The 1996 Texaco/Havoline 200 At Road America Was DRAMA Filled From Start To Finish

The 1996 Texaco/Havoline 200 at Road America was action packed from the drop of the green flag. It was full of contact, drivers mad at each other, huge accidents, and one of the wildest last laps IndyCar has ever seen.
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[@LorenWinzeler]

Mid to late 90s... the glory days of CART! In person, the turbos sounded great.

[@OMG_No_Way]

I love the CART series. Was a huge fan. Never missed a race back then. Great racing. Great personalities. And absolutely gorgeous race cars.

[@DavidVollman]

I was a cornerworker at 11B for this race. The Greg Moore off started just past us, and then we could not figure out how the rollover happened (we thought it was connected to Moore's off). This race was a couple of weeks after Jeff Kronsnoff and Gary Avrin were killed in Toronto. Race control asked us about 5 times if we were OK. One of the wilder Road America races I worked.

[@douglasalan5783]

This was the zenith of open wheel racing in North America. The choice of chassis and engines, and legendary drivers made for racing that compared favorably with F1.

[@robertharris7027]

I tend to agree.

[@bernardoberner4]

The racing didn't compare to F1, it was better, much better, just like Indycar nowadays offers much better racing than Formula 1. F1 is the most overrated championship in the world, the racing it offers doesn't match it's viewership numbers. Poor racing whilst having super high tv ratings, whilst Indycar offers absolutely bonkers racing and yet it's tv ratings are not even comparable to Formula 1's

[@markmark5269]

@@bernardoberner4 Because you don't understand motor racing, you want entertainment. Go chase some squirrels.

[@bernardoberner4]

@@markmark5269 lmao. If you want to watch that boring ass category alright then, go for it. Honestly you F1 fans, doesn't matter how bad the racing is you'll always try to defend it. I'll back to you, it's YOU that don't understand motor racing, Formula 1 nowadays goes against motor racing tradition, you only have overtakes in the DRS zones, no side by side fighting. I understand and appreciate auto racing more than you you smart ass. 😂

[@parallaxview2143]

​@@bernardoberner4most of these drivers were or would be mobile chicanes in F1.

[@schiesz1]

Watching the cockpit view with the days of no speed limit on pit entry was wild. These were the good old days of racing. Thanks for the memories.😊

[@KellieLeigh48]

Yet another massive W. I got a suggestion. How about covering John Paul Jr's upset win at Texas in 1998? He hadn't won a race in 15 years. I'd love to see that one

[@joshherman4214]

Crapwagon

[@StuartH2709]

Seeing clips of Greg Moore makes me happy and sad at the same time. I watched Fontana 99 and it still haunts me to this day. He had the potential to be an absolute superstar. RIP Greg 🕊️ #RedGlovesRule

[@saschaschwentker7148]

Oh yeah! I see it live on German television! That was an amazing race! And i remember that i feeled really sad for Al Unser Jr. But that was real great Entertainment!

[@outhdare]

Andretti and Fittipaldi battling for the lead in the first corner, now that's a legendary sentence in so many ways.

[@StuartH2709]

I'm from the UK and this was the second ever CART race I watched (the first being the unfortunate race before when Jeff Krosnoff was killed). I was 15 at the time and absolutely loved CART; it was the best open-wheeled series in the world at the time.

[@MarvelMTs]

Wow, explosion of NASCAR into mainstream popularity, both CART & the IRL having fantastic races and intense points battles, Reign of Schumacher starting in F1, sounds like the mid to late 90s was a heckuva time to be a race fan

[@Jahanoudis]

V8 Supercars was peaking too

[@StuartH2709]

Couldn't agree more. I think motorsport peaked between 95-05. It's been on a downward trajectory ever since. The sound too was insane; unlikely to return unfortunately.

[@mrdraw2087]

Don't forget the touring cars. BTCC was quite a thing in the 1990s.

