driving the PC-23 at the
1994 Indianapolis 500 The PC23 debuted at
1994 Australian FAI Indycar Grand Prix, noted for the sensational debut win of
Reynard chassis, qualifying 3rd with Fittipaldi, 5th with Al Unser Jr., and 6th with Tracy. In the race, which was shortened by 10 laps due to darkness, Fittipaldi scored a 2nd place, while Unser and Tracy retired for electrical problems. At Phoenix, the first oval race of the season, the PC23 scored its first win, with Fittipaldi ahead of Al Unser Jr. The season continued with six wins in a row, three for Unser:
Long Beach,
Indianapolis and
Milwaukee, where Penske Racing scored a remarkable 1-2-3 win with Fittipaldi second and Tracy third, a win for Tracy at
Detroit, and two wins for Unser at
Portland, another 1-2-3 sweep for Penske, and
Cleveland. In
Toronto however, Unser's engine blew, while Fittipaldi finished 3rd, and Tracy 5th, ending an astonishing streak of seven wins in a row. In
Michigan, the entire Penske pack retired, but for the next two races,
Mid-Ohio and
New Hampshire, the Penskes scored two 1-2-3 wins in a row, with Unser as the winner on both occasions. Unser won also in
Vancouver, completing his second row of 3 back to back wins of the season. The
Road America was won by then-rising star
Jacques Villeneuve, his first in CART racing, while Unser clinched the championship ahead of Fittipaldi. Two final events of the season,
Nazareth and
Laguna Seca were won by
Paul Tracy. Unser, Fittipaldi, and Tracy ended the season at first three places in season standings respectively. In the
1995, not counting the brief and unfortunate attempt to qualify at Indy 500 with their year-old car, Penske Racing was running with the new
PC-24, although with much less success. However, the
Bettenhausen Motorsports team used the PC-23 for almost the entire season, with the Indy 500 and Milwaukee as sole exceptions. Bettenhausen driver
Stefan Johansson scored points in eight races and finished 13th place in the final standings, with on third place as its best result. In
1996, the PC-23 had one final run, at the inaugural
U.S. 500 with
Gary Bettenhausen, who crashed out of the race in lap 89, while in the 21st place. Despite reliability issues with the engine the three-car Penske team (
Unser,
Emerson Fittipaldi and
Paul Tracy) dominated most of the month, and nearly the entire race. This engine used a provision in the rules intended for stock block
pushrod engines such as the
V6 Buick engines that allowed an extra 650 cm³ and 10
inches (4.9
psi/33.8
kPa) of boost. This extra power (1,024
horsepower, which was up a 150-200 hp advantage over the conventional V-8s.) allowed the Penskes to run significantly faster, giving them the pole and outside front row on the grid for the
78th Indianapolis 500.
Al Unser Jr. and
Emerson Fittipaldi dominated the race, eventually lapping the field with 16 laps to go in the 200 lap race when Emerson made contact with a wall coming out of Turn 4, giving
Al Unser Jr. the lead and win. The only other driver who finished on the lead lap was rookie
Jacques Villeneuve. In the summer and fall of 1993, Ilmor and Penske engaged in a new engine program. Under complete secrecy, a 209 cid purpose-built, pushrod engine was being developed.
Mercedes stepped in near the end of development and paid a fee in order to badge the engine as the
Mercedes-Benz 500I. The engine was designed to exploit a perceived "
loophole" that existed in
USAC's rulebook since 1991. While CART sanctioned the rest of the Indycar season, the Indianapolis 500 itself was conducted by USAC under slightly different rules. In an effort to appeal to smaller engine-building companies, USAC had permitted "stock-block" pushrod engines (generally defined as single
non-OHC units fitted with two
valves per cylinder actuated by
pushrod and
rocker arm). The traditional "stock blocks," saw some limited use in the early 1980s, but became mainstream at Indy starting with the introduction of the
Buick V-6 Indy engine. Initially, the stock blocks were required to have some production-based parts. However, in 1991, USAC quietly lifted the requirement, and purpose-built pushrod engines were permitted to be designed for racing at the onset. Attempting to create an equivalency formula, both pushrod engine formats were allowed increased
displacement (209.3
cid vs. 161.7), and increased
turbocharger boost (55
inHG vs. 45 inHG) Team Penske mated the engine with the in-house Penske chassis, the PC-23. It was introduced to the public in April, just days before opening day at Indy. ==Legacy==