1996–97 Indy Racing League

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Template:Short description Template:More citations needed Template:Use mdy dates

Template:American Championship Car season Template:Multiple image

The 1996–97 Indy Racing League was the second season contested by the Indy Racing League. Tony Stewart was the champion, while Arie Luyendyk won the Indianapolis 500. The lengthy season was a result of the league abandoning the concept of ending each season with the Indianapolis 500. 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 effective from January 1.

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 the summer of 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.[1] 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 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.[1] 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 (New Hampshire and Las Vegas) 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 and Dallara with a radical 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.

Confirmed entries

Team Chassis Engine Tires <templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />No.Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Driver(s) Round(s)
Template:Flagicon ABF Motorsports Lola T92/00 Buick G 96 Template:Flagicon Joe Gosek Template:Color box 1
Template:Flagicon Dave Steele Template:Color box 2
Template:Flagicon A. J. Foyt Enterprises Lola T95/00Template:Refn
DallaraTemplate:Refn
G-Force 		Ford-CosworthTemplate:Refn
Oldsmobile 		G 1 Template:Flagicon Scott SharpTemplate:Refn 1–5, 7
Template:Flagicon Johnny O'Connell 5
Template:Flagicon Paul Durant Template:Color boxTemplate:Refn 5
Template:Flagicon Billy Boat Template:Color box 6, 8–10
11 5
14 Template:Flagicon Davey Hamilton All
Template:Flagicon Arizona MotorsportsTemplate:Refn
Template:Flagicon Sinden Racing Services 		Lola T95/00 Ford-Cosworth G
FTemplate:Refn 		40 Template:Flagicon Marco GrecoTemplate:Refn 1–2
Dallara Oldsmobile
InfinitiTemplate:Refn 		Template:Flagicon Dr. Jack Miller Template:Color box 3–10
44 Template:Flagicon Steve Kinser Template:Color box 5
Template:Flagicon Allen May Template:Color box 6
Template:Flagicon Beck Motorsports Lola T94/00 Ford-Cosworth F 54 Template:Flagicon Robbie Buhl 1–2
Dallara Infiniti Template:Flagicon Dennis Vitolo 5
Template:Flagicon Blueprint Racing Lola T93/00Template:Refn
Dallara 		MenardTemplate:Refn
BuickTemplate:Refn
Oldsmobile 		F 16 Template:Flagicon Johnny Parsons 2
Template:Flagicon Sam Schmidt Template:Color box 4–6
27 Template:Flagicon Jim Guthrie Template:Color boxTemplate:Refn All
72 Template:Flagicon Claude BourbonnaisTemplate:Refn 5
Template:Flagicon Bradley Motorsports Reynard 95ITemplate:Refn
G-Force 		Ford-CosworthTemplate:Refn
Oldsmobile 		FTemplate:Refn
G 		12 Template:Flagicon Buzz CalkinsTemplate:Refn 1–7, 9–10
Template:Flagicon Byrd-Cunningham Racing Reynard 95ITemplate:Refn
G-Force 		Ford-CosworthTemplate:Refn
InfinitiTemplate:Refn
Oldsmobile 		F 10 Template:Flagicon Mike GroffTemplate:Refn 1–5, 8
Template:Flagicon Johnny Unser 6–7, 9
Template:Flagicon Paul Durant Template:Color box 10
Template:Flagicon Chastain Motorsports G-Force Oldsmobile G 77 Template:Flagicon Stéphan Grégoire 3–5, 7–10
Template:Flagicon Chitwood Motorsports Dallara Oldsmobile G 17 Template:Flagicon Danny Ongais 3
Template:Flagicon Affonso Giaffone Template:Color box 4–10
Template:Flagicon Della Penna Motorsports Reynard 95I Ford-Cosworth G 4 Template:Flagicon Richie Hearn 1–2
Template:Flagicon EuroInternational Dallara Oldsmobile F 50 Template:Flagicon Billy Roe Template:Color box 4–5
Template:Flagicon Galles Racing G-Force Oldsmobile G 4 Template:Flagicon Davy Jones 3
Template:Flagicon Jeff Ward Template:Color box 3
Template:Flagicon Kenny Bräck Template:Color box 4–10
70 Template:Flagicon Marco Greco 7–10
Template:Flagicon Hemelgarn Racing Reynard 95I Ford-CosworthTemplate:Refn
