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 auto racing driver, and former NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing. He currently competes in the NHRA Top Fuel class. He is a four-t ...

was the champion, while

Arie Luyendyk Arie Luijendijk (anglicized as Arie Luyendyk; born 21 September 1953), nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman," is a Dutch former auto racing driver, and winner of the 1990 and 1997 Indianapolis 500 races. He was inducted into the Indianapolis Motor S ...

won the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

. 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 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

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 effective from January 1. 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 borders 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 S ...

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, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, 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 Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

. 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 Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

, were contested with all new purpose-built oval chassis from

G-Force The g-force or gravitational force equivalent is a Specific force, mass-specific force (force per unit mass), expressed in Unit of measurement, units of standard gravity (symbol ''g'' or ''g''0, not to be confused with "g", the symbol for ...

and

Dallara Dallara Group S.r.l. is the largest multi-national Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Giampaolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' M ...

with a radical stock block naturally aspirated 4.0 liter V8's from

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile (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 produc ...

and

Infiniti (stylized in all caps) is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Nissan. The brand began on November 8, 1989, initially in North America. The marketing network for Infiniti vehicles included dealers in over 50 countries in the 201 ...

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

Confirmed entries

Schedule

All races were run on oval speedways. TonyStewartIRL9697

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 (formerly known as the New Hampshire International Speedway from 1989 to 2007, the Bryar Motorsports Park from 1965 to 1989, and as the 106 Midway Raceway from 1961 to 1964) is a oval track in Loudon, New Hampshire ...

, a former CART venue, and a barely inaugurated

Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas Motor Speedway (track complex formerly known as Las Vegas Speedway Park from 1993 to 1996, Las Vegas Speedway in 1992, Las Vegas International Speedway from 1990 to 1992, as the Las Vegas International Speedrome from 1972 to 1990) is a ...

. 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 Texas Motor Speedway (formerly known as Texas International Raceway from September to December 1996) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. It has hosted various major races since its inaugura ...

and

Pikes Peak International Raceway Pikes Peak International Raceway (PPIR) is a racetrack in the Colorado Springs area within the city limits of Fountain, Colorado, that by October 12, 1997, was "the fastest 1-mile paved oval anywhere". The speedway hosted races in several series ...

, was followed by IRL's first incursion in a NASCAR foothold, the

Charlotte Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009 due to sponsorship reasons) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Concord, North Carolina. It has hosted various major races since it ...

. 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 (currently known as EchoPark Speedway for sponsorship reasons, formerly known as the Atlanta International Raceway from 1960 to 1990) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Hampton, Georg ...

1983 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 TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

Results

Race summaries

True Value 200

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

Richie Hearn Richard Edward 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 D ...

qualified on the pole position. Top 10 results # 1 –

Scott Sharp Scott Sharp (born February 14, 1968) is an American professional racing driver in the United SportsCar Championship. He is the son of six-time SCCA champion Bob Sharp. Sharp is best known for his years as a competitor in the Indy Racing Leagu ...

# 12 –

Buzz Calkins Bradley Hobson "Buzz" Calkins Jr. (born May 2, 1971 in Denver, Colorado) is a former Indy Racing League driver. After a successful run in Indy Lights from 1993 to 1995 where he finished 11th, 10th, and 6th in his three seasons, he and his Bradley ...

# 33 –

Michele Alboreto Michele Alboreto (; 23 December 1956 – 25 April 2001) was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Alboreto was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari, and won five F ...

# 10 –

Mike Groff Michael Dennis Groff (born November 16, 1961, in Van Nuys, California) is a former race car driver who competed in CART and the IRL IndyCar Series and was the 1989 Indy Lights champion. His younger brother Robbie was also a CART and IRL dr ...

# 14 –

Davey Hamilton David Jay "Davey" Hamilton (born June 13, 1962, in Nampa, Idaho) is a race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series and Stadium Super Trucks. He has made 56 series starts and while never winning a race, finished second thr ...

# 21 –

Roberto Guerrero Roberto José Guerrero Isaza (born 16 November 1958) is a 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 One Grand Prix. Wit ...

# 40 –

Marco Greco Marco Greco (Born December 1, 1963 in São Paulo) is a Brazilian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and auto racing driver who competed in the Indy Racing League from 1996 to 1999. His best finish in the season points was third in 1996� ...

# 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 R ...

# 7 –

Eliseo Salazar Eliseo Salazar Valenzuela (; born 14 November 1954) is a Chilean former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Salazar remains the only Chilean driver to compete in Formula One. Salazar made his Formula One debut at the 1981 Uni ...

# 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 car racing, sprint cars, running as high as United States Automobile Club, USAC ...

, 25-

Jon Field Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given". The name is spelled Jón in Iceland and on the Faroe Islands. In the Nordic countries, it is derived from Johannes. Notable people * Jon Aaraas (born 1986 ...

