1997 Indianapolis 500

New engine and chassis package

New engines and new cars arrived at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for 1997. In 1996, it was announced that all races of the Indy Racing League would switch to a normally aspirated stock block formula starting in January 1997. In addition, a new contingent of chassis rules accompanied the powerplants. All engines for 1997 would be 4.0 L, 32-valve production-based engines. There would be two manufacturers involved, Oldsmobile Aurora (L47) and Nissan Infiniti (VH). The chassis were constructed by Dallara and G-Force. Riley & Scott also was selected as a chassis manufacturer, but they were not yet ready for competition.

The changes were in the interest of cutting costs, lowering speeds, and bringing the racing closer together.^[7] After setting an all-time track record of over 237 mph a year earlier, Arie Luyendyk's top lap for qualifying in 1997 would drop to 217 mph. The new chassis had many visible differences, most noticeably the airbox above the engine cowling, larger wings, taller sidepods, and an overall bulkier appearance. The new cars produced more downforce than the previous machines, changing the driving characteristics.

With turbochargers legislated out of the series, the 1997 race was the first since the early 1960s to feature a full 33-car field of piston-powered, normally aspirated powerplants. The new engines were also much louder than their turbocharged counterparts, leading some fans and media to compare them to sound of NASCAR engines.

Track changes

The track was repaved in the fall of 1995. Following the 1996 Brickyard 400, the apexes of the four turns were breaking up. Over the offseason, track crews repaved the apexes of the turns with a different compound of asphalt. The result was a better surface, but a visibly darker area in the apexes of all four turns.

Continuing split from CART

The ongoing IRL/CART split continued into its second year. No major teams from the CART ranks entered at Indianapolis. With the new IRL chassis and engine rules for 1997, the two series now had substantially different and incompatible equipment. CART-based teams that wished to enter the Indy 500 would henceforth be required to purchase all new cars and engines, and few if any had the interest or the budget to do so. The alternative U.S. 500, however, was cancelled after only one running. Instead of running another race the same day as the Indy 500, CART teams participated in the Motorola 300 at the newly opened Gateway International Raceway on Saturday May 24, the day before the Indy 500 was scheduled.

The only former CART-based team that raced at Indy in 1997 was Galles Racing, which during the offseason had decided to switch full-time to the IRL. Robby Gordon, a CART regular from 1992–1996, had switched his full-time focus to NASCAR for 1997, driving for Felix Sabates. Sabates arranged for Gordon to race "Double Duty", planning to race at Indy and the Coca-Cola 600 in the same day. The effort was well-funded, and received considerable media attention.

1996–97 IRL season

For its first season, the IRL schedule was situated such that the Indianapolis 500 would be the final race of the season. That provided that the IRL championship would be crowned at the conclusion of the Indy 500. The arrangement proved unusual, and disruptive. The 1996–97 IRL season was originally scheduled to begin at Loudon in August 1996, and conclude with the 1997 Indy 500.

In October, league officials announced that the league would revert to the calendar-based season. To aid the transition, the 1996-97 season would include the two races run in late 1996, and all races run in 1997. The Indy 500 would no longer serve at the season finale.

25/8 Rule and locked-in entries

1997 Indianapolis 500 ticket.

For the 1997 Indianapolis 500, 25 (of 33) starting grid positions were set aside for the top 25 cars in 1996-97 season IRL points standings. The arrangement was a controversial rule, known as the "25/8 Rule," introduced during the 1996 IRL season, and had been a key issue that led the CART teams to boycott the 1996 race.

The format (similar in practice to NASCAR's Top 35 rule introduced years later) provided that the top 25 entries in owner points (not drivers) were guaranteed a "locked-in" starting position, and could not be bumped, provided they completed a four-lap qualifying run over a minimum prescribed speed. Officials set 203 mph as the minimum. The grid would still be arranged by speed rank. The remaining eight positions would be filled by non-top 25 entries, and bumping could only occur among those eight positions and the non-top 25 participants.

The #15 and the #74 entries, both raced at the first two races of the 1996-97 season, but never appeared during the month of May. Della Penna Motorsports had left the Indy Racing League at the end of calendar year 1996 to compete in CART, while Tempero-Giuffre Racing stayed away from the track despite entering a Infiniti-powered G-Force. Therefore, only 23 of the 25 eligible "locked-in" entries were present to accept their berth, and ten at-large starting positions were up for grabs at the onset of qualifying.^[8]

On April 21, Gary Bettenhausen was announced as the driver of the #81 car, an at-large entry fielded by newcomers Terhune-Barnets Racing and run by LP Racing, in an attempt to make his 22nd Indy 500 start.^[9] However, on April 25 he was replaced on the entry list by Mark Dismore,^[10] after the Kelley Automotive Group made his sponsorship deal contingent upon having Dismore on the car.^[10] The team also parted ways with LP Racing and his crew chief Larry Nash,^[10] and made a deal with PDM Racing to run the car as his second entry, the #28,^[11] which had a locked-in berth. This move left Tyce Carlson, the driver originally entered for the #28, out of the ride. Tom Kelley became the owner of the car by the time practice had begun and the deal with PDM lasted through the season, after which Kelley Racing became a fully independent entity in 1998.

