1996–97 Indy Racing League season

1996–1997 Indy Racing League season

Indy Racing League
Season
Races	10
Start date	August 18, 1996
End date	October 11, 1997
Awards
Drivers' champion	Tony Stewart
Indianapolis 500 winner	Arie Luyendyk
Chronology
Previous season	Next season
1996	1998

The 1996–97 Indy Racing League season was a result of the league abandoning the concept of ending each season with the Indianapolis 500. The 1996–97 season would ultimately comprise the events following the Indy 500 in 1996, and all events contested in the calendar year of 1997.

The 1996–97 season was originally scheduled to begin at New Hampshire in August 1996 and end with the Indianapolis 500 in May 1997. At some point in 1996, the consensus regarding the unusual split-calendar season was decidedly unfavorable. Omitting the normal winter offseason 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 the remainder of January were not expected to be filled with race dates, since few suitable venues, outside of Orlando, were available for the IRL in warm-weather locations.

Following the 1996 races at New Hampshire and Las Vegas, on October 9, 1996, the Indy Racing League announced that the league would revert to a calendar-based schedule for 1998. To prevent from awarding four championships in less than two and a half years, all events contested in the calendar year of 1997 were added to the last two races in 1996. Now combined, a single seventeen-month 1996–1997 championship would be awarded in October 1997.

The two remaining races in 1996 (New Hampshire and Las Vegas) were contested with the same equipment as the 1996 season. All races that took place in 1997, starting with the race at Orlando, were contested with all new purpose-built oval chassis from G-Force and Dallara with stock block naturally aspirated 4.0 liter V8's from Oldsmobile and Infiniti. Only seven drivers competed in all ten races of this seventeen-month-long marathon schedule.

