In the mid-1980s, the once-popular Can-Am series was withering, and most teams had already defected to CART or IMSA. The last holdouts formed "CAT" (Can-Am Teams) in 1986 to take over sanctioning of the series as part of the SCCA. Two plans emerged, one keeping the Formula 5000-based cars, and others, led by Bill Tempero who favored using old CART Indy car machines. During 1986 and 1987, the CAT races were run essentially as two-class races, with the familiar full-bodied Formula 5000 cars racing alongside ex-CART Indy cars.[1][2] CAT folded after the 1987 season.
Tempero then broke off and started his Indy car-based series in 1988. With an emphasis on cost savings, ex-CART Indy car chassis were powered by 5.9 L (360 in3) normally aspirated, stock blockChevroletV-8 engines. Buddy Lazier was the first season champion. Tempero himself won one race that year, and placed third in the final season points standings.
As the series slowly began to gain competitors, the teams were allowed to run a choice of two powerplants. The aforementioned stock block Chevy, or the Buick V-6 in turbocharged or normally aspirated configuration. An equivalency formula was determined to provide for competitive balance among the different engine combinations. The chassis utilized were the March, Lola, Reynard, Eagle, and Penske from CART competition. In later years, G-Force and Dallara chassis from IRL competition saw use as well. Over the years, the AIS series had a predominantly western-based schedule, but did also have races in New York, the South, Canada, and Mexico. AIS raced on mostly short ovals and road courses, occasionally splitting a bill with Weekly racing series, Late models, and other short track series. A few street circuits and "roval" races were also held.
The original American Indycar Series ceased at the end of the 2000 season. The AIS was sold to a group led by Barry Brooke and Bobby Brooks. However, the series subsequently folded permanently after only two race meets had been held in 2002. A new management team formed the United States Speedway Series (USSS), which started racing in 2001. The USSS ran for five years under mostly the same format, featuring older chassis from CART and the first generation of IRL (G-Force and Dallara); with a variety of normally aspirated and turbocharged engines. The final season of the USSS was in 2005.
The 1988 Valvoline-Machinists Union American Indycar Series[3] was the inaugural season of the American Indycar Series. After running mixed-class races with ex-Indy car chassis alongside the full-bodied Formula 5000-based machines in the Can-Am series in 1986–1987, this represented the first full season for Bill Tempero's Indy car series. The cars were powered by stock blockChevrolet engines, ranging from 275 to 400 cubic inch displacement.[3] The chassis were mostly used Marches and Lolas from CART competition in 1985–1986.
The season consisted of eight races beginning at Willow Springs in California. Three of the events were to be hosted as twin-race weekends, with the season finale consisting of twin races at Willow Springs. Three of the races were held on 1⁄2 mile ovals, and rest were held on road courses. Buddy Lazier won the first season championship, with six wins out of the eight contested races. Kevin Whitesides placed second in points, posting three runner-up finishes, and was declared the rookie of the year.
Round 1: The first race of the season was held at Willow Springs. Buddy Lazier started on the pole position after winning a 5-lap qualifying heat over Bob Schader.[12] Lazier won the 40-lap race in dominating fashion, finishing 29.16 seconds ahead of second place Kevin Whitesides. The race was run in two 20-lap heats, with a one-hour halfway intermission for teams to make adjustments to their cars.[13]
Round 2: The Illinois Grand Prix was held at the old road course at Gateway International Raceway.[3] Buddy Lazier won the pole position with a lap of 98.4 mph.[14] The race was run in two 27-lap legs, with a two-hour halfway break for teams to make adjustments to their machines. On a hot afternoon, a crowd of 6,000 were in attendance. Buddy Lazier led the most laps and won the race, despite experiencing bad tire wear over the final 15 laps. Bill Tempero, who battled with Lazier in the early going, finished second, 41.08 seconds behind. Kevin Whitesides blew an engine on Friday, then suffered a fire during the warmup lap, but he recovered to finish 4th.[15]
Round 3: The Grand Prix of Colorado was held at the Mountain View Motor Sports Park road course on July 4th weekend. Robby Unser won the pole position and led-wire to wire for his first victory in the series. Buddy Lazier finish second, 4.5 seconds behind.[16]
Round 4: The first oval event for the AIS was held at Shangri-La Speedway in New York. Twin 100-lap races were scheduled, but the second feature race was rained out. Only eight cars showed up, in front of a paltry crowd of roughly 2,500 spectators. Bill Tempero won the pole position, but elected to start the race at the back of the field. Buddy Lazier suffered an oil leak after practice in his March 86C, so the car was parked. His switched cars with his father and teammate Bob, who was driving an ex-Bobby RahalMarch 85C. Lazier led all 100 laps en route to his third victory of the season. Only four cars were running at the finish.[17][18][19]
