Guerrero began karting in 1972 and won two national championships in Colombia between 1972 and 1977. He finished third in the 1975 Pan American Karting Championship. In 1977 he joined the Jim Russell Racing School, winning five of the school's six events and finishing second in the other.
He competed in British Formula Ford 1600 in 1978, taking eight wins. In British Formula 3 in 1979, driving for Angila Cars in an Argo JM3-Toyota, he finished ninth in the standings with fifteen points. Returning to the series in 1980 with Argo Racing Cars in an Argo JM6-Toyota, he scored five victories at Thruxton (twice), Cadwell Park, Brands Hatch, and Oulton Park, tying for second in the standings with Kenneth Acheson, each on 95 points. Concurrently, he competed in European Formula Three, scoring two points for twenty-fifth in the championship.
In 1981, Guerrero entered European Formula Two for Maurer Motorsport in a Maurer MM81-BMW, winning the Jochen Rindt Memorial Trophy at Thruxton and finishing seventh in the championship with 16 points.
Guerrero joined Ensign Racing for 1982. At the opening South African Grand Prix he was withdrawn from the race after his Formula Two team Maurer Motorsport filed an injunction against Ensign team boss Morris Nunn. He also failed to qualify for the Brazilian Grand Prix. He qualified for the United States Grand Prix West, starting nineteenth and finishing fifteenth before crashing 27 laps in. Further non-qualifications followed at Belgium and Monaco, the latter partly because Avon withdrew as Ensign's tire supplier mid-event. After Michelin began supplying the team, Guerrero qualified for the Detroit Grand Prix from eleventh but was collected in a crash six laps in. His best 1982 result was an eighth-place finish at the German Grand Prix — his best Formula One finish. He was unranked in the championship having scored no points.
For 1983, Ensign merged with Theodore Racing and Guerrero drove the No. 33 Café de Colombia Theodore N183-Ford Cosworth DFV. He qualified for all races except Monaco and became more consistent, but his best finishes were a pair of twelfths, at the Dutch and European Grands Prix. He again scored no points, ending the season unranked while rookie teammate Johnny Cecotto scored a point with a sixth-place finish.
Guerrero made his Indycar debut in 1984 with Bignotti-Cotter Racing in the No. 9 Master Mechanic March 84C-Cosworth DFX, with legendary chief mechanic George Bignotti. He finished second at the Indianapolis 500, sharing the race's rookie of the year honor with Michael Andretti. His next-best results were a pair of fifth-place finishes at the Budweiser Cleveland Grand Prix at Burke Lakefront Airport and the Michigan 500. He finished eleventh in points with 52 points and won the CART series' rookie of the year award.
In 1985 Bignotti retired and the team was reorganized as Team Cotter. Guerrero finished third at the Indianapolis 500 and fourth at the Stroh's 300K at Laguna Seca. He twice retired from races while leading — once at the Michigan 500 due to gearbox failure and once at the Molson Indy 300 at Sanair after crashing. He finished seventeenth in points.
In 1986 Guerrero continued with Team Cotter and finished fourth at Indianapolis. He also scored second-place finishes at Mid-Ohio and at the Miami Indy Challenge at Tamiami Park, where he qualified on pole and led every lap except the final one, running out of fuel and handing the win to Al Unser Jr. He finished ninth in points with 87.
In 1987, Cotter sold the team to Vince Granatelli (son of former Indycar owner Andy Granatelli) to form Vince Granatelli Racing. Guerrero scored his first Indycar win at the Checker 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. His car was declared illegal after qualifying third, forcing him to start twenty-second; he charged through the field to win.
At the 1987 Indianapolis 500, Guerrero qualified fifth and was considered a favorite alongside pole sitter Mario Andretti and defending winner Bobby Rahal. On lap 130 a wheel detached from Tony Bettenhausen's car, struck the nose of Guerrero's car, flew into the grandstand, and killed spectator Lyle Kurtenbach. On lap 177, after Andretti developed electrical trouble, Guerrero inherited the lead. On lap 182 he pitted for the final time; as he exited his pit stall the engine stalled and his car stalled just outside the pit lane, allowing Al Unser Sr. to take the lead and gain a lap. Guerrero unlapped himself on lap 191, but a restart on lap 196 found six cars between him and Unser. He finished second.
Later in 1987, after winning his second IndyCar race at Mid-Ohio, Guerrero was testing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway when he crashed and was struck by a tire from his own car. He fell into a coma for seventeen days and did not compete again that year. According to IndyCar Medical Director Dr. Steve Olvey — documented in his biography Rapid Response — Olvey saved Guerrero's life by reducing brain pressure with injections of then-experimental medicines. Guerrero's recovery took less than three months. Despite missing the final three races, he finished fourth in the championship with 106 points, a career best.
