The 1997 Pennzoil 200 was the ninth round of the 1996–1997 Indy Racing League. The race was held on August 17, 1997 at the New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire.

Qualifying Results Key Meaning R Rookie W Past winner

Pos No. Name Lap 1 Lap 2 Best (in mph) 1 70 Marco Greco 23.717 23.764 160.594 2 6 Scott Goodyear 23.814 23.721 160.567 3 4 Kenny Bräck R 23.761 24.752 160.296 4 33 Jimmy Kite R 23.805 25.251 160.000 5 7 Eliseo Salazar 23.878 24.227 159.511 6 77 Stéphan Grégoire 24.281 24.268 156.947 7 3 Robbie Buhl 24.302 24.312 156.728 8 5 Arie Luyendyk 24.319 24.351 156.618 9 22 Vincenzo Sospiri R 24.589 24.549 155.151 10 21 Roberto Guerrero 24.563 24.683 155.062 11 18 John Paul Jr. 24.732 24.653 154.496 12 14 Davey Hamilton 24.741 24.672 154.377 13 12 Buzz Calkins 24.745 24.912 153.922 14 2 Tony Stewart 24.755 25.031 153.860 15 91 Buddy Lazier 24.791 24.777 153.723 16 1 Billy Boat R 24.966 25.327 152.559 17 17 Affonso Giaffone R 25.018 25.230 152.242 18 51 Eddie Cheever 25.077 25.157 151.884 19 30 Robbie Groff R 25.095 25.166 151.775 20 10 Johnny Unser 25.165 25.141 151.498 21 27 Jim Guthrie R 26.174 26.287 145.518 22 40 Jack Miller R Didn't qualify No speed 23 28 Mark Dismore 25.531 25.699 149.183 24 99 Sam Schmidt R Didn't qualify No speed

Didn't qualify because of handling issues. He was allowed to start the race at the back of the field. Changed his Riley & Scott chassis, which was making its debut, for a Dallara chassis and was demoted to the back of the field. Couldn't qualify after his chassis had been damaged in a practice crash. He was allowed to start the race at the back of the field.

Failed to qualify or withdrew Mike Groff for Byrd-Cunningham Racing - crashed during Friday's second practice session and was hospitalised with a concussion. Replaced by Johnny Unser. Greg Ray R for Knapp Motorsports - his team withdrew on Saturday morning, prior to qualifying and not having completed a single lap in practice, in order to prepare for the Las Vegas race.

Race Report

The first 10 laps were run almost entirely under caution, after a spin by Robbie Groff and a gearbox failure for Jim Guthrie on the opening lap and a botched restart when Jimmy Kite spun coming off turn 4. Once racing finally got started, unexpected pole sitter Marco Greco was strong in the lead but he handed it over to Scott Goodyear on lap 35 when he pitted under caution after a crash by Sam Schmidt. On lap 63, a broken oil line fitting made him spin off turn 4 and the resulting caution and pit stop by Goodyear allowed Eliseo Salazar to take the lead, which he maintained. Not long after the restart, Buddy Lazier also spun on the tricky turn 4, bringing out the fifth caution in less than 70 laps.

Meanwhile, Eddie Cheever who started from 18th spot, moved into second place by lap 40 and assumed the lead on lap 96 when Salazar pitted under caution after a crash by Affonso Giaffone. Cheever held the lead until the next round of pit stops, starting on lap 133. Buhl had remained in the top 10 since early in the race, running in the top 5 most of the time. Goodyear's engine failed on lap 153, bringing out another caution and a round of pit stops that shuffled the field. The then-leader, Kenny Bräck, had a slow pit stop, while Stéphan Grégoire, who was running second, suffered a mechanical failure.

