The 1999 Pep Boys Indy Racing League was highly competitive and parity was the order of the year. Team Menard had a very good season with their driver Greg Ray capturing 3 race wins and the series championship. This was the year before CART teams began to break ranks and jump to the IRL.
Confirmed entries TeamChassisEngineTiresDriversRound(s) Team MenardDallaraOldsmobile 2 Greg Ray All 32 Robby Gordon4 Brant MotorsportsRiley & ScottOldsmobile 3 Andy Michner 1–3 Raul Boesel 4–7 Panther RacingG-ForceOldsmobile 4 Scott Goodyear All 43 Dave Steele4 Treadway RacingG-ForceOldsmobile5 Jason Leffler 1 Arie Luyendyk4 99 Sam Schmidt All Nienhouse RacingG-ForceOldsmobile/ 6 Eliseo Salazar All Dick Simon RacingG-ForceOldsmobile 7 Stéphan Grégoire All Kelley RacingDallaraOldsmobile 8 Scott Sharp All 28 Mark Dismore All Galles RacingDallaraOldsmobile 9 Davey Hamilton 1, 4–11 Byrd-Cunningham RacingG-ForceOldsmobile10 John Paul Jr.1–3 Andy Michner4 A. J. Foyt EnterprisesDallaraOldsmobile 11 Billy Boat All 14 Kenny Bräck All 41 Marco Greco 4 84 Robbie Buhl4 Bradley MotorsportsOldsmobile 12 Buzz Calkins All DR/Lazier RacingG-ForceInfiniti 15 Jaques Lazier 2, 4 Phoenix RacingG-ForceOldsmobile 16 Marco Greco 2 Tri-Star MotorsportsDallaraOldsmobile17 Dr. Jack Miller4, 7 Ronnie Johncox 10–11225, 7–9 Gualter Salles1 Tony Stewart4 Robbie Buhl10–11 PDM RacingG-ForceOldsmobile18 Steve Knapp1 Mike Borkowski 3–4 Metro RacingDallaraOldsmobile 19 Stan Wattles 1, 3–5 Blueprint-Immke RacingDallaraOldsmobile 20 Tyce Carlson AllG-Force 27 Niclas Jönsson 10–11 Pagan RacingDallaraOldsmobile 21 Jeff Ward 2–11 Barnhart MotorsportsDallaraOldsmobile 25 Davey Hamilton 2–3 Truscelli Team RacingG-ForceOldsmobile 26 Bobby Regester 933 Brian Tyler1 Roberto Moreno2–4 Jaques Lazier 5–11 McCormack MotorsportsG-ForceOldsmobile 30 Raul Boesel 1–3 Jimmy Kite4–9 Willy T. Ribbs 10 John Paul Jr. 11 31 Nick Firestone4 Coulson RacingG-ForceOldsmobile 34 Jim Guthrie4 ISM RacingG-ForceOldsmobile 35 Jeff Ward 1 Steve Knapp 2–7 36 Brian Tyler4 Team XtremeDallaraOldsmobile/ 42 John Hollansworth Jr. AllInfiniti 46 Mike Groff4 Mid America MotorsportsDallaraOldsmobile 43 Doug Didero 11 Sinden RacingDallaraInfiniti 44 Robbie Buhl1–3 Team PelfreyDallaraOldsmobile 48 Sarah Fisher 11 81 Robby Unser All 90 Lyn St. James4 Cobb RacingG-ForceInfiniti 50 Roberto Guerrero1–2, 4–5 96 Jeret Schroeder4 Team CheeverDallaraInfiniti 51 Eddie Cheever All 52 Wim Eyckmans 4 Beck MotorsportsDallaraOldsmobile 54 Hideshi Matsuda4 Conti RacingDallaraOldsmobile 55 Robby McGehee 3–11 Harrington MotorsportsDallaraOldsmobile 66 Scott Harrington All Hemelgarn RacingDallaraOldsmobile 91 Buddy Lazier All 92 Johnny Unser 3–7, 10–11 Cahill RacingDallaraOldsmobile 98 Donnie Beechler All
Schedule Rnd Date Race Name Track Location 1 January 24 TransWorld Diversified Services Indy 200 Walt Disney World Speedway Bay Lake, Florida 2 March 28 MCI WorldCom 200 Phoenix International Raceway Avondale, Arizona 3 May 1 VisionAire 500K Lowe's Motor Speedway Concord, North Carolina 4 May 30 Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana 5 June 12 Longhorn 500 Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas 6 June 27 Radisson 200 Pikes Peak International Raceway Fountain, Colorado 7 July 17 Kobalt Mechanics Tools 500 Atlanta Motor Speedway Hampton, Georgia 8 August 1 MBNA Mid-Atlantic 200 Dover International Speedway Dover, Delaware 9 August 29 Colorado Indy 200 Pikes Peak International Raceway Fountain, Colorado 10 September 26 Vegas.com 500 Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, Nevada 11 October 17 Mall.com 500 Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, TexasSources:
Results All races were run on oval speedways.
