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The 67th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 29, 1983. After finishing second three times (1977, 1978, 1980), and winning the pole position twice (1977–1978), Tom Sneva finally shook his "bridesmaid" status and won his first Indianapolis 500. In the final twenty laps, three-time winner Al Unser, Sr. was leading Tom Sneva, looking for his record-tying fourth Indy victory. His son, rookie Al Unser, Jr. was several laps down, but was running right behind his father. Al Jr. created a firestorm of controversy when it appeared he was blocking Sneva intentionally to aid his father. After several anxious laps, Sneva finally slipped by both Unsers, pulled away, and claimed his long-awaited first Indy victory. Rookie Teo Fabi headlined time trials by winning the pole position, and on race day he led the first 23 laps. Fabi's day was short, however, as he dropped out with a bad fuel gasket. The effort earned him the rookie of the year award. Later in the year, Fabi would go on to win the Pocono 500. The 1983 Indy 500 ushered in a new era of civility and stability in the sport of Indy car racing. After four years of conflict and organizational disputes between USAC and CART, the two sanctioning bodies came to an agreement. The Indianapolis 500 would be sanctioned singly by USAC, and officially would be part of the ceremonial Gold Crown. However, the race was now recognized on the CART schedule, and counted towards the 1983 CART PPG Indy Car World Series points championship. This arrangement would remain in place through 1995. ==Background== The USAC technical committee issued a rule change for 1983, scaling back side skirts and declaring that "all bodywork or aerodynamic devices must be at least one inch above the bottom of the car's tub." During time trials, a total of 15 cars in the qualifying line would fail pre-qualifying technical inspection, raising tempers and drawing the ire of competitors. Some teams charged that USAC was inconsistent in their enforcement and their measuring, since they used a different (and possibly less-accurate) tool than the CART series officials utilized at other races. In addition, some teams claimed the first several cars in line were not scrutinized as heavily as those deeper in line. The evolving aerodynamic rules coincided with the emergence of the Robin Herd-designed March chassis becoming the vehicle of choice for the mid-1980s. Coupled with the widely used Cosworth DFX engine, the "customer car" era began to dominate the sport of Indy car racing. Penske, among other teams, chose to abandon or scale back their in-house chassis programs in favor of the English-built March for the next few seasons. The March's aerodynamic advancements, downforce, and affordable cost were among the reasons it emerged as the favorite amongst the competitors. The "customer car" era also was very popular with the smaller-budget teams, as it allowed them access to top equipment, leveling the playing field, and shrinking the differences between haves and the have-nots. The 1983 race would be the first of five consecutive Indy 500 victories for March Engineering. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「1983 Indianapolis 500」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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