Locked-in entries No. Team Driver Owner points 10 Byrd-Cunningham Racing Mike Groff 125 22 Team Scandia Marco Greco 118 14 A. J. Foyt Enterprises Davey Hamilton 114 12 Bradley Motorsports Buzz Calkins 113 33 Team Scandia Fermín Vélez 109 21 Pagan Racing Roberto Guerrero 106 1 A. J. Foyt Enterprises Paul Durant1 104 2 Team Menard Tony Stewart 101 27 Blueprint Racing Jim Guthrie 98 40 Arizona Motorsports Jack Miller  R  89 18 PDM Racing Tyce Carlson2  R  88 51 Team Cheever Eddie Cheever 88 5 Treadway Racing Arie Luyendyk  W  75 6 Treadway Racing Scott Goodyear 73 30 McCormack Motorsports Robbie Groff  R  73 91 Hemelgarn Racing Buddy Lazier  W  71 74 Della Penna Motorsports (absent) 57 7 Team Scandia Eliseo Salazar 54 3 Team Menard Robbie Buhl 50 77 Chastain Motorsports Stéphan Grégoire 46 17 Chitwood Motorsports Affonso Giaffone  R  44 4 Galles Racing Kenny Bräck  R  43 54 Beck Motorsports Dennis Vitolo3 40 28 Kelley Racing - PDM Mark Dismore 36 15 Tempero/Giuffre Racing (vacant) 34  W  Former winner  R  Indy 500 Rookie ^ Entered on Bump Day. Scott Sharp, the entry's original driver, was injured in a crash on May 9. Johnny O'Connell, entered on May 13, was also injured in a crash on May 16. ^ Entered on May 13. John Paul, Jr., the entry's original driver, was injured in a crash on May 9. ^ Entered on May 11.

Notable At-large entries No. Team Driver 8 Team Scandia Vincenzo Sospiri  R  9 Hemelgarn Racing Johnny Unser1 11 A. J. Foyt Enterprises Billy Boat2  R  16 Blueprint Racing Sam Schmidt  R  34 Team Scandia Alessandro Zampedri 36 Johansson Motorsports Scott Harrington3 42 Team SABCO Robby Gordon 44 Sinden Racing Services Steve Kinser4  R  50 EuroInternational Billy Roe  R  52 Team Cheever Jeff Ward  R  72 Blueprint Racing Claude Bourbonnais5  R  90 Hemelgarn Racing Lyn St. James 97 Knapp Motorsports Greg Ray  R   R  Indy 500 Rookie ^ Entered on May 10. ^ Entered during the first week of practice ^ Entered on May 12. ^ Entered on May 6. ^ Entered on May 15.

Saturday May 3 - Opening Day

The first day of practice, set aside for Rookie Orientation, was rained out.^[12]

Sunday May 4 - Rookie Orientation

The first day of track activity saw six rookies take laps, with Vincenzo Sospiri leading the speed chart at 211.964 mph.^[13] Jack Miller blew an engine, in what was the only remarkable incident of the day.^[14]

In a press conference, Team Menard confirmed that Tony Stewart would continue with the team for the remainder of the 1996-97 season year and for 1998. The lengthening of the season, devised to switch to a calendar schedule for 1998, meant a new deal had to be reached in order for Stewart to finalize his NASCAR Busch Series outings. Menard also confirmed a switch from Firestone to Goodyear tires.^[13]

Top practice speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine	Speed
1	8	Vincenzo Sospiri (R)	Team Scandia	Dallara	Oldsmobile	211.964
2	51	Jeff Ward (R)	Team Cheever	G-Force	Oldsmobile	205.780
3	4	Kenny Bräck (R)	Galles Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	204.997

Monday May 5 - Rookie Orientation

A very windy day saw minimal activity, with only four cars taking a total of 80 laps before rain closed the track at 4:30 p.m.^[15] Kenny Bräck turned the fastest lap at 205.597 mph.^[16]

Top practice speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine	Speed
1	4	Kenny Bräck (R)	Galles Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	205.597
2	16	Sam Schmidt (R)	Blueprint Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	198.325
3	97	Greg Ray (R)	Knapp Motorsports	Dallara	Oldsmobile	185.494

Tuesday May 6

The first full day of practice saw heavy activity. Arie Luyendyk set the fastest lap thus far of the month at 5:24 p.m., at 218.707 mph. The only incident of the day occurred early on, when rookie Jeff Ward blew an engine and spun into the wall in turn 3.^[17]

Later on, five rookies (Kenny Bräck, Robbie Groff, Greg Ray, Vincenzo Sospiri and Affonso Giaffone) completed their rookie test, and Sinden Racing Services confirmed that Steve Kinser, a 14-times World of Outlaws sprint car champion, would drive their #44 at-large entry.^[17] Kinser had tried to qualify for the race 15 years earlier, when a practice crash ended his chances in 1981.

John Andretti, a seven times-Indianapolis 500 starter between 1988 and 1994, passed the mandatory physical exam. Andretti, who switched to NASCAR Winston Cup in 1994 and was driving for Cale Yarborough Motorsports, had expressed an interest in doing the Double Duty for the second time.^[18]

Top practice speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine	Speed
1	5	Arie Luyendyk	Treadway Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	218.797
2	42	Robby Gordon	Team SABCO	G-Force	Oldsmobile	215.569
3	2	Tony Stewart	Team Menard	G-Force	Oldsmobile	214.337

Wednesday May 7

Arie Luyendyk became the first and only driver to go over 220 mph during the month, with a lap of 220.297 mph. At 4:12 p.m., Scott Sharp crashed in turn 1, heavily damaging his primary car. He had just run a lap of 217.402 mph.^[19]

Lyn St. James's 34 laps were her first on a race car since his collision at the previous year's Indy 500, as her broken right wrist had healed improperly. Rain closed the track about 10 minutes early.^[19]