Infiniti
OldsmobileTemplate:Refn 		F 9 Template:Flagicon Brad Murphey Template:Color box 1–2
Reynard 95ITemplate:Refn
Dallara 		Template:Flagicon Johnny Unser 5, 10
90 Template:Flagicon Lyn St. James 5
91 Template:Flagicon Buddy Lazier All
Template:Flagicon ISM Racing Dallara Oldsmobile G 35 Template:Flagicon Jeff Ward Template:Color boxTemplate:Refn 10
Template:Flagicon IZ Racing Dallara Infiniti G 95 Template:Flagicon Tyce Carlson Template:Color box 10
Template:Flagicon Johansson Motorsports G-Force Infiniti F 36 Template:Flagicon Scott Harrington Template:Color box 5
Template:Flagicon Knapp Motorsports Dallara Oldsmobile F 97 Template:Flagicon Greg Ray Template:Color boxTemplate:Refn 5–8, 10
Template:Flagicon LP Racing Dallara Oldsmobile F 99 Template:Flagicon Sam Schmidt Template:Color box 8–10
Template:Flagicon McCormack Motorsports Lola T94/00 Ford-Cosworth G 30 Template:Flagicon Stan Wattles Template:Color box 1–2
G-Force Oldsmobile Template:Flagicon Jeret Schroeder Template:Color box 3–4
Template:Flagicon Robbie Groff Template:Color box 5–10
Template:Flagicon Metro Racing Systems Riley & Scott Oldsmobile G 19 Template:Flagicon Stan Wattles Template:Color box 10
Template:Flagicon Nienhouse Motorsports Riley & Scott Oldsmobile G 23 Template:Flagicon Mike Shank Template:Color box 10
Template:Flagicon Pagan Racing Reynard 95ITemplate:Refn
Reynard 94ITemplate:Refn
Dallara 		Ford-CosworthTemplate:Refn
InfinitiTemplate:Refn
Oldsmobile 		G 21 Template:Flagicon Roberto Guerrero All
Template:Flagicon PDM Racing Lola T93/00Template:Refn
Dallara
G-ForceTemplate:Refn 		MenardTemplate:Refn
Oldsmobile 		G 18 Template:Flagicon John Paul Jr. 1–5, 8–10
Template:Flagicon Tyce Carlson Template:Color box 5–6
Template:Flagicon Billy Boat Template:Color box 7
28 Template:Flagicon Tyce Carlson Template:Color box 1–2
Template:Flagicon Kelley Racing – PDM Template:Flagicon Mark Dismore 5–10
Template:Flagicon Project Indy Reynard 95I Ford-Cosworth G 64 Template:Flagicon Johnny Unser 1–2
Template:Flagicon Roe Racing Dallara Oldsmobile F 24 Template:Flagicon Billy Roe Template:Color box 10
Template:Flagicon Team Cheever Lola T95/00Template:Refn
G-Force 		MenardTemplate:Refn
Oldsmobile 		G 51 Template:Flagicon Eddie Cheever All
52 Template:Flagicon Jeff Ward Template:Color box 5
Template:Flagicon Team Menard Lola T95/00Template:Refn
G-Force 		MenardTemplate:Refn
Oldsmobile 		F 2 Template:Flagicon Tony Stewart All
3 Template:Flagicon Mark Dismore 1–2
Template:Flagicon Robbie BuhlTemplate:Refn 4–6, 9–10
Template:Flagicon Team SABCO G-Force Oldsmobile G 42 Template:Flagicon Robby Gordon 5
Template:Flagicon Team Scandia Lola T95/00Template:Refn
Reynard 95ITemplate:Refn
Lola T94/00Template:Refn
Dallara 		Ford-CosworthTemplate:Refn
Oldsmobile 		G 7 Template:Flagicon Eliseo SalazarTemplate:Refn 1–2, 5–10
8 Template:Flagicon Stéphan Grégoire 2
Template:Flagicon Vincenzo Sospiri Template:Color box 5–6
22 Template:Flagicon Stéphan Grégoire 1
Template:Flagicon Michel Jourdain Jr. 2
Template:Flagicon Marco Greco 3–6
Template:Flagicon Vincenzo Sospiri Template:Color box 7–10
33 Template:Flagicon Michele Alboreto 1–2
Template:Flagicon Fermín Vélez Template:Color boxTemplate:Refn 3–6
Template:Flagicon Jimmy Kite Template:Color box 7–10
34 Template:Flagicon Affonso Giaffone Template:Color box 2
Template:Flagicon Alessandro Zampedri 5–6
Template:Flagicon Tempero/Giuffre Racing Lola T93/00 Buick G 15 Template:Flagicon David Kudrave 1
Template:Flagicon Juan Carlos Carbonell Template:Color box 2
Template:Flagicon Treadway Racing Reynard 95ITemplate:Refn
Reynard 94ITemplate:Refn
G-Force 		Ford-CosworthTemplate:Refn
Oldsmobile 		F 5 Template:Flagicon Arie Luyendyk All
6 Template:Flagicon Johnny O'Connell 1–2
Template:Flagicon Scott Goodyear 3–10
Template:Flagicon Walker Racing Reynard 95I Ford-Cosworth G 50 Template:Flagicon Robby Gordon 2

