Our Career Retrospective series returns for a fourth year, as we have another batch of past IndyCar drivers to consider. We will look at a few drivers and how they ended up in IndyCar, what they did while competing in the series and how the series changed between the driver's first appearance and today.
There is another theme in this year's set of drivers. It might not seem obvious, but it will become obvious once we get to the end.
The first part of this three-part series will be on a name who is tied to some famous IndyCar moments, but does not get considering as one of the best of his time. The talent was there and he made waves, but arriving during The Split, this driver did not receive the same exposure had there been one series. He also never raced in the Indianapolis 500. Though he did not light up the record books, he earned the respect of his fellow competitors.
It is Mark Blundell.
Where was Blundell coming from?
Blundell had already spent over a decade climbing the European ladder system, starting in his native United Kingdom.
Using Formula Ford 2000 success to launch into Formula Three, he quickly was in International Formula 3000, but Blundell did not make a name for himself there. Results were not spectacular and he did not get a shot at Formula One. His big break came in sports cars.
Blundell joined the Nissan Motorsports program in the World SportsCar Championship. Results were good against the Sauber-Mercedes and Silk Cut Jaguar operations, and Blundell took pole position for the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans, over six seconds clear of the next fastest car. Unfortunately, the Nissan R90CK could not go the distance and retired from the race.
While running for Nissan, Brabham took on a testing role with Williams F1. For the 1991 season, Blundell co-opted his testing role with a race seat at Brabham. Teamed with Martin Brundle and strapped with a Yamaha engine, the entire team struggled for competitiveness. Blundell retired from nine of 16 races, did not qualify once and failed to pre-qualify for the Japanese Grand Prix. Blundell did score a point in the Belgian Grand Prix. Brundle only scored two points all season, both coming from fifth at Suzuka.
Blundell was not retained for the 1992 season, and he stepped away from the Williams testing role to focus on getting a full-time seat. With no spot on the grid, he settled for a testing role at McLaren. He also joined Peugeot for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and won the race with Derek Warwick and Yannick Dalmas.
After the sabbatical, Blundell was back in Formula One with Ligier in 1993 and he finished third in the season opener in South Africa. He was fifth in the next round in Brazil. He would finish third in the German Grand Prix and finished the season tenth in the championship. On a one-year deal, he moved to Tyrrell for 1994. He was third in the Spanish Grand Prix, but scored two fewer points than in 1993 and finished two spots worse in the championship.
Sponsorship issues led to Blundell's release from Tyrrell after 1994. In a fortunate break, McLaren came calling for the start of the 1995 season as Nigel Mansell did not fit in the car and could not run the first two races. Blundell also added a role in McLaren's Le Mans project with the F1 GTR. However, Mansell retired for good after two races with McLaren in the 1995 season. Blundell ran the remaining 13 races. He scored 13 points and finished tenth in the championship with his best result being fourth in Italy and Australia.
What did IndyCar look like when Blundell started in the series?
IndyCar was rather healthy. CART had a full grid with sponsors on every car and most a notable name. The series was more than competitive than ever, only a few years removed from Nigel Mansell coming off as World Drivers' Champion.
CART was a fully international affair with a strong domestic spine. While it had the homegrown likes of Al Unser, Jr., Michael Andretti, Paul Tracy and Jacques Villeneuve, it still had Emerson Fittipaldi while Maurício Gugelmin, Stefan Johansson and Raul Boesel had made roots in the series. Even young drivers like Gil de Ferran and Christian Fittipaldi were finding homes in IndyCar. American Eddie Cheever was early into his second career after a decade in Formula One.
That international flavor was more than the drivers on the grid. Of the 16 races, four races took place outside the United States with trips to Brazil and Australia in March along with two separate trips to Canada. Due to the split, there were only six oval races, none of which were the Indianapolis 500. One of those oval races was in Brazil. There were four street course races and a race ant ann airport. The season began on March 3 and ended on September 8.
Blundell joined right as The Split started.
The Indy Racing League was starting as a breakaway series to focus on developing American drivers and running on oval tracks. There were a number of opportunities created, but not for the likes of Blundell in mind. That did not stop Blundell from drawing interest from CART organizations.
When Blundell was not retained by McLaren for the 1995 season and a deal with Sauber fell apart in the 11th hour, an chance to race in IndyCar presented itself. With guidance from Adrian Reynard, Blundell received an offer from PacWest Racing for the 1996 season with Gugelmin as his teammate. Blundell was in one of the 26 full-time entries.
How does IndyCar look now?
There were 27 full-time entries in the 2024 season, and the grid remains rather international.
The domestic spine is still there but it is not as prominent as it once was. There were eight American drivers that competed in at least 70% of the races this past season. There were 11 different nationalities represented in the top 22 of the championship.
IndyCar is also changing and looking a little more like CART. Ahead of the 2025 season, a charter system was announced that guarantees 25 entries spots on the grid for every race outside the Indianapolis 500. These 25 entries are the only ones eligible for the 22 Leader Circle spots, essentially a base payment determined by the championship finish from the previous year. Non-chartered teams are allowed to compete in races, but only two spots are available to non-chartered teams at every race outside the Indianapolis 500.