Guerrero returned with Vince Granatelli Racing in 1988 but the season was mostly a disappointment. At Indianapolis he was collected by Scott Brayton on the first lap. He finished twelfth in points with 40 points. In 1988 he was also selected to compete in IROC XII (International Race of Champions), representing CART alongside Al Unser Jr., Al Unser Sr., and Bobby Rahal. He missed the season-opening race at Daytona due to his 1987 injuries. He qualified on pole at Riverside International Raceway and Michigan International Speedway but finished eleventh and tenth respectively at those events. He finished twelfth overall with nineteen points.
In 1989 Guerrero drove for Alex Morales Motorsports using Alfa Romeo engines. The engine was unready for the season's start, causing the team to miss the first four races including Indianapolis. He was offered a car by Truesports but had to decline due to his Alfa Romeo contract. He finished twenty-third in points.
In 1990, Patrick Racing took over the Alfa Romeo project. Guerrero qualified for Indianapolis, starting twenty-eighth and finishing twenty-third with suspension damage. The team later switched to a Lola chassis, and Guerrero finished fifth at the Marlboro 500 at Michigan.
In 1991, without a full-time seat, Guerrero drove a second car for Patrick Racing at Indianapolis, qualifying twenty-eighth but crashing on lap 24 after contact with Kevin Cogan. He drove three select races for King Racing and one for a separate entry at Toronto, scoring no points for the first time in his CART career.
In 1992, Guerrero drove for the part-time King Racing at Long Beach and Indianapolis. At Indianapolis he set a new four-lap qualifying record of 232.482 mph and a one-lap record of 232.618 mph, qualifying on the pole — the first part-time driver to do so since Pancho Carter in 1985. In the race, Guerrero spun and crashed on the backstretch during the second parade lap and was credited with thirty-third (last) place, joining Cliff Woodbury (1929), Carter (1985), Greg Ray (2000), and Scott Sharp (2001) as drivers who qualified first and finished last at Indianapolis.
In 1993, King Racing ran a full schedule with Guerrero in the No. 40 Budweiser Lola T93/00. He qualified tenth at Indianapolis but was involved in a crash with Jeff Andretti after 125 laps. His best finish was fourth at the New England 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He was released after the Vancouver race while thirteenth in the championship, finishing fourteenth with 39 points.
In 1994 Guerrero drove only at Indianapolis for Pagan Racing, qualifying twentieth but crashing out after twenty laps. In 1995, also with Pagan, he qualified thirteenth at Indianapolis and finished twelfth.
In 1996, Guerrero and Pagan Racing moved to the newly formed Indy Racing League. At the 1996 Indianapolis 500, Guerrero led a race-high 47 laps and battled for the win before a pit stop fire on lap 167 caused him to lose ground. On the final lap, as Buddy Lazier and Davy Jones crossed the finish line, Guerrero lost control in turn four, collecting Alessandro Zampedri (causing him to flip) and Eliseo Salazar. He finished fourth in the championship with 237 points.
Guerrero continued with Pagan Racing through the 1996–1997 IRL season with varying machinery. At the 1997 Indianapolis 500 he started nineteenth and retired after 25 laps with suspension failure. A major accident at the Las Vegas 500K at the end of the 1996–1997 season left his car destroyed on the backstretch; he climbed out shortly after.
In 1998, Pagan Racing lost its Pennzoil sponsorship to the new Panther Racing team. At the 1998 Indianapolis 500, Guerrero won the Scott Brayton Award for best demonstrating the spirit of the late driver. He finished twenty-second in that race. Pagan released him mid-season and he joined Cobb Racing, finishing fourth at the Lone Star 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
In 1999 with Cobb Racing, Guerrero's best finish was thirteenth at the season opener. The team closed after Indianapolis where he finished twenty-fifth. In 2000, an attempt to qualify for Indianapolis with A.J. Foyt Enterprises failed. A later race at Kentucky Speedway for Team Coulson, where he retired after 48 laps with engine trouble, was his final Indycar start.
In 2001, after Stéphan Grégoire left Dick Simon Racing, Guerrero qualified their car but was bumped from the field on the final qualifying day when Grégoire joined another team and went faster. Guerrero retired from racing by 2003.
Guerrero served as a TV commentator for SpeedTV and FOX 3 Latin America covering the American Le Mans Series and the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series from 2009 to 2013. He also took up off-road racing at the Baja 2000 and continued competing in Baja 1000 events, and guides tours of the Baja Peninsula with Wide Open Baja.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
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