[@phishphan49]

...we were playing gran turismo 1 & 2 too - which did a lot to promote all sorts of racing... also it was the peak of WCW vs WWF then, now WWE - attitude era was incredible. lots of things peaked....

[@stephenbritton9297]

It's amazing how the track has changed in a little under 30 years! Also, good thing Greg Moore was calmer than Will Power and we didn't see a "double bird" fly :) :) Moore's wreck and the time Herta got "run over" while backwards in front of the safety post at 5 are my two most vivid childhood memories of watching open wheelers at RA.

[@toddsb07]

I began racing at this track in 96, sure had changed especially the removal of the bridge after Canada corner. Was always damp under the bridge until early afternoon. Scary spot.

[@bartsullivan4866]

You gotta love Will's double bird though it should be trademarked on a T-shirt :). Dixon didn't know he was there but S happens. You love to see the passion for the sport.

[@stephenbritton9297]

@@toddsb07 you should see it now after the repave. They also changed the kerb going into five on the right to prevent another incident like the indy lights car hitting it and going airborne last year.

[@toddsb07]

@@stephenbritton9297 I have seen the repaved track. Makes me want to take a few laps. I'm lucky to be a 10 min drive from RA

[@stephenbritton9297]

@@toddsb07 awesome! It is smooth as it looks.

[@Bastian_Zugnappen33]

Amazing video, spectacular race and circuit! At the time, I followed the CART championship a lot because "our" Alex was there! The cars were very cool and the sponsors iconic! The care you put into your videos is crazy, you deserve much more success 🏎🏁🤘

[@brianmuhlingBUM]

That brought back 24:54 some great memories. Poor Little Al after working his way from 15th to the lead and then his blower blew. It can be a cruel sport at times. Thank you for digging that out. Find me some more PLEASE! 😊

[@Demise90Racing]

I'm glad Brian. You're welcome. I have more old CART videos on my channel. As well as many more to come in the future!

[@Chatta-Ortega]

Man, I miss those cars and the sounds they produced. That was a great era of racing.

[@beeemm2578]

Yeah it was pretty wild and exciting, as you can see by this race.

[@chrisguardiano6143]

When it comes to the bridge that caused Davy Jones's accident, it was removed following the 2001 race when Memo Gidley smacked into it at full speed & his car broke into a million pieces in one of the most dramatic accidents in open wheel history.

[@espenbaklid3178]

I remember that crash. There wasn't a tyre wall there in 2001, was there? Because I vividly remember the impact being very hard, against a concrete wall or something?

[@eggselent9814]

I've just discovered you but man your videos are great. Finally some IndyCar content about specific races or seasons. Could you maybe do a video on the 2006 IRL season. I don't think there has ever been a closer season in IndyCar

[@williewalks]

Oh yeah! This was a classic. Probably my favorite race of all time. What from the wild wrecks, the trash talk, Little Al’s heartbreak, Bob Varsha in the booth. Just great. Every year back in those days there seemed to be a CART race where things just went ballistic and this one was the best of them all!

[@plantfeeder6677]

One mans heartbreak is another mans celebration

[@RobJaskula]

This race is on KZbin and I highly recommend watching the whole thing! Great entertainment, drivers and noise. I love Mark Blundell's comments after his crash

[@optimalpowersimracing6625]

Crazy how much bigger the track looks with these car size. Track is now absurdly narrow for the open wheelers of today

[@ianhawkins3687]

Absolutely can not thank you enough for doing this video. One of my favorite races from my childhood. The ‘97 race was chaotic also. Love your channel!!! Would love to see you cover some IRL era Texas races also

[@Demise90Racing]

Thank you for watching it. Glad you enjoyed it. Some old Texas IRL races have been requested a lot lately so I do have one coming in the near future.

