After being introduced in 1986, and earning its first victory in 1987, the Ilmor Chevy dominated the series in 1988, and established itself as the best powerplant on the circuit.

Danny Sullivan won four races, nine pole positions, and had 11 top five finishes en route to the championship title.

Sullivan got off to a slow start, but at Indy, he and his Penske teammates (Rick Mears and Al Unser) dominated the month of May.

Back-to-back defending CART champion, and 1986 Indy winner Bobby Rahal returned for his last season at Truesports.

His ten top five finishes kept him in contention for the title, but with only one win, he was struggling to keep pace with the Chevy-powered teams.

Rahal and Unser Jr. finished 1-2 at Pocono, and the top three in the standings were separated by only 5 points with five races remaining.

Rahal held an 8-point lead over Al Unser Jr., with Mario Andretti and Rick Mears also lurking in 4th and 5th, respectively.

Unser Jr. dominated the race, leading 82 (of 112) laps and winning for the second time at the Tamiami Park circuit.

Rookie John Andretti suffered a devastating crash at the Pocono 500, but would recover before the end of the season.

Jim Crawford, who suffered serious leg injuries in a crash in 1987, returned to the cockpit with a notable run at Indianapolis where he led 8 laps and finished 6th, the best result to-date for the Buick V-6 engine.