Round 5: The AIS held its first race outside of the United States, with twin 125-lap races at Race City in Calgary.[20] A pit stop demonstration was held Friday at Stephen Avenuemall to promote the event.[21] The first race was held Saturday night. During practice on Friday, Buddy Lazier suffered a shattered brake disc on his March 85C, so he once again switched cars with his father Bob and drove the team's 86C. At that point, Bob elected to retire from driving in AIS. Lazier beat Kevin Whitesides to the finish line by 0.3 seconds. Bill Tempero finished third.[8]
Rounds 7 and 8: The Bud Light 100 was the final event of the season. It was held as twin races at Willow Springs. Buddy Lazier won the pole position with a lap of 120.656 mph, and Robby Unser qualified second.[22] During the first race, Robby Unser grabbed the lead at the start, and led the first 11 laps. Buddy Lazier took the lead in turn one lap 12, and led to the checkered flag. Lazier beat Unser to the finish line by 3.04 seconds, and with the victory, mathematically clinched the 1988 AIS championship.[23] In the second race, Lazier started from the pole, and once again drove to victory, his sixth win of the season. Kevin Whitesides ran out of fuel during both races, but still scored enough points to place second in the final points standings.[24]
The 1989 Machinists Union American Indycar Series was the second season of the AIS. The season consisted of eight doubleheader weekends, for a total of sixteen races. Robby Unser won 12 of the 16 races, and won the season championship. Buddy Lazier only ran a part-time schedule, splitting time with his CART commitments. Lazier won three races, and finished 7th in points. Richard Griffin won one race and was declared the rookie of the year. For 1989, most entries continued to utilize the normally aspirated, stock blockChevroletV-8 engines. However, some reportedly fielded the Cosworth DFX.
The race meet at Shangri-La was originally scheduled for August 5, but was postponed to September due to rain.[25]
Rounds 1 & 2: The first two races of the season were held at the 1⁄2 mile oval at Hawkeye Downs Speedway in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.[43][44]Robby Unser won both of the 100-lap races, leading a total of 197 of the 200 possible laps. Bill Scott, driving an ethanol-powered machine, finished a close second in both races. The margin of victory was 3.75 seconds for the first race, and 1.47 seconds for the second race. Unser and Scott were the only drivers to complete all 200 laps. Bill Tempero qualified for the pole position for both races, but spun in an oil slick during the first race, then later burned a piston.[45][46] Unser drove the weekend with a leg brace, after undergoing surgery for a broken leg he suffered in 1987.[47]Kenji Momota made his AIS debut, finishing third in the second race.
Rounds 3 & 4: The second race meet was held at the 1⁄2 mile oval at I-70 Speedway. Both Buddy Lazier (the 1988 AIS champion) and Kevin Whitesides (1989 AIS rookie of the year) returned to the series after they missed the first meet. Both were attempting to qualify (unsuccessfully) for the Indy 500.[48] In the first race, Robby Unser started on the pole position and led the first 29 laps. Buddy Lazier took the lead on lap 30, and the two drivers raced-nose-to-tail most of the way. Unser got by Lazier for the lead on lap 87, and held him off on the last by 0.3 seconds. Meanwhile, Whitesides suffered a fuel pressure problem, and was not able to race. Bill Tempero also dropped out with engine problems on lap 81. In the second race, Robby Unser again started on the pole. On lap 10, Buddy Lazier bumped wheels with Michael Leary, and crashed into the wall in turn one. Unser pulled away and was leading when the race was stopped on lap 64 due to rain. Unser was declared the winner, with Bill Scott second.[49][50]
Rounds 5 & 6: The Mid-South Indy 200 was held at Memphis Motorsports Park. The event was scheduled as twin 100-kilometer races on the 1.8-mile road course.[51]Bill Tempero started on the pole for the first race, and Robby Unser was the winner.[52] In the second race, Buddy Lazier started on the pole, but dropped out on lap 4 with mechanical problems. Unser won by 3.85 seconds over Tempero, making it six consecutive victories to start the season.[53]
Rounds 7 & 8: The fourth race meet was held on the 3⁄8 mile oval at Colorado National Speedway. Twin 100-lap races were held on Tuesday July 4. Due to oppressive heat, and 165° track temperature, the races were delayed for two hours. Bill Tempero won the pole for the first race. Robby Unser took the checkered flag, his seventh consecutive victory to start the season. Unser won by 2 seconds over Tempero, and Buddy Lazier finished third.[54] In the second race, Buddy Lazier finally snapped Unser's win streak. Lazier took the checkered flag for his first win of the season. Unser finished a close second, with polesitter Tempero third.[55] After eight races, the halfway point of the season, Robby Unser (196) led the points standings, with Bill Scott (127) ranked second.[56]
