1997 Indy Lights season
The 1997 PPG/Firestone Indy Lights Championship Powered By Buick consisted of 13 races. Tony Kanaan edged out good friend and teammate Hélio Castro-Neves to the title by only four points.
Calendar
| Race No | Track | State | Date | Laps | Distance | Time | Speed | Winner | Pole Position | Led the Most Laps | Fastest Race Lap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Homestead | Florida | March 2, 1997 | 50 | 2.4413081=122.065405 km | 0'45:55.357 | 159.484 km/h | David Empringham | Hélio Castro-Neves | Mark Hotchkis | Mark Hotchkis |
| 2 | Long Beach | California | April 13, 1997 | 40 | 2.558787=102.35148 km | 0'52:25.497 | 117.141 km/h | Hélio Castro-Neves | Hélio Castro-Neves | Hélio Castro-Neves | Cristiano da Matta |
| 3 | Nazareth | Pennsylvania | April 27, 1997 | 64 | 1.5223978=97.4334592 km | 0'38:41.989 | 151.060 km/h | Cristiano da Matta | Chris Simmons | Chris Simmons | David DeSilva |
| 4 | Savannah | Georgia | May 18, 1997 | 50 | 3.1606652=158.03326 km | 1'10:52.676 | 133,779 km/h | Hélio Castro-Neves | Hélio Castro-Neves | Hélio Castro-Neves | ? |
| 5 | Madison | Illinois | May 24, 1997 | 56 | 2.011625=112.651 km | 0'58:33.865 | 115.412 km/h | Lee Bentham | Chris Simmons | Lee Bentham | Cristiano da Matta |
| 6 | Milwaukee | Wisconsin | June 1, 1997 | 90 | 1.6607976=149.471784 km | 0'44:05.781 | 203.380 km/h | Clint Mears | Clint Mears | Clint Mears | Clint Mears |
| 7 | Detroit | Michigan | June 8, 1997 | 36 | 3.37953=121.66308 km | 0'52:59.459 | 137.755 km/h | Tony Kanaan | Tony Kanaan | Tony Kanaan | Hélio Castro-Neves |
| 8 | Portland | Oregon | June 22, 1997 | 29 | 3.169=91.901 km | 0'40:54.077 | 134.814 km/h | Hideki Noda | Hélio Castro-Neves | Hélio Castro-Neves | Oswaldo Negri, Jr. |
| 9 | Toronto | .svg.png){kind=small} | July 20, 1997 | 44 | 2.7696053=121.862633 km | 0'57:23.659 | 127.395 km/h | Hélio Castro-Neves | Tony Kanaan | Hélio Castro-Neves | Christophe Tinseau |
| 10 | Trois-Rivières | | August 3, 1997 | 50 | 2.4477453=122.387265 km | 1'00:33.440 | 121.261 km/h | Tony Kanaan | Mark Hotchkis | Tony Kanaan | Mark Hotchkis |
| 11 | Vancouver | | August 31, 1997 | 44 | 2.7406379=120.588068 km | 0'56:39.358 | 122.957 km/h | Cristiano da Matta | Cristiano da Matta | Cristiano da Matta | Hideki Noda |
| 12 | Monterey | California | September 7, 1997 | 25 | 3.6016134=90.040335 km | 0'43:48.426 | 123.323 km/h | Cristiano da Matta | Tony Kanaan | Clint Mears | Cristiano da Matta |
| 13 | Fontana | California | September 27, 1997 | 50 | 3.2186=141.6184 km | 0'52:15.813 | 162.582.130 km/h | Clint Mears | Clint Mears | Hélio Castro-Neves | Cristiano da Matta |
Race summaries
Homestead race
Held March 2 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Hélio Castro-Neves won the pole.
Top Five Results
- David Empringham
- Fredrik Larsson
- Chris Simmons
- Mark Hotchkis
- Lee Bentham
Long Beach race
Held April 13 at Long Beach, California Street Course. Hélio Castro-Neves won the pole.
Top Five Results
- Hélio Castro-Neves
- Cristiano da Matta
- Mark Hotchkis
- Chris Simmons
- Tony Kanaan
Nazareth race
Held April 27 at Nazareth Speedway. Chris Simmons won the pole.
Top Five Results
- Cristiano da Matta
- Chris Simmons
- Fredrik Larsson
- Hélio Castro-Neves
- Tony Kanaan
Savannah race
Held May 18 on Hutchinson Island. Hélio Castro-Neves won the pole.
