1996–1997_Indy_Racing_League_season

1996–97 Indy Racing League season
1996–97 Indy Racing League season
Indy Racing League
	1996–97 Indy Racing League
Season
Races	10
Start date	August 18, 1996
End date	October 11, 1997
Awards
Drivers' champion	Tony Stewart
Manufacturers' Cup	Oldsmobile
Rookie of the Year	Jim Guthrie
Indianapolis 500 winner	Arie Luyendyk
	← 1996 1998 →

1996–97 Indy Racing League

Sports season

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.

Quick Facts Season, Races ...

Tony Stewart (left) won his first and only Drivers' Championship while Davey Hamilton (right) finished second in the championship.

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.

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[IRL1996-2] [N 1]
Used in the 1996 races.

[Foyt-3] [N 2]
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.

[Sharp-4] [N 3]
Injured in a practice crash at Indianapolis and at Pikes Peak.

[IndyRookie-5] [N 4]
Not considered rookie for Indy 500.

[Arizona-6] [N 5]
Official name of the team for the #40 entry for sponsorship reasons.

[Miller-7] [N 6]
Used by Dr. Jack Miller.

[GrecoArizona-8] [N 7]
Run in conjunction with Team Scandia.

[Miller2-9] [N 8]
Used by Dr. Jack Miller from Indianapolis onwards.

[NH1-10] [N 9]
Used at New Hampshire 1.

[LV1-11] [N 10]
Used at Las Vegas 1.

[IndyNotRookie-12] [N 11]
Considered rookie only for the Indy 500.

[Calkins-13] [N 12]
Injured in a testing crash at New Hampshire.

[Byrd-14] [N 13]
Used from Walt Disney World to Pikes Peak.

[Groff-15] [N 14]
Injured in practice crashes at Texas and New Hampshire 2.

[Lazier-16] [N 15]
Used by Buddy Lazier from Indianapolis onwards.

[ISM-17] [N 16]
Run in conjunction with Sinden Racing Services.

[Ray-18] [N 17]
31 at Charlotte because of a technical/sponsorship deal with Richard Childress Racing.

[18] 31 at Charlotte because of a technical/sponsorship deal with Richard Childress Racing.

[Pagan-19] [N 18]
Used from Walt Disney World to Texas.

[PDM-20] [N 19]
Used at Las Vegas 2 by John Paul Jr.

[Buhl-21] [N 20]
Injured in a testing crash prior to Pikes Peak.

[Alboreto-22] [N 21]
Used by Michele Alboreto.

[Giaffone-23] [N 22]
Used by Affonso Giaffone.

[Salazar-24] [N 23]
Injured in a testing crash at Walt Disney World.

[O'Connell-25] [N 24]
Used by Johnny O'Connell.

[26] 31 at Charlotte because of a technical/sponsorship deal with Richard Childress Racing.

[Star10-10-1996pg34-1] [1]
"IRL season will go with the calendar". The Indianapolis Star. October 10, 1996. p. 34. Retrieved July 3, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.

[26] [2]
"NTT IndyCar Series Calendar 1997". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved November 17, 2023.

[1997IRLCalendar-27] [3]
"1996-97 Schedule & Ticket Information". Indy Racing League. Archived from the original on February 16, 1997. Retrieved November 17, 2023.

[Entry_List-28] [4]
"Seasons to change to calendar years". Motorsport.com. 1996-10-09. Archived from the original on 2017-12-29. Retrieved 2017-12-29.

