1994 PPG Indy Car World Series  The 1994 PPG Indy Car World Series season was the 16th national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by CART. The season consisted of 16 races. Al Unser, Jr. was the national champion, his second CART title, and the rookie of the year was Jacques Villeneuve. The 1994 Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned by USAC, but counted towards the CART points championship. Al Unser, Jr. won the Indy 500 from the pole position, his second career victory in that event. Marlboro Team Penske dominated the 1994 CART season, winning 12 of 16 events including the Indianapolis 500. The three-car team of Al Unser, Jr. (8 wins), Emerson Fittipaldi (1 win), and Paul Tracy (3 wins) swept the top three spots in the final season points standings, and had five 1-2-3 finishes over the course of the season. The Penske Team also made headlines during the month of May, when they unveiled the new Ilmor Mercedes-Benz 500I engine. The secretly-built, 209 in³ (3.42 L) displacement purpose-built pushrod engine, which was capable of nearly  was constructed specifically for the Indy 500. The season opener was won by Michael Andretti on his return to IndyCar racing after his unsuccessful season in Formula One. The rest of the 1994 season was dominated by Team Penske's PC-23 chassis, which won 12 of the 16 races. Penske driver Al Unser, Jr. took the title. The Rookie of the Year title was taken by young Canadian Jacques Villeneuve. Veteran Mario Andretti retired at the end of the season. Another major story started before the season. Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Tony George announced plans for the formation of what would become the Indy Racing League, with an intended focus on oval track racing and predominantly American drivers. This was nearly identical to NASCAR, which at the time had all American drivers and just two (of 31) races on road courses. 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). ABC Sports' Paul Page said during the broadcast of the race at Surfers Paradise that this announcement, ""could drastically affect what we know as IndyCar racing in the future"." Newman/Haas' Nigel Mansell was expected to contend once again.