Galles Racing

Galles Racing is a former auto racing team owned by Rick Galles that competed in the CART series, Can-Am and the Indy Racing League. The team won the 1990 CART championship as well as the 1992 Indianapolis 500 with driver Al Unser, Jr. The team won a total of 21 Indy car races 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 winning Galmer.

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

History

1980s

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

For 1985, Galles fielded the Buick V-6 engine at the Indy 500, with driver Pancho Carter winning the pole position. Carter, however, dropped out early and finished last.

In 1986-1987, Galles Racing became the primary support team for the new Brabham-Honda engine (later known as the Judd AV). Geoff Brabham and Jeff MacPherson fielded the engine at Indy in 1987, with MacPherson finishing a respectable 8th. Later in the season, Brabham scored second-place finishes at the Pocono 500 and at Road 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 familiar Valvoline-sponsored Chevy machine, nearly won the Indy 500, finishing second after crashing out with just over a lap to go in a famous duel with Emerson Fittipaldi.

Bobby Rahal driving the Galles-Kraco car at Laguna Seca Raceway in 1991

Championship years

After the 1989 season, Galles merged teams with Maurice Kranes (who had fielded Kraco-sponsored cars for Michael Andretti and then Bobby Rahal). Kranes brought Rahal and Kraco with him, while Unser, Jr. remained in the Valvoline-sponsored machine. The team competed as Galles-Kraco Racing from 1990 to 1992 and Unser won the 1990 CART Championship with five wins. The Galles-Kraco duo of Unser and Bobby Rahal was one of the top teams in CART during that period. Unser and Rahal teamed up for three 1-2 finishes, including the 1990 Michigan 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 veteran Danny Sullivan as the team introduced their new proprietary Galmer chassis. Unser won the 1992 Indianapolis 500 in 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 by Kevin Cogan and Mexican rookie Adrián 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 for Penske Racing, and Sullivan moved into semi-retirement (he raced stock cars in 1994, and raced for PacWest in 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 led to Sullivan being fired.[1]

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

Transition to IRL

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 first Indianapolis 500 with driver Davy Jones who finished second. Jones also drove a partial schedule in CART while rookie and former Motorcycle champion Eddie Lawson drove Galles' full-time CART entry. In 1997 the team moved full-time to the IRL with rookie Kenny Bräck. Bräck switched to A. J. Foyt Enterprises for 1998 and the team again ceased operations. Galles returned in 1999 with veteran Davey Hamilton. Hamilton was replaced in 2000 by 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 was 2001 where Unser was joined by rookies Didier André and Casey Mears.

Summary

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

CART

IRL

Racing Results

Complete CART results

(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
Eagle 83 Cosworth DFX V8t G Al Unser, Jr. 17 6 9 7 2 4* 18 10 10 4 8 7th 89
19 10
March 83C 17 13 2
1984 LBH PHX INDY MIL POR MEA CLE MCH ROA POC MDO SAN MCH PHX LAG CPL
March 84C Cosworth DFX V8t 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
March 85C Buick 3300 V6t G Pancho Carter 6 13 33 16th 37
Cosworth DFX V8t 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
Lola T86/00 Cosworth DFX V8t G Geoff Brabham 8 10 3 12 21 11 11 6 8 5 12th 64
Brabham-Honda V8t 7 22 14 14 4 12 20 22
Cosworth DFX V8t 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
March 87C Brabham-Honda V8t G Jeff MacPherson 11 10 13 8 8 13 21 17 22 23 19th 21
Cosworth DFX V8t 20 9 9 24
Lola T86/00 Brabham-Honda V8t 25 21
March 87C 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
March 88C Chevrolet 265A V8t 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
Lola T89/00 Chevrolet 265A V8t G Al Unser, Jr. 2 2 1* 2 8 21 10 7 5 20 4 9 2 20 4 3 5th 136
Galles-Kraco Racing
1990 PHX LBH INDY MIL DET POR CLE MEA TOR MCH DEN VAN MDO ROA NAZ LAG
Lola T90/00 Chevrolet 265A V8t 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
Lola T91/00 Chevrolet 265A V8t 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
Galmer G92 Chevrolet 265A V8t 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
Lola T93/07 Chevrolet 265C V8t 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
Reynard 94i Ilmor 265D V8t 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
Lola T95/00 Mercedes-Benz IC108B V8t 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
Lola T96/00 Mercedes-Benz IC108C V8t 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

(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
Lola T95/00 Mercedes-Benz IC108C V8t G Davy Jones 70 2 26th 33
1996–97 NHA LSV WDW PHX INDY TXS PPIR CLT NHA LSV
G-Force GF01 Oldsmobile Aurora V8 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-Force GF01C Oldsmobile Aurora V8 G Davey Hamilton 9 8 4th 237
Dallara IR9 11 7 3 7 23 2 13 2
2000 WDW PHX LSV INDY TXS PPIR ATL KTY TXS
G-Force GF05 Oldsmobile Aurora V8 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-Force GF05 Oldsmobile Aurora V8 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
#SeasonDateSanctionTrack / RaceNo.Winning DriverChassisEngineTireGridLaps Led
1 1984 June 17 CART Grand Prix of Portland (R) 7 Al Unser Jr. March 84C Cosworth DFX V8t Goodyear 10 68
2 1988 April 17 CART Grand Prix of Long Beach (S) 3 Al Unser Jr. (2) March 88C Chevrolet 265A V8t 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) Lola T89/00 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 Galmer G92 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 Chevrolet 265C V8t 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-Force GF05 Oldsmobile Aurora V8 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
gollark: Seems impractical.
gollark: But then you can't monitor *everything*.
gollark: I mean, you can do that with fewer by just running triangulation with 4 modems on the 128 most recent channels.
gollark: Actually, if you have 2048 modems, you can monitor and accurately triangulate all signals.
gollark: It's *also* for division!

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