Rd.RacePole positionFastest lapMost laps ledRace winner DriverTeamChassisEngine 1 Walt Disney World Scott Sharp Scott Sharp Scott Sharp Eddie CheeverTeam CheeverDallaraOldsmobile 2 Phoenix Greg Ray Scott Goodyear Scott Goodyear Scott GoodyearPanther RacingG-ForceOldsmobile 3 Charlotte Greg Ray Race abandoned after 79 laps due to the deaths of three spectators 4 Indianapolis Arie Luyendyk Greg Ray Kenny Bräck Kenny BräckA. J. Foyt EnterprisesDallaraOldsmobile 5 Texas 1 Mark Dismore Sam Schmidt Greg Ray Scott GoodyearPanther RacingG-ForceOldsmobile 6 Pikes Peak 1 Greg Ray Mark Dismore Greg Ray Greg RayTeam MenardDallaraOldsmobile 7 Atlanta Billy Boat Jaques Lazier Scott Goodyear Scott SharpKelley RacingDallaraOldsmobile 8 Dover Mark Dismore Mark Dismore Mark Dismore Greg RayTeam MenardDallaraOldsmobile 9 Pikes Peak 2 Greg Ray Buddy Lazier Greg Ray Greg RayTeam MenardDallaraOldsmobile 10 Las Vegas Sam Schmidt Tyce Carlson Kenny Bräck Sam SchmidtTreadway RacingG-ForceOldsmobile 11 Texas 2 Greg Ray Scott Goodyear Scott Goodyear Mark DismoreKelley RacingDallaraOldsmobile
Race summaries
TransWorld Diversified Services Indy 200 The TransWorld Diversified Services Indy 200 was held on January 24 at Walt Disney World Speedway. Scott Sharp qualified on the pole position. The race was broadcast on ABC.
Top 10 results 51 - Eddie Cheever 4 - Scott Goodyear 35 - Jeff Ward 8 - Scott Sharp 30 - Raul Boesel 28 - Mark Dismore 18 - Steve Knapp 9 - Davey Hamilton 11 - Billy Boat 91 - Buddy Lazier Failed to qualify: 6 - Eliseo Salazar
MCI WorldCom 200 The MCI WorldCom 200 was held on March 28 at Phoenix International Raceway. Greg Ray qualified on the pole position. The race was broadcast on Fox Sports Net.
Top ten results 4 - Scott Goodyear 21 - Jeff Ward 44 - Robbie Buhl 11 - Billy Boat 66 - Scott Harrington 33 - Roberto Moreno 28 - Mark Dismore 8 - Scott Sharp 99 - Sam Schmidt 7 - Stéphan Grégoire Goodyear's first IndyCar win since the 1994 Marlboro 500 at Michigan International Speedway, and his first in IRL competition. Prior to this race, Ward left ISM Racing to drive for Pagan Racing.
VisionAire 500K The VisionAire 500K was on held May 1 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Greg Ray qualified on the pole position. The race was broadcast on Speedvision.
Top 10 on lap 79: 2 - Greg Ray 4 - Scott Goodyear 51 - Eddie Cheever 99 - Sam Schmidt 98 - Donnie Beechler 8 - Scott Sharp 91 - Buddy Lazier 28 - Mark Dismore 55 - Robby McGehee 14 - Kenny Bräck Failed to qualify: 35 - Steve Knapp On lap 62, Stan Wattles crashed after suffering a suspension failure. John Paul Jr. made contact, sending Wattles' right rear wheel and tire assembly into the grandstand. Scott Harrington also spun in the incident.Preliminary Charlotte Crash Details Outlined, The Auto Channel, May 15, 1999 The race continued under caution, with Lazier initially leading until he had to make a pit stop to replace a punctured tire, giving Ray the lead. On lap 79, the race was stopped, so that medical helicopters could land. The race was stopped permanently by track general manager Humpy Wheeler when it was announced that 3 spectators were killed. As a result, fans and participants were offered refunds. The race was scratched from the record books, due to the fact that it did not reach the official race distance of 105 laps (the halfway point plus one lap, unlike the FIA Code, which is simply making it to the start of the fourth lap). Due to this race and a similar incident (where 3 people were killed) at the CART 1998 U.S. 500 at Michigan International Speedway, wheel tethers were added to open-wheel cars. This would be the final IndyCar race at Charlotte.
Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500 was held on May 30 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Arie Luyendyk qualified on the pole position.
