2000 Indy Racing League

Template:American Championship Car season The 2000 Indy Racing Northern Light Series was the fifth season of the Indy Racing League. The season consisted of nine races, all on oval circuits. The showcase event of the season was the 84th running of the Indianapolis 500.

The season saw a high level of parity, as only one driver, champion Buddy Lazier, won more than a single race. It also saw the beginning of the jump from CART as Al Unser Jr. moved to the series full-time and Chip Ganassi Racing came over to run the Indianapolis 500, which it won with driver Juan Pablo Montoya. It was also the final season for the Riley & Scott chassis, which also saw its first series win in 2000.

A planned race at Cleveland – which would have been the Indy Racing League's first road course event – was cancelled on September 9, 1999, and reverted to a CART event.

Confirmed entries

The 5 year tire war between Goodyear and Firestone in both CART and the IRL ended after Goodyear left both series as a tire supplier in 1999. This meant from this season onward all teams used Firestone tires.

	Chassis	Engine	No.	Drivers	Rounds
Template:Flagicon Team Menard	Dallara	Oldsmobile	1	Template:Flagicon Greg Ray	All
			32	Template:Flagicon Robby Gordon	4
Template:Flagicon Galles Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	3	Template:Flagicon Al Unser Jr.	All
Template:Flagicon Panther Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	4	Template:Flagicon Scott Goodyear	All
Template:Flagicon Treadway Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	5	Template:Flagicon Robby McGehee	All
			50	Template:Flagicon Jason Leffler  R	4
			55		3
				Template:Flagicon Raul Boesel	4
				Template:Flagicon Shigeaki Hattori  R	5–9
Template:Flagicon Tri Star Motorsports	Dallara	Oldsmobile	6	Template:Flagicon Jeret Schroeder  R	All
			9	Template:Flagicon Robby Unser	1
			21	Template:Flagicon Dr. Jack Miller	3–4
				Template:Flagicon Zak Morioka  R	9
Template:Flagicon Dick Simon Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	7	Template:Flagicon Stéphan Grégoire	All
			90	Template:Flagicon Lyn St. James	4
Template:Flagicon Kelley Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	8	Template:Flagicon Scott Sharp	All
			28	Template:Flagicon Mark Dismore	All
Template:Flagicon Target Chip Ganassi Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	9	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya  R	4
			10	Template:Flagicon Jimmy Vasser	4
Template:Flagicon A. J. Foyt Enterprises	G-Force	Oldsmobile	11	Template:Flagicon Eliseo Salazar	All
			14	Template:Flagicon Jeff Ward	All
			41	Template:Flagicon Billy Boat	4
Template:Flagicon Bradley Motorsports	Dallara	Oldsmobile	12	Template:Flagicon Buzz Calkins	All
Template:Flagicon Walker Racing	Riley & Scott	Oldsmobile	15	Template:Flagicon Sarah Fisher  R	2–3
	Dallara				4–9
Template:Flagicon Team Xtreme	G-Force	Oldsmobile	16	Template:Flagicon John Hollansworth Jr.	1