Schedule

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

All races were run on oval speedways.[3]

File:TonyStewartIRL9697.jpg
Tony Stewart's championship car.

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, 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.[4]

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. 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 in 1983.

Results

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

Race summaries

True Value 200

The True Value 200 was held on August 18, 1996, at New Hampshire International Speedway. Richie Hearn qualified on the pole position.

Top 10 results

  1. 1 – Scott Sharp
  2. 12 – Buzz Calkins
  3. 33 – Michele Alboreto
  4. 10 – Mike Groff
  5. 14 – Davey Hamilton
  6. 21 – Roberto Guerrero
  7. 40 – Marco Greco
  8. 22 – Stéphan Grégoire
  9. 7 – Eliseo Salazar
  10. 18 – John Paul Jr.

Failed to qualify: 24-Randy Tolsma, 25-Jon Field, 64-Johnny Unser, 75-Johnny O'Connell and 96-Mike Orday

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

  1. 4 – Richie Hearn
  2. 22 – Michel Jourdain Jr.
  3. 10 – Mike Groff
  4. 21 – Roberto Guerrero
  5. 33 – Michele Alboreto
  6. 12 – Buzz Calkins
  7. 7 – Eliseo Salazar
  8. 54 – Robbie Buhl
  9. 40 – Marco Greco
  10. 34 – Affonso Giaffone

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, were switching to CART for 1997, 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 to leave just past the halfway point.
  • Johnny O'Connell 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' final IndyCar race. He had started IndyCar races since 1969. 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. Tony Stewart qualified on the pole position.

Top 10 results

  1. 51 – Eddie Cheever
  2. 10 – Mike Groff
  3. 6 – Scott Goodyear
  4. 1 – Scott Sharp
  5. 91 – Buddy Lazier
  6. 27 – Jim Guthrie
  7. 14 – Davey Hamilton
  8. 22 – Marco Greco
  9. 33 – Fermin Velez
  10. 2 – Tony Stewart (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.
  • 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 when a downpour ensued.
  • Danny Ongais' 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. Tony Stewart qualified on the pole position.

Top 10 results

  1. 27 – Jim Guthrie
  2. 2 – Tony Stewart
  3. 14 – Davey Hamilton
  4. 22 – Marco Greco
  5. 77 – Stéphan Grégoire
  6. 10 – Mike Groff
  7. 21 – Roberto Guerrero
  8. 12 – Buzz Calkins
  9. 18 – John Paul Jr.
  10. 16 – Sam Schmidt

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 Sam Schmidt 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 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 qualified on the pole position.

Top 10 results

  1. 5 – Arie Luyendyk
  2. 6 – Scott Goodyear
  3. 52 – Jeff Ward
  4. 91 – Buddy Lazier
  5. 2 – Tony Stewart
  6. 14 – Davey Hamilton
  7. 11 – Billy Boat
  8. 3 – Robbie Buhl
  9. 30 – Robbie Groff
  10. 33 – Fermin Velez

Failed to qualify: 1-Scott Sharp, 1-Johnny O'Connell, 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's cars finished 1st and 2nd, making it the first time since 1962 with Leader Card Racing 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 Johnny Unser were added to the rear of the field.
  • A crash during the pace lap on Monday caused all of row 5 (Stéphan Grégoire, Affonso Giaffone 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 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 Texas Motor Speedway. Tony Stewart qualified on the pole position.

