1997 Indy Lights season
The 1997 PPG/Firestone Indy Lights Championship Powered By Buick consisted of 13 races. Tony Kanaan edged out good friend and teammate Hélio Castro-Neves to the title by only four points.
Calendar
| Race No | Track | State | Date | Laps | Distance | Time | Speed | Winner | Pole Position | Led the Most Laps | Fastest Race Lap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Homestead | Florida | March 2, 1997 | 50 | 2.4413081=122.065405 km | 0'45:55.357 | 159.484 km/h | David Empringham | Hélio Castro-Neves | Mark Hotchkis | Mark Hotchkis |
| 2 | Long Beach | California | April 13, 1997 | 40 | 2.558787=102.35148 km | 0'52:25.497 | 117.141 km/h | Hélio Castro-Neves | Hélio Castro-Neves | Hélio Castro-Neves | Cristiano da Matta |
| 3 | Nazareth | Pennsylvania | April 27, 1997 | 64 | 1.5223978=97.4334592 km | 0'38:41.989 | 151.060 km/h | Cristiano da Matta | Chris Simmons | Chris Simmons | David DeSilva |
| 4 | Savannah | Georgia | May 18, 1997 | 50 | 3.1606652=158.03326 km | 1'10:52.676 | 133,779 km/h | Hélio Castro-Neves | Hélio Castro-Neves | Hélio Castro-Neves | ? |
| 5 | Madison | Illinois | May 24, 1997 | 56 | 2.011625=112.651 km | 0'58:33.865 | 115.412 km/h | Lee Bentham | Chris Simmons | Lee Bentham | Cristiano da Matta |
| 6 | Milwaukee | Wisconsin | June 1, 1997 | 90 | 1.6607976=149.471784 km | 0'44:05.781 | 203.380 km/h | Clint Mears | Clint Mears | Clint Mears | Clint Mears |
| 7 | Detroit | Michigan | June 8, 1997 | 36 | 3.37953=121.66308 km | 0'52:59.459 | 137.755 km/h | Tony Kanaan | Tony Kanaan | Tony Kanaan | Hélio Castro-Neves |
| 8 | Portland | Oregon | June 22, 1997 | 29 | 3.169=91.901 km | 0'40:54.077 | 134.814 km/h | Hideki Noda | Hélio Castro-Neves | Hélio Castro-Neves | Oswaldo Negri, Jr. |
| 9 | Toronto |  Canada | July 20, 1997 | 44 | 2.7696053=121.862633 km | 0'57:23.659 | 127.395 km/h | Hélio Castro-Neves | Tony Kanaan | Hélio Castro-Neves | Christophe Tinseau |
| 10 | Trois-Rivières | Canada | August 3, 1997 | 50 | 2.4477453=122.387265 km | 1'00:33.440 | 121.261 km/h | Tony Kanaan | Mark Hotchkis | Tony Kanaan | Mark Hotchkis |
| 11 | Vancouver | Canada | August 31, 1997 | 44 | 2.7406379=120.588068 km | 0'56:39.358 | 122.957 km/h | Cristiano da Matta | Cristiano da Matta | Cristiano da Matta | Hideki Noda |
| 12 | Monterey | California | September 7, 1997 | 25 | 3.6016134=90.040335 km | 0'43:48.426 | 123.323 km/h | Cristiano da Matta | Tony Kanaan | Clint Mears | Cristiano da Matta |
| 13 | Fontana | California | September 27, 1997 | 50 | 3.2186=141.6184 km | 0'52:15.813 | 162.582.130 km/h | Clint Mears | Clint Mears | Hélio Castro-Neves | Cristiano da Matta |
Race summaries
Homestead race
Held March 2 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Hélio Castro-Neves won the pole.
Top Five Results
Long Beach race
Held April 13 at Long Beach, California Street Course. Hélio Castro-Neves won the pole.
Top Five Results
Nazareth race
Held April 27 at Nazareth Speedway. Chris Simmons won the pole.
Top Five Results
Savannah race
Held May 18 at the Hutchinson Island Road Race Course. Hélio Castro-Neves won the pole.
Top Five Results
Gateway race
Held May 24 at Gateway International Raceway. Chris Simmons won the pole.
Top Five Results
Milwaukee race
Held June 1 at The Milwaukee Mile. Clint Mears won the pole.
