1997 CART PPG World Series

(Redirected from 1997 CART season)

The 1997 CART PPG World Series season was the nineteenth in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) era of American open-wheel car racing. It consisted of 17 races, beginning in Homestead, Florida on March 2 and concluding in Fontana, California on September 28. The PPG CART World Series Drivers' Champion was Alex Zanardi. Rookie of the Year was Patrick Carpentier. Mercedes-Benz won their first and only CART engine-manufacturer's title.

1997 CART season
PPG CART World Series
Season
Races17
Start dateMarch 2
End dateSeptember 28
Awards
Drivers' championItaly Alex Zanardi
Constructors' CupUnited Kingdom Reynard
Manufacturers' CupGermany Mercedes
Nations' CupUnited States United States
Rookie of the YearCanada Patrick Carpentier
← 1996 (ICWS)
1998 →

After a settlement with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, CART relinquished its license of the "IndyCar" trademark for 1997 and beyond. As a result, the series was renamed for the first time since 1980. The CART term, which had been mostly eschewed since 1992, was brought back and embraced, a new logo was unveiled, and participants were encouraged to refer to the machines of the CART series as "Champ Cars". The revival of the historic term (and curtailing the use of the mostly generic term "Indy cars") helped to differentiate the machines from those of the rival Indy Racing League, and was part of a concerted and necessary effort to distance the series from the Indianapolis 500, to which it no longer had any link.[1] This was also the last year of title sponsorship by PPG Industries, although the Driver's Championship continued to be known as the PPG Cup until 1999. This was the first season since 1983 not to feature Emerson Fittipaldi.

Drivers and constructors

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The following teams and drivers competed in the 1997 CART World Series season.

Team Chassis Engine Tires No Drivers Rounds Primary Sponsors
  Target Chip Ganassi Reynard 97i Honda HRR F 1   Jimmy Vasser All Target
4   Alex Zanardi 1–16
  Arie Luyendyk 17
  Marlboro Team Penske Penske PC-26-97 Ilmor-Mercedes
IC108D
G 2   Al Unser Jr. All Marlboro
3   Paul Tracy All
  Walker Racing Reynard 97i Honda HRR G 5   Gil de Ferran All Valvoline
  Newman-Haas Racing Swift 007.i Ford XD G 6   Michael Andretti All Texaco-Havoline
11   Christian Fittipaldi 1–2, 9–17 Budweiser
  Roberto Moreno 3–8
  Team Rahal Reynard 97i Ford XD G 7   Bobby Rahal All Miller Lite
8   Bryan Herta All Shell
  Hogan Racing Reynard 97i Mercedes IC108D F 9   Dario Franchitti (R) 1–16 Hogan Racing
  Robby Gordon 17
  Bettenhausen Racing Reynard 97i Mercedes IC108D G 16   Patrick Carpentier (R) 1–14, 17 Alumax
  Roberto Moreno 15–16
  PacWest Reynard 97i Mercedes IC108D F 17   Maurício Gugelmin All Hollywood Cigarettes
18   Mark Blundell All Motorola
  Payton/Coyne Racing Reynard 97i Ford XD G 19   Michel Jourdain Jr. 11, 14, 16 Herdez
Lola T97/00 1–10, 12–13, 15, 17
34   Roberto Moreno 1 Data Control
  Paul Jasper (R) 2–7 Hype
  Christian Danner 8–9 Payton/Coyne Racing
  Charlie Nearburg (R) 10, 13 Nearburg Exploration
  Dennis Vitolo 11–12 Payton/Coyne Racing
Reynard 97i   Charlie Nearburg (R) 14, 16 Nearburg Exploration
  Christian Danner 15 Payton/Coyne Racing
  Dennis Vitolo 17 SmithKline Beecham
  Patrick Racing Reynard 97i Ford XD F 20   Scott Pruett All Brahma
40   Raul Boesel All
  Della Penna Motorsports Lola T97/00 Ford XD G 21   Richie Hearn All Ralphs
  Arciero-Wells Racing Reynard 97i Toyota RV8B F 24   Hiro Matsushita All Panasonic
25   Max Papis All MCI Worldcom
  Team KOOL Green Reynard 97i Honda HRR F 27   Parker Johnstone All KOOL
  Tasman Motorsports Reynard 97i Honda HRR F 31   André Ribeiro 10–17 LCI Communications
Lola T97/00 1–9
32   Adrian Fernández All Tecate
  All American Racing Reynard 96i
Reynard 97i
Toyota RV8B G 36   Juan Manuel Fangio II All Castrol
98   P. J. Jones All
  Project Indy Lola T97/00 Ford XD G 64   Dennis Vitolo 1, 3–4, 15–16 SmithKline Beecham
  Arnd Meier (R) 2, 5–6, 8–14, 17 Hasseröder
  Davis Racing Reynard 97i Ford XD G 77   Gualter Salles (R) All Davis Racing 2
Indusval 15
  Forsythe Racing Reynard 96i
Reynard 97i
Mercedes IC108D F 99   Greg Moore All Player's

