The 1996–97 Indy Racing League was the second season contested by the Indy Racing League.

Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is a ...

was the champion, while Arie Luyendyk won the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

. The lengthy season was a result of the league abandoning the concept of ending each season with the

. The 1996–97 season would ultimately consist of the two races that followed the Indy 500 in the calendar year of 1996, and all events contested in the calendar year of 1997. It also saw the introduction of a new chassis and engine package. The 1996–97 season was originally scheduled to begin at

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

in August 1996 and end with the

in May 1997. At some point in the summer of 1996, the consensus regarding the unusual split-calendar season was decidedly unfavorable. Omitting the normal winter

offseason In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of Se ...

caused potential difficulty with driver contracts, sponsor contracts, and equipment purchasing, which all traditionally followed a calendar-based schedule. In addition, the months of November, December, and most of January were not expected to be filled with race dates, since few suitable venues (outside of Orlando) were available in warm-weather locations. It was felt the long winter gap between races was disruptive and disjointed, and came at a time of year when auto racing was traditionally on hiatus anyway. Following the 1996 races at

and

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, on October 9, 1996, the Indy Racing League announced that the league would revert to a calendar-based schedule for

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

. To avoid awarding four championships in less than two and a half years, all events contested in the calendar year of 1997 were added to the two aforementioned races held in 1996. Now combined, a single seventeen-month 1996–1997 championship would be awarded in October 1997. The two remaining races in 1996 (

and

) were contested with the same equipment as the 1996 season. All races that took place in the calendar year of 1997, starting with the race at Orlando, were contested with all new purpose-built oval chassis from

G-Force The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g (not gram in mass measure ...

and

Dallara Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari (Parma), Italy he created "D ...

with stock block naturally aspirated 4.0 liter V8's from

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...

and Infiniti. Only seven drivers competed in all ten races of this seventeen-month-long marathon schedule.

Confirmed entries

Season Summary

Schedule

All races running on Oval/Speedway. After the 1996 prologue-style, 3-race season that ended at the 80th Indianapolis 500, the 1996–97 season had just two further races in calendar year 1996, at

New Hampshire International Speedway New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire, which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1990, as well as the longest-running motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic. Nicknamed "The Magic Mil ...

, a former CART venue, and a barely inaugurated Las Vegas Motor Speedway. On 9 October 1996, the IRL decided to revert to a calendar-based format for 1998, moving the intended end of the 1996–97 season at Indianapolis in May to Las Vegas in October. For calendar year 1997, all five races from 1996 were held again, alongside three further races, contested consecutively in the summer months after the Indianapolis 500. Two new venues, Texas Motor Speedway and Pikes Peak International Raceway, was followed by IRL's first incursion in a NASCAR foothold, the

Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including th ...

. Texas and Charlotte held the first night races in Indy-car history, and became the first 1.5 mile banked oval racetracks in an Indy-car schedule since

Atlanta Motor Speedway Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly known Atlanta International Raceway from 1960 to 1990) is a 1.54-mile entertainment facility in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Cup Series ...

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

Race results

Race summaries

True Value 200

The True Value 200 was held on August 18, 1996 at

Richie Hearn Richie Hearn (born January 4, 1971) is an American former racing driver. Hearn was born in Glendale, California. He ran in the Toyota Atlantic championship for two seasons, winning the title in 1995. In 1996, he began driving for John Della ...

qualified on the pole position. Top 10 results # 1 – Scott Sharp # 12 – Buzz Calkins # 33 –

Michele Alboreto Michele Alboreto (; 23 December 1956 – 25 April 2001) was an Italian racing driver. He was runner up to Alain Prost in the 1985 Formula One World Championship, as well as winning the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans and 2001 12 Hours of Sebring spo ...

# 10 – Mike Groff # 14 – Davey Hamilton # 21 –

Roberto Guerrero Roberto José Guerrero Isaza (born 16 November 1958) is a Colombian Americans, Colombian-American former race driver. He participated in 29 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 23 January 1982, becoming the first Colombian to start a Formula ...

# 40 – Marco Greco # 22 –

Stéphan Grégoire Stéphan Grégoire (born May 14, 1969 in Neufchâteau, Vosges) is a French race car driver currently living in Zionsville, Indiana. Gregoire is a veteran of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Rolex Sports Car Series, the Indianapolis 500, and the Indy Ra ...

