1999 Indy Racing League

1999 Indy Racing League season
Pep Boys Indy Racing League
Season
Races	11
Start date	January 24
End date	October 17
Awards
Drivers' champion	Greg Ray
Indianapolis 500 winner	Kenny Bräck

The 1999 Pep Boys Indy Racing League was highly competitive and parity was the order of the year. Team Menard had a very good season with their driver Greg Ray capturing 3 race wins in a row and the series championship. This was the last year before CART teams began to break ranks and jump to the IRL.

Teams and Drivers

Team	Chassis	Engine	Tires	No.	Drivers	Round(s)
Team Menard	Dallara IR9	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	F	2	Greg Ray	All
				32	Robby Gordon	Indianapolis 500 only
Brant Motorsports	Riley & Scott Mark VII	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	G	3	Raul Boesel	4-7
					Andy Michner	1-3
				10		Indianapolis 500 only
Panther Racing	G-Force GF01C	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	G	4	Scott Goodyear	All
				43	Dave Steele	Indianapolis 500 only
Treadway Racing	G-Force GF01C	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	F	5	Jason Leffler	1
					Arie Luyendyk	Indianapolis 500 only
				99	Sam Schmidt	All
Nienhouse Racing	G-Force GF01C	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	F/G	6	Eliseo Salazar	All
Dick Simon Racing	G-Force GF01C	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	F	7	Stéphan Grégoire	All
Kelley Racing	Dallara IR9	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	G	8	Scott Sharp	All
				28	Mark Dismore	All
Galles Racing	G-Force GF01C Dallara IR9	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	G	9	Davey Hamilton	1, 4-11
Byrd-Cunningham Racing	G-Force GF01C	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	F	10	John Paul Jr.	1-4
A.J. Foyt Enterprises	Dallara IR9	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	G	11	Billy Boat	All
				14	Kenny Bräck	All
				84	Robbie Buhl	Indianapolis 500 only
Bradley Racing	Dallara IR9 G-Force GF01C	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	F	12	Buzz Calkins	All
DR Motorsports	G-Force GF01C	Nissan Infiniti VRH35ADE	G	15	Jaques Lazier (R)	2, 4
Phoenix Racing	G-Force GF01C	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	F	16	Marco Greco	2
Tri-Star Motorsports	Dallara IR9	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	G	17	Dr. Jack Miller	4, 7
					Ronnie Johncox (R)	10-11
				22		5-9
					Gualter Salles	1
					Tony Stewart	Indianapolis 500 only
					Robbie Buhl	10-11
PDM Racing	G-Force GF01C	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	G	18	Steve Knapp	1
					Mike Borkowski (R)	3-4
Metro Racing	Dallara IR9	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	G	19	Stan Wattles	1, 3-4
Blueprint-Immke Racing	Dallara IR9	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	F	20	Tyce Carlson	All
	G-Force GF01C			27	Niclas Jönsson	10-11
Pagan Racing	Dallara IR9	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	G	21	Jeff Ward	2-11
Barnhart Motorsports	Dallara IR9	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	G	25	Davey Hamilton	2-4
Truscelli Team Racing	G-Force GF01C	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	G	26	Bobby Regester	9
				33	Brian Tyler	1
					Roberto Moreno	2-4
					Jaques Lazier (R)	5-11
McCormack Motorsports	G-Force GF01C	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	F	30	Raul Boesel	1-3
					Jimmy Kite	4-8
					Willy T. Ribbs	10
					John Paul Jr.	11
				31/34	Nick Firestone	Indianapolis 500 only
Coulson Racing	G-Force GF01C	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	F	34	Jim Guthrie	Indianapolis 500 only
ISM Racing	G-Force GF01C	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	G	35	Jeff Ward	1
					Steve Knapp	2-7
				36	Brian Tyler	Indianapolis 500 only
					Vincenzo Sospiri	Indianapolis 500 only
Team Xtreme	Dallara IR9	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	F/G	42	John Hollansworth Jr. (R)	All
		Nisssan Infiniti VRH35ADE	F	46	Mike Groff	Indianapolis 500 only
Mid America Motorsports	Dallara IR9	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	F	43	Doug Didero	11
Sinden Racing	Dallara IR9	Nissan Infiniti VRH35ADE	F	44	Robbie Buhl	1-4
Team Pelfrey	Dallara IR9	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	F	48	Sarah Fisher	11
				81	Robby Unser	All
Cobb Racing	G-Force GF01C	Nissan Infiniti VHR35ADE	F	50	Roberto Guerrero	1-2, 4
				96	Jeret Schroeder	Indianapolis 500 only
Team Cheever	Dallara IR9	Oldsmobile Aurora V8 Nissan Infiniti VHR355ADE	G	51	Eddie Cheever	All
				52	Wim Eyckmans	Indianapolis 500 only
Beck Motorsports	Dallara IR9	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	F	54	Hideshi Matsuda	Indianapolis 500 only
Conti Racing	Dallara IR9	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	F	55	Robby McGehee (R)	3-11
Harrington Motorsports	Dallara IR9	Nissan Infiniti VHR35ADE Oldsmobile Aurora V8	F	66	Scott Harrington (R)	All
Lyn St. James Racing	Dallara IR9	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	F	90	Lyn St. James	Indianapolis 500 only
Hemelgarn Racing	Dallara IR9	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	G	91	Buddy Lazier	All
				92	Johnny Unser	3-7, 10
Cahill Racing	Dallara IR9 G-Force GF01C	Oldsmobile Aurora V8	F	98	Donnie Beechler	All