Season summary

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Schedule

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Rnd Date Race Name Circuit Location TV Broadcaster
1 March 2   Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami Presented by Toyota  O  Homestead Motorsports Complex Homestead, Florida ABC
2 April 6   Sunbelt IndyCarnival  R  Surfers Paradise Street Circuit Surfers Paradise, Australia ABC
3 April 13   Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach  R  Streets of Long Beach Long Beach, California ABC
4 April 27   Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix Presented by Toyota  O  Nazareth Speedway Nazareth, Pennsylvania ABC
5 May 11   Hollywood Rio 400K  O  Autódromo de Jacarepaguá Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ABC
6 May 24   Motorola 300  O  Gateway International Raceway Madison, Illinois ABC
7 June 1   Miller 200  O  Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wisconsin ESPN
8 June 8   ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix  R  The Raceway on Belle Isle Park Detroit, Michigan ABC
9 June 22   Budweiser/G. I. Joe's 200 Presented by Texaco/Havoline  R  Portland International Raceway Portland, Oregon ESPN
10 July 13   Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland  R  Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport Cleveland, Ohio ABC
11 July 20   Molson Indy Toronto  R  Exhibition Place Toronto, Ontario ABC
12 July 27   U.S. 500 Presented by Toyota  O  Michigan Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan ABC
13 August 10   Miller 200  R  Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio ABC
14 August 17   The Chicago Tribune Presents the Texaco/Havoline 200  R  Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin ESPN
15 August 31   Molson Indy Vancouver  R  Streets of Vancouver Vancouver, British Columbia ESPN
16 September 7   Toyota Grand Prix of Monterey Featuring the Texaco/Havoline 300  R  Laguna Seca Raceway Monterey, California ESPN
17 September 28   Marlboro 500 Presented by Toyota  O  California Speedway Fontana, California ESPN

– The Australian Indy Grand Prix was supposed to run 182 miles, but was shortened due to time constraints.
– Portland was supposed to be 193 miles, but was shortened due to rain.
 O  Oval/Speedway
 R  Road/Street course

Race results

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Rnd Race Pole position Fastest lap Race Winner Race time Report
Driver Team Chassis Engine
1   Homestead   Alex Zanardi   Michael Andretti   Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Swift Ford 1:38:45 Report
2   Surfers Paradise   Alex Zanardi   Alex Zanardi   Scott Pruett Patrick Racing Reynard Ford 2:01:04 Report
3   Long Beach   Gil de Ferran   Alex Zanardi   Alex Zanardi Target Chip Ganassi Reynard Honda 1:46:17 Report
4   Nazareth   Paul Tracy   Paul Tracy   Paul Tracy Marlboro Team Penske Penske Mercedes 1:53:31 Report
5   Rio   Maurício Gugelmin   Gil de Ferran   Paul Tracy Marlboro Team Penske Penske Mercedes 2:10:47 Report
6   Gateway   Raul Boesel   Dario Franchitti   Paul Tracy Marlboro Team Penske Penske Mercedes 2:37:54 Report
7   Milwaukee   Paul Tracy   Paul Tracy   Greg Moore Forsythe Racing Reynard Mercedes 1:43:32 Report
8   Belle Isle   Gil de Ferran   Dario Franchitti   Greg Moore Forsythe Racing Reynard Mercedes 1:52:45 Report
9   Portland   Scott Pruett   Raul Boesel   Mark Blundell PacWest Reynard Mercedes 2:00:12 Report
10   Cleveland   Alex Zanardi   Alex Zanardi   Alex Zanardi Target Chip Ganassi Reynard Honda 1:41:40 Report
11   Toronto   Dario Franchitti   Mark Blundell   Mark Blundell PacWest Reynard Mercedes 1:45:43 Report
12   Michigan   Scott Pruett   Maurício Gugelmin   Alex Zanardi Target Chip Ganassi Reynard Honda 2:59:35 Report
13   Mid-Ohio   Bryan Herta   Alex Zanardi   Alex Zanardi Target Chip Ganassi Reynard Honda 1:41:16 Report
14   Road America   Maurício Gugelmin   Alex Zanardi   Alex Zanardi Target Chip Ganassi Reynard Honda 1:57:54 Report
15   Vancouver   Alex Zanardi   Alex Zanardi   Maurício Gugelmin PacWest Reynard Mercedes 1:47:17 Report
16   Laguna Seca   Bryan Herta   Mark Blundell   Jimmy Vasser Target Chip Ganassi Reynard Honda 1:41:38 Report
17   Fontana   Maurício Gugelmin   Greg Moore   Mark Blundell PacWest Reynard Mercedes 3:02:42 Report