Top Five Results
- Hélio Castro-Neves
- Sérgio Paese
- Lee Bentham
- Luiz Garcia, Jr.
- Naoki Hattori
Gateway race
Held May 24 at Gateway International Raceway. Chris Simmons won the pole.
Top Five Results
- Lee Bentham
- Cristiano da Matta
- Hélio Castro-Neves
- David Empringham
- Chris Simmons
Portland race
Held June 22 at Portland International Raceway. Hélio Castro-Neves won the pole.
Top Five Results
- Hideki Noda
- Hélio Castro-Neves
- Tony Kanaan
- Cristophe Tinseau
- Cristiano da Matta
Toronto race
Held July 20 at Exhibition Place. Tony Kanaan won the pole.
Top Five Results
- Hélio Castro-Neves
- Tony Kanaan
- David Empringham
- Didier André
- Cristophe Tinseau
Trois-Rivières race
Held August 3 at the Trois-Rivières, Quebec Street Circuit. Mark Hotchkis won the pole.
Top Five Results
- Tony Kanaan
- Mark Hotchkis
- Cristophe Tinseau
- Cristiano da Matta
- David Empringham
Vancouver race
Held August 31 at Pacific Place. Cristiano da Matta won the pole.
Top Five Results
- Cristiano da Matta
- Tony Kanaan
- Hideki Noda
- Chris Simmons
- David Empringham
Laguna Seca race
Held September 7 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Tony Kanaan won the pole.
Top Five Results
Fontana race
Held September 27 at The California Speedway. Clint Mears won the pole.
Top Five Results
- Clint Mears
- Chris Simmons
- Lee Bentham
- Cristiano da Matta
- Hélio Castro-Neves
Final points standings
Driver
For every race the points were awarded: 20 points to the winner, 16 for runner-up, 14 for third place, 12 for fourth place, 10 for fifth place, 8 for sixth place, 6 seventh place, winding down to 1 points for 12th place. Additional points were awarded to the pole winner (1 point) and to the driver leading the most laps (1 point).
| Place | Name | Country | Team | Total Points |  | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tony Kanaan |  | Tasman Motorsports | 156 | 8 | 10 | 10 | - | 3 | 14 | 22 | 14 | 17 | 21 | 16 | 17 | 4 |
| 2 | Hélio Castro-Neves | | Tasman Motorsports | 152 | 1 | 22 | 12 | 22 | 14 | 1 | 16 | 18 | 21 | - | - | 14 | 11 |
| 3 | Cristiano da Matta | | Brian Stewart Racing | 141 | - | 16 | 20 | - | 16 | 12 | - | 10 | - | 12 | 22 | 21 | 12 |
| 4 | David Empringham | | Forsythe Racing | 107 | 20 | 3 | 4 | - | 12 | 16 | 12 | 6 | 14 | 10 | 10 | - | - |
| 5 | Chris Simmons | | Team Green | 88 | 14 | 12 | 18 | - | 11 | - | 5 | - | - | - | 12 | - | 16 |
| Lee Bentham | | Forsythe Racing | 88 | 10 | - | - | 14 | 21 | 4 | - | 5 | - | 5 | 5 | 10 | 14 | |
| 7 | Mark Hotchkis | | Team Green | 74 | 13 | 14 | - | - | - | 6 | 8 | - | - | 17 | 2 | 12 | 2 |
| 8 | Clint Mears | | Team Mears | 53 | 1 | - | 6 | - | 2 | 22 | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | 21 |
| 9 | Hideki Noda |  | Indy Regency Racing | 51 | - | - | - | 8 | - | - | - | 20 | - | 8 | 14 | 1 | - |
| Airton Daré | | Brian Stewart Racing | 51 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 2 | - | - | 4 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 5 | |
| 11 | Christophe Tinseau |  | Conquest Racing | 49 | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | 2 | 12 | 10 | 14 | - | 8 | 1 |
| 12 | Fredrik Larsson |  | Johansson Motorsports | 43 | 16 | - | 14 | 3 | - | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 13 | Luiz Garcia, Jr. | | Dorricott Racing | 38 | - | - | - | 12 | - | - | 4 | 8 | - | - | 8 | 3 | 3 |
| 14 | Robby Unser | | PacWest Lights | 35 | 5 | 6 | 3 | - | 6 | 8 | 1 | - | 6 | - | - | - | - |
| Didier André | | Autosport Racing | 35 | - | 5 | - | 4 | - | - | - | - | 12 | 6 | 3 | 5 | - | |
| 16 | Naoki Hattori | | Team Green | 32 | - | - | - | 10 | - | - | 6 | - | 8 | - | - | - | 8 |
| 17 | Geoff Boss | | Team Medlin | 30 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | 14 | 3 | - | 2 | 4 | 4 | - |
| 18 | Sérgio Paese | | FRE Racing | 27 | - | - | - | 16 | - | - | 10 | 1 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 19 | David DeSilva | | Lucas Place Motorsports | 17 | - | 1 | 8 | - | 5 | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 20 | Oswaldo Negri, Jr. | | Genoa Racing | 15 | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - |
| 21 | Jaques Lazier | | Brian Stewart Racing | 12 | - | 2 | 1 | - | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Brian Cunningham | | Brian Stewart Racing | 12 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| Lucas Place Motorsports | 6 | - | |||||||||||||||
| 23 | Casey Mears | | Team Mears | 9 | 4 | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 24 | Jeff Ward | | Johansson Motorsports | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| 25 | Shigeaki Hattori | | Lucas Place Motorsports | 5 | - | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - |
| 26 | Bob Dorrichott, Jr. | | Dorricott Racing | 4 | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Frédéric Gosparini | | Brian Stewart Racing | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | |
| 28 | Andrew Bordin | | Bordin Racing | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| 29 | Chris Bingham | | Leading Edge Motorsports | 2 | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Complete Overview
| first column of every race | 10 | = grid position |
| second column of every race | 10 | = race result |
R23=retired, but classified NS=did not start NQ=did not qualify
| Place | Name | Country | Team | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |||||||||||||
| 1 | Tony Kanaan | | Tasman Motorsports | 10 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 2 | R23 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| 2 | Hélio Castro-Neves | | Tasman Motorsports | 1 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | R20 | 3 | R19 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 3 | Cristiano da Matta | | Brian Stewart Racing | 9 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 19 | R21 | 7 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 10 | R26 | 8 | 5 | 3 | R18 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 4 |
| 4 | David Empringham | | Forsythe Racing | 5 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 25 | 9 | 6 | R14 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 4 | R26 | 2 | R13 |
| 5 | Chris Simmons | | Team Green | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 19 | 17 | 6 | 8 | 19 | 13 | 5 | R21 | 2 | 15 | 4 | 4 | 8 | R28 | 6 | 2 |
| Lee Bentham | | Forsythe Racing | 6 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 9 | R22 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 22 | 9 | 8 | 13 | R27 | 17 | 8 | 14 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 3 | |
| 7 | Mark Hotchkis | | Team Green | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 12 | R23 | 11 | 17 | 2 | R22 | 25 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 12 | 16 | 4 | R17 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 11 |
| 8 | Clint Mears | | Team Mears | 18 | 12 | 27 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 25 | R18 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 18 | - | NS | 26 | 13 | 22 | 12 | 28 | 14 | 26 | NS | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Hideki Noda | | Indy Regency Racing | 21 | 18 | 11 | R19 | 22 | 16 | 7 | 6 | 19 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 22 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 8 | R15 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 12 | - | - |
| Airton Daré | | Brian Stewart Racing | 13 | 11 | 18 | 6 | 11 | 8 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 20 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 9 | 17 | 7 | 24 | 11 | 12 | 8 | |
| 11 | Christophe Tinseau | | Conquest Racing | 15 | R25 | 17 | R26 | 15 | 14 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 20 | 21 | 12 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 7 | R18 | 6 | 6 | 13 | 12 |
| 12 | Fredrik Larsson | | Johansson Motorsports | 8 | 2 | 16 | R22 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 14 | R24 | 16 | 5 | 4 | R25 | 22 | 22 | 22 | R28 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 13 | Luiz Garcia, Jr. | | Dorricott Racing | 23 | 16 | 6 | 15 | 13 | R24 | 3 | 4 | 18 | 17 | 21 | 19 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 17 | R25 | 15 | R23 | 9 | 6 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 10 |