The 2024 season saw 17 races take place over 15 race weekends, 14 of which were run in the United States. There was also a non-championship round held at a country club racetrack in Southern California. Five ovals were on the schedule, two of which hosted doubleheader weekends. There were four street course races. The season began on March 3 and ended on September 15.
In 2025, the season begins on March 2 and ends on August 31. There will again be five oval weekends, but only one of those will be a doubleheader. The non-championship round will become a full championship race.
What did Blundell do in-between?
It was not a kind rookie season. Blundell broke his foot in Rio de Janiero and missed the next three races. He was back in time for the U.S. 500 from Michigan International Speedway. For his first 500-mile race, Blundell qualified 19th, the fourth-fastest of six rookies. Driving a rather smart race, Blundell finished fifth, one-lap down.
While he finished fifth at Belle Isle two races later, results were mixed. Blundell ended up 16th in the championship on 41 points, only 12 being teammate Gugelmin. Blundell was the second-best record, but 43 points behind Rookie of the Year Greg Moore.
The 1997 season did not start off with a swift change from the previous season, but he was knocking on the door of victory at Belle Isle only to run out of fuel on the final lap. After a devastating loss, Blundell bounced back with one of the most memorable victories in IndyCar history. On slick tires in Portland, while Gil de Ferran nursed a car home on wet-weather tires, Blundell chased down the Brazilian, erasing a 33-second gap in less than ten laps.
With a damp track off-line, Blundell was cautious to make a move. He wait until off the final corner and it became a three-car drag race with de Ferran and Raul Boesel. Blundell got to the checkered flag 0.027 seconds ahead of de Ferran and 0.055 seconds ahead of Boesel.
Portland sparked a second-half surge from Blundell. He won at Toronto two races later and was second in the U.S. 500. He ended the season with a runner-up finish at Laguna Seca and he won the inaugural Fontana race, a 500-miler that saw an intense battle with his teammate Gugelmin as well as Jimmy Vasser and Adrián Fernández. Blundell described Fontana as the best victory of his career. It placed him sixth in the championship on 115 points, two spots and 17 points behind Gugelmin as PacWest took fourth and sixth in the championship, sandwiching Team Penske's Paul Tracy and ahead of both Newman-Haas Racing entries.
Sadly, it was never as good as 1997 after that. Blundell spent the better part of the next three seasons in CART. A testing accident at Gateway caused him to miss eight races in the 1999 season. He never finished in the top five after his Fontana victory. His best result would be sixth at Fontana in 1998. Over his final three seasons, he scored a combined 63 points.
Blundell planned on returning for the 2001 season, but unsatisfied with the lack of personnel changes made heading into that season, he stepped away from the program. He was replaced by a rookie who competed in Indy Lights the year prior, a driver by the name of Scott Dixon.
What impression did Blundell leave on IndyCar?
Blundell is one of those names from the 1990s that remind you how good CART was at the time. Even during The Split, it attracted some top level talent, and after being shuffled around the Formula One grid and missing great opportunities, Blundell could showcase his talent.
I don't think anyone mistakes Blundell as one of the greatest to ever race IndyCar, but he acclimated himself well to something foreign. His oval skills were incredible, and his ability in 500-mile races were far better than most. As much as we look back on losing the opportunity to see Greg Moore and Alex Zanardi compete in the Indianapolis 500, we also lost the chance to see Blundell run it, and he might have been the best suited for victory out of the three.
Though he has not been regularly around IndyCar for nearly a quarter-century, Blundell has represented others who have competed in the series. His management company, 2MB Sports Management, has represented Mike Conway, Jordan King and Callum Ilott, three drivers who participated in IndyCar in the previous decade.
He is more a cult icon in IndyCar circles than anything else. Blundell's success comes down to one season, and not even a full season, half of a season where he won three races. He and PacWest Racing all clicked at the same time, and for a brief moment in time it was one of the most competitive teams in CART. He had plenty of other good rounds, but PacWest did not have the might to remain with Team Penske, Newman-Haas Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing at the front.
There is a little wonder of what could have been if Blundell had come to IndyCar at a younger age. He turned 30 early in his rookie season. There are not many 30-year-old rookies in IndyCar today. It isn’t rare. Romain Grosjean debuted well into his 30s and Jimmie Johnson was well over 40. Blundell left prior to turning 35 years old. There are not many drivers that willingly call it quits on IndyCar at 35 years old. When you consider his oval ability, he could have had a late-career surge had he been with a good team that switched to the Indy Racing League. If he had received the call to replace Greg Moore instead of Hélio Castroneves at Penske, I don't think he has four Indianapolis 500 victories, but I bet Blundell has at least one. He definitely has more than three career victories as well.
It is good to have these drivers that you had to be there to see. Blundell got his moment to shine and we saw it at its brightest. If you just missed it, it doesn't seem like much, but it was fun while it lasted. These drivers come around once or twice in a generation. I am not sure who it is for those in the year 2024. Carlos Muñoz? Robert Wickens? Could it be Marcus Ericsson? Maybe we will know in a few more seasons.
Blundell is not written in the history book for a great day in May or a championship run, but for a brief moment he captured our attention, and it was rightful deserved.