(R) Dedicated road course, (O) Oval/Speedway, (S) Temporary street circuit

Final driver standings

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Pos Driver MIA   SUR   LBH   NAZ   RIO   GAT   MIL   DET   POR   CLE   TOR   MIC   MDO   ROA   VAN   LAG   FON   Pts
1   Alex Zanardi 7 4 1* 11 4 4 13 26 11 1 2 1* 1* 1 4 3 Wth 195
2   Gil de Ferran 22 5 21 4 11 3 7 3* 2 2* 25 3 6 3 3 5 6 162
3   Jimmy Vasser 3 12 9 5 9 5 3 4 19 13 7 24 5 8 2* 1* 2 144
4   Maurício Gugelmin 6 17 2 9 22 6 5 16 6* 15 6 6 7 2 1 9 4 132
5   Paul Tracy 2 19* 7 1* 1 1 6 DNS 7 7 10 4 27 28 28 26 26 121
6   Mark Blundell 14 8 13 19 8 24 12 17 1 9 1* 2 26 16* 7 2 1 115
7   Greg Moore 4 2 23 16 2 13 1* 1 5 24 23 27 2 18 17 24 13 111
8   Michael Andretti 1* 3 22 2 21 11* 2 2 8 23 4 21 8 26 16 27 19 108
9   Scott Pruett 5 1 3 10 3 19 9 24 17 8 5 14 9 5 18 16 7 102
10   Raul Boesel 17 7 8 8 5 14 4 6 3 16 8 18 4 21 6 8 20 91
11   Bryan Herta 10 22 6 7 6 22 15 7 21 3 17 5 24 11 8 6 21 72
12   Bobby Rahal 16 10 10 6 10* 20 11 9 24 5 9 17 3 6 24 19 5 70
13   Al Unser Jr. 27 27 4 3 7 18 20 8 25 4 20 20 22 7 5 11 22 67
14   André Ribeiro 12 6 14 26 15 10 26 25 13 14 3 23 10 22 10 4 17* 45
15   Christian Fittipaldi 26 28 4 6 11 16 21 4 9 21 9 42
16   Parker Johnstone 8 21 5 17 12 7 25 20 9 10 12 25 12 23 11 12 11 36
17   Patrick Carpentier  RY  9 15 15 12 28 2 8 15 16 12 16 15 15 27 Wth 27
18   Adrián Fernández 13 11 11 23 26 8 24 27 10 17 14 26 23 12 19 23 3 27
19   Roberto Moreno 24 24 14 18 25 10 5 15 10 16
20   Gualter Salles  R  15 24 18 24 19 12 22 21 23 19 18 10 20 13 26 7 14 10
21   Richie Hearn 11 13 27 18 14 9 23 23 14 28 27 22 13 9 22 25 15 10
22   Dario Franchitti  R  25 9 12 13 27 17 16 13 26 11 26 19 11 25 13 13 10
23   Juan Manuel Fangio II 20 20 26 15 20 23 21 10 22 21 19 11 25 10 12 15 27 9
24   Max Papis 19 14 25 22 13 26 19 11 28 27 15 8 14 15 20 14 12 8
25   Dennis Vitolo 23 DNS DNQ 28 7 27 20 16 6
26   Robby Gordon 8 5
27   Hiro Matsushita 21 25 20 25 23 15 17 19 15 20 22 9 19 24 14 28 23 4
28   P. J. Jones 28 26 16 21 16 21 14 14 20 25 21 28 17 14 25 17 10 3
29   Michel Jourdain Jr. 18 18 17 20 17 16 27 22 12 18 13 13 18 20 21 22 18 1
30   Arnd Meier  R  16 25 DNS 18 18 22 24 12 16 19 25 1
31   Christian Danner 12 27 23 1
32   Charlie Nearburg  R  26 28 17 18 0
33   Paul Jasper  R  23 19 DNQ 24 Wth 18 0
34   Arie Luyendyk 24 0
Pos Driver MIA   SUR   LBH   NAZ   RIO   GAT   MIL   DET   POR   CLE   TOR   MIC   MDO   ROA   VAN   LAG   FON   Pts
Color Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green 4th–6th place
Light Blue 7th–12th place
Dark Blue Finished
(Outside Top 12)
Purple Did not finish
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
Italics Ran fastest race lap
* Led most race laps
 RY  Rookie of the Year
 R  Rookie

Nations' Cup

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  • Top result per race counts towards Nations' Cup.
Pos Country Pts
1   United States 252
2   Brazil 238
3   Italy 198
4   Canada 190
5   England 115
6   Mexico 27
7   Scotland 10
8   Argentina 9
9   Japan 4
10   Germany 2
11   Netherlands 0
Pos Country Pts

Chassis Constructors' Cup

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Pos Chassis Pts Wins
1   Reynard 97I/96I 346 13
2   Penske PC-26 156 3
3   Swift 007.i 143 1
4   Lola T9700 45 0
Pos Chassis Pts Wins

Engine Manufacturers' Cup

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Pos Engine Pts Wins
1   Mercedes 316 9
2   Honda 290 6
3   Ford XD/XB 230 2
4   Toyota 15 0
Pos Engine Pts Wins

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Cart 1997". The Indianapolis Star. 2 March 1997. p. 46.