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Team	Chassis	Engine	Tires	No.	Driver(s)	Round(s)
ABF Motorsports	Lola T92/00	Buick	G	96	Joe Gosek R	1
ABF Motorsports	Lola T92/00	Buick	G	96	Dave Steele R	2
A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Lola T95/00^{[N 1]} Dallara^{[N 2]} G-Force	Ford-Cosworth^{[N 1]} Oldsmobile	G	1	Scott Sharp^{[N 3]}	1–5, 7
					Johnny O'Connell	5
					Paul Durant R ^{[N 4]}	5
					Billy Boat R	6, 8–10
				11	Billy Boat R	5
				14	Davey Hamilton	All
Arizona Motorsports^{[N 5]} Sinden Racing Services	Lola T95/00	Ford-Cosworth	G F^{[N 6]}	40	Marco Greco^{[N 7]}	1–2
	Dallara	Oldsmobile Infiniti^{[N 8]}		40	Dr. Jack Miller R	3–10
				44	Steve Kinser R	5
				44	Allen May R	6
Beck Motorsports	Lola T94/00	Ford-Cosworth	F	54	Robbie Buhl	1–2
Beck Motorsports	Dallara	Infiniti	F	54	Dennis Vitolo	5
Blueprint Racing	Lola T93/00^{[N 1]} Dallara	Menard^{[N 9]} Buick^{[N 10]} Oldsmobile	F	16	Johnny Parsons	2
				16	Sam Schmidt R	4–6
				27	Jim Guthrie R ^{[N 4]}	All
				72	Claude Bourbonnais^{[N 11]}	5
Bradley Motorsports	Reynard 95I^{[N 1]} G-Force	Ford-Cosworth^{[N 1]} Oldsmobile	F^{[N 1]} G	12	Buzz Calkins^{[N 12]}	1–7, 9–10
Byrd-Cunningham Racing	Reynard 95I^{[N 1]} G-Force	Ford-Cosworth^{[N 1]} Infiniti^{[N 13]} Oldsmobile	F	10	Mike Groff^{[N 14]}	1–5, 8
					Johnny Unser	6–7, 9
					Paul Durant R	10
Chastain Motorsports	G-Force	Oldsmobile	G	77	Stéphan Grégoire	3–5, 7–10
Chitwood Motorsports	Dallara	Oldsmobile	G	17	Danny Ongais	3
Chitwood Motorsports	Dallara	Oldsmobile	G	17	Affonso Giaffone R	4–10
Della Penna Motorsports	Reynard 95I	Ford-Cosworth	G	4	Richie Hearn	1–2
EuroInternational	Dallara	Oldsmobile	F	50	Billy Roe R	4–5
Galles Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	G	4	Davy Jones	3
					Jeff Ward R	3
					Kenny Bräck R	4–10
				70	Marco Greco	7–10
Hemelgarn Racing	Reynard 95I	Ford-Cosworth^{[N 1]} Infiniti Oldsmobile^{[N 15]}	F	9	Brad Murphey R	1–2
	Reynard 95I^{[N 1]} Dallara			9	Johnny Unser	5, 10
				90	Lyn St. James	5
				91	Buddy Lazier	All
ISM Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	G	35	Jeff Ward R ^{[N 16]}	10
IZ Racing	Dallara	Infiniti	G	95	Tyce Carlson R	10
Johansson Motorsports	G-Force	Infiniti	F	36	Scott Harrington R	5
Knapp Motorsports	Dallara	Oldsmobile	F	97	Greg Ray R ^{[N 17]}	5–8, 10
LP Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	F	99	Sam Schmidt R	8–10
McCormack Motorsports	Lola T94/00	Ford-Cosworth	G	30	Stan Wattles R	1–2
	G-Force	Oldsmobile			Jeret Schroeder R	3–4
	G-Force	Oldsmobile			Robbie Groff R	5–10
Metro Racing Systems	Riley & Scott	Oldsmobile	G	19	Stan Wattles R	10
Nienhouse Motorsports	Riley & Scott	Oldsmobile	G	23	Mike Shank R	10
Pagan Racing	Reynard 95I^{[N 9]} Reynard 94I^{[N 10]} Dallara	Ford-Cosworth^{[N 1]} Infiniti^{[N 18]} Oldsmobile	G	21	Roberto Guerrero	All
PDM Racing	Lola T93/00^{[N 1]} Dallara G-Force^{[N 19]}	Menard^{[N 1]} Oldsmobile	G	18	John Paul Jr.	1–5, 8–10
					Tyce Carlson R	5–6
					Billy Boat R	7
				28	Tyce Carlson R	1–2
Kelley Racing – PDM				28	Mark Dismore	5–10
Project Indy	Reynard 95I	Ford-Cosworth	G	64	Johnny Unser	1–2
Roe Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	F	24	Billy Roe R	10
Team Cheever	Lola T95/00^{[N 1]} G-Force	Menard^{[N 1]} Oldsmobile	G	51	Eddie Cheever	All
Team Cheever	Lola T95/00^{[N 1]} G-Force	Menard^{[N 1]} Oldsmobile	G	52	Jeff Ward R	5
Team Menard	Lola T95/00^{[N 1]} G-Force	Menard^{[N 1]} Oldsmobile	F	2	Tony Stewart	All
				3	Mark Dismore	1–2
				3	Robbie Buhl^{[N 20]}	4–6, 9–10
Team SABCO	G-Force	Oldsmobile	G	42	Robby Gordon	5
Team Scandia	Lola T95/00^{[N 1]} Reynard 95I^{[N 21]} Lola T94/00^{[N 22]} Dallara	Ford-Cosworth^{[N 1]} Oldsmobile	G	7	Eliseo Salazar^{[N 23]}	1–2, 5–10
				8	Stéphan Grégoire	2
				8	Vincenzo Sospiri R	5–6
				22	Stéphan Grégoire	1
					Michel Jourdain Jr.	2
					Marco Greco	3–6
					Vincenzo Sospiri R	7–10
				33	Michele Alboreto	1–2
					Fermín Vélez R ^{[N 4]}	3–6
					Jimmy Kite R	7–10
				34	Affonso Giaffone R	2
				34	Alessandro Zampedri	5–6
Tempero/Giuffre Racing	Lola T93/00	Buick	G	15	David Kudrave	1
Tempero/Giuffre Racing	Lola T93/00	Buick	G	15	Juan Carlos Carbonell R	2
Treadway Racing	Reynard 95I^{[N 1]} Reynard 94I^{[N 24]} G-Force	Ford-Cosworth^{[N 1]} Oldsmobile	F	5	Arie Luyendyk	All
				6	Johnny O'Connell	1–2
				6	Scott Goodyear	3–10
Walker Racing	Reynard 95I	Ford-Cosworth	G	50	Robby Gordon	2

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

1996–1997_Indy_Racing_League_season

1996–97 Indy Racing League

Confirmed entries

Season Summary

Schedule

Race results

Race summaries

True Value 200

Las Vegas 500K (1996)

Indy 200

Phoenix 200

Indianapolis 500

True Value 500

Samsonite 200

VisionAire 500

Pennzoil 200

Las Vegas 500K (1997)

Driver standings

See also

Footnotes

References

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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