| 14 | Robby Unser | | PacWest Lights | 14 | 8 | 15 | 7 | 21 | 10 | 18 | R22 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 17 | 12 | 20 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 16 | R19 | 18 | R21 | 19 | R22 | 19 | R16 |
| Didier André | | Autosport Racing | 19 | 22 | 13 | 8 | 17 | R25 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 6 | R25 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 8 | - | - | |
| 16 | Naoki Hattori | | Team Green | 7 | 13 | - | NS | 18 | 15 | 15 | 5 | 17 | 14 | 18 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 13 | R24 | 15 | 6 | 13 | R24 | 10 | R15 | 13 | R20 | 9 | 6 |
| 17 | Geoff Boss | | Team Medlin | 17 | 10 | 9 | R24 | 20 | 17 | 20 | R20 | 22 | 21 | 13 | 20 | 3 | 3 | 21 | 10 | 27 | 14 | 21 | 11 | 21 | 9 | 22 | 9 | - | - |
| 18 | Sérgio Paese | | FRE Racing | - | NS | 22 | R20 | - | - | 4 | 2 | 15 | 18 | 23 | R24 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 9 | R23 | 10 | R25 | 20 | R27 | 9 | 13 | - | - |
| 19 | David DeSilva | | Lucas Place Motorsports | 4 | 17 | 20 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 26 | NQ | 3 | 8 | 2 | R25 | 13 | 10 | 14 | R26 | 16 | R24 | 9 | R26 | 11 | R17 | 23 | 17 | - | - |
| 20 | Oswaldo Negri, Jr. | | Genoa Racing | - | - | 12 | R27 | - | - | 17 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | 9 | 20 | 8 | 25 | R21 | 19 | R20 | 17 | R27 | - | - |
| 21 | Jaques Lazier | | Brian Stewart Racing | - | - | 19 | 11 | 19 | 12 | 21 | R24 | 23 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 20 | 23 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Brian Cunningham | | Brian Stewart Racing | 11 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||
| Lucas Place Motorsports | 23 | R25 | 10 | 7 | 8 | R14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 23 | Casey Mears | | Team Mears | 12 | 9 | 23 | 17 | 24 | 13 | 24 | 13 | 24 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 21 | 25 | 23 | 11 | 21 | R20 | 26 | 17 | 27 | R16 | 29 | 19 | 15 | R15 |
| 24 | Jeff Ward | | Johansson Motorsports | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 22 | R22 | 27 | 15 | 17 | 7 |
| 25 | Shigeaki Hattori | | Lucas Place Motorsports | - | - | 10 | 9 | 6 | 20 | 8 | R15 | 12 | R23 | 9 | 16 | 14 | 24 | 16 | 23 | 11 | R26 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 14 | 18 | R18 |
| 26 | Bob Dorrichott, Jr. | | Dorricott Racing | 25 | R24 | 14 | R21 | - | - | 16 | 11 | 20 | 19 | 3 | R23 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 25 | 11 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 14 | R21 | 7 | R20 |
| Frédéric Gosparini | | Project Indy | - | - | - | NS | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||
| Brian Stewart Racing | 23 | 12 | 19 | 10 | 16 | R24 | 15 | R23 | 14 | R19 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 28 | Andrew Bordin | | Bordin Racing | 22 | R23 | 26 | R23 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 11 | 15 | 24 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 10 | 10 | 24 | 13 | 26 | R23 | 21 | 16 | - | - |
| 29 | Chris Bingham | | Leading Edge Motorsports | 20 | 15 | 25 | 13 | 14 | 11 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 26 | 21 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| - | Rodolfo Lavín, Jr. |  | Indy Regency Racing | 16 | 20 | 21 | 16 | 16 | R21 | 22 | R25 | 21 | 15 | 15 | 22 | 25 | 19 | 24 | 19 | 24 | R22 | 23 | R22 | 24 | R26 | 25 | R25 | 20 | R17 |
| - | Eric Jensen | | Auto Sport Racing | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 28 | R16 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| - | Claude Bourbonnais | | Eclipse Racing | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 18 | R19 | 20 | 18 | 25 | R28 | 28 | 18 | - | - |
| - | John Jones | | Eclipse Racing | 24 | 19 | 24 | R25 | 23 | 19 | 23 | 19 | - | - | - | - | 26 | 20 | 25 | 18 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| - | Jean-Philippe Belloc | | Auto Sport Racing | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 16 | R24 | - | - |
| - | Philipp Sager |  | Project Indy | - | NS | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
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