2000 Indy Racing League Explained
The 2000 Indy Racing Northern Light Series was another season that saw a high level of parity, as only one driver, champion Buddy Lazier, won more than a single race. It also saw the beginning of the jump from CART as Al Unser Jr. moved to the series full-time and Chip Ganassi Racing came over to run the Indy 500, which it won with driver Juan Pablo Montoya. It was also the final season for the Riley & Scott chassis, which also saw its first series win in 2000.
A planned race at Cleveland was cancelled on September 9, 1999, and reverted to a CART event.
Confirmed entries
The 5 year tire war between Goodyear and Firestone in both CART and the IRL ended after Goodyear left both series as a tire supplier in 1999. This meant from this season onward all teams used Firestone tires.
Season Summary
Schedule
Race results
Note: All races running on Oval/Speedway.
Race summaries
Delphi Indy 200
This race was held January 29 at Walt Disney World Speedway. Greg Ray won the pole.
Top ten results
- 24- Robbie Buhl
- 91- Buddy Lazier
- 51- Eddie Cheever
- 4- Scott Goodyear
- 11- Eliseo Salazar
- 98- Donnie Beechler
- 14- Jeff Ward
- 12- Buzz Calkins
- 81- Billy Boat
- 55- Robby McGehee
MCI WorldCom Indy 200
This race was held March 19 at Phoenix International Raceway. Greg Ray won the pole.
Top ten results
- 91- Buddy Lazier
- 4- Scott Goodyear
- 98- Donnie Beechler
- 11- Eliseo Salazar
- 8- Scott Sharp
- 81- Billy Boat
- 24- Robbie Buhl
- 7- Stephan Gregoire
- 3- Al Unser Jr.
- 51- Eddie Cheever
- This was the first victory for the Riley & Scott chassis
Vegas Indy 300
This race was held April 22 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mark Dismore won the pole.
Top ten results
- 3- Al Unser Jr.
- 28- Mark Dismore
- 18- Sam Hornish Jr.
- 6- Jeret Schroeder
- 24- Robbie Buhl
- 5- Robby McGehee
- 81- Billy Boat
- 20- Tyce Carlson
- 1- Greg Ray
- 33- Jaques Lazier
- This was Al Unser Jr.'s 1st victory since the 1995 CART Molson Indy Vancouver and his 1st IRL victory.
The Indy 500 was held May 28 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Greg Ray sat on pole.
Top ten results
- 9- Juan Pablo Montoya
- 91- Buddy Lazier
- 11- Eliseo Salazar
- 14- Jeff Ward
- 51- Eddie Cheever
- 32- Robby Gordon
- 10- Jimmy Vasser
- 7- Stephan Gregoire
- 4- Scott Goodyear
- 8- Scott Sharp
Casino Magic 500
This race was held June 11 at Texas Motor Speedway. Qualifying was rained out and Buddy Lazier was on the pole based on points standings.
Top ten results
- 8- Scott Sharp
- 5- Robby McGehee
- 3- Al Unser Jr.
- 12- Buzz Calkins
- 4- Scott Goodyear
- 28- Mark Dismore
- 91- Buddy Lazier
- 55- Shigeaki Hattori
- 51- Eddie Cheever
- 88- Airton Daré
Radisson 200
This race was held June 18 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Greg Ray won the pole.
Top ten results
- 51- Eddie Cheever
- 88- Airton Daré
- 8- Scott Sharp
- 28- Mark Dismore
- 98- Donnie Beechler
- 11- Eliseo Salazar
- 6- Jeret Schroeder
- 7- Stephan Gregoire
- 33- Jaques Lazier
- 3- Al Unser Jr.
- This was the Infiniti engine's 1st victory.
Midas 500 Classic
This race was held July 15 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Greg Ray won the pole.
Top ten results
- 1- Greg Ray
- 91- Buddy Lazier
- 3- Al Unser Jr.
- 5- Robby McGehee
- 98- Donnie Beechler
- 24- Robbie Buhl
- 7- Stephan Gregoire
- 81- Billy Boat
- 55- Shigeaki Hattori
- 11- Eliseo Salazar
Belterra Resort Indy 300
The inaugural Indy Racing League event was held August 27 at Kentucky Speedway. Scott Goodyear won the pole.
Top ten results
- 91- Buddy Lazier
- 4- Scott Goodyear
- 15- Sarah Fisher
- 51- Eddie Cheever
- 7- Stephan Gregoire
- 14- Jeff Ward
- 1- Greg Ray
- 55- Shigeaki Hattori
- 18- Sam Hornish Jr.
- 98- Donnie Beechler
- This was Roberto Guerrero's final IndyCar race he qualified for. He would blow an engine after completing 48 laps and would finish 23rd.
- Sarah Fisher becomes the first woman to lead laps and finish on the Podium in an IRL race.
Excite 500
This race was held October 15 at Texas Motor Speedway. Greg Ray won the pole.
Top ten results
- 4- Scott Goodyear
- 51- Eddie Cheever
- 81- Billy Boat
- 91- Buddy Lazier
- 11- Eliseo Salazar
- 98- Donnie Beechler
- 55- Shigeaki Hattori
- 14- Jeff Ward
- 12- Buzz Calkins
- 16- Jaques Lazier
Final points standings
See also: List of American Championship car racing point scoring systems.
| | Color | Result |
|---|
| Gold | Winner | | Silver | 2nd place | | Bronze | 3rd place | | Green | 4th & 5th place | | Light Blue | 6th–10th place | | Dark Blue | Finished
(Outside Top 10) | | Purple | Did not finish
(Ret) | | 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
(2 points) | | Italics | Ran fastest race lap | *| align=center|Led most race laps
(1 point)|-| align=center|DNS| align=center|Any driver who qualifies
but does not start (DNS),
earns all the points
had they taken part.|-|style="text-align:center"| |align=center|Rookie of the Year|-|style="text-align:center"| |align=center|Rookie|}|}|}- Ties in points broken by number of wins, followed by number of 2nds, 3rds, etc., and then by number of pole positions, followed by number of times qualified 2nd, etc.
Additional points were awarded to the pole winner (3 points), the second best qualifier (2 points), the third best qualifier (1 point) and to the driver leading the most laps (2 point).
See also
References
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Notes and References
- Web site: NTT IndyCar Series Calendar 2000. Motorsport Stats. November 17, 2023.
- Web site: 2000 Schedule. Indy Racing League. November 17, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20000621004751/http://www.indyracingleague.com/schedule.html. June 21, 2000. dead.
