1996 Dura Lube 200

Pre-Race

After the first event at Walt Disney World Speedway, there was a two-month gap until the next race at Phoenix International Raceway, a trend that would continue during the calendar year as the rest of the races were spread in a similar fashion. In preparation for the event, the IRL held a 3-day 'Test in the West' in February 26–28, with 20 drivers taking part at some point.^[2] Richie Hearn led the charts and set the new unofficial track record at 185.854 mph. Arie Luyendyk, Tony Stewart and Roberto Guerrero also got to break Bryan Herta's preexisting track record, which Buddy Lazier had previously beaten in a private test.^[3]

Five drivers from the WDW race (Mike Groff, Lyn St. James, Eddie Cheever, Stan Wattles and Scott Brayton) did not participate, but five other drivers joined the field to complete their driver's test: Jim Guthrie with Blueprint Racing, Fermín Vélez and Michel Jourdain, Jr. with Scandia/Simon Racing, Racin Gardner with Tempero/Giuffre Racing and Rick DeLorto, who came back for a second attempt.^[4] Guthrie, who had been confirmed to drive for Blueprint before the start of the test,^[5] Vélez^[6] and Jourdain, Jr.^[3] passed their tests, while Gardner, whose running was hampered by an engine failure, and DeLorto, who topped at 119 mph in 27 laps, were not approved.

On early February, Project Indy, headed by Andreas Leberle, had chosen to split from his partnership with Jonathan Byrd and Rick Treadway, as Leberle desired to take part in selected events in the IndyCar World Series, while Treadway and Byrd preferred to concentrate on the IRL.^[7] From the Phoenix test, the team was known as Byrd-Treadway Racing, switching to Firestone as their tire supplier, citing performance issues, and keeping Arie Luyendyk. Project Indy stayed in the IRL, but his only IndyCar World Series appearance would be the Grand Prix of Long Beach with Dennis Vitolo. Team Menard also switched to Firestone tires from the "Test at the West" onwards.

On February 29 and March 1, USAC held a rookie orientation for six drivers, coming mainly from midget car racing. Billy Boat, Billy Roe and Brian Gerster completed his proficiency test in PDM Racing's car, while Dan Drinan and Gary Peterson did the same in a car supplied by Blueprint Racing, on which Kevin Olson tried to pass his test without success.^[8] On March 8, the Phoenix entry list was released, with the additions of Michel Jourdain, Jr., Jim Guthrie and Dan Drinan with the teams they had tested for. Team Scandia, officially renamed, appointed Fermín Vélez to sub for Eliseo Salazar, who had not recovered in time from the injuries sustained at Walt Disney World. Bill Tempero, Rick DeLorto and Butch Brickell, who remained entered despite his injuries, would be absent.^[9] A few days earlier, Beck Motorsports had decided to end their partnership with the Zunne Group, and sat out the Phoenix race, allowing Robbie Buhl to compete with Zunne Group Racing in the No. 45 car.^[10][11] A revised entry list published a week later featured Silver Crown competitor Paul Durant, driving for a new team, ABF Motorsports.^[12]

During this hiatus, the IRL started shaping itself for the immediate future. On February 14, Nissan announced their commitment to supply Infiniti-badged engines from 1997, joining Oldsmobile.^[13] Despite this, negotiations with CART were restarted, and on February 23, IMS president Tony George sent a memo to the IRL teams informing them of the discussions. According to the memo, those discussions included "expanding the starting field at Indianapolis" to 42 cars to allow CART teams to qualify while maintaining the commitment to the top 25 IRL teams. Amid reports that the U. S. 500 had been cancelled, IndyCar president Andrew Craig confirmed that the proposed terms had been dismissed by the IndyCar Board of Directors, arguing they were "not prepared to drop out plans to the U. S. 500", proposing discussions for "a long-term solution for 1997 and beyond". On February 27, Tony George said there had been "no offer of any sort" from any part.^[14]

