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Unser got his revenge in 1989, when the CART season finale and Marlboro Challenge moved to Laguna Seca Raceway. The younger Andretti led the first 12 laps while Unser slashed his way forward from fifth on the grid, taking second place from Rick Mears in a jawdropping out-braking maneuver around the outside of Turn 2. Junior then took Andretti for the lead into The Corkscrew and gapped the field by 23 seconds before backing off to save fuel. He banked $250,000 for winning by 4.1sec over Sullivan, who inherited the position when Fittipaldi again ran dry.

The 1990 Marlboro Challenge relocated to Pennsylvania International Raceway, later known as Nazareth Speedway, marking the first time the event would be staged on an oval. Nazareth was tricky and fast, with minimal banking, three unique corners, and even a bit of elevation change baked into its 0.946-mile layout. Not surprisingly, it produced a classic Rick Mears victory. He started third, lost a place to Penske teammate Sullivan at the start, then came under fire from Fittipaldi (by then another Penske teammate). But the race came back to Mears as he picked off Sullivan, Unser, and Andretti in a series of decisive Turn 3 moves to eventually beat Fittipaldi and Unser.

“After the pit stop, I could lean on the car pretty good,” Mears said. “We’ve been close but no cigar this year trying to get a win, so this is a nice uplift for the team.”
Mears’s win in 1990 would be his only Indy car triumph at Nazareth. Photo: Dan R. Boyd

With his familiar Pennzoil livery exchanged for Marlboro red and white, Mears was again the man to beat in the 1991 Marlboro Challenge, back at Laguna Seca. He showcased his road racing skills from the start and was headed toward a well-judged victory over Michael Andretti until his Penske-Chevy suffered a fuel pick-up problem in the last corner of the final lap. Rick bumped it back to life, but by then, Andretti had steamed past to steal the $250,000 top prize. To add insult to injury, Mears would have collected the $150,000 Marlboro Million bonus, thanks to his earlier win in the 500-miler at Michigan.

“That little hiccup at Laguna really cost me a pretty good chunk,” Mears reflects with a chuckle. “I saw coming down the hill that I had a big enough gap to Michael so he couldn’t divebomb me in the hairpin, and I thought I had it pretty well made. When that thing coughed coming out of the corner, I about fell over.

“The Marlboro Challenge was always fun, and it paid a few bucks, too. The guys enjoyed it, and Marlboro did a good job putting it on. It was a good thing across the board.”

The sixth and final Marlboro Challenge shifted back to Nazareth in October 1992. “Marlboro Man” Fittipaldi finally claimed a Challenge win, over Andretti and newcomer Paul Tracy, but controversial penalties levied by chief steward Wally Dallenbach against Michael Andretti and Rahal killed their chances and any prospects for a competitive race. “This decision cost us at least $140,000,” fumed Rahal after finishing sixth.

PM USA put the Marlboro Challenge “on hiatus to refine the concept” prior to the ’93 season and replaced it with the Marlboro Pole Award, which paid $10k for each pole position and added a $15k bonus for winning from pole. The $15K would accumulate until the next win by the top qualifier. The Pole Award followed Marlboro from CART to the Indy Racing League and continued until 2006; Dario Franchitti’s pole-to-flag win at Vancouver in ’98 netted a $330k bonus, the largest in the history of the program.

A million bucks is no longer the startling figure it was in the ’80s or ’90s, but still grabs attention. Will IndyCar’s gamble on the $1 Million Challenge at The Thermal Club pay off like a winning lottery ticket? Stay tuned.


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