Top 10 results

  1. 5 – Arie Luyendyk
  2. 1 – Billy Boat
  3. 14 – Davey Hamilton
  4. 6 – Scott Goodyear
  5. 2 – Tony Stewart
  6. 51 – Eddie Cheever
  7. 7 – Eliseo Salazar
  8. 97 – Greg Ray
  9. 8 – Vincenzo Sospiri
  10. 10 – Johnny Unser

Failed to qualify: 10-Mike Groff, 36-Scott Harrington, 50-Billy Roe, 77-Stéphan Grégoire 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 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 inaugural Samsonite 200 was held on June 29, 1997, at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Scott Sharp qualified on the pole position.

Top 10 results

  1. 2 – Tony Stewart
  2. 77 – Stéphan Grégoire
  3. 14 – Davey Hamilton
  4. 51 – Eddie Cheever
  5. 12 – Buzz Calkins
  6. 22 – Vincenzo Sospiri
  7. 6 – Scott Goodyear
  8. 91 – Buddy Lazier
  9. 17 – Affonso Giaffone
  10. 30 – Robbie Groff

Failed to qualify: 3-Robbie Buhl 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 Charlotte Motor Speedway. Tony Stewart qualified on the pole position.

Top 10 results

  1. 91 – Buddy Lazier
  2. 1 – Billy Boat
  3. 6 – Scott Goodyear
  4. 17 – Affonso Giaffone
  5. 4 – Kenny Bräck
  6. 51 – Eddie Cheever
  7. 2 – Tony Stewart
  8. 77 – Stéphan Grégoire
  9. 70 – Marco Greco
  10. 7 – Eliseo Salazar

Pennzoil 200

The Pennzoil 200 was held August 17, 1997, at New Hampshire International Speedway. Marco Greco qualified on the pole position.

Top 10 results

  1. 3 – Robbie Buhl
  2. 22 – Vincenzo Sospiri
  3. 5 – Arie Luyendyk
  4. 7 – Eliseo Salazar
  5. 4 – Kenny Bräck
  6. 21 – Roberto Guerrero
  7. 18 – John Paul Jr.
  8. 1 – Billy Boat
  9. 51 – Eddie Cheever
  10. 30 – Robbie Groff

Failed to qualify: 10-Mike Groff and 97-Greg Ray

  • 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, Tony Stewart 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

  1. 7 – Eliseo Salazar
  2. 6 – Scott Goodyear
  3. 3 – Robbie Buhl
  4. 27 – Jim Guthrie
  5. 28 – Mark Dismore
  6. 33 – Jimmy Kite
  7. 14 – Davey Hamilton
  8. 19 – Stan Wattles
  9. 77 – Stéphan Grégoire
  10. 70 – Marco Greco
  • This was Salazar's first and only IndyCar win.
  • Tony Stewart won the championship by six points over Hamilton by virtue of finishing 11th to Hamilton's 7th.
  • On lap 201, Roberto Guerrero 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

