The 1994 IndyCar season schedule featured six oval track races (37.5%) and eleven full-time drivers were from the United States (including Italian-born Mario Andretti and German-born Dominic Dobson).

He was viewed as the greatest racer in the world at the time, as his back-to-back championships in two such diverse major racing series (Formula One in 1992 and IndyCar in 1993) were unprecedented.

His teammate Mario Andretti announced before the season that it would be his last, though he would later attempt Le Mans a few times (speculation was that he wanted to win the race just to settle that he was in fact greater than 1967 winner A. J. Foyt, who have both been argued as the greatest ever).

Team leader Bobby Rahal and teammate Mike Groff would face a great challenge enduring the "growing pains" of the new engine.

Simon would field a total af five cars for Indianapolis; Boesel, Matsushita, Tero Palmroth, Lyn St. James, and Hideshi Matsuda.

Both of their name drivers Al Unser Jr. and Danny Sullivan departed (to Team Penske and NASCAR respectively), leaving owner Rick Galles with young Adrián Fernández.

He proved his worth in Indy Lights by winning four races (in his one and only season), and looked to be Mexico's next big star (the first since Héctor Rebaque and Josele Garza).

Chip Ganassi Racing hired "prodigal son" Michael Andretti, who was ready to return to winning ways after the 1993 Formula One season left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Approaching the accident scene, Jacques Villeneuve moved into the upper lane to avoid a slowing Arie Luyendyk and Mario Andretti who were running side-by-side.

Mansell understeered off the warm up apron, bouncing over the grass verge and back onto the track on the racing line, directly in the path of Buddy Lazier (mis-identified as Scott Goodyear on the ESPN broadcast).

Late in the race, Mario suffered a mechanical failure on the backstretch and crashed into the outside wall, the car stopping at the apron at the bottom of the track.

As the field came by, John Paul Jr. and Scott Goodyear slowed to avoid the accident just in front of Michael, creating a rapidly closing gap between the two cars.

Unser's win was the sixth in a row for "The Captain", with Fittipaldi in second, Tracy third (another 1-2-3 sweep), and for fourth Robby Gordon edged Nigel Mansell.

The first turn, which usually provides the most dramatic action at the Burke Lakefront Airport Circuit, saw Michael Andretti (who qualified a lowly 17th place) and Scott Goodyear spin.

Michael Andretti's engine quit with just eight laps remaining, and Al Unser Jr. won his fifth race of the year; the seventh in a row for Penske.

Emerson Fittipaldi and Michael Andretti would also be in the hunt, but championship leader Al Unser Jr.'s bid for three wins in a row ended on Lap 3 with a blown engine.

On Lap 69 Adrian Fernandez tried an unsuccessful pass on the inside of Willy T. Ribbs, the two touching in Turn 3 and collecting Maurício Gugelmin who tried to sneak past on the outside.

Bobby Rahal and Fittipaldi completed the podium, with Mario Andretti in fourth and home crowd favorite Paul Tracy one lap back in fifth.

Fittipaldi whittled Unser's lead to 27, as the rest of the top six were as follows: Michael Andretti (-47 points), Robby Gordon (-52), Paul Tracy (-53), and Nigel Mansell (-55).

The lead pack included the Penske cars of Unser and Fittipaldi, Raul Boesel, Scott Goodyear, and Robby Gordon, who recovered from his flat tire.

Early on, Mike Groff and Michigan winner Scott Goodyear touched and spun into the Turn 2 gravel battling for the twelfth position.

Tracy passed Gordon with his momentum in the corner and was assigned a stop-and-go penalty, as was Mario Andretti for likewise overtaking in the yellow zone.

But in an effort to avoid him, Jacques Villeneuve and Arie Luyendyk crashed and were done for the day before taking the green flag, thus failing to start the race.

Emerson soon lost second to Raul Boesel, and third to Nigel Mansell, and pitted several laps early to correct quite evident handling woes.

Dominic Dobson surprisingly qualified and finished sixth (three laps down) for PacWest Racing, who had recently tested at Mid-Ohio with Danny Sullivan.

Because he clipped a wall in the incident, he suffered a puncture (just like in Toronto) and made an unscheduled green flag pit stop, dropping to 17th and handing the lead to Nigel Mansell.

While Mansell established an 11-second lead, Michael Andretti passed Unser for 2nd place, recovering his position he lost in the early laps when he had a right rear puncture.

Unser's eighth win of the year clinched the Nations' Cup for the United States and put him at 193 points, compared to Fittipaldi's 137, Michael at 114, Tracy 107, Gordon 104, and Mansell 83.

The championship battle was now for second; Fittipaldi was there with 151, ahead of Michael Andretti, who suffered two right rear punctures and a broken exhaust system in 45 laps after starting 20th, at 114, Tracy 109, and Gordon 104.

After having raced at Magny-Cours in June, Mansell spun off in Jerez, finished fourth in Suzuka, and after title contenders Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill collided, won the finale in Adelaide, Australia.