1997 CART PPG World Series explained
The 1997 CART PPG World Series season was the nineteenth in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) era of American open-wheel car racing. It 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. Mercedes-Benz won their first and only CART engine-manufacturer's title.
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.[1] 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. This was the first season since 1983 not to feature Emerson Fittipaldi.
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 HRR | | 1 | Jimmy Vasser | All | Target |
| 4 |  Alex Zanardi | 1–16 |
| Arie Luyendyk | 17 |
| Marlboro Team Penske | Penske PC-26-97 | Ilmor-Mercedes
IC108D | | 2 | Al Unser Jr. | All | Marlboro |
| 3 |  Paul Tracy | All |
| Walker Racing | Reynard 97i | Honda HRR | | 5 |  Gil de Ferran | All | Valvoline |
| Newman-Haas Racing | Swift 007.i | Ford XD | | 6 | Michael Andretti | All | Texaco-Havoline |
| 11 | Christian Fittipaldi | 1–2, 9–17 | Budweiser |
| Roberto Moreno | 3–8 |
| Team Rahal | Reynard 97i | Ford XD | | 7 | Bobby Rahal | All | Miller Lite |
| 8 | Bryan Herta | All | Shell |
| Hogan Racing | Reynard 97i | Mercedes IC108D | | 9 | Dario Franchitti (R) | 1–16 | Hogan Racing |
| Robby Gordon | 17 |
| Bettenhausen Racing | Reynard 97i | Mercedes IC108D | | 16 | Patrick Carpentier (R) | 1–14, 17 | Alumax |
| Roberto Moreno | 15–16 |
| PacWest | Reynard 97i | Mercedes IC108D | | 17 | Maurício Gugelmin | All | Hollywood Cigarettes |
| 18 |  Mark Blundell | All | Motorola |
| Payton/Coyne Racing | Reynard 97i | Ford XD | | 19 |  Michel Jourdain Jr. | 11, 14, 16 | Herdez |
| Lola T97/00 | |
| 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 | |
| Reynard 97i | Charlie Nearburg (R) | 14, 16 | Nearburg Exploration |
| Christian Danner | 15 | |
| Dennis Vitolo | 17 | SmithKline Beecham |
| Patrick Racing | Reynard 97i | Ford XD | | 20 | Scott Pruett | All | Brahma |
| 40 | Raul Boesel | All |
| Della Penna Motorsports | Lola T97/00 | Ford XD | | 21 | Richie Hearn | All | Ralphs |
| Arciero-Wells Racing | Reynard 97i | Toyota RV8B | | 24 |  Hiro Matsushita | All | Panasonic |
| 25 | Max Papis | All | MCI |
| Team KOOL Green | Reynard 97i | Honda HRR | | 27 | Parker Johnstone | All | KOOL |
| Tasman Motorsports | Reynard 97i | Honda HRR | | 31 | André Ribeiro | 10–17 | LCI |
| Lola T97/00 | 1–9 |
| 32 | Adrian Fernández | All | Tecate |
| All American Racing | Reynard 96i
Reynard 97i | Toyota RV8B | | 36 | | All | Castrol |
| 98 | P. J. Jones | All |
| Project Indy | Lola T97/00 | Ford XD | | 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 | | 77 | Gualter Salles (R) | All | Davis Racing
Indusval |
| Forsythe Racing | Reynard 96i
Reynard 97i | Mercedes IC108D | | 99 | Greg Moore | All | Player's |
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Season summary
Schedule
| Rnd | Date | Race Name | Circuit | Location | TV Broadcaster |
|---|
| 1 | March 2 | Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami Presented by Toyota | Homestead Motorsports Complex | Homestead, Florida | ABC |
|---|
| 2 | April 6 |  Sunbelt IndyCarnival | Surfers Paradise Street Circuit | Surfers Paradise, Australia | ABC |
|---|
| 3 | April 13 | Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach | Streets of Long Beach | Long Beach, California | ABC |
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| 4 | April 27 | Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix Presented by Toyota | Nazareth Speedway | Nazareth, Pennsylvania | ABC |
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| 5 | May 11 | Hollywood Rio 400K | Autódromo de Jacarepaguá | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | ABC |
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| 6 | May 24 | Motorola 300 | Gateway International Raceway | Madison, Illinois | ABC |
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| 7 | June 1 | Miller 200 | Milwaukee Mile | West Allis, Wisconsin | ESPN |
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| 8 | June 8 | ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix | The Raceway on Belle Isle Park | Detroit, Michigan | ABC |
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| 9 | June 22 | Budweiser/G. I. Joe's 200 Presented by Texaco/Havoline | Portland International Raceway | Portland, Oregon | ESPN |
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| 10 | July 13 | Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland | Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport | Cleveland, Ohio | ABC |
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| 11 | July 20 | Molson Indy Toronto | Exhibition Place | Toronto, Ontario | ABC |
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| 12 | July 27 | U.S. 500 Presented by Toyota | Michigan Speedway | Brooklyn, Michigan | ABC |
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| 13 | August 10 | Miller 200 | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Lexington, Ohio | ABC |
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| 14 | August 17 | The Chicago Tribune Presents the Texaco/Havoline 200 | Road America | Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin | ESPN |
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| 15 | August 31 | Molson Indy Vancouver | Streets of Vancouver | Vancouver, British Columbia | ESPN |
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| 16 | September 7 | | Laguna Seca Raceway | Monterey, California | ESPN |
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| 17 | September 28 | Marlboro 500 Presented by Toyota | California Speedway | Fontana, California | ESPN |
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– 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.
Oval/Speedway
Road/Street course
Race results
(R) Dedicated road course,
(O) Oval/Speedway,
(S) Temporary street circuit
Final driver standings
See also: List of American Championship car racing point scoring systems.
| | 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 | |
| | align=center colspan=2 | In-line notation |
|---|
| Bold | Pole position | | Italics | Ran fastest race lap | *| align=center|Led most race laps|-| align=center| |align=center|Rookie of the Year|-| align=center| |align=center|Rookie|}|}|}Nations' Cup
- Top result per race counts towards Nations' Cup.
Chassis Constructors' Cup
Engine Manufacturers' Cup
See also
References
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Notes and References
- News: Cart 1997 . The Indianapolis Star . 2 March 1997 . 46 .