				Template:Flagicon Davey Hamilton	2–8
				Template:Flagicon Jaques Lazier	9
			88	Template:Flagicon Airton Daré  R	All
Template:Flagicon Nienhouse Motorsports	G-Force	Oldsmobile	17	Template:Flagicon Niclas Jönsson  R	2
				Template:Flagicon Scott Harrington	3–4
Template:Flagicon PDM Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	18	Template:Flagicon Sam Hornish Jr.  R	1–6, 8–9
Template:Flagicon Logan Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	19	Template:Flagicon Billy Roe	5–6
				Template:Flagicon Stevie Reeves  R	7–9
Template:Flagicon Hubbard-Immke Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	20	Template:Flagicon Tyce Carlson	1–3, 5–9
				Template:Flagicon Roberto Guerrero	4
Template:Flagicon Indy Regency Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	22	Template:Flagicon Johnny Unser	4
Template:Flagicon Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	G-Force	Infiniti	23	Template:Flagicon Steve Knapp	4
			24	Template:Flagicon Robbie Buhl	1–3
		Oldsmobile			4–9
Template:Flagicon Blueprint Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	27	Template:Flagicon Niclas Jönsson  R	1
				Template:Flagicon Jimmy Kite	2–9
Template:Flagicon Byrd-McCormack Racing	Riley & Scott	Oldsmobile	29	Template:Flagicon Robby Unser	4
			30		5–6
	G-Force			Template:Flagicon Jon Herb  R	1
				Template:Flagicon Ronnie Johncox	2–3
	Riley & Scott				4
				Template:Flagicon J. J. Yeley	7–9
Template:Flagicon Truscelli Team Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	33	Template:Flagicon Jaques Lazier	1, 3–6
				Template:Flagicon Bobby Regester  R	2
Template:Flagicon Team Coulson Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	40	Template:Flagicon Davy Jones	4
				Template:Flagicon Roberto Guerrero	8
Template:Flagicon Mid America Motorsports	Dallara	Oldsmobile	43	Template:Flagicon Doug Didero  R	1–6
				Template:Flagicon Scott Harrington	7
				Template:Flagicon Jaques Lazier	8
				Template:Flagicon Davey Hamilton	9
Template:Flagicon Sinden Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	44	Template:Flagicon Davey Hamilton	1
Template:Flagicon Fast Track Racing Enterprises	Dallara	Oldsmobile	48	Template:Flagicon Andy Hillenburg  R	4
				Template:Flagicon Dan Drinan  R	4
Template:Flagicon Team Cheever	Riley & Scott	Infiniti	51	Template:Flagicon Eddie Cheever	1–2
	Dallara				3–9
			52	Template:Flagicon Ross Cheever	4
Template:Flagicon Pagan Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	75	Template:Flagicon Richie Hearn	4
Template:Flagicon Team Pelfrey	Dallara	Oldsmobile	81	Template:Flagicon Billy Boat	1–3, 5–9
			82	Template:Flagicon Memo Gidley	4
Template:Flagicon Hemelgarn Racing	Riley & Scott	Oldsmobile	91	Template:Flagicon Buddy Lazier	1–3
	Dallara				4–9
			92	Template:Flagicon Stan Wattles	4
Template:Flagicon Cahill Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	98	Template:Flagicon Donnie Beechler	All

