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (R) | 3 | Bobby Rahal (11) | March 86C | Cosworth DFX V8t | Goodyear | 4 | 10 | |
12 | September 7 | CART | Sanair Super Speedway (O) | 3 | Bobby Rahal (12) | March 86C | Cosworth DFX V8t | Goodyear | 3 | 137 | |
13 | September 28 | CART | Michigan International Speedway (O) | 3 | Bobby Rahal (13) | March 86C | Cosworth DFX V8t | Goodyear | 8 | 24 | |
14 | October 12 | CART | Laguna Seca Raceway (R) | 3 | Bobby Rahal (14) | March 86C | Cosworth DFX V8t | Goodyear | 2 | 86 | |
15 | 1987 | June 14 | CART | Portland International Raceway (R) | 1 | Bobby Rahal (15) | Lola T87/00 | Cosworth DFX V8t | Goodyear | 3 | 56 |
16 | June 28 | CART | Meadowlands Street Circuit (S) | 1 | Bobby Rahal (15) | Lola T87/00 | Cosworth DFX V8t | Goodyear | 2 | 68 | |
17 | October 11 | CART | Laguna Seca Raceway (R) | 1 | Bobby Rahal (17) | Lola T87/00 | Cosworth DFX V8t | Goodyear | 3 | 31 | |
NC | October 31 | CART | Tamiami Park, Miami (S) | 1 | Bobby Rahal | Lola T87/00 | Cosworth DFX V8t | Goodyear | 2 | 28 | |
18 | 1988 | August 21 | CART | Pocono 500 (O)
|
1 | Bobby Rahal (18) | Lola T88/00 | Judd AV V8t | Goodyear | 3 | 32 |
External links
References
- ^ a b Truesports History Truesports taurtoisemotorsports.com
- ^ Trueman, Jim Jim Trueman and Truesports taurtoisemotorsports.com
- ^ Bobby Rahal in Truesports Bobby Rahal Driver - .taurtoisemotorsports.com
- ^ Historic Background: Aerospace in Ohio