Practice and qualifying

Two more drivers were added to the field on race weekend, with Johnny Unser being entered by Project Indy, and Racin Gardner, back with Tempero/Giuffre Racing in their second car. Alongside Paul Durant, all three drivers had a special orientation session on Thursday to help them pass their tests:^[15] Durant did it on Friday morning practice, while Gardner, whose car stalled on Turn 1, and Unser did not complete all phases.^[16] The session was led by Tony Stewart, the only driver to go over 180 mph with a 180.144 mph lap, followed by former winners Arie Luyendyk and Roberto Guerrero.^[17]

Friday afternoon practice, affected by heavy winds, was marred by three hard crashes.^[16] Nine minutes into the session, Eddie Cheever crashed between Turns 3 and 4, sustaining a concussion and pain in his shoulder. Half an hour later, Stan Wattles had another accident in Turn 2, in which he suffered a parietal lobe hematoma and an optic nerve injury.^[18] Less than 20 minutes later, Buddy Lazier lost control of his car in Turn 2 after suffering a rear wing failure and crashed backwards into the wall, collecting Lyn St. James, who bounced off the track and hit the retaining fence with the back end of the car. Lazier was airlifted to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he was diagnosed with multiple hairline fractures in his back^[19] and two fractures in his pelvis.^[20] The crash caused a gouge on the asphalt, bringing an early end to the session.^[16] All three injured drivers were not cleared to drive.

On Saturday, USAC revealed they were allowing the Buick and the Menard-branded engines to increase their boost pressure from 55 to 60 inches, which they had allowed to some cars on Walt Disney World, to make the field more competitive, although they would have to turn it down at some stages during the race.^[21] Arie Luyendyk upped his speed to lead the morning practice with a 182.454 mph lap, in front of Richie Hearn and Tony Stewart. Johnny Unser completed his refresher test, but Racin Gardner was unable to complete his driver's test after suffering an early oil leak that could not be fixed in time, being discarded from the event.^[20] Also, Dan Drinan suffered mechanical issues for the second day in a row, this time with a new engine, and could not qualify for the race.^[22]

In the qualifying session, Luyendyk went on to win the second pole position of his career with a track record lap of 183.599 mph. Hearn got within a tenth of a second off Luyendyk's time, placing on the front row again, while Roberto Guerrero beat Tony Stewart for the third spot by just 0.001 s. Championship leader Buzz Calkins settled for eighth, nearing 176 mph and surrounded by Foyt's drivers, including a career-best seventh place for Mike Groff.^[23] At the back, Michele Alboreto had to pull-in at the end of his first lap with fuel system problems, and was the slowest qualifier.^[20] Among the newcomers, Michel Jourdain Jr. was the only one to qualify over 170 mph, in 14th place.

Lyn St. James, who could not qualify due to her primary chassis being destroyed, got out on track with her back-up car on the afternoon practice, and was allowed to start the race at the back of the field despite lapping at just 150 mph. In this session, Billy Roe, who was at Phoenix trying to beat the closed-course record for an electric-powered Indy car,^[15] was appointed by Tempero/Giuffre to drive what had been Gardner's car, hoping they would be allowed to make the race. Roe got it up to 153 mph,^[11] but his engine let go after just 10 laps, and the team, out of powerplants and time, parked the car for good.^[20]

