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1997 Samsonite 200

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United States 1997 Pikes Peak
Race details
7th round of the 1996–1997 Indy Racing League season
DateJune 29, 1997
Official nameSamsonite 200
LocationPikes Peak International Raceway
CoursePermanent racing facility
1.000 mi / 1.609 km
Distance200 laps
200.000 mi / 321.869 km
WeatherDry 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
DriverScott Sharp (A. J. Foyt Enterprises)
Time20.441
Fastest lap
DriverJimmy Kite (Team Scandia)
Time21.465 (on lap 15 of 200)
Podium
FirstTony Stewart (Team Menard)
SecondStéphan Grégoire (Chastain Motorsports)
ThirdDavey Hamilton (A. J. Foyt Enterprises)

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.

Qualifying

[edit]
Key Meaning
R Rookie
W Past winner
Pos No. Name Lap 1 Lap 2 Best (in mph)
1 1 United States Scott Sharp 20.441 20.485 176.117
2 2 United States Tony Stewart 20.584 20.569 175.021
3 6 Canada Scott Goodyear 20.663 20.671 174.224
4 14 United States Davey Hamilton 20.704 20.783 173.879
5 21 Colombia Roberto Guerrero 21.039 20.717 173.770
6 4 Sweden Kenny Bräck R 20.743 20.773 173.553
7 12 United States Buzz Calkins 20.870 20.892 172.496
8 5 Netherlands Arie Luyendyk 21.006 20.886 172.364
9 33 United States Jimmy Kite R 20.977 20.963 171.731
10 17 Brazil Affonso Giaffone R 20.978 21.115 171.608
11 77 France Stéphan Grégoire 21.068 20.978 171.608
12 91 United States Buddy Lazier 21.009 20.985 171.551
13 51 United States Eddie Cheever 21.018 21.041 171.282
14 7 Chile Eliseo Salazar 21.018 21.219 171.282
15 18 United States Billy Boat R 21.057 21.040 171.103
16 30 United States Robbie Groff R 21.122 21.511 170.438
17 97 United States Greg Ray R 21.178 21.323 169.988
18 22 Italy Vincenzo Sospiri R 21.592 21.257 169.356
19 10 United States Johnny Unser 21.754 21.813 165.487
20 40 United States Jack Miller R 21.785 21.776 165.320
21 28 United States Mark Dismore 22.140 22.145 162.602
22 70 Brazil Marco Greco1 Did not qualify No speed
  1. ^ Couldn't qualify after his chassis had been damaged in a practice crash. He was allowed to start the race at the back of the field.

Failed to qualify or withdrew

[edit]
  • United States Jim Guthrie R for Blueprint Racing - crashed during Friday's first practice session and was hospitalised with a fractured vertebra.
  • United States Robbie Buhl for Team Menard - suffered a concussion during testing on June 13 and was unable to compete.
  • United States Mike Groff for Byrd-Cunningham Racing - entered for the race, but not cleared to drive because of the injuries suffered at Texas. Replaced by United States Johnny Unser
  • United States John Paul Jr. for PDM Racing - entered for the race, but not cleared to drive because of the injuries suffered at Indianapolis. Replaced by United States Billy Boat R
  • Italy Alessandro Zampedri for Team Scandia - Although not officially withdrawn for the weekend, he didn't appear at the track, as Team Scandia downgraded its operation from five to three cars following an engine shortage at Texas and a reshuffle of the team's lineup,

Race Recap

[edit]

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.

Box Score

[edit]
Key Meaning
R Rookie
W Past winner
Pos No. Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Laps
Led
Points
1 2 United States Tony Stewart Team Menard 200 1:59:50.787 2 193 36
2 77 France Stéphan Grégoire Chastain Motorsports 200 + 0.222 sec 11 5 33
3 14 United States Davey Hamilton A. J. Foyt Enterprises 200 Running 4 0 32
4 51 United States Eddie Cheever Team Cheever 200 Running 13 0 31
5 12 United States Buzz Calkins Bradley Motorsports 200 Running 7 0 30
6 22 Italy Vincenzo Sospiri R    Team Scandia 200 Running 18 0 29
7 6 Canada Scott Goodyear Treadway Racing 200 Running 3 1 28
8 91 United States Buddy Lazier Hemelgarn Racing 198 + 2 laps 12 0 27
9 17 Brazil Affonso Giaffone R Chitwood Motorsports 196 + 4 laps 10 0 26
10 30 United States Robbie Groff R McCormack Motorsports 193 Spin BS 16 0 25
11 28 United States Mark Dismore Kelley Racing-PDM 192 + 8 laps 21 0 24
12 7 Chile Eliseo Salazar Team Scandia 190 + 10 laps 14 0 23
13 70 Brazil Marco Greco Galles Racing 190 + 10 laps 22 0 22
14 4 Sweden Kenny Bräck R Galles Racing 179 Accident T4 6 0 21
15 5 Netherlands Arie Luyendyk Treadway Racing 163 Accident T2 8 1 20
16 40 United States Jack Miller R Arizona Motorsports 141 Accident T4 20 0 19
17 97 United States Greg Ray R Knapp Motorsports 108 Accident T4 17 0 18
18 21 Colombia Roberto Guerrero Pagan Racing 85 Accident T4 5 0 17
19 18 United States Billy Boat R PDM Racing 83 Accident T4 15 0 16
20 33 United States Jimmy Kite R Team Scandia 39 Accident T4 9 0 15
21 10 United States Johnny Unser Byrd-Cunningham Racing 23 Accident T2 19 0 14
22 1 United States Scott Sharp A. J. Foyt Enterprises 0 Accident T2 1 0 15

Race Statistics

[edit]
  • Lead changes: 5 among 4 drivers

Standings after the race

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Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 United States Davey Hamilton 207
2 United States Tony Stewart 202
3 United States Buzz Calkins 183
4 Netherlands Arie Luyendyk 167
5 Brazil Marco Greco 162
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for the standings.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "1997 Samsonite 200 weather information". Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2015-06-17.
[edit]
Previous race:
1997 True Value 500
Indy Racing League
1996-1997 season
Next race:
1997 VisionAire 500

Previous race:
none
Samsonite 200 Next race:
1998 Radisson 200