[@ianhawkins3687]

@@Demise90Racing Bitchin!!! I know you’ll do them well. São Paulo 2013, both IRL Dover races, & the ‘92 Indy500 would be great to cover also. Thanks for the fantastic content man

[@Masca79]

Finally someone that is giving to the EXTRAORDINARY '90s Indycar racing some real justice. Great job.

[@sjklahn]

I was 17 years old when I attended this race. It was awesome to be there and see all that chaos. And to see Andretti win was even better. The 1997 race was wild as well.

[@steve4880]

That crowd though. Never seen Road America so packed!!!

[@frevazz3364]

This was one of my first open wheel races I've ever seen and to this day the memory is seared on my mind of the Unser engine going kaput on the final lap, I always make sure to watch the last lap because you never know, as Larson found out in Pocono a couple of years ago. However I had completely forgotten about the crazy wreck on the last lap, flipping wow.

[@andrewdowling]

I was at this race. We had hot passes. I stood behind the Penske Team operation. You could tell by seeing the let down by the guys watching the telemetry that the Mercedes Ilmore engine had expired. A fun weekend.

[@bcgrittner8076]

My son and I were there. But, from our vantage point in the north infield we did not see the carnage. I figured Unser had a win in the bag. I was pleasantly surprised when Michael appeared in the lead on the last lap. That was a day well spent.

[@rockydesign3303]

In 50 years of watching racing at Road America, this race was my favorite. I was at Turn 13, drivers left for most of the race, except when I moved down to the exit of Canada Corner. I was right above the Blundell crash, close enough to get covered with dust.

[@tonydizinno8488]

I was honestly hoping you'd do a review of this race! What amazing timing.

[@charliepostjr.4130]

I WAS AT THIS RACE 27 YEARS AGO WITH MY 3 BROTHERS AND WE HAD A GREAT TIME. BEING A LITTLE AL JR FAN AT THE END OF THE RACE I WENT FROM HAVING A GREAT DAY TO DEPRESSED WHEN LITTLE AL'S ENGINE EXPIRED ON THE LAST LAP.🏎🏁

[@brianmuhlingBUM]

Did you cry when Al went BANG? My heart sank for little Al. I loved the CART Series. 😊

[@nickm6566]

Man I wish I was old enough to really appreciate the CART days before the split. And too bad they can’t have tobacco sponsors anymore

[@enilkja]

Great video. I saw the Will Power and Scott Dixon incident this year in-person. I was standing right there.

[@pjludda4323]

Ahhh...I miss attrition rates... That always made the racing more interesting. Sad we don't see anything like that nowadays. Used to be one of the more important parts of the racing.

[@SuperBuzz71]

So back in those days all the guys would get together and watch. We had a deal that you through in 10 bucks, picked 3 drivers and the guy with most points won the pot. The old points system was easy to track. I was taking my cash off the table and talking crap when Little Al’s engine did its best imitation of a space shuttle launch. Always remember this race. 50 bucks went pretty far in ‘96. 😅

[@JoeAriminvm]

I might still have this race on VHS, taped one afternoon off the sat TV here in Italy. We used to get US races regularly over here, probably because of Zanardi. I remember watching the Indy 500 and US 500 in the same day back to back. Must've watched this race a hundred times, one of my favourite races ever.

[@sportsdad9017]

This was the first race I took my future wife to and got her the racing bug. We were sitting on to of our RV on the infield near the carousel. Such great memories!

[@carlosb1]

CART there will never be another one like you! Was 12 yrs old in 1996 always was anxious to watch you on weekends second best to F1. You could also argue it was better than F1 in many ways. Love you CART! Thanks for the videos brother.

[@contextwithjohnmalone]

The racing was so much more exciting back then. Even the TV broadcasts were better.

[@jefferyrobertson7520]

Old School IndyCar From The 70s 80s And Early 90s Thanks For Uploading

[@cmderinchief]

I would like to see you cover the Michigan 500 that ended with the dual between Scott Pruitt and Al Unser, Jr. I always call this the birth of the IndyCar pack racing era. A video of those CART Handford Device era superspeedway races would be good content too.