Top practice speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine	Speed
1	5	Arie Luyendyk	Treadway Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	220.297
2	1	Scott Sharp	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	G-Force	Oldsmobile	217.402
3	27	Jim Guthrie	Blueprint Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	216.076

Thursday May 8

Rain kept the track closed until 3 p.m., and the final three hours saw average activity. Just minutes after the track opened, Arie Luyendyk spun in the southchute, and tagged the wall, suffering minor nose cone damage. He was uninjured. Later, Luyendyk returned to the track, and once again, led the speed chart at 217.318 mph.^[20]

In the later stages of the day, Alessandro Zampedri's car caught fire, having blown an engine coming out of Turn 4.^[20] After struggling to compete for the top spots during two days of practice with Goodyear tires, Team Menard switched back to mounting compounds from Firestone.^[20] Right away, Tony Stewart and Robbie Buhl were able to challenge Luyendyk's lap times, ending the session just behind him.

Top practice speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine	Speed
1	5	Arie Luyendyk	Treadway Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	217.318
2	2T	Tony Stewart	Team Menard	G-Force	Oldsmobile	215.822
3	3T	Robbie Buhl	Team Menard	G-Force	Oldsmobile	215.708

Friday May 9

The final day of practice before pole qualifying saw heavy action, and cool temperatures. The speed chart was competitive, with Arie Luyendyk, Tony Stewart, and Robbie Buhl trading fast lap for the afternoon. At the end of the day, Luyendyk was fastest, sweeping the chart all four days of veteran practice. His lap of 218.325 mph was a mile per hour faster than Stewart in second place.^[21]

Two incidents, however, overshadowed the action. At 12:42 p.m., John Paul, Jr. crashed in Turn 4, and suffered a broken lower right leg and a broken left heel. With 43 minutes left, Scott Sharp also crashed exiting Turn 4, and suffered a concussion. Both Paul and Sharp would be forced to sit out the rest of the month. In another incident, Stéphan Grégoire's car suffered minor damage against the inside guard rail after a spin in the warm-up lane.^[21]

During the day, Jack Miller, Steve Kinser and Sam Schmidt passed their final phases of his rookie test,^[21] Jeff Ward completed his 20-lap refresher test, and driver-owner Eddie Cheever turned his first laps of the month, having concentrated so far in getting Ward's car up to speed.^[22]

Top practice speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine	Speed
1	5	Arie Luyendyk	Treadway Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	218.325
2	2	Tony Stewart	Team Menard	G-Force	Oldsmobile	217.355
3	3	Robbie Buhl	Team Menard	G-Force	Oldsmobile	216.899

Pole Day - Saturday May 10

Pole day time trials took place under mostly sunny skies, but cool temperatures, which forced the Pole Day morning practice to be delayed due to low track temperature for the first time in history.^[23] Tony Stewart led the charts at 219.085 mph.

In the morning, Hemelgarn Racing announced that Buddy Lazier would use Oldsmobile powerplants instead of Infiniti's, citing a lack of speed and sponsor deference. Due to contractual obligations on fielding a second Infiniti engine, the team entered Johnny Unser to drive in Lazier's car, renumbered as #90, while Lazier would qualify with his back-up.^[24]

The first car out on the track to qualify was Mike Groff. He became the first driver to complete a run in a normally aspirated car since 1987, and the first to qualify one since 1984. His speed also tentatively broke existing normally aspirated, stock block, track records with an average of 208.537 mph.^[24]

A total of nine cars went out for runs during the first segment, however, only five were run to completion. Jeff Ward sat on the provisional pole at 214.517 mph. Shortly after 3 p.m., Arie Luyendyk took to the track, and began the second wave of qualifiers. His run of 218.263 mph put him firmly on the pole position, with Tony Stewart close behind at 218.021 mph. Rookie Vincenzo Sospiri surprised many by rounding out the front row at 216.822 mph, beating Robbie Buhl, who qualified on his third attempt.^[24]

There were several wave offs during qualifying attempts, and three drivers didn't got to complete theirs. Robbie Groff brushed the wall at the exit of Turn 1 in his second lap and had to wave off, Fermín Vélez blew an engine during his second lap, and Sam Schmidt spun on the warm-up lane, hitting the inside wall. Also, Eliseo Salazar had to wave off his first qualifying attempt after hitting a bird on Lap 3.^[24]

At the end of pole day, 21 cars were in the field, with Roberto Guerrero slowest thus far at just over 207 mph. The Colombian qualified with his back-up car, which left him without his locked-in status, but John Barnes, Pagan's team manager, had petitioned for it to become the primary car while the car was already in the qualifying lane. The change was not made before Guerrero took to the track, but USAC allowed it to be considered as a primary car the following day, securing Guerrero's place in the grid.^[25] That decision put Alessandro Zampedri in an early bubble among the at-large entries, having qualified at barely 209 mph. A week later, during Bump Day, USAC allowed a similar change to Buddy Lazier's car at the request of Ron Hemelgarn, despite being safely in the field at 214.286 mph.^[26]

