1989 American Racing Series season
# 1989 American Racing Series season

The 1989 HFC American Racing Series Championship consisted of 12 races. Mike Groff and Tommy Byrne each won 4 races and Groff edged out Byrne by 10 points for the championship.

## Calendar

| Race No | Track | State | Date | Laps | Distance | Time | Speed | Winner | Pole Position | Most Leading Laps | Fastest Race Lap |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Phoenix | Arizona | April 8, 1989 | 65 | 1.6093=104.6045 km | 0'44:49.340 | 140.026 km/h | Mike Groff | Mike Groff | Mike Groff | ? |
| 2 | Long Beach | California | April 16, 1989 | 33 | 2.687531=120.938895 km | 0'51:21.937 | 141.268 km/h | Tommy Byrne | Tommy Byrne | Tommy Byrne | ? |
| 3 | Milwaukee | Wisconsin | June 4, 1989 | 100 | 1.6607976=166.07976 km | 0'49:34.940 | 200.975 km/h | Mike Groff | Mike Groff | Mike Groff | ? |
| 4 | Detroit | Michigan | June 18, 1989 | 30 | 4.02325=120.6975 km | 0'56:22.334 | 128.465 km/h | Ted Prappas | Johnny O'Connell | Paul Tracy | ? |
| 5 | Portland | Oregon | June 25, 1989 | 40 | 3.0930746=123.722984 km | 0'44:07.160 | 168.257 km/h | Tommy Byrne | Tommy Byrne | Tommy Byrne | ? |
| 6 | Meadowlands | New Jersey | July 16, 1989 | 63 | 1.9585181=123.38664 km | 0'46:04.670 | 160.667 km/h | Mike Groff | Mike Groff | Mike Groff | ? |
| 7 | Toronto | Canada | July 23, 1989 | 42 | 2.8709912=120.58163 km | 0'49:56.568 | 144.864 km/h | Gary Rubio | Tommy Byrne | Tommy Byrne | ? |
| 8 | Pocono | Pennsylvania | August 19, 1989 | 28 | 4.02325=112.651 km | 0'34:16.943 | 197.158 km/h | Tommy Byrne | Tommy Byrne | Tommy Byrne | ? |
| 9 | Lexington | Ohio | September 3, 1989 | 32 | 3.86232=123.59424 km | 0'50:32.067 | 146.744 km/h | P. J. Jones | Tommy Byrne | P. J. Jones | ? |
| 10 | Elkhart Lake | Wisconsin | September 10, 1989 | 19 | 6.4372=122.3068 km | 0'43:34.654 | 168.399 km/h | Tommy Byrne | Ted Prappas | Tommy Byrne | ? |
| 11 | Nazareth | Pennsylvania | September 24, 1989 | 75 | 1.5223978=114.179835 km | 0'59:07.610 | 115.866 km/h | Mike Groff | Dave Kudrave | Mike Groff | ? |
| 12 | Monterey | California | October 15, 1989 | 34 | 3.5629902=121.1416668 km | 0'46:48.277 | 155.294 km/h | Johnny O'Connell | Tommy Byrne | Tommy Byrne | ? |

## Race summaries

### Phoenix race

Held April 8 at Phoenix International Raceway. Mike Groff won the pole.

Top Five Results

* Mike Groff
* Paul Tracy
* Dave Kudrave
* Johnny O'Connell
* Ted Prappas

### Long Beach race

Held April 16 at Long Beach, California Street Course. Tommy Byrne won the pole.

Top Five Results

* Tommy Byrne
* P. J. Jones
* Mitch Thieman
* Daniel Campeau
* Roberto Quintanilla

### Milwaukee race

Held June 4 at The Milwaukee Mile. Mike Groff won the pole.

Top Five Results

* Mike Groff
* Dave Kudrave
* Gary Rubio
* Tommy Byrne
* Steve Shelton

### Detroit race

Held June 18 at the Detroit street circuit. Johnny O'Connell won the pole.

Top Five Results

* Ted Prappas
* Calvin Fish
* Gary Rubio
* Mike Groff
* Steve Shelton

### Portland race

Held June 25 at Portland International Raceway. Tommy Byrne won the pole.

Top Five Results

* Tommy Byrne
* Paul Tracy
* Ted Prappas
* Gary Rubio
* Mike Groff

### Meadowlands race

Held July 16 at the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Mike Groff won the pole.

Top Five Results

* Mike Groff
* Tommy Byrne
* Gary Rubio
* Paul Tracy
* Steve Shelton

### Toronto race

Held July 23 at Exhibition Place. Tommy Byrne won the pole.

Top Five Results

* Gary Rubio
* P. J. Jones
* Dave Kudrave
* Ted Prappas
* Hunter Jones

### Pocono race

Held August 19 at Pocono Raceway. Tommy Byrne won the pole.