, 64-

Johnny Unser Johnny Unser (born October 22, 1958) is an American former race car driver and current race steward for the USF Juniors series. He is the son of open wheel driver Jerry Unser Jr., cousin of Al Unser Jr. and Robby Unser, nephew of Al Unser and ...

, 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. Care ...

and 96- Mike Orday *This was Sharp's first IndyCar win. *The win was also the first for

A. J. Foyt Enterprises A. J. Foyt Racing, officially and historically known as A. J. Foyt Enterprises, is an American racing team in the IndyCar Series and formerly NASCAR. It is owned by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner, 1972 Daytona 500 winner, 1967 24 Hours of Le ...

since

A. J. Foyt Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. (born January 16, 1935) is an American former racing driver who competed in numerous disciplines of motorsport. He is best known for his open wheel racing career, and for becoming the first four-time winner of the India ...

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 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

Van Scoy Diamond Mines 500 at

Pocono International Raceway Pocono Raceway (formerly known as the Pocono International Raceway in early years) is a tri-oval track in Blakeslee, Pennsylvania. The track has held a variety of events since its opening in 1969, including NASCAR, IndyCar Series, and IMSA GT ...

. *

was the class of the field leading for 165 of 200 laps, accruing a nearly 3 lap lead over second place. However, he suffered complete electrical failure after 182 laps and finished 12th.

Las Vegas 500K (1996)

The Las Vegas 500K was held on September 15, 1996, at

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 –

# 21 –

# 33 –

# 12 –

# 7 –

# 54 –

Robbie Buhl Robbie Buhl (born September 2, 1963) is an American former race car driver who competed in the Indy Racing League. He was a color commentator for the IndyCar races on Versus. In 2016, Robbie, along with his brother Tom Buhl, starteBuhl Sport Det ...

# 40 –

# 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 f ...

Failed to qualify: 96- Dave Steele *This was the final IRL race contested with the turbocharged machines. *Hearn's only IndyCar win. Because he and his team,

Della Penna Motorsports Della Penna Motorsports was an auto racing team that competed in the Toyota Atlantic, IndyCar, and CART series from 1990 to 2000. The team was founded by Argentinian businessman and engineer John Della Penna, who himself raced in Formula Atlant ...

, 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 draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

for

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, 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. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

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 resulting in a short red flag period. *

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 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

. 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 Walt Disney World Speedway was a racing facility located on the grounds of the Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida, Orlando. It was built in 1995 by IMS Events, Inc., a subsidiary of the Indian ...

qualified on the pole position. Top 10 results # 51 –

Eddie Cheever Edward McKay Cheever Jr. (born January 10, 1958) is an American former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to , CART between 1986 and 1995, and IndyCar between 1996 and 2006. In American open-wheel racing ...

# 10 –

# 6 –

Scott Goodyear Donald Scott Goodyear (born December 20, 1959) is a Canadian retired racing driver. He competed in CART Championship cars and the Indy Racing League. Along with Michael Andretti, Goodyear is the only driver to have won the Michigan 500 more th ...

# 1 –

# 91 –

Buddy Lazier Robert Buddy Lazier (born October 31, 1967) is an American auto racing driver, best known for winning the 1996 Indianapolis 500 and the 2000 Indy Racing League season championship. Lazier began his racing career in the 1980s by competing in su ...

# 27 – Jim Guthrie # 14 –

# 22 –

# 33 – Fermin Velez # 2 –

(DNF, crash) Failed to qualify: 4- Davy Jones *The race was shortened from 200 laps to 149 laps due to rain. *This was the first IRL race contested with the normally aspirated engines and new chassis. *This was Eddie Cheever's first Indy car win. *

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 when a downpour ensued. *

Danny Ongais Danny Ongais (May 21, 1942 – February 26, 2022) was an American racing driver. Ongais was the only Hawaiian born driver to compete in the Indianapolis 500. He competed professionally in motorcycle, sports car, CART, IndyCar, Formula One, and d ...

' final IndyCar race. He finished 13th due to a crash after 94 laps.

Phoenix 200

The Phoenix 200 was held on March 23, 1997, at

Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix Raceway (formerly known as ISM Raceway from 2018–2020, Phoenix International Raceway from 1964–1973 and 1976–2017, and FasTrack International Speedway from 1973–1976) is a dogleg oval track in Avondale, Arizona. The track has ...

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

# 14 –

# 22 –

# 77 –

# 10 –

# 21 –

# 12 –

# 18 – John Paul Jr. # 16 –

Sam Schmidt Samuel Schmidt (born August 15, 1964) is a former IndyCar, Indy Racing League driver and 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-

and 54-

*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 Second mortgages, commonly referred to as junior liens, are loans secured by a property in addition to the primary Mortgage loan, mortgage. Depending on the time at which the second mortgage is originated, the loan can be structured as either a ...