Teams and drivers

Team	Chassis	Engine	Tires	No.	Drivers	Round(s)
ABF Motorsports	Lola T92	Buick	Goodyear	96	Joe Gosek (R)	1
ABF Motorsports	Lola T92	Buick	Goodyear	96	Dave Steele (R)	2
A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Lola T95^{[N 1]} Dallara IR7^{[N 2]} G Force GF01	Ford Cosworth^{[N 1]} Oldsmobile	Goodyear	1	Scott Sharp^{[N 3]}	1–4, 7
					Paul Durant (R)^{[N 4]}^{[N 5]}	5
					Billy Boat (R)	6, 8–10
				11	Billy Boat (R)	5
				14	Davey Hamilton	All
Arizona Motorsports^{[N 6]} Sinden Racing Services	Lola T95	Ford Cosworth	Goodyear Firestone^{[N 7]}	40	Marco Greco^{[N 8]}	1–2
	Dallara IR7	Oldsmobile Infiniti^{[N 9]}		40	Jack Miller (R)	3–10
				44	Steve Kinser (R)	5
				44	Allen May (R)	6
Beck Motorsports	Lola T94	Ford Cosworth	Firestone	54	Robbie Buhl	1–2
Beck Motorsports	Dallara IR7	Infiniti	Firestone	54	Dennis Vitolo	5
Blueprint Racing	Lola T93^{[N 1]} Dallara IR7	Menard^{[N 10]} Buick^{[N 11]} Oldsmobile	Firestone	16	Johnny Parsons	2
				16	Sam Schmidt (R)	4–6
				27	Jim Guthrie (R)^{[N 5]}	All
				72	Claude Bourbonnais (R)	5
Bradley Motorsports	Reynard 95I^{[N 1]} G Force GF01	Ford Cosworth^{[N 1]} Oldsmobile	Firestone^{[N 1]} Goodyear	12	Buzz Calkins^{[N 12]}	1–7, 9–10
Byrd-Cunningham Racing	Reynard 95I^{[N 1]} G Force GF01	Ford Cosworth^{[N 1]} Infiniti^{[N 13]} Oldsmobile	Firestone	10	Mike Groff^{[N 14]}	1–5, 8
					Johnny Unser	6–7, 9
					Paul Durant (R)	10
Chastain Motorsports	G Force GF01	Oldsmobile	Goodyear	77	Stephan Gregoire	3–5, 7–10
Chitwood Motorsports	Dallara IR7	Oldsmobile	Goodyear	17	Danny Ongais	3
Chitwood Motorsports	Dallara IR7	Oldsmobile	Goodyear	17	Affonso Giaffone (R)	4–10
Della Penna Motorsports	Reynard 95I	Ford Cosworth	Goodyear	4	Richie Hearn	1–2
EuroInternational	Dallara IR7	Oldsmobile	Firestone	50	Billy Roe (R)	4–5
Galles Racing	G Force GF01	Oldsmobile	Goodyear	4	Jeff Ward (R)^{[N 15]}	3
				4	Kenny Brack (R)	4–10
				70	Marco Greco	7–10
Hemelgarn Racing	Reynard 94I	Ford Cosworth^{[N 1]} Infiniti Oldsmobile^{[N 16]}	Firestone	9	Brad Murphey	1–2
	Reynard 95I^{[N 1]} Dallara IR7			9	Johnny Unser	5, 10
				90	Lyn St. James	5
				91	Buddy Lazier	All
ISM Racing	Dallara IR7	Oldsmobile	Goodyear	35	Jeff Ward (R)^{[N 17]}	10
IZ Racing	Dallara IR7	Infiniti	Goodyear	95	Tyce Carlson (R)	10
Johansson Motorsports	G Force GF01	Infiniti	Firestone	36	Scott Harrington (R)	5
Kelley Racing	Dallara IR7	Oldsmobile	Goodyear	28	Mark Dismore	5–10
Knapp Motorsports	Dallara IR7	Oldsmobile	Firestone	97	Greg Ray (R)^{[N 18]}	5–8, 10
LP Racing	Dallara IR7	Oldsmobile	Firestone	99	Sam Schmidt (R)	8–10
McCormack Motorsports	Lola T94	Ford Cosworth	Goodyear	30	Stan Wattles (R)	1–2
	G Force GF01	Oldsmobile			Jeret Schroeder (R)	3–4
	G Force GF01	Oldsmobile			Robbie Groff (R)	5–10
Metro Racing Systems	Riley & Scott V003	Oldsmobile	Goodyear	19	Stan Wattles (R)	10
Nienhouse Motorsports	Riley & Scott V004	Oldsmobile	Goodyear	23	Mike Shank (R)	10
Pagan Racing	Reynard 95I^{[N 10]} Reynard 94I^{[N 11]} Dallara IR7	Ford Cosworth^{[N 1]} Infiniti^{[N 19]} Oldsmobile	Goodyear	21	Roberto Guerrero	All
PDM Racing	Lola T93^{[N 1]} Dallara IR7 G Force GF01^{[N 20]}	Menard^{[N 1]} Oldsmobile	Goodyear	18	John Paul, Jr.^{[N 21]}	1–4, 8–10
					Tyce Carlson (R)	5–6
					Billy Boat (R)	7
				28	Tyce Carlson (R)	1–2
Project Indy	Reynard 95I	Ford Cosworth	Goodyear	64	Johnny Unser	1–2
Roe Racing	Dallara IR7	Oldsmobile	Firestone	24	Billy Roe (R)	10
Team Cheever	Lola T95^{[N 1]} G Force GF01	Menard^{[N 1]} Oldsmobile	Goodyear	51	Eddie Cheever	All
Team Cheever	Lola T95^{[N 1]} G Force GF01	Menard^{[N 1]} Oldsmobile	Goodyear	52	Jeff Ward (R)	5
Team Menard	Lola T95^{[N 1]} G Force GF01	Menard^{[N 1]} Oldsmobile	Firestone	2	Tony Stewart	All
				3	Mark Dismore	1–2
				3	Robbie Buhl^{[N 22]}	4–6, 9–10
Team SABCO	G Force GF01	Oldsmobile	Goodyear	42	Robby Gordon	5
Team Scandia	Lola T95^{[N 1]} Reynard 95I^{[N 23]} Lola T94^{[N 24]} Dallara IR7	Ford Cosworth^{[N 1]} Oldsmobile	Goodyear	7	Eliseo Salazar^{[N 25]}	1–2, 5–10
				8	Stephan Gregoire	2
				8	Vincenzo Sospiri (R)	5–6
				22	Stephan Gregoire	1
					Michel Jourdain, Jr.	2
					Marco Greco	3–6
					Vincenzo Sospiri (R)	7–10
				33	Michele Alboreto	1–2
					Fermín Vélez (R)^{[N 5]}	3–6
					Jimmy Kite (R)	7–10
				34	Affonso Giaffone (R)	2
				34	Alessandro Zampedri	5–6
Tempero/Giuffre Racing	Lola T93	Buick	Goodyear	15	David Kudrave	1
Tempero/Giuffre Racing	Lola T93	Buick	Goodyear	15	Juan Carlos Carbonell (R)	2
Treadway Racing	Reynard 95I^{[N 1]} Reynard 94I^{[N 26]} G Force GF01	Ford Cosworth^{[N 1]} Oldsmobile	Firestone	5	Arie Luyendyk	All
				6	Johnny O'Connell	2
				6	Scott Goodyear	3–10
Walker Racing	Reynard 95I	Ford Cosworth	Goodyear	50	Robby Gordon	2

Schedule

All races running on Oval/Speedway.