Top Five Results

* Tommy Byrne
* Gary Rubio
* Ted Prappas
* Dave Kudrave
* Johnny O'Connell

### Mid-Ohio race

Held September 3 at The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Tommy Byrne won the pole.

Top Five Results

* P. J. Jones
* Mike Groff
* Paul Tracy
* Ted Prappas
* Gary Rubio

### Elkhart Lake race

Held September 10 at Road America. Ted Prappas won the pole.

Top Five Results

* Tommy Byrne
* Johnny O'Connell
* Gary Rubio
* Mike Groff
* Dave Kudrave

### Nazareth race

Held September 24 at Nazareth Speedway. Dave Kudrave won the pole.

Top Five Results

* Mike Groff
* Tommy Byrne
* Dave Kudrave
* Marty Roth
* Gary Rubio

### Laguna Seca race

Held October 15 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Tommy Byrne won the pole.

Top Five Results

* Johnny O'Connell
* Mike Groff
* P. J. Jones
* Tommy Byrne
* Dave Kudrave

## Final points standings

### Driver

For every race the points were awarded: 20 points to the winner, 16 for runner-up, 14 for third place, 12 for fourth place, 10 for fifth place, 8 for sixth place, 6 seventh place, winding down to 1 points for 12th place. Additional points were awarded to the pole winner (1 point) and to the driver leading the most laps (1 point).

| Place | Name | Country | Team | Total Points | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Mike Groff | United States | Leading Edge Motorsport | 163 | 22 | 4 | 22 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 6 | - | 16 | 12 | 21 | 16 |
| 2 | Tommy Byrne | Ireland | Landford Racing | 153 | 1 | 22 | 12 | 1 | 22 | 16 | 5 | 22 | 1 | 21 | 16 | 14 |
| 3 | Gary Rubio | United States | Performance Motorsports | 131 | - | 1 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 6 |
| 4 | Dave Kudrave | United States | Leading Edge Motorsport | 100 | 14 | - | 16 | - | 4 | - | 14 | 12 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 10 |
| 5 | Ted Prappas | United States | TEAMKAR International | 99 | 10 | 3 | - | 20 | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Ted Prappas | United States | P.I.G. Racing | 99 | | | | | 14 | 6 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 2 | 6 | - |
| 6 | P. J. Jones | United States | P.I.G. Racing | 90 | - | 16 | 4 | - | 3 | 4 | 16 | 4 | 21 | 4 | 4 | 14 |
| 7 | Johnny O'Connell | United States | C. P. Racing | 72 | 12 | - | - | 1 | 5 | 8 | - | 10 | - | 16 | - | 20 |
| 8 | Paul Tracy | Canada | Maple Leaf Racing | 65 | 16 | - | - | 3 | 16 | 12 | - | 1 | 14 | 3 | - | - |
| 9 | Steve Shelton | United States | Stuart Moore Racing | 58 | 6 | - | 10 | 10 | 6 | 10 | - | - | 6 | 5 | - | 8 |
| 10 | Roberto Quintanilla | Mexico | Roquin Motorsports | 41 | - | 10 | 2 | - | - | 3 | 4 | 8 | - | 6 | 8 | - |
| 11 | Hunter Jones | Canada | Baci Racing | 34 | - | - | - | 6 | - | 5 | 10 | 5 | 8 | - | - | - |
| | Tony George | United States | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | 34 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 4 | - | - | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | - |
| 13 | Daniel Campeau | Canada | McNeill Motorsports | 33 | - | 12 | 8 | 8 | 1 | - | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| 14 | Vinicio Salmi | Italy | Genoa Racing | 23 | 2 | - | - | - | 8 | - | 1 | - | 1 | 8 | 1 | 2 |
| 15 | Tom Christoff | Canada | Landford Racing | 20 | 4 | - | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | - | - | 4 | - | - | - |
| 16 | Calvin Fish | United Kingdom | P.I.G. Racing | 16 | - | - | - | 16 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 17 | Mitch Thieman | United States | Thieman Racing | 14 | - | 14 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | John Thompson | United States | Stuart Moore Racing | 14 | 3 | 5 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Hiro Matsushita | Japan | Panasonic Racing | 14 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 8 | - | - | - | 5 | - |
| 20 | Marty Roth | Canada | Stuart Moore Racing | 12 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12 | - |
| 21 | Dean Hall | United States | P.I.G. Racing | 11 | - | 8 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 22 | Steve Barclay | United States | R & K Racing | 10 | 8 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 23 | Salt Walther | United States | Walther Racing | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | - |
| 24 | Jeff Purner | United States | Stuart Moore Racing | 5 | - | - | - | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Jimmy Vasser | United States | Barclay Racing | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| 26 | Cathy Muller | France | McNeill Motorsports | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| 27 | Jeff Andretti | United States | Baci Racing | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - |
| | Harald Huysman | Norway | McNeill Motorsports | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| | Brian Bonner | United States | TEAMKAR International | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | 1 |

## Complete Overview

| first column of every race | 10 | = grid position |
| - | - | - |
| second column of every race | 10 | = race result |