Cheever took over the lead again after the green, followed by Buhl. Both had gambled on stopping earlier, strategy that paid off due to the caution, as they were able to stretch his fuel load to the finish, running very close to each other. But on the second-to-last lap Cheever's gearbox failed, slowing abruptly on the backstretch. Buhl had to slow significantly too to avoid a crash and Vincenzo Sospiri rapidly made up a gap of several seconds. On the last lap, Buhl encountered heavy traffic on the backstretch. Sospiri, with less worn tires, avoided it by running high, came off turn 4 nose to tail with Buhl, and made it side by side to the finish line, but Buhl won by a nose. Robbie Buhl, coming off an injury suffered at Pikes Peak, took the closest victory in IRL history. Buhl survived a race of attrition that saw several drivers suffer mechanical failures while leading.

With only one race left in the calendar, Tony Stewart slightly increased his advantage in the championship. Despite blowing his engine with 26 laps to go in what already was a difficult weekend (having only qualified in 14th place and never being able to contend for the top spots), he got 3 more points than Davey Hamilton, who also had engine troubles 53 laps earlier. Hamilton was the only driver with mathematical chances to beat Stewart, as Cheever was 38 points behind the leader.

Race results Box Score Pos No. Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid LapsLed Points 13 Robbie BuhlTeam Menard2001:46:50.5747335 222 Vincenzo Sospiri R   Team Scandia200+ 0.064 sec9133 35 Arie LuyendykTreadway Racing200+ 4.626 sec8232 47 Eliseo SalazarTeam Scandia200+ 9.363 sec53931 54 Kenny Bräck RGalles Racing200+ 10.164 sec3930 621 Roberto GuerreroPagan Racing200+ 15.917 sec10029 718 John Paul Jr. PDM Racing199+ 1 lap11128 81 Billy Boat RA. J. Foyt Enterprises199+ 1 lap16027 951 Eddie CheeverTeam Cheever198Gearbox188027 1030 Robbie Groff RMcCormack Motorsports198+ 2 laps19025 1128 Mark DismoreKelley Racing-PDM197+ 3 laps23024 1291 Buddy LazierHemelgarn Racing195+ 5 laps15023 1310 Johnny UnserByrd-Cunningham Racing189+ 11 laps20022 142 Tony StewartTeam Menard174Engine14021 1577 Stéphan GrégoireChastain Motorsports154Electrical6020 166 Scott GoodyearTreadway Racing 152Engine23119 1714 Davey HamiltonA. J. Foyt Enterprises 121Engine12018 1817 Affonso Giaffone RChitwood Motorsports93Accident17017 1940 Jack Miller RArizona Motorsports81Handling22016 2070 Marco GrecoGalles Racing59Oil fitting13417 2112 Buzz CalkinsBradley Motorsports36Electrical13014 2299 Sam Schmidt RLP Racing-PCI30Accident24013 2333 Jimmy Kite RTeam Scandia4Accident4012 2427 Jim Guthrie RBlueprint Racing0Gearbox21011

Race Statistics Lead changes: 12 among 9 drivers

Lap Leaders Laps Leader1-34 Marco Greco35-62 Scott Goodyear63-64 Eliseo Salazar65 John Paul Jr.66-95 Eliseo Salazar96-133 Eddie Cheever134-136 Scott Goodyear137-138 Arie Luyendyk139-145 Eliseo Salazar146-154 Kenny Bräck155 Vincenzo Sospiri156-197 Eddie Cheever198-200 Robbie Buhl

Cautions: 7 for 39 laps Laps Reason1-5Jim Guthrie slow on track; Robbie Groff spin6-10Jimmy Kite crash34-39Sam Schmidt crash61-66Marco Greco spin68-72Buddy Lazier spin95-102Affonso Giaffone crash154-157Tow-in for Scott Goodyear (engine issue)

Standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Tony Stewart 254 2 Davey Hamilton 244 3 Eddie Cheever 216 4 Arie Luyendyk 213 5 Buddy Lazier 205

Note: Only the top five positions are included for the standings.

References

External links IndyCar official website