Rd	Date	Race Name	Track	City	TV
1	August 18	True Value 200	New Hampshire International Speedway	Loudon, New Hampshire	ABC
2	September 15	1996 Las Vegas 500K	Las Vegas Motor Speedway	Las Vegas, Nevada	ABC
3	January 25	Indy 200 at Walt Disney World	Walt Disney World Speedway	Bay Lake, Florida	ABC
4	March 23	Dura Lube 200	Phoenix International Raceway	Phoenix, Arizona	ABC
5	May 26-27	81st Indianapolis 500	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana	ABC
6	June 7	True Value 500	Texas Motor Speedway	Fort Worth, Texas	ESPN2
7	June 29	Samsonite 200	Pikes Peak International Raceway	Fountain, Colorado	ABC
8	July 27	VisionAire 500	Charlotte Motor Speedway	Concord, North Carolina	CBS
9	August 17	Pennzoil 200	New Hampshire International Speedway	Loudon, New Hampshire	ABC
10	October 11	1997 Las Vegas 500K	Las Vegas Motor Speedway	Las Vegas, Nevada	ABC

Race results

Round	Race	Pole position	Fastest lap	Most laps led	Race Winner		Report
Round	Race	Pole position	Fastest lap	Most laps led	Driver	Team	Report
1	New Hampshire 1	Richie Hearn	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Scott Sharp	A.J. Foyt Enterprises	Report
2	Las Vegas 1	Arie Luyendyk	Richie Hearn	Richie Hearn	Richie Hearn	Della Penna Motorsports	Report
3	Walt Disney World	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Eddie Cheever	Team Cheever	Report
4	Phoenix	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Jim Guthrie	Blueprint Racing	Report
5	Indianapolis	Arie Luyendyk	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Arie Luyendyk	Treadway Racing	Report
6	Texas	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Arie Luyendyk	Treadway Racing	Report
7	Pikes Peak	Scott Sharp	Jimmy Kite	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Team Menard	Report
8	Charlotte	Tony Stewart	Billy Boat	Tony Stewart	Buddy Lazier	Hemelgarn Racing	Report
9	New Hampshire 2	Marco Greco	Vincenzo Sospiri	Eddie Cheever	Robbie Buhl	Team Menard	Report
10	Las Vegas 2	Billy Boat	Billy Boat	Eliseo Salazar	Eliseo Salazar	Team Scandia	Report

Race summaries

Round 1: New Hampshire 1

This race took place August 18, 1996 at New Hampshire International Speedway. Richie Hearn won the pole. Tony Stewart had led 165 laps and had a nearly three-lap lead over second place, but coasted into the pits with 18 laps to go. Scott Sharp took over the lead, and stretched his fuel to the finish. The win was Sharp's first in an Indycar, and the first win for A. J. Foyt Enterprises since Pocono in 1981.

Round 2: Las Vegas 1

This race took place September 15, 1996 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Arie Luyendyk won the pole. This race was carried live on ABC, but a slow pace caused by several cautions saw the broadcast run late, and was ultimately cut off before the conclusion of the race.

Round 3: Walt Disney World

This race took place January 25, 1997 at Walt Disney World Speedway. It was the first race with the new chassis and 4000 cc naturally aspirated engines. Race shortened due to rain, originally scheduled for 200 laps. Tony Stewart won the pole.

Round 4: Phoenix

This race took place March 23, 1997 at Phoenix International Raceway. Tony Stewart won the pole.

After leading 85 laps, Tony Stewart along with Davey Hamilton, trailed Jim Guthrie on lap 154. On lap 180, a crash involving Sam Schmidt and Kenny Brack brought out a lengthy yellow flag. Guthrie stayed out, looking to stretch his fuel over the final 82 laps. Going into the race, Guthrie, the fledgling owner/driver of tiny Blueprint Racing, was forced to take out a second mortgage on his home to purchase his chassis.

During the final yellow, only 9 cars were still running, with only three on the lead lap. Tony Stewart pitted twice under the caution, once for tires and once for a wing adjustment, in an effort to run down Guthrie after the restart. With ten laps to go, the green came out, and Stewart closed the gap. Guthrie held him off, and won by 0.854 seconds. The $170,100 payoff for the victorious Guthrie helped settle his debts, and he later secured the sponsorship of Jacuzzi for Indianapolis. The race went down in Indy car lore as one of the biggest upsets in series history, with Guthrie one of the biggest underdogs ever to win an Indy car event.

