1997 Indy Racing League

Race #9 - Pennzoil 200

The Indy Racing League made their 9th stop of 1997 at the New Hampshire International Speedway, in Loudon, New Hampshire, for the Pennzoil 200.

Eliseo Salazar led the field to the green as he would lead the first three laps before being passed by Robbie Buhl, who would lead for four laps, before Kenny Brack would move into the lead. Once Brack took the lead, no one had anything for Brack, who would lead until pit stops happened and shortly after the first and only caution would come out. After the race was restarted, Texas race winner Billy Boat would take the lead as Brack fell back, Vincenzo Sospiri moved up as him and Boat battled for the lead briefly before Boat pulled away and would go on to score his second win of the season.

Other Noticeables:
Billy Boat scored his 2nd win of the year,
Boat led 4 times for 81 laps, including the final 61 laps,
It was the 2nd win of his career in the Indy Racing League and his first since Texas; 3 races ago,
Roberto Guerrero, who finished 7th, is the new points leader, leading Buddy Lazier by 8 points

Heading into the final race of the season, mathematically nine drivers still have a shot of winning the championship
1.21-Roberto Guerrero: 220 points
2.91-Buddy Lazier-8 points
3.51-Eddie Cheever Jr.-9 points
4.2-Tony Stewart-11 points
5.40&70-Marco Greco-13 points
6.14-Davey Hamilton-21 points
7.6-Scott Goodyear-25 points
8.5-Arie Luyendyk-25 points
9.12-Buzz Calkins-30 points

1.1-Billy Boat (81 laps led)
2.22-Vincenzo Sospiri (6 laps led)
3.7-Eliseo Salazar (3 laps led)
4.4-Kenny Brack (106 laps led)
5.5-Arie Luyendyk
6.3-Robbie Buhl (4 laps led)
7.21-Roberto Guerrero
8.28-Mark Dismore
9.33-Jimmy Kite
10.91-Buddy Lazier-1 lap
11.30-Robbie Groff-1 lap
12.77-Stephan Gregoire-2 laps
13.17-Affonso Giaffone-2 laps
14.12-Buzz Calkins-3 laps
15.40-Jack Miller-3 laps
16.2-Tony Stewart-3 laps
17.99-Sam Schmidt-4 laps
18.70-Marco Greco-4 laps
19.27-Jim Guthrie-5 laps
20.6-Scott Goodyear-31 laps (Clutch)
21.10-Johnny Unser-35 laps (Header)
22.14-Davey Hamilton-95 laps (Header)
23.51-Eddie Cheever Jr.-148 laps (Header)
24.18-John Paul Jr.-176 laps (Piston)

Eliseo Salazar-1-3
Robbie Buhl-4-7
Kenny Brack-8-104
Billy Boat-105
Kenny Brack-106-114
Billy Boat-115-130
Vincenzo Sospiri-131
Billy Boat-132-134
Vincenzo Sospiri-135-139
Billy Boat-140-200

9 Lead Changes among 5 drivers

Caution Flags: 1 for 4 laps
Lap 107 (Car #14 Stalled Backstretch)

Margin of Victory: 0.950 Seconds

Time of Race: 2 Hours, 17 Minutes and 27 Seconds

The field has finished qualifying for the 10th and final race of the season the Las Vegas 500K at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Jim Guthrie won the pole, with a time of 35.958 seconds, beating Marco Greco by 0.317 seconds.

Other Noticeables:
Jim Guthrie won his 1st pole of the year,
Guthrie won his 1st career pole in the Indy Racing League in his 11th start,
Roberto Guerrero, who will start 20th, has a 8 point lead over Buddy Lazier

1.27-Jim Guthrie
2.70-Marco Greco
3.33-Jimmy Kite
4.3-Robbie Buhl
5.6-Scott Goodyear
6.35-Jeff Ward
7.14-Davey Hamilton
8.17-Affonso Giaffone
9.2-Tony Stewart
10.28-Mark Dismore
11.7-Eliseo Salazar
12.18-John Paul Jr.
13.4-Kenny Brack
14.77-Stephan Gregoire
15.5-Arie Luyendyk
16.91-Buddy Lazier
17.24-Billy Roe
18.19-Stan Wattles
19.9-Johnny Unser
20.21-Roberto Guerrero
21.30-Robbie Groff
22.99-Sam Schmidt
23.10-Paul Durant
24.51-Eddie Cheever Jr.
25.23-Mike Shank
26.95-Tyce Carlson
27.1-Billy Boat
28.12-Buzz Calkins
29.22-Vincenzo Sospiri
30.40-Jack Miller
31.97-Greg Ray

Race #10 - Las Vegas 500K

The Indy Racing League made the 10th and final stop of 1997 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the Las Vegas 500K.

