Porsche and Team Ownership
In 1988 the lone Porsche Indy Car team suffered a tragic loss with the death of team owner Al Holbert and Walker took over team management. With driver Teo Fabi they won the race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course which proved to be the only one in the storied marque's Indy Car career. When the team went under Walker purchased the assets of the team and renamed it Walker Motorsports.
Walker ran Willy T. Ribbs sporadically until 1994, but enjoyed his best success in the early seasons with Scott Goodyear. Goodyear came second to Al Unser, Jr. in the 1992 Indianapolis 500 by 0.043 seconds, the closest finish to date in the race's history, and later won the 1992 Michigan 500 for Walker over then-Penske newcomer Paul Tracy. Goodyear and Robby Gordon spent large amounts of time with Walker, with 1996 their last seasons. Gordon left to pursue a further NASCAR career with Goodyear off to the new Indy Racing League. Walker hired Gil de Ferran, who came close to winning the 1997 title without winning a single race. He ran a second car for Naoki Hattori and Memo Gidley in 1999 but neither did well. Walker also ran a team in the Indy Racing League for Sarah Fisher in 2000 and 2001 with limited success.
Read more about this topic: Derrick Walker
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