Post by frow78 on Aug 2, 2015 13:01:17 GMT -5
The CART Series kicked off it's 1987 campaign in Long Beach, California. Teo Fabi put his #04 Pizza Hut Pontiac on the pole and opened up a big lead as soon as the green flag waved. Veteran driver Steve Kinser ran second for most of the race but began to close in during the late stages as Fabi hit lap traffic. The 04's lead evaporated, and Kinser cut fourteen seconds in the final ten laps. However, Teo Fabi was able to get around the lap car of Michael Andretti at an opportune time to secure his first career win. Steve Kinser held on to the second position despite a late challenge by Tom Gloy, who would finish third. Tom Klausner scored a top ten in his first race back from injury, finishing 9th.
Race two was held at the Phoenix International Raceway. Unheralded driver Connor Root came out of nowhere to claim the pole with a lap time of 28.632. He was passed almost immediately by Tom Gloy, who led the first 22 laps. Root, who had dropped through the field, spun on lap 23 to bring out the first caution of the day. Most of the drivers made the trip down pit road, and it was Chris Kneifel winning the race off by a nose over Tom Gloy. The race was yellow flagged again on lap 55 for an accident between Al Unser Jr. and rookie Ludwig Heimrath. Chris Kneifel opened up a huge lead on the restart and soon held a 7 second gap over 2nd place. No one had anything for the #48 of Kneifel, although there were intense battles in the top 10 during the final forty laps. Robert Moreno, Phil Threshie, Jack Fadden and others were swapping positions nearly every lap as the race came to a close. Chris Kneifel went on to claim his first career win, followed by Tom Gloy and Phil Threshie in 2nd and 3rd. Contenders (and teamates) Danny Sullivan and Steve Kinser were both sidelined by mechanical troubles and finished 31st and 33rd, respectively.
Race two was held at the Phoenix International Raceway. Unheralded driver Connor Root came out of nowhere to claim the pole with a lap time of 28.632. He was passed almost immediately by Tom Gloy, who led the first 22 laps. Root, who had dropped through the field, spun on lap 23 to bring out the first caution of the day. Most of the drivers made the trip down pit road, and it was Chris Kneifel winning the race off by a nose over Tom Gloy. The race was yellow flagged again on lap 55 for an accident between Al Unser Jr. and rookie Ludwig Heimrath. Chris Kneifel opened up a huge lead on the restart and soon held a 7 second gap over 2nd place. No one had anything for the #48 of Kneifel, although there were intense battles in the top 10 during the final forty laps. Robert Moreno, Phil Threshie, Jack Fadden and others were swapping positions nearly every lap as the race came to a close. Chris Kneifel went on to claim his first career win, followed by Tom Gloy and Phil Threshie in 2nd and 3rd. Contenders (and teamates) Danny Sullivan and Steve Kinser were both sidelined by mechanical troubles and finished 31st and 33rd, respectively.
. Hurley Haywood finished second in the standings, with Indy 500 winner Teo Fabi in 3rd. Fabi collected the most wins on the year, 5, but was plagued by DNF's during the middle part of the season. Buick took the manufacturers championship by a sizable margin while Fabrizio Barbazza edged out Stan Fox for ROTY honors. Notable drivers retiring include 2-time Indy 500 winner Danny Sullivan and Chip Ganassi. Ganassi, driver of the #99 Buick, was fatally injured at LeMans in the season finale. His car slammed into a metal guardrail at 140 MPH, head-on, and he died instantly. Shown below are the season standings and Chip Gannasi's fatal accident. 