Round 5: Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500 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 sat on pole.

With just over two laps to go, Arie Luyendyk led teammate Scott Goodyear. Tony Stewart brushed the outside wall in turn 4, which brought out the yellow light. The pace car did not enter the track, however, to pick up the leader. Under caution pace, the field came down to complete the 199th lap. Without warning, the green and white flag were displayed at the starter's stand, signifying the field was back to racing conditions. None of the cars in the field were prepared for the restart, and yellow lights remained illuminated for many seconds afterwards. Luyendyk held on to win, but controversy about the officials' poor handling of the situation erupted afterwards.

Round 6: Texas

This race took place June 7, 1997 at Texas Motor Speedway. It marked the first American open-wheel superspeedway night race. Tony Stewart won the pole. Tony Stewart was scored as the leader in the waning laps, and appeared to have nearly a one-lap lead over second place Billy Boat. Stewart was looking for his first career Indycar win, and the first win for Team Menard in Indy car racing. However, as Stewart crossed the line for two laps to go, he blew his engine. The car spun in turn 1, and he crashed into the outside wall. Billy Boat caught up, and appeared to take the lead. Race officials presented the checkered flag to Billy Boat as winner of the race, but Arie Luyendyk stormed to victory lane claiming he had won the race. Boat's owner A.J. Foyt slapped Luyendyk and told him to leave. The race tape was reviewed and it was determined that laps where Luyendyk, and in fact some other drivers, passed through pit road were not properly counted by the scoring system. Officially Luyendyk was declared the winner the following day. The entire top ten was shuffled about when the final official results were posted. Foyt, however refused to return the trophy and retains the original to this day. A duplicate was awarded to Luyendyk.

In the wake of the Texas scoring scandal, and the restart problems two weeks earlier at Indianapolis, USAC was immediately removed from sanctioning the series. The league switched to in-house sanctioning starting with the next event.

Round 7: Pikes Peak

This race took place June 29, 1997 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Scott Sharp won the pole.

The win represented Tony Stewart's first Indycar victory.

Round 8: Charlotte

This race took place July 26, 1997 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Tony Stewart won the pole.

Round 9: New Hampshire 2

This race took place August 17, 1997 at New Hampshire International Speedway. Marco Greco won the pole.

Round 10: Las Vegas 2

This race took place October 11, 1997 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Billy Boat won the pole.

Final points standings

Pos	Driver	NH1	LV1	WDW	PHX	INDY	TXS	PIK	CMS	NH2	LV2	Pts
1	Tony Stewart	12*	21	10*	2*	5*	5*	1*	7*	14	11	278
2	Davey Hamilton	5	11	7	3	6	3	3	16	17	7	272
3	Eddie Cheever	15	25	1	12	23	6	4	6	9*	21	230
4	Marco Greco	7	9	8	4	16	26	13	9	20	10	230
5	Scott Goodyear			3	17	2	4	7	3	16	2	226
6	Arie Luyendyk	13	20	12	22	1	1	15	21	3	25	223
7	Roberto Guerrero	6	4	17	7	27	13	18	17	6	14	221
8	Buddy Lazier	19	24	5	21	4	17	8	1	12	31	209
9	Eliseo Salazar	9	7			24	7	12	10	4	1*	208
10	Buzz Calkins	2	6	11	8	11	19	5		21	28	204
11	Stéphane Grégoire	8	26	19	5	31		2	8	15	9	192
12	Jim Guthrie	23	13	6	1	26	21	DNQ	12	24	4	186
13	Robbie Buhl	22	8		18	8	16			1	3	170
14	Mike Groff	4	3	2	6	12	Wth		14	Wth		169
15	John Paul, Jr.	10	15	18	9	Wth			11	7	12	163
16	Affonso Giaffone		10		13	32	20	9	4	18	15	159
17	Mark Dismore	20	17			28	11	11	19	11	5	158
18	Billy Boat					7	2	19	2	8	23	151
19	Kenny Bräck				11	33	18	14	5	5	20	139
20	Robbie Groff					9	15	10	13	10	18	135
21	Vincenzo Sospiri					17	9	6	20	2	22	134
22	Scott Sharp	1	16	4	16	Wth		22				119
23	Dr. Jack Miller			15	20	20	24	16	23	19	29	114
24	Johnny Unser	DNQ	22			18	10	21		13	19	107
25	Tyce Carlson	11	23			19	14				24	84
26	Fermín Vélez			9	14	10	25					82
27	Jimmy Kite							20	15	23	6	76
28	Sam Schmidt				10	34	23		18	22	27	76
29	Greg Ray					25	8	17	22		30	73
30	Jeff Ward			16		3					17	69
31	Stan Wattles	16	18								8	63
32	Michele Alboreto	3	5									62
33	Richie Hearn	14	1*									59
34	Billy Roe				15	22					13	55
35	Jeret Schroeder			14	19							37
36	Michel Jourdain, Jr.		2									33
37	Robby Gordon		14			29						27
38	Brad Murphey	18	27									25
39	Alessandro Zampedri					35	12					24
40	Johnny O'Connell		12			Wth						23
41	Paul Durant					21					26	23
42	Danny Ongais			13								22
43	Lyn St. James					13						22
44	Steve Kinser					14						21
45	Dennis Vitolo					15						20
46	Mike Shank										16	19
47	Dave Kudrave	17										18
48	Juan Carlos Carbonell		19									16
49	Joe Gosek	21										14
50	Allen May						22					13
51	Johnny Parsons		28									7
52	Claude Bourbonnais					30						5
-	Scott Harrington					DNQ						0
-	David Steele		DNQ									0
-	Davy Jones			Wth								0
Pos	Driver	NH1	LV1	WDW	PHX	INDY	TXS	PIK	CMS	NH2	LV2	Pts