Pole Day
Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine	Speed	Entry status
1	5	Arie Luyendyk	Treadway Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	218.263	Locked-in
2	2	Tony Stewart	Team Menard	G-Force	Oldsmobile	218.021	Locked-in
3	8	Vincenzo Sospiri (R)	Team Scandia	Dallara	Oldsmobile	216.822	At-large
4	3	Robbie Buhl	Team Menard	G-Force	Oldsmobile	216.102	Locked-in
5	6	Scott Goodyear	Treadway Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	215.811	Locked-in
6	27	Jim Guthrie	Blueprint Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	215.207	Locked-in
7	52	Jeff Ward (R)	Team Cheever	G-Force	Oldsmobile	214.517	At-large
8	14	Davey Hamilton	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	G-Force	Oldsmobile	214.484	Locked-in
9	7	Eliseo Salazar	Team Scandia	Dallara	Oldsmobile	214.320	Locked-in
10	91	Buddy Lazier	Hemelgarn Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	214.286	Locked-in1
11	51	Eddie Cheever	Team Cheever	G-Force	Oldsmobile	214.073	Locked-in
12	42	Robby Gordon	Team SABCO	G-Force	Oldsmobile	213.211	At-large
13	77	Stéphan Grégoire	Chastain Motorsports	G-Force	Oldsmobile	213.126	Locked-in
14	17	Affonso Giaffone (R)	Chitwood Motorsports	Dallara	Oldsmobile	212.974	Locked-in
15	4	Kenny Bräck (R)	Galles Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	211.221	Locked-in
- 2	90	Lyn St. James	Hemelgarn Racing	Dallara	Infiniti	210.145	At-large
16	12	Buzz Calkins	Bradley Motorsports	G-Force	Oldsmobile	209.564	Locked-in
17	40	Jack Miller (R)	Arizona Motorports	Dallara	Infiniti	209.250	Locked-in
- 2	34	Alessandro Zampedri	Team Scandia	Dallara	Oldsmobile	209.094	At-large
18	10	Mike Groff	Byrd-Cunningham Racing	G-Force	Infiniti	208.537	Locked-in
19	21	Roberto Guerrero	Pagan Racing	Dallara	Infiniti	207.371	Locked-in1
	30	Robbie Groff (R)	McCormack Motorsports	G-Force	Oldsmobile	Waved off	Locked-in
	33	Fermín Vélez	Team Scandia	Dallara	Oldsmobile	Engine trouble	Locked-in
	16	Sam Schmidt (R)	Blueprint Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	Crashed	At-large

Second Day - Sunday May 11

Only three cars started qualifying attempts; two of them were added to the field. Steve Kinser completed a run early in the day, while Robbie Groff finished just before the track closed in his last attempt. The first one was nullified by an engine misfire, and the second, by a cold track surface.^[25]

Greg Ray, in an at-large entry, was set for a 215 mph qualifying run before he ran out of fuel in his last lap. In the morning, Dennis Vitolo was assigned to the #54 Beck Motorsports entry.^[25]

Second Day
Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine	Speed	Entry status
20	44	Steve Kinser (R)	Sinden Racing Services	Dallara	Oldsmobile	210.793	At-large
21	30	Robbie Groff (R)	McCormack Motorsports	G-Force	Oldsmobile	207.792	Locked-in
	97	Greg Ray (R)	Knapp Motorsports	Dallara	Oldsmobile	Out of fuel	At-large

Monday May 12

Another cool and windy day saw 18 cars practice. Arie Luyendyk continued his dominance, and led the practice chart for already-qualified drivers.^[27] Billy Boat, who had been recruited the week prior to drive Foyt's third car,^[28] completed his refresher test, and Billy Roe became the ninth driver to pass his rookie test.

Off the track, A. J. Foyt announced that he was working on a deal for John Andretti to replace the injured Scott Sharp in the #1 entry, providing that travel and scheduling constraints were arranged with his team owner Cale Yarborough.^[27] Johansson Motorsports confirmed they would use an Infiniti engine provided by Hemelgarn Racing,^[27] after plans to run an Oldsmobile engine fell through.^[29] The team appointed Scott Harrington as their driver.^[27]

Top practice speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine	Speed
1	5	Arie Luyendyk	Treadway Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	217.103
2	6	Scott Goodyear	Treadway Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	216.092
3	51	Eddie Cheever	Team Cheever	G-Force	Oldsmobile	215.600

Tuesday May 13

Arie Luyendyk sat out practice for the day, and would not come back on track until Bump Day practice, which he would also led.^[30] Ten drivers turned their fastest laps of the month, including Buddy Lazier, who lead the speed chart, and Billy Boat, the fastest of the non-qualified cars at over 214 mph, 4 miles per hour faster than the others,^[31] including Dennis Vitolo, who blew an engine before getting up to speed.^[28]

A. J. Foyt conceded defeat in his intentions to bring John Andretti as a driver, as his NASCAR commitment with Cale Yarborough would not provide enough travel time to make it to the Coca-Cola 600. Johnny O'Connell was named to replace Scott Sharp in the #1 car.^[31] Also, PDM Racing confirmed Tyce Carlson to replace the injured John Paul, Jr. in the #18 car.^[31] Carlson had run two races with the team in 1996, and had intended to make the Indy 500 in the #28 until Mark Dismore's deal came to be in late April.^[9][11]

Top practice speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine	Speed
1	91T	Buddy Lazier	Hemelgarn Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	217.040
2	51	Eddie Cheever	Team Cheever	G-Force	Oldsmobile	216.909
3	6	Scott Goodyear	Treadway Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	216.513

Wednesday May 14

Buddy Lazier and Billy Boat repeated their efforts from the previous day, as the fastest already-qualified, and fastest non-qualified cars of the day.^[29] High winds blew debris onto the track causing several yellow lights throughout the afternoon.^[32]

Top practice speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine	Speed
1	91T	Buddy Lazier	Hemelgarn Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	216.570
2	2T	Tony Stewart	Team Menard	G-Force	Oldsmobile	216.466
3	14	Davey Hamilton	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	G-Force	Oldsmobile	215.972

