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. 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 2 Indusval 15 |
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.