Color	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	2nd place
Bronze	3rd place
Green	4th & 5th place
Light Blue	6th-10th place
Dark Blue	Finished (Outside Top 10)
Purple	Did not finish (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Brown	Withdrawn (Wth)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
Blank	Did not participate (DNP)
Blank	Not competing

In-line notation
Bold	Pole position (2 points)
Italics	Ran fastest race lap
*	Led most race laps (1 point)
DNS	Any driver who qualifies but does not start (DNS), earns all the points had they taken part.
Rookie of the Year
Rookie

In every race, points are awarded to drivers on the following basis:

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35
Points	35	33	32	31	30	29	28	27	26	25	24	23	22	21	20	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1	1

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

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Used in the 1996 races.
↑ Used at Walt Disney World. Billy Boat used it at the Indy 500 and Las Vegas 2, and Scott Sharp used it at Pikes Peak.
↑ Injured in practice crashes at Indianapolis and Pikes Peak.
↑ He replaced Johnny O'Connell, who was named as a replacement for Scott Sharp, but also got injured in a practice crash.
1 2 3 Not considered rookie for Indy 500
↑ Official name of the team for the #40 entry for sponsorship reasons.
↑ Used by Jack Miller.
↑ Run in conjunction with Team Scandia.
↑ Used by Jack Miller from Indianapolis onwards.
1 2 Used at New Hampshire 1.
1 2 Used at Las Vegas 1.
↑ Injured in a testing crash at New Hampshire.
↑ Used from Walt Disney World to Pikes Peak.
↑ Injured in practice crashes at Texas and New Hampshire 2.
↑ He replaced Davy Jones, who got injured in a practice crash.
↑ Used by Buddy Lazier from Indianapolis onwards.
↑ Run in conjunction with Sinden Racing Services.
↑
1. 31 at Charlotte because of a technical/sponsorship deal with Richard Childress Racing.
↑ Used from Walt Disney World to Texas.
↑ Used at Las Vegas 2.
↑ Injured in a practice crash at Indianapolis.
↑ Injured in a testing crash prior to Pikes Peak.
↑ Used by Michele Alboreto.
↑ Used by Affonso Giaffone.
↑ Injured in a practice crash at Walt Disney World.
↑ Used by Johnny O'Connell.

References

American Championship car racing (IndyCar) seasons

AAA	1905 1906–1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955

NASCAR	1952 1953

USAC	1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95

CART / CCWS	1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 ~~2008~~

INDYCAR	1996 1996–97 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Years marked in italics are not official championship years.

IndyCar Series

Seasons

Indianapolis 500

Champions

Tracks

Ovals	Indianapolis Iowa Pocono Texas

Road courses	Barber Indianapolis Mid-Ohio Sonoma

Street courses	Detroit Long Beach St. Petersburg Toronto

Future	Boston Road America Phoenix

Former	Atlanta Baltimore Charlotte Chicagoland Dover Edmonton Fontana Gateway Homestead Houston Kansas Kentucky Las Vegas Louisiana Michigan Milwaukee Motegi Nashville Nazareth New Hampshire Pikes Peak Richmond São Paulo Surfers Paradise (exhibition) Walt Disney World Watkins Glen

Cancelled	Qingdao Brasília

Road to Indy

History of IndyCar racing • All-time winners • Races • Drivers • Teams

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