Rounds 9 & 10: The AIS traveled to Canada for the second time, holding twin 125-lap races at Race City. On Friday, Bob Tankersley won the second annual pit stop contest at Stephen Avenue mall. Kenji Momota withdrew due to a family illness, and he was replaced by Buzz Tapley.[57] The first race was scheduled for Saturday August 19, but due to heavy rain, it was postponed to Sunday afternoon. Robby Unser won the pole with a track record of 14.9 seconds, and led from start to finish. Buddy Lazier finished second, but not without incident. Bill Tempero broke an oil pump in his primary car on lap 22. He parked his car in the pits, then he took over the team's back-up car (started by Arlon Koops). As Tempro was exiting the pits, he nearly tangled with Lazier, sending Lazier's car into a spin. Lazier was able to recover, and worked his way back up to second place by lap 89. Bill Scott came home third. In the second race, Greg Gorden won the pole with a new track record of 14.77 seconds. Gorden led until lap 56, when Robby Unser took over the lead. On lap 98, however, Unser suffered a broken rear end. Gorden veered to avoid contact, but spun and seized the engine. Both the first place and second place cars were out, putting Buddy Lazier into the lead. Lazier cruised to the finish, nursing a damaged gearbox. Bill Tempero finished second, driving the team's back-up car once again.[58][59] After ten rounds, Robby Unser held a commanding points lead (254 points) over Bill Scott (137) and Buddy Lazier (143). Richard Griffin (133) was the leading rookie, and Bill Tempero (128) rounded out the top five.[60]
Rounds 13 & 14: After being rained out in August, the race meet at Shangri-La was rescheduled for the last weekend of September. On a cold, damp night, with temperatures in the 40s, Robby Unser won the first race in dominating fashion, his 11th victory of the season.[64] Richard Griffin finished second. During the second race, Unser dropped out on lap 87 with a failed right-front wheel bearing, his first DNF of the season. Griffin won the second race, his first AIS victory.[65]Johnny Unser made his AIS debut,[66] with a pair of 6th place finishes, driving as a teammate to his cousin Robby. Despite dropping out of the second race, Robby Unser left the weekend with enough points to mathematically clinch the 1989 AIS championship.[67]
Rounds 15 & 16: The season finale was held at Willow Springs.[68]Bill Tempero won the pole for both races. Buddy Lazier won the first race, with Robby Unser finishing second. In the second race, Lazier dropped out with a broken motor mount. Robby Unser won the second race, his 12th victory of the season, and 13th career AIS victory overall.
The 1990 Machinist Union American Indycar Series was the third season of the AIS. The season consisted of eight races, but one event was rained out.[69] Doubleheader weekends were eliminated, and the series conducted its first race on a street circuit. Bill Tempero, founder of the series, won four of the seven rounds, and won the championship for the first time. Johnny Unser won two races, finished second in points, and was named the rookie of the year. Robby Unser, the 1989 champion, only drove a part-time schedule for 1990, and managed to win one race, the 14th of his AIS career.
The season finale was held on a street course in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Canadian Thanksgiving. Johnny Unser was leading the 25-lap Moosehead Grand Prix on the final lap when he crashed just short of the finish line. Bill Tempero speed by to take the checkered flag, and in doing so, clinched the points championship.[70]
The 1991 American Indycar Series was the fourth season of the AIS. Bill Tempero won five of the nine races, and won his second consecutive AIS championship. Jimmy Santos, winner of one race, was declared the rookie of the year. A race on a temporary circuit at the Indiana State Fairgrounds was planned, but failed to materialize.[82] A replacement race at Indianapolis Raceway Park was tentatively slated for October 13, but it too was cancelled. Instead, the series races at Benton County Speedway in Chase, Indiana.[83] It was the first Indy car race in the state of Indiana (outside of the Indianapolis 500) since the 1970Hoosier Hundred.[84] For the first time, the AIS traveled to Mexico, with two separate events.
The 1993 AIS season schedule consisted of 8 to 10 races. Rick Sutherland was the season champion. Races at ARCO Arena, I-70 Speedway (rained out), Sears Point, and possibly other venues were either cancelled or failed to materialize. The season finale was a doubleheader at Willow Springs.
In May 1998, the original founder Bill Tempero sold the series to Pan American Motorsports Inc. The original ten-race schedule was reduced to five rounds.
The original Bill Tempero-created series ceased after the 2000 season. A continuation of the original AIS was attempted by a group led by Barry Brooke and Bobby Brooks. Five races were scheduled for 2002, but only two weekend meets (three races) are known to have been held. A tentative schedule for 2003 was announced, but the series folded before any were held.
United States
