Scott Goodyear (b. December 20, 1959 in Toronto, Ontario) is a former race car driver from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. Goodyear ran the IRL and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994. He is also notable for almost winning the Indianapolis 500 on three different occasions.
Goodyear qualified for twelve straight Indianapolis 500 races from 1990 to 2001. After starting last (33rd) in the 1992 race he finished 2nd to Al Unser, Jr. by 0.043 seconds. He could have won the 1995 race, but after leading forty-two laps, Goodyear mistakenly passed the pace car on a late restart and was penalized to fourteenth place after ignoring the black flags. Goodyear finished second again in 1997 after being passed by Arie Luyendyk on the backstraight at lap 194. He might have won if not for a controversial restart on the last lap, when the green and white flag waved despite the on-track lights still signaling yellow. Goodyear, who had expected the race to finish under caution, was weaving his car to keep his tires warm at the time of the restart. Meanwhile, eventual winner Luyendyk had already begun accelerating away from the field.
He drove in a couple of CART races for Walker Racing in 1996 before a practice accident at the Emerson Fittipaldi Speedway in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil sidelined him for most of the season. In 1997 he moved to the Indy Racing League with Treadway Racing and in 1998 moved to Panther Racing, where he stayed for three seasons, just losing out for the series title in 2000 to Buddy Lazier. He retired from racing following a crash with Sarah Fisher in the 2001 Indianapolis 500 and became a commentator for ABC and ESPN's coverage of the IRL with Paul Page, Todd Harris, of "World's Strongest Man" and extreme sports fame, and currently with Marty Reid.
Scott Goodyear was inducteed into the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 2002.
IndyCar career results
3 wins, 0 championships
Indy 500 results
See also
List of Canadians in Champ Car
|