Top Five Results
- Clint Mears
- David Empringham
- Tony Kanaan
- Cristiano da Matta
- Fredrik Larsson
Detroit race
Held June 8 at Belle Isle Raceway. Tony Kanaan won the pole.
Top Five Results
Portland race
Held June 22 at Portland International Raceway. Hélio Castro-Neves won the pole.
Top Five Results
- Hideki Noda
- Hélio Castro-Neves
- Tony Kanaan
- Cristophe Tinseau
- Cristiano da Matta
Toronto race
Held July 20 at Exhibition Place. Tony Kanaan won the pole.
Top Five Results
- Hélio Castro-Neves
- Tony Kanaan
- David Empringham
- Didier André
- Cristophe Tinseau
Trois-Rivières race
Held August 3 at the Trois-Rivières, Quebec Street Circuit. Mark Hotchkis won the pole.
Top Five Results
- Tony Kanaan
- Mark Hotchkis
- Cristophe Tinseau
- Cristiano da Matta
- David Empringham
Vancouver race
Held August 31 at Pacific Place. Cristiano da Matta won the pole.
Top Five Results
Laguna Seca race
Held September 7 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Tony Kanaan won the pole.
Top Five Results
Fontana race
Held September 27 at The California Speedway. Clint Mears won the pole.
Top Five Results
- Clint Mears
- Chris Simmons
- Lee Bentham
- Cristiano da Matta
- Hélio Castro-Neves
Final points standings
Driver
For every race the points were awarded: 20 points to the winner, 16 for runner-up, 14 for third place, 12 for fourth place, 10 for fifth place, 8 for sixth place, 6 seventh place, winding down to 1 points for 12th place. Additional points were awarded to the pole winner (1 point) and to the driver leading the most laps (1 point).
| Place | Name | Country | Team | Total Points |  | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tony Kanaan |  Brazil | Tasman Motorsports | 156 | 8 | 10 | 10 | - | 3 | 14 | 22 | 14 | 17 | 21 | 16 | 17 | 4 |
| 2 | Hélio Castro-Neves | Brazil | Tasman Motorsports | 152 | 1 | 22 | 12 | 22 | 14 | 1 | 16 | 18 | 21 | - | - | 14 | 11 |
| 3 | Cristiano da Matta | Brazil | Brian Stewart Racing | 141 | - | 16 | 20 | - | 16 | 12 | - | 10 | - | 12 | 22 | 21 | 12 |
| 4 | David Empringham | Canada | Forsythe Racing | 107 | 20 | 3 | 4 | - | 12 | 16 | 12 | 6 | 14 | 10 | 10 | - | - |
| 5 | Chris Simmons | United States | Team Green | 88 | 14 | 12 | 18 | - | 11 | - | 5 | - | - | - | 12 | - | 16 |
| Lee Bentham | Canada | Forsythe Racing | 88 | 10 | - | - | 14 | 21 | 4 | - | 5 | - | 5 | 5 | 10 | 14 | |
| 7 | Mark Hotchkis | United States | Team Green | 74 | 13 | 14 | - | - | - | 6 | 8 | - | - | 17 | 2 | 12 | 2 |
| 8 | Clint Mears | United States | Team Mears | 53 | 1 | - | 6 | - | 2 | 22 | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 21 |
| 9 | Hideki Noda |  Japan | Indy Regency Racing | 51 | - | - | - | 8 | - | - | - | 20 | - | 8 | 14 | 1 | - |
| Airton Daré | Brazil | Brian Stewart Racing | 51 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 2 | - | - | 4 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 5 | |
| 11 | Christophe Tinseau |  France | Conquest Racing | 49 | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | 2 | 12 | 10 | 14 | - | 8 | 1 |
| 12 | Fredrik Larsson |  Sweden | Johansson Motorsports | 43 | 16 | - | 14 | 3 | - | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 13 | Luiz Garcia, Jr. | Brazil | Dorricott Racing | 38 | - | - | - | 12 | - | - | 4 | 8 | - | - | 8 | 3 | 3 |
| 14 | Robby Unser | United States | PacWest Lights | 35 | 5 | 6 | 3 | - | 6 | 8 | 1 | - | 6 | - | - | - | - |
| Didier André | France | Autosport Racing | 35 | - | 5 | - | 4 | - | - | - | - | 12 | 6 | 3 | 5 | - | |
| 16 | Naoki Hattori | Japan | Team Green | 32 | - | - | - | 10 | - | - | 6 | - | 8 | - | - | - | 8 |
| 17 | Geoff Boss | United States | Team Medlin | 30 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | 14 | 3 | - | 2 | 4 | 4 | - |
| 18 | Sérgio Paese | Brazil | FRE Racing | 27 | - | - | - | 16 | - | - | 10 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 19 | David DeSilva | United States | Lucas Place Motorsports | 17 | - | 1 | 8 | - | 5 | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 20 | Oswaldo Negri, Jr. | Brazil | Genoa Racing | 15 | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - |
| 21 | Jaques Lazier | United States | Brian Stewart Racing | 12 | - | 2 | 1 | - | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Brian Cunningham | United States | Brian Stewart Racing | 12 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| Lucas Place Motorsports | 6 | - | |||||||||||||||