[@Mario_Ramirez]

Michigan 95.

[@Demise90Racing]

Coming soon 🤫

[@fluffskunk]

By the letter of things, Andretti's team absolutely should have been penalized for an unsafe release, that was absolutely reckless.

[@jimbobogie8204]

Road America is the greatest track in the US! Would love to see F there!

[@mikenuesser5624]

I agree about loving to see F1 at Road America, however, keep in mind that the FIA would probably require a wider track and more paved runoff areas, and that would take away from the character of this place, and drivers would use runoff pavement as extended track surface because track limits would probably not be enforced; like at COTA...jussayin.

[@danielhenderson8316]

They'd probably need "VIP" sections and I don't think even the F1 high rollers would even appreciate Glamping, much less camping out.

[@fastrackindys]

I was right there in Canada Corner and Al Jr. blew up right in front of us!!! As a massive Andretti fan, it was insane! You have no idea how hard it was to get back to Canada Corner in those days. It was literally like going deep into the Amazon! It was only for the insane diehard fans! And boy did it pay off! You couldn't even script it that way for it to be that perfect! Last lap, last few corners, and we were right there for the blow up, pass and win! Epic!!! Road America is the greatest track in the world! And CART was the greatest racing series in all of global motorsports history! What a day! And those years, no words! Nothing can ever be as great as they were! I lived it all. And I was so fortunate to have done so! Especially in Michael Andretti's era, no one was consistently faster. Nobody had more wins and poles in the years Michael raced. Epic times!

[@mmack647]

I actually attended this race and before I clicked on the video I wondered "Is this the race where Al Unser Jr's engine blew up on the last lap?" Lo and behold, it is. Seven years earlier in 1989 a friend of mine and I attended the IndyCar race at Road America and Michael Andretti was leading until he ran out of fuel on the last lap and Danny Sullivan won the race. So I guess the racetrack gave him one back. 😄 I had forgotten how crazy this race was with all the beating and banging and off-roading and flipping. I just remember one of my friends was a huge Michael Andretti fan and how happy he was Michael won the race.

[@demof1ffff]

still remember all the events of this race before I got to them in your video. Legendary times.

[@JuanGSR]

Just saw this in my recommended, safe to say you have an incredible collection of videos! definitely will be binging them over the next couple of days

[@persezyra]

What an era. Not the plastic tanks we have now.

[@ziggyziggyziggy]

Just stumbled upon your channel and literally been binging since then. Keep it up, absolutely enjoy reliving those Indycar memories!

[@Demise90Racing]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you are enjoying the videos!

[@mariz9084]

It's still bittersweet to see Greg Moore walking away from an accident. How I wish...

[@mgers75]

You had to have balls to drive those beasts at the limit on that track in 1996. Theyve improved the runoffs, catch fences, and whatont tenfold and it's still a super dangerous track.

[@accordingtodrake]

As a Road America fan, wow, thank you. Truly incredible video!

[@Demise90Racing]

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it 👍

[@itsmebatman]

I love how Unser Jr immediately tried to get off the racing line and out of the way. It must be frustrating to lose a victory like that, but he reacted like a total bosss in that moment. I wonder what the fuck Ribeiro was doing in this race though.

[@wadeadams4263]

In the 80s I did the tire work on the haulers for Dan Gurneys All-American Racers. They were racing GTPs with PJ Jones and Willy T Ribbs.

[@RAFlamingo3]

Two takeaways from that race. 1: Andre Ribeiro drove like Mazepin that day, 2: Christian Fittipaldi was something else in the late nineties

[@motorsportracer97]

Fittipaldi during that time one of the unluckiest drivers I have seen

[@dxfifa]

Fittipaldi was really nothing special but he was a solid driver. I would liken him to someone like Rinus VeeKay or Graham Rahal, or further back, Tomas Scheckter ability wise. For perspective Michael Andretti had 5 wins and a 3rd place. Christian had a 2nd and a 3rd for Newman Haas this season

[@motorsportracer97]

@@dxfifa didnt he have a concussion that year in testing or was that 97?