Thursday May 15

Most of the cars that took to the track were among those not yet qualified. Several veterans sat out the afternoon. Sam Schmidt found his way to the top of the speed chart, at over 211 mph. His team, Blueprint Racing, confirmed a third entry for Claude Bourbonnais, who would use Jim Guthrie's back-up car.^[33]

Bourbonnais ran laps over 200 mph, like Johnny Unser and Johnny O'Connell, who were also taking to the track for the first time all month, as well as Mark Dismore and his new teammate Tyce Carlson, who passed his refresher test.^[33] In a windy day, both drivers got to do laps in the 210 mph range early in the day before parking the cars early, as PDM Racing was out of spare engines.^[34]

Top practice speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine	Speed
1	16	Sam Schmidt (R)	Blueprint Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	211.989
2	14T	Davey Hamilton	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Dallara	Oldsmobile	211.456
3	42	Robby Gordon	Team SABCO	G-Force	Oldsmobile	211.164

Friday May 16

The final full day of practice saw heavy activity among qualified and non-qualified drivers. With Arie Luyendyk still absent, Tony Stewart led the speed chart. During the first hour, Johnny O'Connell lost an engine and crashed hard in the southchute. He dislocated his left foot, becoming the second Foyt driver to be sidelined during the month. Later that afternoon, Claude Bourbonnais was the tenth and last driver to complete his rookie test,^[35] and Scott Harrington finally took his first laps of the month.

In news off the track, the Indy Racing League confirmed the technical specifications for 1998 and beyond, which included the elimination of the 25/8 Rule, that had grown in controversy beyond its implied CART-blocking purposes.^[36] During the week, competitors and officials alike were growing apprehensive of the rule, as it was becoming increasingly possible that by enforcing the rule, the "fastest 33 cars", a cornerstone Indy tradition, would not necessarily make the field: at-large entries were expected to have to go at least over 210 mph to make the race, while four locked-in entries had settled with qualifying just over the 203 mph minimum speed required. Also, there had been some disconformity with some teams selling, or trying to sell, their locked-in berths.^[37]

Top practice speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine	Speed
1	2T	Tony Stewart	Team Menard	G-Force	Oldsmobile	216.388
2	4T	Kenny Bräck (R)	Galles Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	215.074
3	97	Greg Ray (R)	Knapp Motorsports	Dallara	Oldsmobile	215.069

Third Day - Saturday May 17

The third day of qualifying saw sunny skies and warm temperatures. A busy day of time trials saw the field fill to 31 cars. Billy Boat set the early pace with an average of 215.544 mph. Several "locked-in" drivers took runs, and within an hour, eight consecutive time trials were run to completion. Johnny Unser couldn't try to qualify after a piston failed in the morning practice, Greg Ray suffered an engine failure during his warm-up lap and Claude Bourbonnais, looking for speed to qualify on the later stages of the day, damaged his car after tagging the wall twice.^[38]

When the track closed for the day, only two positions were unfilled. 22 of the 23 original "locked-in" entries were already in the field. The only original "locked-in" entry yet unqualified was the #1 of A. J. Foyt Enterprises. After the injuries suffered by Scott Sharp and Johnny O'Connell, the car had no driver currently named. Foyt had previously discarded using that berth for Boat ^[37] and told reporters he would not sign another replacement driver.^[39]

Third Day
Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine	Speed	Entry status
22	11	Billy Boat (R)	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Dallara	Oldsmobile	215.544	At-large
23	16	Sam Schmidt (R)	Blueprint Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	215.141	At-large
24	50	Billy Roe (R)	EuroInternational	Dallara	Oldsmobile	212.752	At-large
25	28	Mark Dismore	Kelley Racing - PDM	Dallara	Oldsmobile	212.423	Locked-in
26	18	Tyce Carlson (R)	PDM Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	210.852	Locked-in
27	22	Marco Greco	Team Scandia	Dallara	Oldsmobile	210.322	Locked-in
28	54	Dennis Vitolo	Beck Motorsports	Dallara	Infiniti	207.626	Locked-in
29	33	Fermín Vélez	Team Scandia	Dallara	Oldsmobile	206.512	Locked-in
	97	Greg Ray (R)	Knapp Motorports	Dallara	Oldsmobile	engine trouble	At-large

Bump Day - Sunday May 18

Going into the final day of qualifying, two positions were open. One final "locked-in" position was available (Foyt's #1), as 22 of the 23 eligible cars had already completed their runs. Once the field was filled to 33 cars, the ten "non-exempt" positions were all up for grabs amongst the at-large entries.^[26] On the morning of Bump Day qualifying, several non-exempt teams were uneasy about their chances of making the field, despite having speeds amongst the fastest 33.

In the first hour of qualifying, the at-large entries of Johnny Unser and Greg Ray filled the field to 33 cars.^[26] Since 22 of the cars were locked-in, the move put Alessandro Zampedri on the bubble. Zampedri had qualified 19th on Pole Day with a 209.09 mph, and was the 28th-fastest car in the field at the time, but those five slower cars were "locked-in".

At 12:21 p.m., Paul Durant climbed for the first time into the #1 Foyt car, the final entry eligible for a locked-in position.^[26] Durant had secured the ride at 11:30 a.m.,^[39] and those were his first laps of the entire month. By 1:09 p.m., he was safely in the field at 209.149 mph. His run bumped Zampedri from the field of 33.