Schedule

Rnd	Date	Race Name	Track	City
1	January 29	Delphi Indy 200	Walt Disney World Speedway	Bay Lake, Florida
2	March 19	MCI WorldCom Indy 200	Phoenix International Raceway	Phoenix, Arizona
3	April 22	Vegas Indy 300	Las Vegas Motor Speedway	Las Vegas, Nevada
4	May 28	84th Indianapolis 500	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana
5	June 11	Casino Magic 500	Texas Motor Speedway	Fort Worth, Texas
6	June 18	Radisson 200	Pikes Peak International Raceway	Fountain, Colorado
7	July 15	Midas 500 Classic	Atlanta Motor Speedway	Hampton, Georgia
8	August 27	Belterra Resort Indy 300	Kentucky Speedway	Sparta, Kentucky
9	October 15	Excite 500	Texas Motor Speedway	Fort Worth, Texas
Sources:

Results

Rd.	Race	Pole position	Fastest lap	Most laps led	Race winner
					Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine
1	Walt Disney World	Template:Flagicon Greg Ray	Template:Flagicon Mark Dismore	Template:Flagicon Robbie Buhl	Template:Flagicon Robbie Buhl	Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile
2	Phoenix	Template:Flagicon Greg Ray	Template:Flagicon Tyce Carlson	Template:Flagicon Scott Sharp	Template:Flagicon Buddy Lazier	Hemelgarn Racing	Riley & Scott	Oldsmobile
3	Las Vegas	Template:Flagicon Mark Dismore	Template:Flagicon Mark Dismore	Template:Flagicon Mark Dismore	Template:Flagicon Al Unser Jr.	Galles Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile
4	Indianapolis	Template:Flagicon Greg Ray	Template:Flagicon Buddy Lazier	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya	Chip Ganassi Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile
5	Texas 1	Template:Flagicon Buddy Lazier	Template:Flagicon Eddie Cheever	Template:Flagicon Al Unser Jr.	Template:Flagicon Scott Sharp	Kelley Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile
6	Pikes Peak	Template:Flagicon Greg Ray	Template:Flagicon Buzz Calkins	Template:Flagicon Scott Sharp	Template:Flagicon Eddie Cheever	Team Cheever	Dallara	Infiniti
7	Atlanta	Template:Flagicon Greg Ray	Template:Flagicon Donnie Beechler	Template:Flagicon Greg Ray	Template:Flagicon Greg Ray	Team Menard	Dallara	Oldsmobile
8	Kentucky	Template:Flagicon Scott Goodyear	Template:Flagicon Buddy Lazier	Template:Flagicon Scott Goodyear	Template:Flagicon Buddy Lazier	Hemelgarn Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile
9	Texas 2	Template:Flagicon Greg Ray	Template:Flagicon Jaques Lazier	Template:Flagicon Al Unser Jr.	Template:Flagicon Scott Goodyear	Panther Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile

Note: All races running on Oval/Speedway.

Race summaries

Delphi Indy 200

The final Delphi Indy 200 race was held January 29 at Walt Disney World Speedway. Greg Ray won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 24- Robbie Buhl
2. 91- Buddy Lazier
3. 51- Eddie Cheever
4. 4- Scott Goodyear
5. 11- Eliseo Salazar
6. 98- Donnie Beechler
7. 14- Jeff Ward
8. 12- Buzz Calkins
9. 81- Billy Boat
10. 55- Robby McGehee

• This was Robbie Buhl's 2nd and final IndyCar victory.
• This was the final Indy Racing League event at the track.

MCI WorldCom Indy 200

This race was held March 19 at Phoenix International Raceway. Greg Ray won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 91- Buddy Lazier
2. 4- Scott Goodyear
3. 98- Donnie Beechler
4. 11- Eliseo Salazar
5. 8- Scott Sharp
6. 81- Billy Boat
7. 24- Robbie Buhl
8. 7- Stephan Gregoire
9. 3- Al Unser Jr.
10. 51- Eddie Cheever

• This was the first victory for the Riley & Scott chassis

Vegas Indy 300

This race was held April 22 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mark Dismore won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 3- Al Unser Jr.
2. 28- Mark Dismore
3. 18- Sam Hornish Jr.  R 
4. 6- Jeret Schroeder  R 
5. 24- Robbie Buhl
6. 5- Robby McGehee
7. 81- Billy Boat
8. 20- Tyce Carlson
9. 1- Greg Ray
10. 33- Jaques Lazier

• This was Al Unser Jr.'s 1st victory since the 1995 CART Molson Indy Vancouver and his 1st IRL victory.

84th Indianapolis 500

The Indy 500 was held May 28 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Greg Ray sat on pole.

Top ten results

1. 9- Juan Pablo Montoya  R 
2. 91- Buddy Lazier
3. 11- Eliseo Salazar
4. 14- Jeff Ward
5. 51- Eddie Cheever
6. 32- Robby Gordon
7. 10- Jimmy Vasser
8. 7- Stephan Gregoire
9. 4- Scott Goodyear
10. 8- Scott Sharp

• Juan Pablo Montoya was the 1st rookie since Graham Hill (1966) to win the Indianapolis 500 as a rookie.
• Buddy Lazier took over the points lead after this race by 26 points over Robbie Buhl.

Casino Magic 500

This race was held June 11 at Texas Motor Speedway. Qualifying was rained out and Buddy Lazier was on the pole based on points standings.