Race summaries

TransWorld Diversified Services Indy 200

The TransWorld Diversified Services Indy 200 was held on January 24 at Walt Disney World Speedway. Scott Sharp qualified on the pole position. The race was broadcast on ABC.

Top 10 results

1. 51- Eddie Cheever
2. 4- Scott Goodyear
3. 35- Jeff Ward
4. 8- Scott Sharp
5. 30- Raul Boesel
6. 28- Mark Dismore
7. 18- Steve Knapp
8. 9- Davey Hamilton
9. 11- Billy Boat
10. 91- Buddy Lazier

• Failed to qualify: 6-Eliseo Salazar
• The first IndyCar win for the Infiniti engine.

MCI WorldCom 200

The MCI WorldCom 200 was held on March 28 at Phoenix International Raceway. Greg Ray qualified on the pole position. The race was broadcast on Fox Sports Net.

Top ten results

1. 4- Scott Goodyear
2. 21- Jeff Ward
3. 44- Robbie Buhl
4. 11- Billy Boat
5. 66- Scott Harrington
6. 33- Roberto Moreno
7. 28- Mark Dismore
8. 8- Scott Sharp
9. 99- Sam Schmidt
10. 7- Stéphane Grégoire

• Goodyear's first IndyCar win since the 1994 Marlboro 500 at Michigan International Speedway and his first in IRL competition.
• Prior to this race, Ward left ISM Racing to drive for Pagan Racing.

VisionAire 500k

The VisionAire 500K was on held May 1 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Greg Ray qualified on the pole position. The race was broadcast on Speedvision.

Top 10 on lap 79:

1. 2- Greg Ray
2. 4- Scott Goodyear
3. 51- Eddie Cheever
4. 99- Sam Schmidt
5. 98- Donnie Beechler
6. 8- Scott Sharp
7. 91- Buddy Lazier
8. 28- Mark Dismore
9. 55- Robby McGehee
10. 14- Kenny Bräck

• Failed to qualify: 35-Steve Knapp
• On lap 62, Stan Wattles crashed after suffering a suspension failure. John Paul, Jr. made contact with, sending Wattles' right rear wheel and tire assembly into the seating area. Scott Harrington also spun in the incident.^[1]
• The race continued under caution with Lazier initially leading until he had to make a pit stop to replace a punctured tire, giving Ray the lead. On lap 79, the race was stopped so medical helicopters could land.
• The race was stopped permanently by track general manager Humpy Wheeler when it was announced that three spectators were killed. As a result, fans and participants were offered refunds.
• The race was scratched from the record books due to the fact it did not reach official race distance, 105 laps (the halfway point plus one lap, unlike the FIA Code, which is simply making it to the start of the fourth lap.
• Due to this race and a similar incident (where three people were killed) at the CART 1998 U.S. 500 at Michigan International Speedway, wheel teathers were added to open wheel cars.
• As of 2017, this would be the final IndyCar race at Charlotte.

Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500 was held on May 30 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Arie Luyendyk qualified on the pole position.