. *

Kenny Bräck Per Cenny "Kenny" Bräck (born 21 March 1966) is a Swedish former race car driver. Until his retirement from racing, he competed in the Champ Car, CART, Indy Racing League and the IROC series. He won the 1998 Indy Racing League championship and t ...

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.

qualified on the pole position. Top 10 results # 5 –

# 6 –

# 52 – Jeff Ward # 91 –

# 2 –

# 14 –

# 11 –

Billy Boat William Leonard Boat (born February 2, 1966) is an American former open-wheel driver who raced in the Indy Racing League. Racing career Boat began his career in USAC where he won 11 straight Western Series races on his way to the 1995 champion ...

# 3 –

# 30 –

Robbie Groff Robert Clayton 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 w ...

# 33 – Fermin Velez Failed to qualify: 1-

, 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 and the white flag came out simultaneously without warning to start the final lap and caution lights were still displayed around the track, causing confusion if the race was really restarted. *

Treadway Racing Treadway Racing is a former auto racing team that competed in the early seasons of the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series. The team was owned by Indianapolis business man Fred Treadway. Prior to the IRL's inaugural season in 1996, Treadway was able ...

's cars finished 1st and 2nd, making it the first time since

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

with

Leader Card Racing Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

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 and

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

and

) to retire. *Sharp was injured in a practice crash and replaced by O'Connell, who then was injured in practice. Paul Durant successfully qualified via the 25/8 rule (see above) and finished 21st.

True Value 500

The inaugural True Value 500 was held June 7, 1997, at

qualified on the pole position. Top 10 results # 5 –

# 1 –

# 14 –

# 6 –

# 2 –

# 51 –

# 7 –

# 97 –

Greg Ray Gregory Ray (born August 3, 1966) is an American former race car driver. After winning the SCCA national Formula Atlantic championship in 1993, he moved up to the CART-sanctioned Toyota Atlantic series in 1994. In 1997 he made his Indy Ra ...

# 8 –

Vincenzo Sospiri Vincenzo Sospiri (born 7 October 1966) is an Italian former racing driver. Early career In 1981, at the age of 15, Sospiri started racing in the Italian 100cc karting championship. In a karting career described by Michael Schumacher as 'dominati ...

# 10 –

Failed to qualify: 10-

, 36- Scott Harrington, 50-

Billy Roe Billy Roe (born May 7, 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 ...

, 77-

and 90- Lyn St. James *Boat was initially declared the winner due to a scoring error. Luyendyk came into victory lane to protest, but was slapped by

. 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 inaugural Samsonite 200 was held on June 29, 1997, at

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

# 77 –

# 14 –

# 51 –

# 12 –

# 22 –

# 6 –

# 91 –

# 17 –

# 30 –

Failed to qualify: 3-

and 27- Jim Guthrie *This was 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. *This was the first race for the IRL as the sole sanctioning body and sole operator of race control

VisionAire 500

The inaugural VisionAire 500 was held on July 26, 1997, at

qualified on the pole position. Top 10 results # 91 –

# 1 –

# 6 –

# 17 –

# 4 –

# 51 –

# 2 –

# 77 –

# 70 –

# 7 –

'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 C ...

for this race.

Pennzoil 200

The Pennzoil 200 was held August 17, 1997, at

qualified on the pole position. Top 10 results # 3 –

# 22 –

# 5 –

# 7 –

# 4 –

# 21 –

# 18 – John Paul Jr. # 1 –

# 51 –

# 30 –

Failed to qualify: 10-

and 97-

*This was 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

by 10 points.

Las Vegas 500K (1997)

The Las Vegas 500K was held on October 11, 1997, at

qualified on the pole. Top 10 results # 7 –

# 6 –

# 3 –

# 27 – Jim Guthrie # 28 –

Mark Dismore Mark Dismore (born October 12, 1956 in Greenfield, Indiana) is a former driver in the Indy Racing League and the 1990 Champ Car Atlantic Championship, Toyota Pacific champion as well as the winner of the 1993 24 Hours of Daytona with Dan Gurney' ...

# 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 –

# 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 –

*This was Salazar's first and only IndyCar win. *

won 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. *By virtue of Arie Luyendyk finishing 25th due to engine failure and Scott Goodyear finishing 2nd, Goodyear was able to leapfrog from 9th in the season standings to 5th for the final season standings.

Points 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 IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing Governing body, sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two Auto racing, racing series: the premier IndyCar Serie ...

IndyCar Series seasons 1996–97 in IndyCar

Confirmed entries

Schedule

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)

Points standings

See also

Footnotes

References