Pos No. Name Lap 1 Lap 2 Best (in mph) 1 5 Arie Luyendyk W 19.608 19.675 183.599 2 4 Richie Hearn R 19.905 19.694 182.797 3 21 Roberto Guerrero W 20.133 19.884 181.050 4 20 Tony Stewart R 20.065 19.885 181.041 5 2 Scott Brayton 20.057 19.963 180.334 6 11 Scott Sharp 20.034 19.982 180.162 7 41 Mike Groff 20.541 20.441 176.117 8 12 Buzz Calkins R 20.753 20.465 175.910 9 14 Davey Hamilton R 20.665 20.505 175.567 10 75 Johnny O'Connell R 20.804 20.611 174.664 11 45 Robbie Buhl 21.134 20.773 173.302 12 9 Stéphan Grégoire R 21.152 20.830 172.828 13 18 John Paul Jr. 21.170 20.966 171.707 14 22 Michel Jourdain Jr. R 21.038 21.069 171.119 15 7 Fermín Vélez R 21.565 21.326 168.808 16 96 Paul Durant R 21.632 21.355 168.579 17 16 Johnny Parsons 21.772 22.732 165.350 18 27 Jim Guthrie R 22.673 22.019 163.495 19 64 Johnny Unser 22.518 22.218 162.031 20 15 David Kudrave 22.869 22.363 160.980 21 33 Michele Alboreto R Waved off 22.408 160.657 22 90 Lyn St. James1 Didn't qualify No speed ^ Couldn't qualify after her chassis had been damaged in a practice crash. She was allowed to start the race at the back of the field.

Key Meaning R Rookie W Past winner

Race

The field of 22 cars, lacking 5 entries from the beginning of practice, took the green flag in front of 32.000 espectators.^[24] Arie Luyendyk held onto the lead, while Richie Hearn was surpassed by both Roberto Guerrero and Tony Stewart. The race was first neutralized on Lap 3, when the championship leader Buzz Calkins, running in 11th place, spun at Turn 2. After the restart, Luyendyk was unable to open a gap, his car reportedly being loose, which allowed the top 4 to run closely for a few laps. By Lap 27, Tony Stewart and Richie Hearn had overtaken Luyendyk and Guerrero, who would pass Luyendyk shortly after despite having brake cooling issues.^[24]

On Lap 33, Michel Jourdain, Jr., running the inside lane of Turn 3 in heavy traffic, lost control of the car and crashed, bringing the second yellow. In the aftermath, first-timer Fermín Vélez failed to judge the braking distance and rammed into Guerrero, who had slowed down.^[24] Guerrero had to enter the pits to repair the damage and was not a factor for the remainder of the race, retiring after 89 laps. During the caution, Stewart completed his first stop, but the air jack hose malfunctioned, and the race leader was overtaken by Luyendyk, fourth placed Scott Brayton and sixth placed Robbie Buhl, who had also pitted.

Richie Hearn elected not to pit, as well as Scott Sharp, Johnny O'Connell, Mike Groff and Davey Hamilton, but he spun in Turn 3 on Lap 43 while leading the field to a green flag that would be delayed for six laps, with O'Connell pitting in between.^[24] That left the top 3 positions dominated by Foyt drivers, although Hamilton would lose four positions after the race was resumed. Stewart started climbing back, overtaking Hamilton, Brayton and Buhl in less than 15 laps, and catching Luyendyk. On Lap 73, Brayton, running seventh, crashed heavily on Turn 4. He required the use of an stretcher to get into the ambulance, but he suffered no major injuries. Pit stops under caution followed for the Foyt trio and Stewart, who stalled his car and fell to sixth place, as the last driver on the lead lap. He recovered one position when Hamilton entered the pits for a second time, with electronic issues that led to his retirement from the race. Luyendyk and Buhl, not pitting, claimed the top 2 spots, while Groff had gained the position on Sharp by pitting a lap earlier.

Race was resumed on Lap 81. Eleven laps later, Stewart passed both Sharp and Groff, who also lost position to his teammate, before going one lap down a few minutes later. Buhl managed to stay within two seconds of Luyendyk and, when handling issues reappeared for the Dutchman, took the lead on Lap 103. Stewart would also catch and pass Luyendyk on Lap 106, but he immediately slowed down on the dogleg with a punctured right front tyre.^[24] He emerged from the pits in seventh place, one lap down. Buhl, who had opened a 6 second-gap, made his second pit stop on Lap 118, being on the edge of needing a late splash, and Luyendyk, who lost second place to Sharp on Lap 120, followed suit 7 laps later.