[@mmack647]

Andre Ribeiro hit everything on the track that day but the St. John's the Baptist food stand for a bratwurst 🌭😁.

[@RAFlamingo3]

@@dxfifa I didn't mean in terms of speed or talent, but in pure disregard for his own safety :D

[@MrPorsche85]

I was at Canada corner that year when AL jr car became a mosquito spray truck.

[@keithvnumber1]

One of my favorite wins from my all time favorite driver at one of my favorite tracks. I thought wow what a stroke of pure luck for him. Love the sound and beauty of those cars so much. If I had the money I'd start a new racing series based on CART based specifically on these cars and tracks and the era within 5 years either direction.

[@83redshadow]

One of my all time favorite races. And I have been fan for 50 years

[@stephenthompson5459]

22:26 features the Team I5G and Jimmy Broadbent soundbyte "OH NO!"

[@nathanstroud2223]

My dad had a yearbook from this season of CART, and there was a picture from this race that made me fall in love with that silver & black Rahal car.

[@Demise90Racing]

That's awesome. A picture of that car was so close to being the thumbnail for the video. Amazing looking paint scheme.

[@stacye8408]

Awesome channel, subbed. Thank you for the content

[@Demise90Racing]

Thank you Stacy. Much appreciated 👍

[@micodyerski1621]

Look at those cars! Beautiful! 3:39 3:41

[@mikulitsi1819]

What a mad race! Thanks for posting this. Those cars looked sick and this track has always been great

[@BCanterbury42]

I’m amazed but love the no caution flag unless absolutely necessary. Plus, how close the fans are to the track in most areas of the track would make for a spectacular spectator’s experience! I would go to a couple Indy car races this season if racing was still this way

[@TeganCantEven]

Amazing video as always. I remember this race, that finish was unreal! For a future video, may I suggest the 1994 Michigan 500? That was the first race I attended/watched as a kid and it was pure chaos!

[@brandensimmons653]

Complete madness from start to finish Andre was a walking weapon all day never changed road america

[@StuartH2709]

This sound needs to return.

[@stacye8408]

Thanks for the upload, good to see Moore and Zanardi ❤

[@Demise90Racing]

No problem. Glad you enjoyed it 👍

[@cvtt3194]

Love Road America, love open wheel racing from the 90s

[@jacekatalakis8316]

To aFor those who don't know, Emmo had a career ending crash at the Michigan 500 when Greg Moore and he collided, Emmo hit the wall, he wouldn't race again in anythibng too top level. Hence the comment about Jan Magnussen (who I forgot ran for Hogan in a very Ferrari-esque livery) filling in. Hogan had one good year, then it was all downhill from 93 on

[@mmack647]

Hogan had some guy named Helio Castrosomethingorother drive for him. Wonder whatever became of him? 🙂

[@alexhayward1425]

de Ferran's firesuit with the black pants and yellow top is insanely cool

[@Left-Foot-Brake]

It's funny, I remember almost every detail of every race from 1993-1999..... couldn't tell you who won last weekend.

[@moochythecat3435]

Thank God that none of the drivers were seriously injured in all those accidents...

[@wormymachine6386]

God I miss that sound these cars made.

[@jeffmansell898]

Cart was really challenging F1 at this point. Look at the crowd, what a shame that the idiotic leadership in US open wheel ruined it all with the split. It still isn’t back to this level.

[@joela6542]

these classic indy car videos are too good

[@Mtlmshr]

Those were the best years of Indy Cars!

[@andysedgley]

RIP Greg Moore. He got lucky that day.

[@sadaba43]

instant sub, i love this style of content!! great stuff

[@Demise90Racing]

Thank you very much!