Top 10 results

1. 14- Kenny Bräck
2. 21- Jeff Ward
3. 11- Billy Boat
4. 32- Robby Gordon
5. 55- Robby McGehee
6. 84- Robbie Buhl
7. 91- Buddy Lazier
8. 81- Robby Unser
9. 22- Tony Stewart
10. 54- Hideshi Matsuda

• Failed to qualify: 7-Stéphan Grégoire, 10-John Paul, Jr., 10-Andy Michner, 15-Jaques Lazier, 15-Troy Reiger, 18-Mike Borkowski, 18-Ronnie Johncox, 19-Stan Wattles, 31, 34-Nick Firestone, 34-Jim Guthrie, 36-Brian Tyler, 36-Vincenzo Sospiri, 43-Dave Steele, 46-Mike Groff, 66-Scott Harrington and 90-Lyn St. James
• Until 2011, this race had the latest pass for the lead in Indianapolis 500 history when Gordon pitted on lap 199 and Bräck took the lead in turn 4.
• Combined, Arie Luyendyk and Greg Ray led 95 laps. Luyendyk crashed while attempting to lap Tyce Carlson on lap 118 and during the ensuing caution, Ray was hit by Mark Dismore while exiting his pit stall.
• The day before the race, the Motorola 300 at Gateway International Raceway for the FedEx CART Championship Series was held. Gordon and Roberto Moreno competed in the race (Gordon competed full-time in CART and did Indianapolis as a one-off for Team Menard, due Menards being his sponsor in the series, and Moreno was hired as an injury replacement at PacWest Racing for Mark Blundell while concurrently driving for Truscelli Racing in the IRL). Moreno finished 4th and Gordon 27th due to a crash.
• Stewart, who moved to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, did Double Duty by competing at Indianapolis and the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He finished 9th at Indianapolis, four laps down, and 4th at Charlotte on the lead lap, despite being moved to the rear of the field for moving to the rear of the field.
• Rookie of the Year McGehee had an incident during a pits top where a pit crew member hit the ground, but survived.
• This race was planned on being Luyendyk's final race. However, he returned to race part-time from 2001 to 2003.
• Four drivers named either Robby or Robbie finished in the top 10.

Longhorn 500

The Longhorn 500 was held on June 12 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mark Dismore qualified on the pole position. The race was broadcast on Fox Sports Net.

Top 10 results

1. 4- Scott Goodyear
2. 2- Greg Ray
3. 99- Sam Schmidt
4. 7- Stéphane Grégoire
5. 6- Eliseo Salazar
6. 81- Robby Unser
7. 9- Davey Hamilton
8. 28- Mark Dismore
9. 12- Buzz Calkins
10. 8- Scott Sharp

• Failed to qualify: 19-Stan Wattles and 50-Roberto Guerrero
• Ray entered the race 20th in points and left 8th.

Radisson 200

The Radisson 200 was held on June 27 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Greg Ray qualified on the pole position. The race was broadcast on Fox Sports Net.

Top 10 results

1. 2- Greg Ray
2. 99- Sam Schmidt
3. 9- Davey Hamilton
4. 51- Eddie Cheever
5. 91- Buddy Lazier
6. 81- Robby Unser
7. 14- Kenny Bräck
8. 8- Scott Sharp
9. 21- Jeff Ward
10. 33- Jaques Lazier

• Ray's first IndyCar win.
• Ray led 109 of 200 laps on his way to victory. Schmidt led the other 91 laps.

Kobalt Mechanics Tools 500

The Kobalt Mechanics Tools 500 was held on July 17 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Billy Boat qualified on the pole position. The race was broadcast on Fox Sports Net.

Top 10 results

1. 8- Scott Sharp
2. 81- Robby Unser
3. 14- Kenny Bräck
4. 6- Eliseo Salazar
5. 12- Buzz Calkins
6. 51- Eddie Cheever
7. 9- Davey Hamilton
8. 98- Donnie Beechler
9. 30- Jimmy Kite
10. 11- Billy Boat

• Unser's best IndyCar finish.

MBNA Mid-Atlantic 200

The MBNA Mid-Atlantic 200 was held on August 1 at Dover Downs International Speedway. Mark Dismore qualified on the pole position. The race was broadcast on Fox.

Top 10 results

1. 2- Greg Ray
2. 91- Buddy Lazier
3. 14- Kenny Bräck
4. 11- Billy Boat
5. 99- Sam Schmidt
6. 66- Scott Harrington
7. 33- Jaques Lazier
8. 12- Buzz Calkins
9. 55- Robby McGehee
10. 98- Donnie Beechler

Colorado Indy 200

The Colorado Indy 200 was held on August 29 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Greg Ray qualified on the pole position. The race was broadcast on Fox Sports Net.