Jim Guthrie led the field to the green as he would quickly pull out to a lead as unlike the previous Las Vegas event earlier in the season, this one was a great one with battles for the lead, wrecks and a championship that came down to the final lap. The lead would swap hands ten times within the first forty laps before Mark Dismore took control and began to dominate the event, leading 159 of the 208 laps, but a late caution would set up a shootout to the finish. Hot on his tail was Robbie Buhl, who would pass Dismore with four laps to go and would pull away in the final laps to score his first ever Indy Racing League win.

Throughout the entire day, points leader Roberto Guerrero was stuck in the back of the pack, while championship contenders Tony Stewart and Davey Hamilton stayed in the Top 10 for much of the race. Hamilton was able to finish 4th, but crossing the start/finish line in 7th, Stewart was able to score just enough points, winning the championship by 2, over Guerrero, who finished 20th.

Other Noticeables:
Robbie Buhl scored his 1st win of the year,
Buhl led 5 times for 14 laps, including the final 4 laps,
It was the 1st win of his career in the Indy Racing League in his 10th start,
Mike Shank, who finished 18th, made his Indy Racing League debut,
Tony Stewart, who finished 7th, is the 1997 Indy Racing League Champion, winning the title by 2 points over Roberto Guerrero

1.3-Robbie Buhl (14 laps led)
2.28-Mark Dismore (159 laps led)
3.27-Jim Guthrie (15 laps led)
4.14-Davey Hamilton (8 laps led)
5.7-Eliseo Salazar
6.77-Stephan Gregoire (2 laps led)
7.2-Tony Stewart-1 lap
8.19-Stan Wattles-1 lap
9.33-Jimmy Kite-1 lap
10.30-Robbie Groff-1 lap
11.17-Affonso Giaffone-1 lap
12.18-John Paul Jr.-1 lap
13.6-Scott Goodyear-1 lap (10 laps led)
14.9-Johnny Unser-2 laps
15.4-Kenny Brack-2 laps
16.24-Billy Roe-2 laps
17.35-Jeff Ward-2 laps
18.23-Mike Shank-2 laps
19.70-Marco Greco-2 laps
20.21-Roberto Guerrero-2 laps
21.1-Billy Boat-3 laps
22.22-Vincenzo Sospiri-3 laps
23.51-Eddie Cheever Jr.-3 laps
24.5-Arie Luyendyk-3 laps
25.12-Buzz Calkins-4 laps
26.95-Tyce Carlson-5 laps
27.10-Paul Durant-5 laps
28.40-Jack Miller-5 laps
29.97-Greg Ray-6 laps
30.99-Sam Schmidt-18 laps (Header)
31.91-Buddy Lazier-23 laps (Clutch)

Jim Guthrie-1-12
Scott Goodyear-13
Jim Guthrie-14
Scott Goodyear-15
Davey Hamilton-16
Scott Goodyear-17-24
Jim Guthrie-25-26
Robbie Buhl-27
Davey Hamilton-28-31
Robbie Buhl-32-33
Mark Dismore-34-124
Robbie Buhl-125-128
Davey Hamilton-129
Stephan Gregoire-130-131
Mark Dismore-132-171
Robbie Buhl-172-174
Davey Hamilton-175-176
Mark Dismore-177-204
Robbie Buhl-205-208

18 Lead Changes among 6 drivers

Caution Flags: 4 for 16 laps
Lap 45 (Cars #6 and 97 Spin Turn 3),
Lap 72 (Cars #97 and 22 Spin Turn 3),
Lap 175 (Cars #51 and 23 Spin Turn 3),
Lap 192 (Car #17 Spin Turn 1)

Margin of Victory: 1.685 Seconds

Time of Race: 2 Hours, 34 Minutes and 20 Seconds