| 23 | Casey Mears | United States | Team Mears | 9 | 4 | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 24 | Jeff Ward | United States | Johansson Motorsports | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| 25 | Shigeaki Hattori | Japan | Lucas Place Motorsports | 5 | - | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - |
| 26 | Bob Dorrichott, Jr. | United States | Dorricott Racing | 4 | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Frédéric Gosparini | France | Brian Stewart Racing | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | |
| 28 | Andrew Bordin | Canada | Bordin Racing | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| 29 | Chris Bingham | United States | Leading Edge Motorsports | 2 | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Complete Overview
| first column of every race | 10 | = grid position |
| second column of every race | 10 | = race result |
R23=retired, but classified NS=did not start NQ=did not qualify
| Place | Name | Country | Team | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||
| 1 | Tony Kanaan | Brazil | Tasman Motorsports | 10 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 2 | R23 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| 2 | Hélio Castro-Neves | Brazil | Tasman Motorsports | 1 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | R20 | 3 | R19 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 3 | Cristiano da Matta | Brazil | Brian Stewart Racing | 9 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 19 | R21 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 10 | R26 | 8 | 5 | 3 | R18 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 4 |
| 4 | David Empringham | Canada | Forsythe Racing | 5 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 25 | 9 | 6 | R14 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 4 | R26 | 2 | R13 |
| 5 | Chris Simmons | United States | Team Green | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 19 | 17 | 6 | 8 | 19 | 13 | 5 | R21 | 2 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 8 | R28 | 6 | 2 |
| Lee Bentham | Canada | Forsythe Racing | 6 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 9 | R22 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 22 | 9 | 8 | 13 | R27 | 17 | 8 | 14 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 3 | |
| 7 | Mark Hotchkis | United States | Team Green | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 12 | R23 | 11 | 17 | 2 | R22 | 25 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 12 | 16 | 4 | R17 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 11 |
| 8 | Clint Mears | United States | Team Mears | 18 | 12 | 27 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 25 | R18 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 18 | - | NS | 26 | 13 | 22 | 12 | 28 | 14 | 26 | NS | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Hideki Noda | Japan | Indy Regency Racing | 21 | 18 | 11 | R19 | 22 | 16 | 7 | 6 | 19 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 22 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 8 | R15 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 12 | - | - |
| Airton Daré | Brazil | Brian Stewart Racing | 13 | 11 | 18 | 6 | 11 | 8 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 20 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 9 | 17 | 7 | 24 | 11 | 12 | 8 | |
| 11 | Christophe Tinseau | France | Conquest Racing | 15 | R25 | 17 | R26 | 15 | 14 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 20 | 21 | 12 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 7 | R18 | 6 | 6 | 13 | 12 |
| 12 | Fredrik Larsson | Sweden | Johansson Motorsports | 8 | 2 | 16 | R22 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 14 | R24 | 16 | 5 | 4 | R25 | 22 | 22 | 22 | R28 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 13 | Luiz Garcia, Jr. | Brazil | Dorricott Racing | 23 | 16 | 6 | 15 | 13 | R24 | 3 | 4 | 18 | 17 | 21 | 19 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 17 | R25 | 15 | R23 | 9 | 6 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 10 |
