The 1997 Samsonite 200 (also referred to as the Colorado 200 on ABC's TV coverage) was the seventh round of the 1996–1997 Indy Racing League. The race was held on June 29, 1997, at the 1.000 mi (1.609 km) Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colorado.

Quick Facts Race details, Date ...

1997 Pikes Peak

Race details
7th round of the 1996–1997 Indy Racing League season
Date	June 29, 1997
Official name	Samsonite 200
Location	Pikes Peak International Raceway
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.000 mi / 1.609 km
Distance	200 laps 200.000 mi / 321.869 km
Weather	Dry with temperatures reaching up to 84.9 °F (29.4 °C); wind speeds reaching up to 20 miles per hour (32 km/h)[1]
Pole position
Driver	Scott Sharp (A. J. Foyt Enterprises)
Time	20.441
Fastest lap
Driver	Jimmy Kite (Team Scandia)
Time	21.465 (on lap 15 of 200)
Podium
First	Tony Stewart (Team Menard)
Second	Stéphan Grégoire (Chastain Motorsports)
Third	Davey Hamilton (A. J. Foyt Enterprises)

Close

Tony Stewart came into this race having just missed victory in the past three IRL races, but he put the issue beyond doubt by dominating this race, leading all but seven of the 200 laps. The race started off with polesitter Scott Sharp wrecking on the first lap. He suffered a non-contact brain injury, despite relatively minor damage to the car. The accident (following a similar accident 2 weeks before which forced Stewart's teammate Robbie Buhl to miss the race) revived concern about the cars' inability to absorb energy in a rear-end accident, leading to changes in the gearbox case and bellhousing. Sharp would miss the rest of the season as the result of the injury. Turns 2 and 4 were treacherous all day, and several early crashes resulted in lengthy cleanups and many laps under caution.

Eddie Cheever dogged Stewart all day long, and Stéphan Grégoire led his first-ever laps in an IRL race. In the end neither of them had enough for Stewart, but after a late caution Cheever, Davey Hamilton, and Grégoire dueled three-wide for second. Grégoire broke out and attempted to slingshot Stewart at the finish line, missing by about a car length. Cheever and Hamilton finished side-by-side with Hamilton taking third. The win was Stewart's first in his Indy car career, and the first win for team owner John Menard Jr. after 18 years of Indy car competition. Seven cars finished the race on the lead lap, an IRL record.

Drivers' Championship standings

More information Pos, Driver ...

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Davey Hamilton	207
2	Tony Stewart	202
3	Buzz Calkins	183
4	Arie Luyendyk	167
5	Marco Greco	162

Close

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for the standings.