Top 10 results

1. 2- Greg Ray
2. 9- Davey Hamilton
3. 28- Mark Dismore
4. 91- Buddy Lazier
5. 99- Sam Schmidt
6. 66- Scott Harrington
7. 55- Robby McGehee
8. 30- Jimmy Kite
9. 81- Robby Unser
10. 14- Kenny Bräck

• This would be the final race aired on Fox. After this race, ESPN/ABC purchased the rights for the remaining two races.

Vegas.com 500

The Vegas.com 500 was held on September 26 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Sam Schmidt qualified on the pole position. The race was broadcast on ESPN.

Top 10 results

1. 99- Sam Schmidt
2. 14- Kenny Bräck
3. 22- Robbie Buhl
4. 8- Scott Sharp
5. 12- Buzz Calkins
6. 55- Robby McGehee
7. 33- Jaques Lazier
8. 7- Stephan Gregoire
9. 20- Tyce Carlson
10. 21- Jeff Ward

• Entering the season-finale, Greg Ray led Bräck by 15 points, Schmidt by 30 points, Sharp by 46 points and Scott Goodyear by 48 points.
• Schmidt's only IndyCar win.

Mall.com 500

The Mall.com 500 was held on October 17 at Texas Motor Speedway. Greg Ray qualified on the pole position. The race was broadcast on ABC.

Top 10 results

1. 28- Mark Dismore
2. 9- Davey Hamilton
3. 2- Greg Ray
4. 51- Eddie Cheever
5. 42- John Hollansworth, Jr.
6. 66- Scott Harrington
7. 33- Jaques Lazier
8. 12- Buzz Calkins
9. 11- Billy Boat
10. 91- Buddy Lazier

• Failed to qualify: 27-Niclas Jönsson and 92-Johnny Unser
• Points leader Ray was the only championship eligible driver to finish in the top 10, finishing 3rd. Scott Goodyear finished 23rd due to a crash. Scott Sharp finished 19th due to engine failure. Sam Schmidt finished 22nd due to a separate crash. Kenny Bräck finished 16t, 22 laps down.
• There several changes in the top 10 in points following this race due to 3rd being separated from 10th by 31 points. Race winner Dismore moved up from 11th to 3rd, Jeff Ward (at one time the points leader) dropped from 7th to 11th, Sharp dropped from 4th to 8th, Goodyear dropped from 5th to 9th and Hamilton moved up from 7th to 4th.
• Dismore's only IndyCar win.
• Schmidt's final IndyCar race. His career would end due to a testing crash at Walt Disney World Speedway in January 2000 that left him paralyzed.
• Sarah Fisher made her IndyCar debut in this race (becoming the first woman since Lyn St. James at the 1997 Indianapolis 500 to start an IndyCar race. She started 17th, but finished 25th due to a broken timing chain.

Schedule

Season Summary

Race results

All races running on Oval/Speedway.

Rnd	Race	Winner	Pole Position	Most Laps Led	Fastest Lap
1	Walt Disney World	Eddie Cheever	Scott Sharp	Scott Sharp	Scott Sharp
2	Phoenix	Scott Goodyear	Greg Ray	Scott Goodyear	Scott Goodyear
3	Charlotte	Greg RayA	Greg Ray	Greg Ray
4	Indianapolis	Kenny Bräck	Arie Luyendyk	Kenny Bräck	Greg Ray
5	Texas 1	Scott Goodyear	Mark Dismore	Greg Ray	Sam Schmidt
6	Pikes Peak 1	Greg Ray	Greg Ray	Greg Ray	Mark Dismore
7	Atlanta	Scott Sharp	Billy Boat	Scott Goodyear	Jaques Lazier
8	Dover	Greg Ray	Mark Dismore	Mark Dismore	Mark Dismore
9	Pikes Peak 2	Greg Ray	Greg Ray	Greg Ray	Buddy Lazier
10	Las Vegas	Sam Schmidt	Sam Schmidt	Kenny Bräck	Tyce Carlson
11	Texas 2	Mark Dismore	Greg Ray	Scott Goodyear	Scott Goodyear

^A Leader when race was abandoned after 79 laps, 26 laps before it would be declared official.