R9=retired, but classified NS=did not start

| Place | Name | Country | Team | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Mike Groff | United States | Leading Edge Motorsport | 1 | 1 | 4 | R9 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | R13 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 2 |
| 2 | Tommy Byrne | Ireland | Landford Racing | 6 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 4 | 3 | R12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | R10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | Gary Rubio | United States | Performance Motorsports | 12 | R15 | 2 | R12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 7 |
| 4 | Dave Kudrave | United States | Leading Edge Motorsport | 3 | 3 | 5 | R15 | 8 | 2 | 2 | R16 | 5 | 9 | 5 | R14 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | Ted Prappas | United States | TEAMKAR International | 8 | 5 | 3 | R10 | - | - | 6 | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Ted Prappas | United States | P.I.G. Racing | | | | | | | | | 3 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 1 | R12 | 10 | 7 | 6 | R17 |
| 6 | P. J. Jones | United States | P.I.G. Racing | 14 | R14 | 12 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 11 | R14 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 | Johnny O'Connell | United States | C. P. Racing | 4 | 4 | 6 | R16 | 3 | R13 | 1 | R13 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 11 | R13 | 8 | 5 | 4 | R18 | 7 | 2 | 5 | R13 | 3 | 1 |
| 8 | Paul Tracy | Canada | Maple Leaf Racing | 2 | 2 | 7 | R13 | 4 | R14 | 4 | R11 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 2 | R16 | 13 | R12 | 3 | 3 | 9 | R10 | 3 | R15 | - | - |
| 9 | Steve Shelton | United States | Stuart Moore Racing | 7 | 7 | 9 | R14 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | R15 | - | - | 8 | 7 | 6 | R11 | - | - | 4 | 6 |
| 10 | Roberto Quintanilla | Mexico | Roquin Motorsports | 11 | R13 | 13 | 5 | 14 | 11 | 14 | R15 | - | - | 14 | 10 | 17 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 13 | R16 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 6 | 13 | 13 |
| 11 | Hunter Jones | Canada | Baci Racing | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12 | 7 | - | - | 10 | 8 | 13 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 10 | R14 | - | - | - | - |
| | Tony George | United States | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | 16 | 8 | 18 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 17 | 9 | 17 | R17 | 17 | 13 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 15 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 15 | 11 | 17 | 16 |
| 13 | Daniel Campeau | Canada | McNeill Motorsports | 17 | R17 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 10 | R15 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 17 | R15 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 14 | Vinicio Salmi | Italy | Genoa Racing | 10 | 11 | 11 | NS | - | - | - | - | 11 | 6 | 3 | R17 | 7 | R12 | - | - | 11 | 12 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 7 | 11 |
| 15 | Tom Christoff | Canada | Landford Racing | 13 | 9 | 17 | R17 | 9 | 8 | 15 | 10 | 15 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 10 | R14 | 11 | R14 | 14 | 9 | 13 | R13 | 11 | R14 | 16 | 15 |
| 16 | Calvin Fish | United Kingdom | P.I.G. Racing | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 17 | Mitch Thieman | United States | Thieman Racing | - | - | 8 | 3 | - | - | - | - | 12 | R16 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | John Thompson | United States | Stuart Moore Racing | 15 | 10 | 14 | 8 | 11 | 7 | - | - | 14 | 15 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Hiro Matsushita | Japan | Panasonic Racing | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 13 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 15 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 13 | 8 | - | - |
| 20 | Marty Roth | Canada | TEAMKAR International | - | - | - | - | - | - | 16 | NS | - | - | 16 | R16 | 14 | R17 | - | - | - | - | - | - | | | | |
| 20 | Marty Roth | Canada | Stuart Moore Racing | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 6 | 4 | - | - |
| 21 | Dean Hall | United States | P.I.G. Racing | 9 | R16 | 15 | R6 | 10 | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 22 | Steve Barclay | United States | R & K Racing | 5 | 6 | 16 | R11 | - | - | - | - | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 22 | Steve Barclay | United States | Barclay Racing | | | | | | | | | 16 | 14 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 23 | Salt Walther | United States | Walther Racing | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | 7 | 18 | R17 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 24 | Jeff Purner | United States | Stuart Moore Racing | - | - | - | - | - | - | 13 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Jimmy Vasser | United States | Barclay Racing | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12 | 8 |
| 26 | Cathy Muller | France | McNeill Motorsports | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 11 | 9 |
| 27 | Jeff Andretti | United States | Baci Racing | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 14 | 10 | - | - |
| | Harald Huysman | Norway | McNeill Motorsports | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | 10 |
| | Brian Bonner | United States | TEAMKAR International | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12 | 11 | - | - | - | - | 15 | 12 |
| - | Harry Sauce | United States | Barclay Racing | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 16 | 14 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| - | Arthur Abrahams | Australia | Baci Racing | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 14 | 14 |
