Rear View: Galmer, 1992 giant slayer

The smallest chassis constructor in Indy 500 field slayed giants like Penske Cars and Lola in 1992. On the way to sending Al Unser Jr. on his first trip to Victory Lane, the tiny Galmer outfit, with only two cars in the field of 33, stole the show as the Chevy-powered G92 chassis propelled Little Al and teammate Danny Sullivan to a 1-5 finish.

Using a name fashioned from CART IndyCar team owner Rick Galles who funded the project, and lead designer Alan Mertens, Galmer came and went as a CART constructor in a single year. An Indy 500 win— the closest in history, a controversial win by Sullivan in Long Beach, and third and seventh respectively for the Galles/Kraco Racing duo in the championship, and then it was back to customer Lolas in 1993.

Bankrolled by New Mexico's Galles with profits from his numerous car dealerships and the big-brand sponsors on the Unser Jr and Sullivan entries, Mertens was able to transform the team's personal R&D company into a full-fledged Indy car constructor. Twenty-five years later, we're still waiting for another upstart constructor to continue the tradition last practiced by Galmer.

The story of Galmer's steady rise and fast demise as an Indy car manufacturer, as told by Mertens in an in-depth podcast below, celebrates the last era where the Indy 500 was defined by creative expression.

Click on the thumbnails below for larger images.

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