1997 Samsonite 200


The 1997 Samsonite 200 was the seventh round of the 1996–1997 Indy Racing League. The race was held on June 29, 1997, at the Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colorado.

Report

Qualifying

  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

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 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 after 18 years of Indy car competition. Seven cars finished the race on the lead lap, an IRL record.
PosNo.DriverTeamLapsTime/RetiredGridLaps
Led		Points
12 Tony StewartTeam Menard2001:59:50.787219336
277 Stéphan GrégoireChastain Motorsports200+ 0.222 sec11533
314 Davey HamiltonA. J. Foyt Enterprises200Running4032
451 Eddie CheeverTeam Cheever200Running13031
512 Buzz CalkinsBradley Motorsports200Running7030
622 Vincenzo Sospiri R Team Scandia200Running18029
76 Scott GoodyearTreadway Racing200Running3128
891 Buddy LazierHemelgarn Racing198+ 2 laps12027
917 Affonso Giaffone RChitwood Motorsports196+ 4 laps10026
1030 Robbie Groff RMcCormack Motorsports193Spin BS16025
1128 Mark DismoreKelley Racing-PDM192+ 8 laps21024
127 Eliseo SalazarTeam Scandia190+ 10 laps14023
1370 Marco GrecoGalles Racing190+ 10 laps22022
144 Kenny Bräck RGalles Racing179Accident T46021
155 Arie LuyendykTreadway Racing163Accident T28120
1640 Jack Miller RArizona Motorsports141Accident T420019
1797 Greg Ray RKnapp Motorsports108Accident T417018
1821 Roberto GuerreroPagan Racing85Accident T45017
1918 Billy Boat RPDM Racing83Accident T415016
2033 Jimmy Kite RTeam Scandia39Accident T49015
2110 Johnny UnserByrd-Cunningham Racing23Accident T219014
221 Scott SharpA. J. Foyt Enterprises0Accident T21015

Race Statistics

;Drivers' Championship standings
PosDriverPoints
1 Davey Hamilton207
2 Tony Stewart202
3 Buzz Calkins183
4 Arie Luyendyk167
5 Marco Greco162