[@cashkenterprises5584]

“Max Papees”

[@cirian75]

I love how these car looked, they just look "proper"

[@dominicbarden4436]

A pretty bonkers race, this one, Ribero was clearly on a mission! Gee, Zanardi loved to pull off some charges up the field from adversity didn't he? Unser retiring from the lead on the final lap reminded me of the same thing happening to Mika Hakkinen at the 2001 Spanish GP. I love Road America, it's one of my favourite IndyCar circuits. But I'm sorry, Turn 2 and Turn 4 are not corners in my opinion. If they're counted as corners then so should the second little kink on the straight between Turns 3 and 5, the kinks between The Kink and Canada Corner and the kink after Canada Corner. Maybe it's because I'm more used to F1, which rarely give small kinks like these corner numbers (though there are a couple here and there, e.g. Turn 15 at Shanghai perhaps, or Turn 17 at Monaco).

[@johnhall412]

Still go there every year for Indy Camping in our same spot turn 8!

[@jacekatalakis8316]

Also it seemed barring 94, from, I wanna say the 80s to 2001, even into 2002, CART had something special with the road courses. It always felt like at least once a year we got a great road course race and amazing, if terrifying, superspeedway race, usually Michigan but often Indy too up until the split. Fontana had some great races, 97 was great, 98was good, 99 was tainted by Moore's death but the actual on track product was IMO just as good as 98. 2000-2002 FOntana was absolutely wild in a good way. Same for Michigan. It felt like from the 80s to 2001 you had a good, and often great, Michigan 500 every year, The US 500? Not so much, as you've covered

[@isthatrubble]

I love how flabbergasted the commentator is by the moore and jones crashes, he's literally lost for words

[@DiogeneDeSin0pe]

Best looking Cart/Irl/Indy cars ever, awesome sounding too.

[@92boostedh22]

That camera angle at 8:00 gives a Gilles Vileneuve type of feel.

[@joshdrumheller4920]

He went down, around the outside, around the outside, around the outside.....😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@JaymondoGB]

CART always had much better formed up rolling starts than todays Indycar

[@chudox87]

The Davy's Jones flip corner was the same of Memo Gidley huge wreck in 2001. The bridge there does't exists today.

[@beeemm2578]

19:31 look at the cars blowing by him 😳😳 0 fucks given. Madness

[@Jt7166]

These videos are excellent. Thank you

[@nicksterl.2133]

I remember watching this one live on Eurosport. Those were the days.

[@Foxvalleyproduction]

I was there, great race and cars. Road America F*^^ing ROCKS. 🤘

[@ctkatz]

I'll be honest. I stayed just to hear those sweet engine sounds.

[@thinkandrepent3175]

Great stuff!!! keep em coming

[@Demise90Racing]

Thank you!!

[@MetalGamer666]

I was a Formula 1 snob at the time, and being from Europe, dismissed American motorsport as mostly hillbilly pastime, but I wish I paid more attention to it (even though it was a bit more difficult before internet video streaming was a thing).

[@danielhenderson8316]

You'd be stuck with Eurosport so your mileage may vary. Thankfully over the last 10 years we've been unearthing the original ABC/ESPN commentary.

[@twisteddrift9860]

You should do Surfers Paradise 2003. That race was pure chaos and inadvertently became the final race of the season. PT finally getting the title.

[@MetalGamer666]

0:29 - Interviewing distance before any pandemics.

[@kevinbashnick]

Good video and nice commentary... Subscribed

[@Demise90Racing]

Thanks for the sub! Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@dxfifa]

I cannot believe how badly Ribeiro flopped at Penske. At Tasman he looked like at the very least a solid option, even if inconsistent

[@danielhenderson8316]

Penske fell behind in the chassis race with Reynard, Lola, and in some cases Swift. They were also stuck with Goodyear tires due to outside contracts after everyone left because they were trash.