Top 10 results 14 - Kenny Bräck 21 - Jeff Ward 11 - Billy Boat 32 - Robby Gordon 55 - Robby McGehee 84 - Robbie Buhl 91 - Buddy Lazier 81 - Robby Unser 22 - Tony Stewart 54 - Hideshi Matsuda Failed to qualify: 7 - Stéphan Grégoire, 10 - John Paul Jr., 10 - Andy Michner, 15 - Jaques Lazier, 15 - Troy Reiger, 18 - Mike Borkowski, 18 - Ronnie Johncox, 19 - Stan Wattles, 34 - Nick Firestone, 34 - Jim Guthrie, 36 - Brian Tyler, 36 - Vincenzo Sospiri, 43 - Dave Steele, 46 - Mike Groff, 66 - Scott Harrington, and 90 - Lyn St. James Until 2006, this race had the latest pass for the lead in Indianapolis 500 history when Gordon pitted on Lap 199, and Bräck took the lead in Turn 4. Combined, Arie Luyendyk and Greg Ray led 95 laps. Luyendyk crashed while attempting to lap Tyce Carlson on Lap 118, and during the ensuing caution, Ray was hit by Mark Dismore while exiting his pit stall. The day before the race, the Motorola 300 at Gateway International Raceway for the FedEx CART Championship Series was held. Gordon and Roberto Moreno competed in the race (Gordon competed full-time in CART and did Indianapolis as a one-off for Team Menard, due to Menards being his sponsor in the series, and Moreno was hired as an injury replacement at PacWest Racing for Mark Blundell, while concurrently driving for Truscelli Racing in the IRL). Moreno finished 4th and Gordon 27th due to a crash. Stewart, who moved to the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, did Double Duty by competing at Indianapolis and the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He finished 9th at Indianapolis, 4 laps down, and 4th at Charlotte on the lead lap, despite being moved to the rear of the field due to missing the drivers meeting. Rookie of the Year McGehee had an incident during a pit stop where a pit crew member hit the ground, but survived. This race was planned on being Luyendyk's final race. However, he returned to race part-time from 2001 to 2003. 4 drivers named either Robby or Robbie finished in the Top 10.
Longhorn 500 The Longhorn 500 was held on June 12 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mark Dismore qualified on the pole position. The race was broadcast on Fox Sports Net.
Top 10 results 4 - Scott Goodyear 2 - Greg Ray 99 - Sam Schmidt 7 - Stéphan Grégoire 6 - Eliseo Salazar 81 - Robby Unser 9 - Davey Hamilton 28 - Mark Dismore 12 - Buzz Calkins 8 - Scott Sharp Failed to qualify: 19 - Stan Wattles and 50 - Roberto Guerrero Ray entered the race 20th in points and left 8th.
Radisson 200 The Radisson 200 was held on June 27 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Greg Ray qualified on the pole position. The race was broadcast on Fox Sports Net.
Top 10 results 2 - Greg Ray 99 - Sam Schmidt 9 - Davey Hamilton 51 - Eddie Cheever 91 - Buddy Lazier 81 - Robby Unser 14 - Kenny Bräck 8 - Scott Sharp 21 - Jeff Ward 33 - Jaques Lazier Ray's first IndyCar win. Ray led 109 of 200 laps on his way to victory. Schmidt led the other 91 laps.
Kobalt Mechanics Tools 500 The Kobalt Mechanics Tools 500 was held on July 17 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Billy Boat qualified on the pole position. The race was broadcast on Fox Sports Net.
Top 10 results 8 - Scott Sharp 81 - Robby Unser 14 - Kenny Bräck 6 - Eliseo Salazar 12 - Buzz Calkins 51 - Eddie Cheever 9 - Davey Hamilton 98 - Donnie Beechler 30 - Jimmy Kite 11 - Billy Boat Unser's best IndyCar finish.
MBNA Mid-Atlantic 200 The MBNA Mid-Atlantic 200 was held on August 1 at Dover Downs International Speedway. Mark Dismore qualified on the pole position. The race was broadcast on Fox.
Top 10 results 2 - Greg Ray 91 - Buddy Lazier 14 - Kenny Bräck 11 - Billy Boat 99 - Sam Schmidt 66 - Scott Harrington 33 - Jaques Lazier 12 - Buzz Calkins 55 - Robby McGehee 98 - Donnie Beechler
Colorado Indy 200 The Colorado Indy 200 was held on August 29 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Greg Ray qualified on the pole position. The race was broadcast on Fox Sports Net.
Top 10 results 2 - Greg Ray 9 - Davey Hamilton 28 - Mark Dismore 91 - Buddy Lazier 99 - Sam Schmidt 66 - Scott Harrington 55 - Robby McGehee 30 - Jimmy Kite 81 - Robby Unser 14 - Kenny Bräck This would be the final race aired on Fox. After this race, ESPN/ABC purchased the rights for the remaining two races.
Vegas.com 500 The Vegas.com 500 was held on September 26 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Sam Schmidt qualified on the pole position. The race was broadcast on ESPN.
Top 10 results 99- Sam Schmidt