PDM Racing is a racing team in the Indy Racing League and USAC Silver Crown series owned by Paul Diatlovich. Almost always a low budget team and affectionately (or unaffectionately) dubbed "Poor Dumb Mechanics" by one of its former owners, it is known to make the most out of mediocre equipment. The team was founded in 1996 with the inception of the Indy Racing League and ran full seasons until 2002 when rising costs forced the team to scale back to a part-time venture. The team is most known for bringing three-time champion Sam Hornish, Jr.

Sam Hornish, Jr.

Racing League]] championships. He currently drives the #12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Challenger for Penske Racing part-time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. He also drives the #38 Front Row Motorsports Ford when Travis Kvapil is unable to drive the car....

 into the league in 2000

2000 in IRL

The 2000 Indy Racing Northern Light Series season was another season that saw a high level of parity as only one driver, champion Buddy Lazier, won more than a single race. It also saw the beginning of the jump from CART as Al Unser Jr. moved to the series full time and Chip Ganassi Racing came...

. Hornish earned the team's best finish that season, a 3rd at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada near Las Vegas, is a complex of multiple tracks for automobile racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.-History:...

.

The team fielded a USAC Silver Crown team with its car driven by Thiago Medeiros whom they also fielded a car for in the 2006 Indianapolis 500

2006 Indianapolis 500

The 90th Indianapolis 500 was held on Sunday, May 28, 2006. Sam Hornish, Jr. won the race by passing rookie Marco Andretti on the final straightaway, about 450 feet from the finish line...

. The team entered the 2007 Indianapolis 500

2007 Indianapolis 500

The 91st Indianapolis 500 ran on Sunday, May 27, 2007 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was the 12th Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League, and marked the fifth race of the 2007 IndyCar Series season just after the 2007 Kansas Lottery Indy 300 and just before the 2007 ABC Supply...

 with driver Jimmy Kite

Jimmy Kite

Jimmy Kite is an American race car driver. He debuted in the Indy Racing League in 1997 and has competed in over 30 IRL races, including five Indianapolis 500s...

 returning to the team, but they were unable to come within 3 mi/h of the speed necessary to make the field and failed to qualify.
During the 2008 season the team partnered with American Spirit Racing to field Cyndie Allemann

Cyndie Allemann

Cyndie Allemann is a Swiss female racing driver.She is the daughter of former Swiss karting champion Kurt Allemann and the sister of fellow racing driver Ken Allemann. After beginning her career in karting, she moved to cars in 2004 in Formule Renault 2.0 Suisse and finished 6th...

 in the Firestone Indy Lights Series providing technical support and a base of operations. PDM Racing entered the Indy 500 but did not make an appearance. PDM Racing continued working with ASR to field the Indy Lights car driven by Junior Strous

Junior Strous

Junior Strous is a Dutch racing driver, model and advertising spokesman from Wassenaar. Junior is the youngest most successful Race Car Driver from the Netherlands.-Racing career:...

 until the Freedom 100 when the program folded. The team has returned to Indy Lights in 2010 under its own banner with driver Rodrigo Barbosa

Rodrigo Barbosa

Rodrigo Barbosa is a Brazilian racing driver from São Paulo.After karting, he began racing in Brazilian Formula Renault 2.0 in 2005 and continued in the series in 2006, finishing 19th in points. In 2007 he competed in amateur SCCA Formula Atlantic in the United States and finished 9th at the SCCA...

.

IRL IndyCar Series

Billy Boat

Billy Boat

William "Billy" Leonard Boat is a former American open wheel driver who raced in the Indy Racing League....

 (1997) Mike Borkowski

Mike Borkowski

Mike Borkowski is an American race car driver. In 1997 he won the Trans-Am Rookie of the year award with two race victories. He qualified for one Indy Racing League event in 1999 at Lowe's Motor Speedway but the event was stopped after debris from a crash killed 3 spectators...

 (1999) Tyce Carlson

Tyce Carlson

Brendyn "Tyce" Carlson , is a former driver in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series. He raced in the 1996-2002 seasons with 30 career starts, including 2 at the Indianapolis 500. His 2 career IndyCar top ten finishes both came at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the 1999 and 2000 races...

 (1997-1998, 2002) Ed Carpenter (2003) John de Vries

John de Vries

John de Vries is a former driver in the Indy Racing League and Australian Formula Holden. He raced in the 2002 IRL season, where he began the season with Brayton Racing. De Vries competed in the first three races, and arrived but withdrew from the Nazareth Speedway race...

 (2002) Mark Dismore

Mark Dismore

Mark Dismore is a former driver in the Indy Racing League and the 1990 Toyota Pacific champion as well as the winner of the 1993 24 Hours of Daytona with Dan Gurney's All American Racers in a Toyota GTP car with co-drivers Rocky Moran and P. J. Jones...

 (1997) Jack Hewitt

Jack Hewitt

Jack Hewitt , is a former driver and two-time champion in the USAC Silver Crown Series.- Racing career :He raced in the 1998 Indianapolis 500, placing 12th...

 (1998) Sam Hornish, Jr.

Sam Hornish, Jr.

Racing League]] championships. He currently drives the #12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Challenger for Penske Racing part-time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. He also drives the #38 Front Row Motorsports Ford when Travis Kvapil is unable to drive the car....

 (2000) Jimmy Kite

Jimmy Kite

Jimmy Kite is an American race car driver. He debuted in the Indy Racing League in 1997 and has competed in over 30 IRL races, including five Indianapolis 500s...

 (2003) Steve Knapp

Steve Knapp

Steve Knapp , is a former driver in the Indy Racing League. He raced in the 1998-2000 seasons with 13 career starts, including 3 at the Indianapolis 500. His best career finish was in his first race, a third place at the 1998 Indianapolis 500, where he was named Rookie of the Year. He never led...

 (1998-1999) Cory Kruseman

Cory Kruseman

Cory Kruseman , is a sprint car driver who has raced in USAC and SCRA events since 1994. In 2002, he competed once each in both the Indy Racing League and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.-1994:...

 (2002) Scott Mayer

Scott Mayer (driver)

Scott Mayer is a former driver in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series. He participated in the first three races of the 2003 IndyCar Series season for PDM Racing and crashed in all three races. He then failed to complete rookie orientation for the Indy 500. He entered the 2005 Indianapolis 500...

 (2003) Robby McGehee

Robby McGehee

Robby McGehee is a Indy Racing League driver from St. Louis, Missouri. He won the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year award in 1999 after finishing fifth and raced for veteran owner Fred Treadway the next few seasons...

 (2004) Thiago Medeiros (2006) John Paul, Jr.

John Paul, Jr.

John Lee Paul, Jr. is a former race car driver in CART and the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series and winner of the 1982 12 Hours of Sebring while co-driving with his father John Paul, Sr....

 (1996-1998) Eliseo Salazar

Eliseo Salazar

Eliseo Salazar Valenzuela is a Chilean racing driver, and the only one of his countrymen to compete in Formula One. He participated in 37 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix scoring a total of three championship points...

 (1998) Jeret Schroeder

Jeret Schroeder

Jeret Schroeder , is a former driver in the Indy Racing League. He raced in the 1997 and 1999-2002 seasons with 20 career starts, including the 1999-2001 Indianapolis 500. His best career finish was fourth at the 2000 Vegas Indy 300 won by Al Unser, Jr. at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway...

(2001-2002)