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Pos Driver NHS1
 LVS1
 WDW
 PHX
 INDY
 TMS
 PPR
 CHA
 NHS2
 LVS2
 Pts
1 Template:Flagicon Tony Stewart 12* 21 10* 2* 5* 5* 1* 7* 14 11 278
2 Template:Flagicon Davey Hamilton 5 11 7 3 6 3 3 16 17 7 272
3 Template:Flagicon Eddie Cheever 15 25 1 12 23 6 4 6 9* 21 230
3 Template:Flagicon Marco Greco 7 9 8 4 16 26 13 9 20 10 230
5 Template:Flagicon Scott Goodyear 3 17 2 4 7 3 16 2 226
6 Template:Flagicon Arie Luyendyk 13 20 12 22 1 1 15 21 3 25 223
7 Template:Flagicon Roberto Guerrero 6 4 17 7 27 13 18 17 6 14 221
8 Template:Flagicon Buddy Lazier 19 24 5 21 4 17 8 1 12 31 209
9 Template:Flagicon Eliseo Salazar 9 7 24 7 12 10 4 1* 208
10 Template:Flagicon Buzz Calkins 2 6 11 8 11 19 5 21 28 204
11 Template:Flagicon Stéphan Grégoire 8 26 19 5 31 2 8 15 9 192
12 Template:Flagicon Jim Guthrie Template:Color box 23 13 6 1 26 21 Wth 12 24 4 186
13 Template:Flagicon Robbie Buhl 22 8 18 8 16 1 3 170
14 Template:Flagicon Mike Groff 4 3 2 6 12 Wth 14 Wth 169
15 Template:Flagicon John Paul Jr. 10 15 18 9 Wth 11 7 12 163
16 Template:Flagicon Affonso Giaffone Template:Color box 10 13 32 20 9 4 18 15 159
17 Template:Flagicon Mark Dismore 20 17 28 11 11 19 11 5 158
18 Template:Flagicon Billy Boat Template:Color box 7 2 19 2 8 23 151
19 Template:Flagicon Kenny Bräck Template:Color box 11 33 18 14 5 5 20 139
20 Template:Flagicon Robbie Groff Template:Color box 9 15 10 13 10 18 135
21 Template:Flagicon Vincenzo Sospiri Template:Color box 17 9 6 20 2 22 134
22 Template:Flagicon Scott Sharp 1 16 4 16 Wth 22 119
23 Template:Flagicon Dr. Jack Miller Template:Color box 15 20 20 24 16 23 19 29 114
24 Template:Flagicon Johnny Unser Wth 22 18 10 21 13 19 107
25 Template:Flagicon Tyce Carlson Template:Color box 11 23 19 14 24 84
26 Template:Flagicon Fermín Vélez Template:Color box 9 14 10 25 82
27 Template:Flagicon Jimmy Kite Template:Color box 20 15 23 6 76
27 Template:Flagicon Sam Schmidt Template:Color box 10 34 23 18 22 27 76
29 Template:Flagicon Greg Ray Template:Color box 25 8 17 22 30 73
30 Template:Flagicon Jeff Ward Template:Color box 16 3 17 69
31 Template:Flagicon Stan Wattles Template:Color box 16 18 8 63
32 Template:Flagicon Michele Alboreto 3 5 62
33 Template:Flagicon Richie Hearn 14 1* 59
34 Template:Flagicon Billy Roe Template:Color box 15 22 13 55
35 Template:Flagicon Jeret Schroeder Template:Color box 14 19 37
36 Template:Flagicon Michel Jourdain Jr. 2 33
37 Template:Flagicon Robby Gordon 14 29 27
38 Template:Flagicon Brad Murphey Template:Color box 18 27 25
39 Template:Flagicon Alessandro Zampedri 35 12 24
40 Template:Flagicon Johnny O'Connell 12 Wth 23
40 Template:Flagicon Paul Durant Template:Color box 21 26 23
42 Template:Flagicon Danny Ongais 13 22
42 Template:Flagicon Lyn St. James 13 22
44 Template:Flagicon Steve Kinser Template:Color box 14 21
45 Template:Flagicon Dennis Vitolo 15 20
46 Template:Flagicon Mike Shank Template:Color box 16 19
47 Template:Flagicon David Kudrave 17 18
48 Template:Flagicon Juan Carlos Carbonell Template:Color box 19 16
49 Template:Flagicon Joe Gosek Template:Color box 21 14
50 Template:Flagicon Allen May Template:Color box 22 13
51 Template:Flagicon Johnny Parsons 28 7
52 Template:Flagicon Claude Bourbonnais 30 5
– Template:Flagicon Dave Steele Template:Color box Wth 0
– Template:Flagicon Scott Harrington Template:Color box DNQ 0
– Template:Flagicon Davy Jones Wth 0
Pos Driver NHS1
 LVS1
 WDW
 PHX
 INDY
 TMS
 PPR
 CHA
 NHS2
 LVS2
 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
(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.
Template:Color box Rookie of the Year
Template:Color box Rookie
  • 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.

See also

Footnotes

Template:Reflist

References

Template:Reflist

Template:American Championship Car seasons Template:Indy Racing League Seasons Template:IndyCar Series on ABC

  1. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".Template:Open access
  2. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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