Johnny Unser now found himself on the bubble. His qualifying speed of 209.344 mph was the 26th-fastest car in the field, but as the slowest at-large entry, he was first in line to be ousted. Shortly after 2 p.m., Claude Bourbonnais took to the track for a qualifying attempt. His speed of 210.523 mph easily bumped Unser, and put Lyn St. James on the bubble. She had qualified 16th on Pole Day, and her speed of 210.145 mph was the 25th-fastest in the field, as well as the fastest by an Infiniti-powered car, but as an at-large entry, the eight cars below her were all locked-in.^[26]

Immediately after Bourbonnais's attempt, and with rain approaching, Alessandro Zampedri took his back-up car for a second chance to qualify. His run of 211.757 mph was enough to bump St. James, putting Bourbonnais on the bubble. Rain started falling and closed the track for the next hour.^[26] Despite being bumped, Lyn St. James made no effort to bring her car back onto the track. Rumors began circulating the garage area that USAC officials were considering reinstating bumped cars to the field.

Scott Harrington was the lone car yet to make an attempt after the rain. Having been unable to go over 200 mph on Saturday practice, Johansson Motorsports took possession of Foyt's back-up chassis for Davey Hamilton, and renumbered it as #36 to make it their primary car.^[39] With just 25 practice laps in the car, Harrington got out to qualify at 5.51 p.m, but after a quick first lap of 214.061 mph, he crashed heavily in Turn 2. Harrington, who was extricated from his car, remained conscious and was uninjured.^[26]

Post-qualifying controversy

When the gun sounded at 6 p.m., Lyn St. James and Johnny Unser, teammates at Hemelgarn Racing, were the two drivers bumped out of the Indianapolis 500. Alongside Alessandro Zampedri, bumped earlier before making his way back into the field, they had posted qualifying speeds faster than eight of the "locked-in" entries.

USAC officials expressed their concern that, due to the soon-to-be-abandoned 25/8 Rule, the fastest 33 cars were not going to start the race, and a decision was made to reinstate any at-large entries that were bumped, if they were among the "fastest 33". The ruling added St. James and Unser back to the field. They were placed in the 34th and 35th starting positions, respectively.^[26]

It was the first time since 1979 that more than the traditional 33 cars constituted the field. The debacle was a public relations black-eye, but the officials were applauded in the media for rightfully adding the cars back to the grid.

Bump Day
Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine	Speed	Entry status
30	97	Greg Ray (R)	Knapp Motorsports	Dallara	Oldsmobile	213.760	At-large
31	34	Alessandro Zampedri	Team Scandia	Dallara	Oldsmobile	211.757	At-large
32	72	Claude Bourbonnais (R)	Blueprint Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	210.523	At-large
33	1	Paul Durant	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	G-Force	Oldsmobile	209.149	Locked-in
Reinstated
34	90	Lyn St. James	Hemelgarn Racing	Dallara	Infiniti	210.145	At-large
35	9	Johnny Unser	Hemelgarn Racing	Dallara	Infiniti	209.344	At-large
Failed to qualify
	36	Scott Harrington	Johansson Motorsports	G-Force	Infiniti	Crashed	At-large

Final practice

The final scheduled practice session was scheduled for Thursday May 22. Robby Gordon blew an engine, while Dennis Vitolo, Marco Greco and Paul Durant experienced mechanical trouble. Tony Stewart turned the fastest lap of the day, at 215.502 mph.^[40]

Polesitter Arie Luyendyk completed only two laps at speed, using the session mostly as a system check exercise.

Top practice speeds
Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine	Speed
1	2	Tony Stewart	Team Menard	G-Force	Oldsmobile	215.502
2	97	Greg Ray (R)	Knapp Motorsports	Dallara	Oldsmobile	214.807
3	6	Scott Goodyear	Treadway Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	212.972

Pit Stop Contest

The Coors Indy Pit Stop Challenge featured eight teams competing for a $40,000 top prize. The Indianapolis 500 pole sitter (Treadway's #5) was automatically qualified, and four entries were selected through an Indy Racing League program at Walt Disney World (Scandia's #22 and Blueprint's #27) and Phoenix (Foyt's #14 and Chastain's #77).^[41]

The last three places were determined in a preliminary round on May 12. Galles's #4 (with a time of 12.597 seconds), SABCO's #42 (13.721 seconds) and Team Cheever's #51 (14.409 seconds) gained access to the competition, defeating Sinden's #44 (14.721 seconds), Team Cheever's #52 (15.447 seconds), Arizona's #40 (17.245 seconds) and Pagan's #21, which did not register a time.^[27] However, Chastain and Foyt withdrew from the competition, allowing the #44 and #52 cars to take part in the event.^[41]

Galles Racing and driver Kenny Bräck defeated Team Cheever with driver/owner Eddie Cheever in the finals.^[40]

System check runs

On Saturday May 24, the day before the race, arrangements were made for a special practice session. Due to the new engine package, some teams had requested additional track time for system check runs. A very brief green light period, with a 190 mph speed limit, was conducted for five cars.^[42]

Alternates

• First alternate: #34 - No driver listed (Alessandro Zampedri's primary entry - bumped)

Sunday May 25

The race was originally scheduled for 11 a.m. EST on Sunday May 25. Rain in the morning delayed the activities, but the skies appeared to lighten, and the cars were placed in the grid at 11:45 a.m. At 12 p.m., the skies opened up, and heavy rain began to fall. The cars were wheeled back to the garage area. At 1:30 p.m., track officials rescheduled the race for Monday.^[43]

Robby Gordon, driving for Felix Sabates' Team SABCO, had planned on driving the Indy 500/Coca-Cola 600 "Double Duty." At 1:45 p.m., Gordon left the grounds, and flew to Charlotte. The Coca-Cola 600 also suffered a rain delay, but did eventually see the green flag fall. Gordon wrecked out on lap 186, and finished 41st.