Final points standings

Pos Driver WDW PHX CLT INDY TXS PIK ATL DOV PIK LSV TXS Pts 1 Greg Ray 21 21 C1 21 2* 1* 23 1 1* 21 3 293 2 Kenny Bräck 22 24 C1 1* 13 7 3 3 10 2* 16 256 3 Mark Dismore 6 7 C1 16 8 21 17 15* 3 20 1 240 4 Davey Hamilton 8 27 C1 11 7 3 7 23 2 13 2 237 5 Sam Schmidt 27 9 C1 30 3 2 22 5 5 1 22 233 6 Buddy Lazier 10 18 C1 7 14 5 21 2 4 11 10 224 7 Eddie Cheever 1 17 C1 18 16 4 6 21 11 17 4 222 8 Scott Sharp 4* 8 C1 28 10 8 1 22 22 4 19 220 9 Scott Goodyear 2 1* C1 27 1 12 16* 17 21 25 23* 217 10 Robby Unser 15 26 C1 8 6 6 2 12 9 16 14 209 11 Jeff Ward 3 2 C1 2 18 9 26 13 23 10 21 206 12 Billy Boat 9 4 C1 3 24 24 10 4 13 22 9 204 13 Buzz Calkins 17 14 C1 19 9 14 5 8 15 5 8 201 14 Scott Harrington 25 5 C1 DNQ DNS 19 15 6 6 14 6 165 15 Stéphane Grégoire 16 10 C1 DNQ 4 11 24 14 14 8 15 162 16 Robby McGehee C1 5 19 DNS 14 9 7 6 12 156 17 John Hollansworth, Jr. 19 15 C1 13 20 16 19 19 16 19 5 146 18 Jaques Lazier DNS DNQ 22 10 12 7 12 7 7 144 19 Tyce Carlson 12 23 C1 14 21 23 20 11 17 9 13 139 20 Eliseo Salazar DNQ 20 C1 33 5 20 4 18 19 12 17 137 21 Donnie Beechler 26 11 C1 29 17 22 8 10 20 18 11 130 22 Robbie Buhl 20 3 C1 6 3 24 114 23 Raul Boesel 5 19 C1 12 23 18 11 98 24 Jimmy Kite 24 25 15 9 16 8 86 25 Steve Knapp 7 25 DNQ 26 12 17 27 69 26 Ronnie Johncox DNQ 11 25 20 24 15 26 59 27 Johnny Unser C1 32 15 13 13 23 DNP 57 28 John Paul, Jr. 11 22 C1 DNQ 18 39 29 Roberto Moreno 6 C1 20 38 30 Roberto Guerrero 13 16 25 DNP 36 31 Robby Gordon 4 32 32 Andy Michner 18 13 C1 DNQ 29 33 Tony Stewart 9 22 34 Hideshi Matsuda 10 20 35 Stan Wattles 24 C1 17 DNP 19 36 Marco Greco 12 18 37 Brian Tyler 14 DNQ 16 38 Jeret Schroeder 15 15 39 Dr. Jack Miller 31 18 13 40 Bobby Regester 18 12 41 Arie Luyendyk 22 11 42 Doug Didero 20 10 43 Niclas Jönsson 24 DNS 9 44 Gualter Salles 23 7 45 Wim Eyckmans 23 7 46 Sarah Fisher 25 5 47 Willy T. Ribbs 26 4 48 Jason Leffler 28 2 - Mike Borkowski C1 DNQ 0 - Nick Firestone DNQ 0 - Mike Groff DNQ 0 - Jim Guthrie DNQ 0 - Vincenzo Sospiri DNQ 0 - Lyn St. James DNQ 0 - Dave Steele DNQ 0 - Troy Reiger DNP 0 Pos Driver WDW PHX CLT INDY TXS PIK ATL DOV PIK LSV TXS 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) Not competing In-line notation Bold Pole position (3 points) Italics Ran fastest race lap * Led most race laps (2 points) DNS Any driver who qualifies but does not start (DNS), earns all the points had they taken part. Rookie of the Year Rookie

¹ The 1999 VisionAire 500K at Charlotte was cancelled after 79 laps due to spectator fatalities.

• 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.

Additional points were awarded to the pole winner (3 points), the second best qualifier (2 points), the third best qualifier (1 point) and to the driver leading the most laps (2 point).

References

See also

• 1999 Indianapolis 500
• 1999 Indy Lights season
• 1999 CART season
• 1999 Toyota Atlantic Championship season
• http://champcarstats.com/year/1999i.htm
• http://media.indycar.com/pdf/2011/IICS_2011_Historical_Record_Book_INT6.pdf (p. 135-136)