Bill Alsup
Bill Alsup (born July 15, 1938, in Honolulu) is a former race car driver. He was the first CART Rookie of the Year in 1979 and competed in the 1981 Indianapolis 500, finishing 11th. He made 57 CART & USAC Champ Car starts in his career. His best race finish of third came 3 times and he was the 1981 CART Championship runner-up, putting in a winless but consistent season for Penske Racing, his only effort with a top-level team. He returned to his own team the next year and struggled until leaving Champ Car following the 1984 Sanair Super Speedway race.
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CART career
Alsup made his CART debut at the Arizona Republic/Jimmy Bryan 150 at Phoenix International Raceway driving the #41 WASP Racing Mclaren-Offenhauser for WASP Racing starting 24th (last) and finishing 11th. Alsup attempted to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 first driving the #67 WASP Racing McLaren-Offenhauser, however the car was not fast enough to make qualifying run. Alsup then attempted the #19 Sta-On Eagle 74-Offenhauser for Gehlhausen Racing, but while attempting to qualify the engine blew on the car. The final car Alsup attempted to qualify was the #68 CAM 2 Motor Oil Penske PC7-Cosworth DFX for Team Penske, Alsup qualified for the race but USAC officials ruled that the car used the engine from Penske teammate Bobby Unser's car and Alsup was disqualified. [1] Alsup drove the remainder of the CART season driving for WASP Racing. He would get a best finish of 9th at 2nd heat of the Trenton Indy at Trenton Speedway,the Kent Oil 150 at Watkins Glen International, the 1st heat of the Norton Twin 125s, and the Gould Grand Prix the latter two at Michigan International Speedway would finish 15th in points winning the first CART Rookie of the Year Award.
In 1980 Alsup purchased the inventory of WASP Racing and started his own team called Alsup Racing and Alsup would drive the #41 Polaroid Time Zero Penske PC7-Cosworth DFX.Alsup started the season out by finishing 6th in the season opening Dastun Twin 200 at Ontario Motor Speedway. Alsup would fail to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 he would rebound to finish 3rd at the Red Roof Inns 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and would finish 7th in points, earning him the CART Most Improved Driver Award.
In 1981, Alsup drove for Team Penske in a Norton-Spirit sponsored car alongside teammates Bobby Unser and Rick Mears. Driving for Penske in the #7 A.B. Dick Penske PC9B-Cosworth DFX and for himself in the #41 Polaroid Time Zero Penske PC7-Cosworth DFX getting a best finish of 3rd at the Norton Michigan 500 at Michigan International Speedway where he would lead for three laps. He would also finish 3rd at the Los Angeles Times 500 at Riverside International Raceway and at the AB Dick Tony Bettenhausen 200 at Wisconsin State Fairgrounds Park Speedway. Alsup would finish a career best 2nd in points in the CART standings. However, it wasn't enough to keep his ride with TEAM Penske, and he was released from the team at the end of the season.
In 1982 Alsup was back to driving for himself driving the #2 A.B. Dick Penske PC9B-Cosworth DFX he would get a best finish of 4th coming at the Stroh's 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Alsup would drop to 11th in points.
In 1983 Alsup began working with Argo Racing Cars to drive the #11 Alsup Racing/Indy Car Annual Argo JM-15-Cosworth DFX. Alsup failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 and would soon start driving a March 83C-Cosworth DFX. Alsup would score no points in 1983.
In 1984 Alsup switched between a March 83C-Cosworth DFX and an Argo JM-15-Cosworth DFX. Alsup failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 and would start his last race coming at the Molson Indy Montreal at Sanair Super Speedway. Alsup would once again fail to score points.
Racing record
SCCA National Championship Runoffs
| Year | Track | Car | Engine | Class | Finish | Start | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Road Atlanta | Caldwell | Ford | Formula Ford | 15 | 19 | Running |
Complete USAC Mini-Indy Series results
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Bill Alsup |  TRE 7 |
MIL 14 |
 MOS 7 |
PIR 2 |
5th | 280 | ||||||
| 1978 | William Alsup, Jr. | PIR1 21 |
TRE1 2 |
MOS 1 |
MIL1 23 |
TEX 2 |
MIL2 10 |
OMS1 1 |
OMS2 2 |
TRE2 4 |
PIR2 12 |
1st | 1046 |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by
None
|
CART Rookie of the Year 1979 |
Succeeded by Dennis Firestone |
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Bill Alsup driver statistics at Racing-Reference