| 14 | Robby Unser | United States | PacWest Lights | 14 | 8 | 15 | 7 | 21 | 10 | 18 | R22 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 17 | 12 | 20 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 16 | R19 | 18 | R21 | 19 | R22 | 19 | R16 |
| Didier André | France | Autosport Racing | 19 | 22 | 13 | 8 | 17 | R25 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 6 | R25 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 8 | - | - | |
| 16 | Naoki Hattori | Japan | Team Green | 7 | 13 | - | NS | 18 | 15 | 15 | 5 | 17 | 14 | 18 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 13 | R24 | 15 | 6 | 13 | R24 | 10 | R15 | 13 | R20 | 9 | 6 |
| 17 | Geoff Boss | United States | Team Medlin | 17 | 10 | 9 | R24 | 20 | 17 | 20 | R20 | 22 | 21 | 13 | 20 | 3 | 3 | 21 | 10 | 27 | 14 | 21 | 11 | 21 | 9 | 22 | 9 | - | - |
| 18 | Sérgio Paese | Brazil | FRE Racing | - | NS | 22 | R20 | - | - | 4 | 2 | 15 | 18 | 23 | R24 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 9 | R23 | 10 | R25 | 20 | R27 | 9 | 13 | - | - |
| 19 | David DeSilva | United States | Lucas Place Motorsports | 4 | 17 | 20 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 26 | NQ | 3 | 8 | 2 | R25 | 13 | 10 | 14 | R26 | 16 | R24 | 9 | R26 | 11 | R17 | 23 | 17 | - | - |
| 20 | Oswaldo Negri, Jr. | Brazil | Genoa Racing | - | - | 12 | R27 | - | - | 17 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | 9 | 20 | 8 | 25 | R21 | 19 | R20 | 17 | R27 | - | - |
| 21 | Jaques Lazier | United States | Brian Stewart Racing | - | - | 19 | 11 | 19 | 12 | 21 | R24 | 23 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 20 | 23 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Brian Cunningham | United States | Brian Stewart Racing | 11 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||
| Lucas Place Motorsports | 23 | R25 | 10 | 7 | 8 | R14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 23 | Casey Mears | United States | Team Mears | 12 | 9 | 23 | 17 | 24 | 13 | 24 | 13 | 24 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 21 | 25 | 23 | 11 | 21 | R20 | 26 | 17 | 27 | R16 | 29 | 19 | 15 | R15 |
| 24 | Jeff Ward | United States | Johansson Motorsports | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 22 | R22 | 27 | 15 | 17 | 7 |
| 25 | Shigeaki Hattori | Japan | Lucas Place Motorsports | - | - | 10 | 9 | 6 | 20 | 8 | R15 | 12 | R23 | 9 | 16 | 14 | 24 | 16 | 23 | 11 | R26 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 14 | 18 | R18 |
| 26 | Bob Dorrichott, Jr. | United States | Dorricott Racing | 25 | R24 | 14 | R21 | - | - | 16 | 11 | 20 | 19 | 3 | R23 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 25 | 11 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 14 | R21 | 7 | R20 |
| Frédéric Gosparini | France | Project Indy | - | - | - | NS | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||
| Brian Stewart Racing | 23 | 12 | 19 | 10 | 16 | R24 | 15 | R23 | 14 | R19 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 28 | Andrew Bordin | Canada | Bordin Racing | 22 | R23 | 26 | R23 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 11 | 15 | 24 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 10 | 10 | 24 | 13 | 26 | R23 | 21 | 16 | - | - |
| 29 | Chris Bingham | United States | Leading Edge Motorsports | 20 | 15 | 25 | 13 | 14 | 11 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 26 | 21 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| - | Rodolfo Lavín, Jr. |  Mexico | Indy Regency Racing | 16 | 20 | 21 | 16 | 16 | R21 | 22 | R25 | 21 | 15 | 15 | 22 | 25 | 19 | 24 | 19 | 24 | R22 | 23 | R22 | 24 | R26 | 25 | R25 | 20 | R17 |
| - | Eric Jensen | Canada | Auto Sport Racing | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 28 | R16 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| - | Claude Bourbonnais | Canada | Eclipse Racing | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 18 | R19 | 20 | 18 | 25 | R28 | 28 | 18 | - | - |
| - | John Jones | Canada | Eclipse Racing | 24 | 19 | 24 | R25 | 23 | 19 | 23 | 19 | - | - | - | - | 26 | 20 | 25 | 18 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| - | Jean-Philippe Belloc | France | Auto Sport Racing | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 16 | R24 | - | - |
| - | Philipp Sager |  Austria | Project Indy | - | NS | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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