Top ten results

1. 8- Scott Sharp
2. 5- Robby McGehee
3. 3- Al Unser Jr.
4. 12- Buzz Calkins
5. 4- Scott Goodyear
6. 28- Mark Dismore
7. 91- Buddy Lazier
8. 55- Shigeaki Hattori  R 
9. 51- Eddie Cheever
10. 88- Airton Daré  R 

• This was Robby McGehee's best ever finish.
• Shigeaki Hattori debuts after a disappointing 1999 CART season which ended after his CART competition license was revoked at Laguna Seca.

Radisson 200

This race was held June 18 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Greg Ray won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 51- Eddie Cheever
2. 88- Airton Daré  R 
3. 8- Scott Sharp
4. 28- Mark Dismore
5. 98- Donnie Beechler
6. 11- Eliseo Salazar
7. 6- Jeret Schroeder  R 
8. 7- Stephan Gregoire
9. 33- Jaques Lazier
10. 3- Al Unser Jr.

• This was the Infiniti engine's 1st victory.
• This was Cheevers penultimate IndyCar victory.

Midas 500 Classic

This race was held July 15 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Greg Ray won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 1- Greg Ray
2. 91- Buddy Lazier
3. 3- Al Unser Jr.
4. 5- Robby McGehee
5. 98- Donnie Beechler
6. 24- Robbie Buhl
7. 7- Stephan Gregoire
8. 81- Billy Boat
9. 55- Shigeaki Hattori  R 
10. 11- Eliseo Salazar

Belterra Resort Indy 300

The inaugural Indy Racing League event was held August 27 at Kentucky Speedway. Scott Goodyear won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 91- Buddy Lazier
2. 4- Scott Goodyear
3. 15- Sarah Fisher  R 
4. 51- Eddie Cheever
5. 7- Stephan Gregoire
6. 14- Jeff Ward
7. 1- Greg Ray
8. 55- Shigeaki Hattori  R 
9. 18- Sam Hornish Jr.  R 
10. 98- Donnie Beechler

• This was Roberto Guerrero's final IndyCar race he qualified for. He would blow an engine after completing 48 laps and would finish 23rd.
• Sarah Fisher becomes the first woman to lead laps and finish on the Podium in an IRL race.

Excite 500

This race was held October 15 at Texas Motor Speedway. Greg Ray won the pole.

Top ten results

1. 4- Scott Goodyear
2. 51- Eddie Cheever
3. 81- Billy Boat
4. 91- Buddy Lazier
5. 11- Eliseo Salazar
6. 98- Donnie Beechler
7. 55- Shigeaki Hattori  R 
8. 14- Jeff Ward
9. 12- Buzz Calkins
10. 16- Jaques Lazier

• This was the final race victory for Scott Goodyear as he lost his ride to Sam Hornish Jr. in the off-season, then during the 2001 Indianapolis 500 he would suffer career ending injuries after a huge accident during that race.