Jim Guthrie, running in 15th and last place at the time, had a sizeable crash exiting Turn 2 on Lap 128, bringing a caution that would determine the fate of the race. Despite the fact that the pits were closed, with the signalling lights at the entry of the pit lane being on, Sharp and Groff went in for their final pit stop, gaining a lap over the field in the process despite Sharp stalling his car and needing a push-start by his crew and teammate Hamilton. The stewards decided to punish both drivers with a one-lap penalty. Team owner A. J. Foyt argued that other drivers had been serviced in closed pits in an earlier caution, but the protest was to no avail.^[24]

Buhl also entered the (now open) pits on Lap 133 to top off on fuel, which saw him fall to third place behind Luyendyk and Sharp. Being one lap down again, Groff had retained the fourth spot in front of Stewart. When the race was restarted on Lap 136, Luyendyk's car finally had a good balance, which allowed him to slowly open an 8-second lead over Sharp. Buhl could not follow suit, and eventually dropped out of the race on Lap 149 when his engine expired. Stewart was set for a top-3 finish after passing Groff, but he also had to retire on Lap 168 with a valve train problem.

Luyendyk kept the gap between five and ten seconds for the remainder of the race, and went on to grab the fourth win of his Indy car career, the second at Phoenix and the first since the 1991 Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix at Nazareth. For Sharp, who ended up completing 201 race laps, and Groff, it was the first podium of their careers, while Hearn got to finish in fourth place. In his second Indy car race, Johnny O'Connell had a steady drive despite serving a Stop & Go on Lap 138 for running over a fuel hose, and finished in the top 5. Albeit seven laps down, Buzz Calkins' sixth-place finish allowed him to remain as the Indy Racing League points leader heading to the Indianapolis 500.

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Laps Led	Points
1	5	Arie Luyendyk W	Byrd/Treadway Racing	200	1:42:14.000	1	122	35
2	11	Scott Sharp	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	200*	+ 8.896	6	40	33
3	41	Mike Groff	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	199*	+ 1 lap	7	0	32
4	4	Richie Hearn R	Della Penna Motorsports	198	+ 2 laps	2	7	31
5	75	Johnny O'Connell R	Cunningham Racing	197	+ 3 laps	10	0	30
6	12	Buzz Calkins R	Bradley Motorsports	193	+ 7 laps	8	0	29
7	9	Stéphan Grégoire R	Hemelgarn Racing	190	+ 10 laps	12	0	28
8	33	Michele Alboreto R	Team Scandia	187	+ 13 laps	21	0	27
9	64	Johnny Unser	Project Indy	185	+ 15 laps	19	0	26
10	15	David Kudrave	Tempero/Giuffre Racing	168	Out of Fuel	20	0	25
11	20	Tony Stewart R	Team Menard	165	Electrical	4	11	24
12	16	Johnny Parsons	Blueprint Racing	149	Fuel pump	17	0	23
13	45	Robbie Buhl	Zunne Group Racing	148	Header	11	20	22
14	18	John Paul, Jr.	PDM Racing	116	Engine	13	0	21
15	27	Jim Guthrie R	Blueprint Racing	115	Accident	18	0	20
16	21	Roberto Guerrero W	Pagan Racing	89	CV Joint	3	0	19
17	14	Davey Hamilton R	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	77	Electrical	9	0	18
18	2	Scott Brayton	Team Menard	70	Accident	5	0	17
19	7	Fermín Vélez R	Team Scandia	32	Accident	15	0	16
20	22	Michel Jourdain, Jr. R	Team Scandia	31	Accident	14	0	15
21	90	Lyn St. James	Team Scandia	11	Electrical	22	0	14
22	96	Paul Durant R	ABF Motorsports	1	Front end	16	0	13