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The 1997 CART PPG World Series season, the nineteenth in the CART era of U.S. open-wheel racing , 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 .
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.
Drivers and constructors
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
F
1
Jimmy Vasser
All
Target
4
Alex Zanardi
1-16
Arie Luyendyk
17
Marlboro Team Penske
Penske PC-26 -97
Ilmor -Mercedes-Benz IC108D
G
2
Al Unser, Jr.
All
Marlboro
3
Paul Tracy
All
Walker Racing
Reynard 97i
Honda
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-Benz
F
9
Dario Franchitti (R)
1-16
Hogan Racing
Robby Gordon
17
Bettenhausen Racing
Reynard 97i
Mercedes-Benz
G
16
Patrick Carpentier (R)
1-14, 17
Alumax
Roberto Moreno
15-16
PacWest
Reynard 97i
Mercedes-Benz
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 XB
F
20
Scott Pruett
All
Brahma
Ford XD
40
Raul Boesel
All
Della Penna Motorsports
Lola T97/00
Ford XD
G
21
Richie Hearn
All
Ralphs
Arciero-Wells Racing
Reynard 97i
Toyota
F
24
Hiro Matsushita
All
Panasonic
25
Max Papis
All
MCI
Team KOOL Green
Reynard 97i
Honda
F
27
Parker Johnstone
All
KOOL
Tasman Motorsports
Reynard 97i
Honda
F
31
André Ribeiro
10-17
LCI
Lola T97/00
1-9
32
Adrian Fernández
All
Tecate
All American Racing
Reynard 96i Reynard 97i
Toyota
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 Indusval
Forsythe Racing
Reynard 97i
Mercedes-Benz
F
99
Greg Moore
All
Player's
Schedule
Rnd
Date
Race Name
Circuit
Location
1
March 2
Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami
Homestead-Miami Speedway (O)
Homestead, Florida
2
April 6
Sunbelt Indy Carnival
Surfers Paradise Street Circuit (S)
Surfers Paradise , Australia
3
April 13
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
Streets of Long Beach (S)
Long Beach, California
4
April 27
Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix
Nazareth Speedway (O)
Nazareth, Pennsylvania
5
May 11
Rio 400K
Autódromo de Jacarepaguá (O)
Rio de Janeiro , Brazil
6
May 24
Motorola 300
Gateway International Raceway (O)
Madison, Illinois
7
June 1
Miller 200
Milwaukee Mile (O)
West Allis, Wisconsin
8
June 8
ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix
The Raceway on Belle Isle Park (S)
Detroit , Michigan
9
June 22
Budweiser/G. I. Joe's 200
Portland International Raceway (R)
Portland, Oregon
10
July 13
Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland
Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport (S)
Cleveland, Ohio
11
July 20
Molson Indy Toronto
Exhibition Place (S)
Toronto, Ontario
12
July 27
U.S 500
Michigan International Speedway (O)
Brooklyn, Michigan
13
August 10
Miller 200
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (R)
Lexington, Ohio
14
August 17
Texaco/Havoline 200
Road America (R)
Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
15
August 31
Molson Indy Vancouver
Streets of Vancouver (S)
Vancouver, British Columbia
16
September 7
Toyota Grand Prix of Monterey
Laguna Seca Raceway (R)
Monterey, California
17
September 28
Marlboro 500
California Speedway (O)
Fontana, California
- 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.
Season summary
Race results
(R) Dedicated road course, (O) Oval/Speedway, (S) Temporary street circuit
Final driver standings
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
Nation's Cup
Top result per race counts towards Nation's Cup.
References
See also