Monday May 26

The pace cars leads the field through turn one on Monday during the parade lap.

On Memorial Day, Monday May 26, the race was scheduled for 11 a.m. EST. Skies were partly cloudy in the morning, but there was no rain at the time. The pre-race ceremonies were held on-time, but some subtle changes were made. The Purdue Band was unable to return for Monday, and therefore Florence Henderson's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was done a cappella. In addition, "Taps" was played by a local musician as a substitute. The most noteworthy change, however, was the absence of Jim Nabors. He had left the grounds Sunday night, and was not present to sing the traditional "Back Home Again in Indiana." At his request, a recording from a previous year (1993) was played for the fans. Mari Hulman George followed, officially taking over the family tradition (from her mother Mary F. Hulman) of delivering the starting command. Mary F. Hulman had been inducted into the Auto Racing Hall of Fame earlier in the month, but was in declining health. Also absent was longtime Speedway public address announcer John Totten, who had fallen ill.

On the first parade lap, Dr. Jack Miller got sideways with cold tires and nearly spun in turn 4. He continued, and rejoined the field. On the final pace lap, all three cars of the fifth row, Stéphan Grégoire, Affonso Giaffone, and Kenny Bräck came together, and crashed in turn 4. The crash delayed the start by five extra pace laps. Meanwhile, Sam Schmidt and Alessandro Zampedri ducked into the pits with mechanical trouble, and Robbie Groff stalled on the backstretch, being restarted in the pits. In total, five cars were out of the race before the green flag.

Tony Stewart took the lead when the race finally got underway. On the 10th lap, the yellow came out due to a blown engine by Claude Bourbonnais. Moments later, a light drizzle started falling around the track. On lap 15, the rain was falling harder, and the race was red flagged. With rain continuing to fall, the cars returned to the garage area at 12:30 p.m., and fans began to leave the grounds.

The race had to go at least 101 laps to be considered official. With only 15 laps completed, the race would have to be resumed when the officials deemed appropriate. After negotiations between Speedway officials, series officials, and television executives, the decision was made at 2:15 p.m. to resume the race at lap 16 the following day, Tuesday May 27 at 11 a.m. The arrangement differed from a similar situation during the 1986 race. Many expected the conclusion of the race to be postponed until Saturday (May 31). However, officials agreed that due to the upcoming race at Texas, and the good forecast for Tuesday, it was in the best interest to finish the race as soon as possible.

Tuesday May 27

With skies finally clearing, the race finally was able to get underway. Mari Hulman George delivered the "re-start" command at 11 a.m., and the race resumed at lap 16. Of the 35 qualifiers, 29 cars lined up single-file for the restart. The grandstands were only partially full, and it marked the first time since 1973 that the race was held mid-week. ABC-TV made a special arrangement to cover the race live as planned.

Re-start

The race picked up single-file from the pits at lap 16. The first two laps were run under caution as warm-up laps, however, they counted towards the race total. On lap 18, the green flag came out with Tony Stewart resuming the lead.

On the first green lap of the day, Robby Gordon was racing down the backstretch and suddenly veered to the warm-up lane in turn three. He stopped the car, which was on fire. Gordon jumped out of the car with his driver's suit burning, and began rolling vigorously in the grass to put the fire out. The caution came out as crews put out the fire, and towed the car back to the pits. Gordon would drop out of the race.

On lap 23, as the field lined up for the restart, four cars tangled in turn 4. Steve Kinser tagged Eliseo Salazar from behind, and Roberto Guerrero rear-ended Mark Dismore. All four cars suffered cosmetic damage. Dismore was eliminated immediately; Guerrero and Salazar both retired before halfway. The first significant green flag racing of the week finally began at lap 28.

First half

Tony Stewart led Robbie Buhl leading up to the 40-lap (100-mile) mark. Also in the top five were Arie Luyendyk, Buddy Lazier, and rookie Jeff Ward. The first series of green flag pit stops began on lap 50. After the field shuffled through pitting, Stewart was back in the lead with Luyendyk second.

Jim Guthrie brought out the yellow on lap 59 due to an engine failure. On the restart, Arie Luyendyk got the jump and passed Tony Stewart for the lead.

Another sequence of green flag pit stops around laps 85-90 saw Arie Luyendyk and Tony Stewart again emerge as 1-2. Another caution flag waved when Eliseo Salazar stopped in turn 2 on lap 93.

By the halfway point, thirteen cars had dropped out. Greg Ray and Eddie Cheever were out with mechanical failures, and Roberto Guerrero was sidelined with a damaged suspension.

Second half

The 5th caution was displayed on lap 114 after a collision between Billy Roe and Paul Durant in turn 3. Durant sustained a fractured pelvis and a concussion, and had to be transferred to Methodist Hospital, where he was reported to be awake and alert. The lead was trading among Arie Luyendyk, Tony Stewart, and Robbie Buhl. Rookie Jeff Ward and defending Indy 500 champion Buddy Lazier were also in contention. On lap 137, Mike Groff and Jack Miller wrecked in the south chute to bring out the 6th caution. On the restart on lap 142, Ward moved into the lead. He pulled out to a 4-second lead over Luyendyk over the next 20 laps.

Tyce Carlson spun and Johnny Unser blew his engine in turn 2 on lap 164, bringing out the 7th caution. The yellow sent the leaders to the pits. Tony Stewart stalled his engine, and fell down to in the standings. Ward came back out in the lead, with Buddy Lazier second. Scott Goodyear had worked his way up to third, and Luyendyk remained in the top 5.