# 7 – Eliseo Salazar # 18 – John Paul Jr. *Failed to qualify: 24-

Randy Tolsma Randy Tolsma (born May 4, 1966) is an American former stock car racing driver. Tolsma began his racing career in go-karts at the age of nine, before moving into sprint cars, running as high as USAC, where he won four track championships. He faile ...

, 25-

Jon Field Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan (name), Jonathan, derived from "Tetragrammaton, YHWH has given", and an alternate spelling of John (given name), John, derived from "YHWH has pardoned".Johnny Unser Johnny Unser (born October 22, 1958) is a former race car driver. He is the son of open wheel driver Jerry Unser Jr., cousin of Al Unser Jr. and Robby Unser, nephew of Al Unser and Bobby Unser, and first cousin once removed of Alfred Unser. Unse ...

, 75-

Johnny O'Connell Johnny O'Connell (born July 24, 1962) is the most successful GM factory racing driver from the United States. He currently drives for Cadillac in the Pirelli World Challenge, winning the 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 GT driver's championship. Caree ...

and 96- Mike Orday *Sharp's first IndyCar win. *The win was also the first for A. J. Foyt Enterprises since A. J. Foyt won the

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

Van Scoy Diamond Mines 500 at

Pocono International Raceway Pocono Raceway (formerly Pocono International Raceway), also known as ''The Tricky Triangle'', is a superspeedway located in the Pocono Mountains in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It is the site of three NASCAR national series races and an ARCA ...

. *

led for 165 of 200 laps. However, he suffered electrical issues after 182 laps and finished 12th.

Las Vegas 500K (1996)

The Las Vegas 500K was held on September 15, 1996 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Arie Luyendyk qualified on the pole position. Top 10 results # 4 –

# 22 –

Michel Jourdain Jr. Michel Jourdain Lascurain, better known as Michel Jourdain Jr. (born September 2, 1976), is a Mexican racecar driver, best known for winning two Champ Car races in 2003. He is the 2020 Super Copa GTM Champion. Formula racing Jourdain started ra ...

# 10 – Mike Groff # 21 –

# 33 –

# 12 – Buzz Calkins # 7 – Eliseo Salazar # 54 – Robbie Buhl # 40 – Marco Greco # 34 –

Affonso Giaffone Affonso Giaffone Neto (born April 6, 1968 in Santos, São Paulo, Brazil) is a Brazilian former racing driver. He is one of several racing drivers in his family; he is a cousin of Felipe Giaffone, and a cousin-in-law of Rubens Barrichello. His fath ...

*Failed to qualify: 96- Dave Steele *Hearn's only IndyCar win. Because he and his team, Della Penna Motorsports, were switching to

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed tr ...

for

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

, he would not compete in any more IRL races for the remainder of the season. *The slow pace of the race, consisting of nine cautions, caused

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

to leave just past the halfway point. *

had a violent crash on lap 185 that resulted in him sliding upside down on the main straightaway. *

Johnny Parsons John Wayne Parsons1975 Indianapolis 500 Radio Broadcast - Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network (May 25, 1975) (born August 26, 1944 in Van Nuys, California) is an American race car driver. He is the son of 1950 Indianapolis 500 winner John ...

' final IndyCar race. He had started IndyCar races since

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

. In this race, he crashed on lap nine and finished 28th (last).

Indy 200

The Indy 200 was held on January 25, 1997 at Walt Disney World Speedway.

qualified on the pole position. The race was shortened from 200 laps to 149 laps due to rain. Top 10 results # 51 – Eddie Cheever # 10 – Mike Groff # 6 –

Scott Goodyear Scott Goodyear (born December 20, 1959) is a Canadian former race car driver. He ran the Indy Racing League and Champ Car series during his career from 1987, winning the Michigan 500 in 1992 and 1994. Goodyear qualified for eleven runnings of th ...

# 1 – Scott Sharp # 91 – Buddy Lazier # 27 – Jim Guthrie # 14 – Davey Hamilton # 22 – Marco Greco # 33 – Fermin Velez # 2 –

*Failed to qualify: 4- Davy Jones *Cheever's first IndyCar win. * Buzz Calkins was leading when his engine failed on lap 145. Stewart took the lead, but crashed on the following lap. Cheever inherited the lead and the race was stopped three laps later. * Danny Ongais' final IndyCar race. He finished 13th due to a crash after 94 laps.

