1997 Miami - Qualified eleventh, finished fifth, Australia - Qualified seventh, finished with a victory! Long Beach - Qualified fourth, finished third and moved into first place in the PPG CART World Series point championship. Nazareth - Qualified eleventh, finished tenth, second in points championship. Rio de Janeiro -10th Qualified seventh, finished third. St. Louis - Qualified seventeenth, made contact on lap 143 consequently finished nineteenth. West Allis, Wisconsin - Qualified eighth, finished ninth. Detroit, Michigan - Qualified second, just 3 one-hundredths of a second off the pole, (first) position. Ran strong until engine failure ended the race prematurely. Portland, Oregon - Qualified on the pole, second in his career. Rain caused havoc on the track. Pruett spun twice with his engine stalling both times, finished a disappointing 17th. Cleveland, Ohio - Qualified 16th after suffering a fuel pump problem in qualifying. Ran a strong race competing as high as third before losing position with handling problems late in the race. Finished eighth. Toronto, Canada - Qualified fifth and finished fifth. Very competitive race. U.S. 500 - Qualified on the pole for this 500 mile super speedway event. Ran strong the entire race up to lap 174, when Pruett caught some air, lost his downforce and made contact with the wall.
1996 Had a strong campaign for Patrick Racing that was highlighted by his first career CART pole and three podium appearances. Finished 10th in the PPG Cup points (82). Opened the season with three consecutive top-four finishes, including podiums at Rio (3rd) and Australia (2nd). Was the only other driver besides PPG Cup champion Jimmy Vasser to lead the points during the course of the season. Led Vasser by a point following the Rio race in Round 2. Earned his first CART pole in his seven-year career at Detroit. Third podium finish came in the season finale at Laguna, where he was third. Led four times for 12 laps during the season. Had nine top-10 efforts in 16 races. Finished seventh in IROC series.
1995 Had an outstanding season as he led Patrick Racing and Firestone tires back into Indy car racing after lengthy absences. With Patrick Racing making hits first series appearance since 1991 and Firestone since '74, he registered his best finish in the PPG Cup championship (7th) in his six seasons up to this stage. Season was highlighted by his first career CART triumph coming at Michigan, where he out-duelled Al Unser Jr. in the second-closest Indy car race since 1930 (0.056 seconds). Had 10 top-10 results, including podium finishes at Long Beach (2nd), Australia (3rd) and Detroit (3rd). Finished third in IROC.
1994 Joined Patrick Racing, but did not compete in the series as the team did extensive testing for Firestone in preparation for the tire manufacturer's return to Indy car racing in 1995. Competed in the SCCA Trans-Am series and won the season title for American Equipment Racing. Also raced in the 24 hours of Daytona and captured the overall title.
1993 Moved onto the new Pro Formance team and started in six of the 16 events. Notched back-to-back season-best seventh-place showings at Phoenix and Long Beach.
1992 Finished 11th in the PPG Cup championship in his third season with TrueSports. Posted 10 top-10 showings in 16 events, including a season-best fourth at Vancouver. Made his fifth IROC appearance and finished ninth overall. Also co-drove to a second-place finish in 24 Hours of Daytona in a Jaguar XJR-12D.
1991 Rebounded from race injuries suffered in 1990 and finished 10th in the PPG Cup championship for TrueSports. Registered five top-five finishes and seven top-10's overall in 17 starts. Was chosen by his peers as the STP "Most Improved Driver" of the series. Competed in the IROC series finishing fourth on the strength of a victory at Daytona. Also competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona. Inducted into the World Karting Hall of Fame.
1990 Endured a devastating crash while testing during March at the South Florida Fairgrounds in West Palm Beach, Fla. Spent the majority of the year recovering from multiple injuries to his ankle, heels, knees and back. Returned to test a Jaguar IMSA GTP car in October.
1989 Drove first full CART season for TrueSports and finished eighth in the PPG Cup championship. Posted five top-five and six other top-10 finishes in 15 starts. First career podium finish came at Detroit, where he led the race and eventually finished runnerup to Emerson Fittapaldi. Other podium finish came at the Meadowlands, where he was third. Made his first career oval start at Phoenix and finished 11th. Finshed 10th at the Indianapolis 500 to win Indy Co-Rookie of the Year Honours.
1988 Gambled entire life savings on first Indy car start at Long Beach, where he qualified 13th and finished 18th. Replaced injured Kevin Cogan for the Machinists Union team and competed at the Meadowlands (16th) and Mid-Ohio (20th). Won the IMSA GTO championship, which was highlighted by a class victory at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Made second IROC appearance, finishing third in points with a win at Riverside.
1987 Earned the SCCA Trans-Am championship by virtue of seven victories and nine poles. Remained busy in IMSA competition with nine starts in GTP and 10 in GTO. First GTO class triumph came at 24 Hours of Daytona. Made first International Race of Champions (IROC) appearance, finishing eighth overall.
1986 Captured the IMSA GTO championship with seven victories and nine poles. Named IMSA GT Endurance champion. Competed in two IMSA GTP events, winning at Columbus. Also finished eighth in the SCCA Trans-Am points championship.
1985 Returned to IMSA GTU and made eight starts. Finished among the top five in six of those races and in the top 10 in the other two. Recorded his first pro-victory in a GTO Thunderbird at Pocono.
1984 Entered IMSA GTU ranks and made two starts.
1983-82 Competed in GPX karts.
1981 Won Professional Karting Association world title. Went on to win 13 amateur and 10 pro kart championships during his career.