With 20 laps to go, Ward continued to lead, and Stewart had climbed back up to second. With a 13-second lead, Ward was in need of one final splash-and-go fuel stop before the finish.

Controversial finish

With eleven laps to go, Steve Kinser crashed, and collected Lyn St. James. The ensuing caution flag saw leader Jeff Ward, who knew he could not make it to the finish on fuel, head to the pits. The restart order with 8 laps left was Scott Goodyear, his teammate Arie Luyendyk, Buddy Lazier, Ward and Tony Stewart. They were the only five drivers on the lead lap.

The green flag came back out on lap 194. Luyendyk passed Goodyear on the backstretch to take the lead. Just two laps later, the yellow was brought out again for a piece of debris (Lazier's right-side rear-view mirror broke in turn 2). Luyendyk still led as the green came back out at the conclusion of lap 197, with three laps to go.

As Luyendyk and Goodyear crossed the start/finish line to complete lap 198, Tony Stewart brushed the wall in turn 4. The car was not seriously damaged, and Stewart continued. However, USAC still brought out the yellow. The pace car did not enter the track to pick up the leader, as was the normal procedure.

Luyendyk guided his teammate Goodyear (second place), and the rest of the field around at a slow pace. As the cars came out of turn four, they anticipated seeing the white flag, and it was clear to them the race would finish under caution, as did IMS Radio Network announcer Bob Jenkins. Without any warning, USAC officials suddenly displayed the white and green flag at the starter's stand, and the race was back underway. A startled Luyendyk, running about 85 mph, hastily dropped a gear, and punched the throttle to accelerate. The entire field was caught off-guard, and to make matters worse, the yellow caution lights around the track remained illuminated. The confusion made some drivers unsure if the green flag was an error, and if the conditions were safe to race.

Most of the cars, including Goodyear, hesitated, and the yellow lights around the track did not go off until the leaders were on the backstretch. The botched restart prevented any significant challenge by Goodyear, and Luyendyk cruised around the final lap to take the victory. It was Luyendyk's second Indy 500 win, and he became the 16th driver to win from the pole position.

Arie Luyendyk was emotional in victory lane as he stated:

"I saw the green and white flag wave and I thought 'Hell they better know what they're doing' and I will keep doing what I've been doing. This is a lot better than my first in 1990."

His teammate Scott Goodyear was satisfied but still disappointed at the outcome:

"That's the key lap of the whole race obviously because you want to get a draft, get the guy going and lead coming out the backstretch. I don't think Arie even expected it. Overall a 1-2 finish for Treadway is a bonus but...disappointed that I didn't win."

Radio

The race was carried live on the IMS Radio Network. Bob Jenkins served as chief announcer for the eighth year. Johnny Rutherford served as "driver expert," and at the start of the race, also drove the pace car. The race was heard on roughly 500 affiliates.

The crew for the 1997 race remained the same from 1996. The broadcast featured rain delay coverage on Sunday, live coverage of the start on Monday, and live coverage of the conclusion on Tuesday. All members of the crew participated on all three days. After serving as a guest booth analyst the previous two years, Chris Economaki spent all three days in the pits as a roving reporter. Economaki conducted interviews and offered observations at various points during the race. In the pit area, Mark Jaynes covered the north pits, Mike King began the race in the center pits, and Vince Welch began the race in the south pits. In the second half of the race, King and Welch shared duties in the south and center pits, focusing on the race leaders.

Television

The race was carried live flag-to-flag coverage in the United States on ABC Sports. Paul Page served as host and play-by-play announcer. Tom Sneva joined the crew, and served as booth analyst. Bobby Unser (turn 2) and Danny Sullivan (turn 4) served as turn reporters, and this would be the final 500 on ABC for both Unser and Sullivan.

The race was scheduled for Sunday May 25, but rain postponed the start. ABC stayed on as scheduled on Sunday, and the broadcast was filled with highlights, interviews, and talk. On Monday May 26, ABC returned to broadcast the race live, preempting regularly scheduled programming. The broadcast came on-air live at 11 EDT, and featured a one-hour pre-race, mirroring the traditional Sunday broadcast format. The race started, but was halted again on lap 15 due to rain. When it was announced that the race would be postponed again, ABC signed off and returned to their regularly scheduled lineup.

On Tuesday May 27, ABC returned once again to air the remainder of the race live. Unlike a similar situation in 1986, officials decided to resume the race on Tuesday, rather than wait until Saturday. ABC again preempted their afternoon lineup, and carried the entire conclusion.

Practice and time trials were carried over three networks: ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2.

• Live Daily Reports (ESPN2): Paul Page, Dave Despain, Jon Beekuis, Dr. Jerry Punch, Gary Gerould, Mike King
• Time trials (ABC): Paul Page, Tom Sneva, Jack Arute, Gary Gerould
• Time trials (ESPN): Dave Despain, Tom Sneva, Jack Arute, Dr. Jerry Punch, Gary Gerould
• Time trials (ESPN2): Paul Page, Tom Sneva, Dr. Jerry Punch, Jon Beekuis, Mike King
• Carb Day (ESPN): Dave Despain, Jon Beekuis, Dr. Jerry Punch, Mike King
• RPM2Day at Indy (ESPN2): Kenny Mayne, Marlo Klain

References

Works cited

• 1997 Indianapolis 500 Daily Trackside Report for the Media
• Indianapolis 500 History: Race & All-Time Stats - Official Site
• 1997 Indianapolis 500 Radio Broadcast, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network