Phoenix 200

The

Phoenix 200 The Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix was an IndyCar Series race held at the Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, United States. USAC moved the fall race and added a spring race to the newly built Phoenix International Raceway in 19 ...

was held on March 23, 1997 at

Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix Raceway is a 1-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona, near Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually including the final championship race since 2020. P ...

qualified on the pole position. Top 10 results # 27 – Jim Guthrie # 2 –

# 14 – Davey Hamilton # 22 – Marco Greco # 77 –

# 10 – Mike Groff # 21 –

# 12 – Buzz Calkins # 18 – John Paul Jr. # 16 –

Sam Schmidt Samuel Schmidt (born August 15, 1964) is a former Indy Racing League driver and current NTT IndyCar Series and Indy Lights series team owner. Schmidt's brief IndyCar career included a win in 1999, but an accident before the 2000 season left him ...

*Failed to qualify: 17- Danny Ongais and 54- Robbie Buhl *Guthrie's only IndyCar win. He stretched his fuel over the final 82 laps and the $170,100 payout allowed him to settle off his debts from getting a second mortgage. * Kenny Bräck and

made their IndyCar debuts in this race. Bräck led 24 laps, but crashed on lap 146 and finished 11th. Schmidt crashed on lap 176, but finished 10th.

Indianapolis 500

The

was scheduled for May 25, 1997. Rain postponed the start until the following day: Monday, May 26. After 15 laps were run on Monday, rain fell again, halting the race, and postponing it for another day. It was resumed and run to conclusion Tuesday, May 27. Arie Luyendyk qualified on the pole position. Top 10 results # 5 – Arie Luyendyk # 6 –

# 52 – Jeff Ward # 91 – Buddy Lazier # 2 –

# 14 – Davey Hamilton # 11 – Billy Boat # 3 – Robbie Buhl # 30 –

Robbie Groff Robbie Groff (born January 31, 1966 in Mission Hills, California), is a former driver in the Indy Racing League and CART Championship Car series and is brother of Mike Groff. He raced in the 1994 CART season and 1997-1998 IRL seasons with 9 comb ...

# 33 – Fermin Velez *Failed to qualify: 1- Scott Sharp, 1-

, 18- John Paul Jr. and 36- Scott Harrington *On lap 199, the caution came when Stewart brushed the wall and it was expected that the race would end under caution. However, the green flag came out without warning before the final lap and caution lights were still displayed around the track, causing confusion if the race was really restarted. * Treadway Racing's cars finished 1st and 2nd, making it the first time since

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

with

Leader Card Racing Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets view ...

that a team finished 1st and 2nd. *The starting grid was expanded from 33 to 35 cars due to the 25/8 rule (which guaranteed the top 25 cars in the IRL standings a starting position, provided they meet a minimum speed) causing cars outside the fastest 33 to qualify. As a result,

Lyn St. James Lyn St. James (born Evelyn Gene Cornwall; March 13, 1947) is an American former race car driver. She competed in the IndyCar series, with eleven CART and five Indy Racing League starts to her name. St. James is one of nine women who have qualifi ...

and

Johnny Unser Johnny Unser (born October 22, 1958) is a former race car driver. He is the son of open wheel driver Jerry Unser Jr., cousin of Al Unser Jr. and Robby Unser, nephew of Al Unser and Bobby Unser, and first cousin once removed of Alfred Unser. Unse ...

were added to the rear of the field. *A crash during the pace lap caused all of row 5 (

and Kenny Bräck) to retire. *Sharp was injured in a practice crash and replaced by O'Connell, who then was injured in practice.

Paul Durant Paul Durant (born September 26, 1959), is a former American racecar driver from San Diego, California. He first excelled in modified stock car racing, winning a number of regional championships. He then competed in the USAC Silver Crown Series in ...

successfully qualified via the 25/8 rule (see above) and finished 21st.

True Value 500

The True Value 500 was held June 7, 1997 at Texas Motor Speedway.

qualified on the pole position. Top 10 results # 5 – Arie Luyendyk # 1 – Billy Boat # 14 – Davey Hamilton # 6 –

# 2 –

# 51 – Eddie Cheever # 7 – Eliseo Salazar # 97 – Greg Ray # 8 – Vincenzo Sospiri # 10 –

*Failed to qualify: 10- Mike Groff, 36- Scott Harrington, 50-

Billy Roe Billy Roe (born 7 May 1957 in Indianapolis, Indiana), is a former driver in the Indy Racing League. He raced in the 1997–1998 and 2000–2002 seasons with 16 career starts, including 2 at the Indianapolis 500. His best IRL finish was a ...

