The NTT IndyCar Series is about to put on the first Challenge exhibition in the Roger Penske-owned era this weekend at the Thermal Club.
However, in 1992 Emerson Fittipaldi, decked out in the famous orange-red and white livery that matched the sponsor of the race, won the final Marlboro Challenge put on by IndyCar predecessor Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). It was the last attempt by open-wheel to match stock car’s famed Winston exhibition (now the All-Star Race), and bring the six-year reign of Marlboro’s cash prize to a conclusion. Fittipaldi may have been the winner, but eyes were focused on two other drivers.
The 1992 PPG Indy Car World Series season was a year’s long battle between three drivers: Bobby Rahal, defending champion Michael Andretti, and 1992 Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser Jr. All carried significant storylines to each weekend, as Rahal blazed a massive trail in his first season as owner and driver, while Andretti had one eye over the Atlantic readying for his go at Formula 1. Unser was driving a new, in-house chassis for Galles Racing, the Galmer, which had won the closest Indianapolis 500 in history but had handling gremlins that were not quite solved.
Having just two races left in the season, the trio arrived at Nazareth Speedway with the championship on their minds, but also balancing the requirement to compete in the Marlboro Challenge held on the same weekend. At the previous race at Mid-Ohio, Rahal had lost the championship lead to Unser for the first time since gaining it after the second race of the year.
As detailed, the race was an exhibition event that paid out a cash prize to entrants. Unlike the weekend at the Thermal Club, the 1992 Challenge included only those who had acquired ‘Marlboro Challenge’ points, which were awarded for winning a race or a pole in the last year. If all entries that had Challenge points were exhausted, then it went by drivers highest in the current championship standings not in the field yet to get to the max 10-car field.
Leading the field to green was Michael Andretti, with 11 points (six poles; five wins) after arguably being the best driver in IndyCar over the last two seasons. Outside pole was Andretti’s rival for the season, Rahal, with 6 points after cashing in with both three wins and poles in that year’s campaign so far.
Fittipaldi was on the inside of row two, looking to get his first win in the Challenge. Other drivers competing were…
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