Points standings

Pos Driver WDW PHX LVS INDY TMS1 PPR ATL KTY TMS2 Pts 1 Template:Flagicon Buddy Lazier 2 1 22 2 7 26 2 1 4 290 2 Template:Flagicon Scott Goodyear 4 2 12 9 5 16 11 2* 1 272 3 Template:Flagicon Eddie Cheever 3 10 11 5 9 1 21 4 2 257 4 Template:Flagicon Eliseo Salazar 5 4 18 3 17 6 10 25 5 210 5 Template:Flagicon Mark Dismore 16 16 2* 11 6 4 18 11 14 202 6 Template:Flagicon Donnie Beechler 6 3 26 12 22 5 5 10 6 202 7 Template:Flagicon Scott Sharp 15 5* 27 10 1 3* 16 24 13 196 8 Template:Flagicon Robbie Buhl 1* 7 5 26 18 23 6 13 18 190 9 Template:Flagicon Al Unser Jr. 25 9 1 29 3* 10 3 27 17* 188 10 Template:Flagicon Billy Boat 9 6 7 15 23 18 8 18 3 181 11 Template:Flagicon Jeff Ward 7 11 21 4 19 15 19 6 8 176 12 Template:Flagicon Robby McGehee 10 24 6 21 2 13 4 14 24 174 13 Template:Flagicon Greg Ray 17 19 9 33 15 20 1* 7 26 172 14 Template:Flagicon Stéphan Grégoire 18 8 28 8 11 8 7 5 20 171 15 Template:Flagicon Buzz Calkins 8 23 25 18 4 12 23 12 9 145 16 Template:Flagicon Airton Daré  RY  11 22 14 25 10 2 25 19 12 142 17 Template:Flagicon Jeret Schroeder  R  19 12 4 14 21 7 24 26 16 136 18 Template:Flagicon Sarah Fisher  R  13 17 31 12 25 14 3 11 124 19 Template:Flagicon Tyce Carlson 13 15 8 Wth 13 11 13 22 23 124 20 Template:Flagicon Jaques Lazier 23 10 13 14 9 20 10 112 21 Template:Flagicon Sam Hornish Jr.  R  20 17 3 24 20 19 9 27 110 22 Template:Flagicon Shigeaki Hattori  R  8 17 9 8 7 109 23 Template:Flagicon Davey Hamilton 26 18 20 20 24 14 15 16 19 98 24 Template:Flagicon Jimmy Kite 26 16 30 16 24 12 17 21 79 25 Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya 1* 54 26 Template:Flagicon Doug Didero  R  14 25 19 DNQ 27 22 43 27 Template:Flagicon Ronnie Johncox 14 13 Wth 33 28 Template:Flagicon J. J. Yeley 17 15 25 33 29 Template:Flagicon Robby Gordon 6 28 30 Template:Flagicon Jason Leffler  R  15 17 28 31 Template:Flagicon Niclas Jönsson  R  12 21 27 32 Template:Flagicon Jimmy Vasser 7 26 33 Template:Flagicon Stevie Reeves  R  22 21 22 25 34 Template:Flagicon Robby Unser 24 DNQ 26 21 19 35 Template:Flagicon Scott Harrington 23 DNQ 20 17 36 Template:Flagicon Zak Morioka  R  15 15 37 Template:Flagicon Raul Boesel 16 14 38 Template:Flagicon Steve Knapp 19 11 39 Template:Flagicon Bobby Regester  R  20 10 40 Template:Flagicon John Hollansworth Jr. 21 9 41 Template:Flagicon Jon Herb  R  22 8 42 Template:Flagicon Johnny Unser 22 8 43 Template:Flagicon Stan Wattles 23 7 44 Template:Flagicon Roberto Guerrero DNQ 23 7 45 Template:Flagicon Dr. Jack Miller 24 DNQ 6 46 Template:Flagicon Billy Roe 25 5 47 Template:Flagicon Richie Hearn 27 3 48 Template:Flagicon Andy Hillenburg  R  28 2 49 Template:Flagicon Lyn St. James 32 1 – Template:Flagicon Dan Drinan DNQ 0 – Template:Flagicon Memo Gidley DNQ 0 – Template:Flagicon Davy Jones DNQ 0 – Template:Flagicon Ross Cheever Wth 0 – Template:Flagicon Hideshi Matsuda Wth 0 Pos Driver WDW PHX LVS INDY TMS1 PPR ATL KTY TMS2 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.  RY  Rookie of the Year  R  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.

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).

See also

• 2000 Indianapolis 500
• 2000 Indy Lights season
• 2000 CART season
• 2000 Toyota Atlantic Championship season
• https://web.archive.org/web/20160304065043/http://www.champcarstats.com/year/2000i.htm
• http://media.indycar.com/pdf/2011/IICS_2011_Historical_Record_Book_INT6.pdf (p. 130–131)