, 77-

and 90-

*Boat was initially declared the winner due to a scoring error. Luyendyk came into victory lane to protest, but was slapped by A. J. Foyt. The error was eventually realized and Luyendyk was declared the winner. Foyt still has the original trophy. *Stewart appeared to be on his way to his first win when his engine blew, causing him to then crash, on lap 207. *Points leader Groff was injured in practice. Unser drove in his place to a 10th-place finish. *In the aftermath of the scoring error, USAC was removed as sanctioning body and the IRL went in-house.

Samsonite 200

The Samsonite 200 was held on June 29, 1997 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Scott Sharp qualified on the pole position. Top 10 results # 2 –

# 77 –

# 14 – Davey Hamilton # 51 – Eddie Cheever # 12 – Buzz Calkins # 22 – Vincenzo Sospiri # 6 –

# 91 – Buddy Lazier # 17 –

# 30 –

*Failed to qualify: 3- Robbie Buhl and 27- Jim Guthrie *Stewart's first IndyCar win. *Scott Sharp returned in this race and qualified on the pole position. However, he crashed on the first lap and re-injured himself, missing the rest of the season. *1st race for the IRL race control

VisionAire 500

The VisionAire 500 was held on July 26, 1997 at

qualified on the pole position. Top 10 results # 91 – Buddy Lazier # 1 – Billy Boat # 6 –

# 17 –

# 4 – Kenny Bräck # 51 – Eddie Cheever # 2 –

# 77 –

# 70 – Marco Greco # 7 – Eliseo Salazar * Greg Ray's car was run in conjunction with

Richard Childress Racing Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard ...

for this race.

Pennzoil 200

The Pennzoil 200 was held August 17, 1997 at

. Marco Greco qualified on the pole position. Top 10 results # 3 – Robbie Buhl # 22 – Vincenzo Sospiri # 5 – Arie Luyendyk # 7 – Eliseo Salazar # 4 – Kenny Bräck # 21 –

# 18 – John Paul Jr. # 1 – Billy Boat # 51 – Eddie Cheever # 30 –

*Failed to qualify: 10- Mike Groff and 97- Greg Ray *Buhl's first IndyCar win. *Mike Groff was injured once again in practice and missed the remainder of the season. *Entering the season finale at Las Vegas,

led Davey Hamilton by 10 points.

Las Vegas 500K (1997)

The Las Vegas 500K was held on October 11, 1997 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Billy Boat qualified on the pole. Top 10 results # 7 – Eliseo Salazar # 6 –

# 3 – Robbie Buhl # 27 – Jim Guthrie # 28 – Mark Dismore # 33 –

Jimmy Kite Jimmy Kite (born February 18, 1976 in Effingham, Illinois) is a retired American race car driver. He debuted in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series in 1997 and has competed in 34 IndyCar races, including five Indianapolis 500s. In 2005, he int ...

# 14 – Davey Hamilton # 19 –

Stan Wattles Stan Wattles (born July 24, 1961 in Glen Cove, New York) is a former driver in the Indy Racing League. He raced in the 1996–2001 seasons with 19 career starts, including the Indianapolis 500 in 1998–2000. He placed 8th in two races, and led h ...

# 77 –

# 70 – Marco Greco *Salazar's only IndyCar win. *

would win the championship by six points over Hamilton by virtue of finishing 11th to Hamilton's 7th. *On lap 201,

lost control on the back straightway and flipped through the grass.

Driver standings

* Ties in points broken by number of wins, followed by number of 2nds, 3rds, etc., and then by number of pole positions, followed by number of times qualified 2nd, etc.

Footnotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1996-1997 Indy Racing League season Indy Racing League Indy Racing League IndyCar Series seasons 1996–97 in IndyCar Indy Racing League Indy Racing League

Confirmed entries

Season Summary

Schedule

Race results

Race summaries

True Value 200

Las Vegas 500K (1996)

Indy 200

Phoenix 200

Indianapolis 500

True Value 500

Samsonite 200

VisionAire 500

Pennzoil 200

Las Vegas 500K (1997)

Driver standings

See also

Footnotes

References