1997 Phoenix 200

Car race February 2025 USA Phoenix Phoenix-international-raceway.svg March 23 1997 yes Phoenix 200 4th Indy Racing League Phoenix International Raceway Permanent racing facility 1.000 1.609 200 200.000 321.869 Dry with temperatures reaching up to 89.6 F C; wind speeds reaching up to 15.9 mph km/hhttp://www.almanac.com/weather/history/AZ/Avondale/1997-03-23 1997 Phoenix 200 weather information Old Farmers' Almanac 2013-10-27 Tony Stewart Team Menard 21.175 USA Tony Stewart Team Menard 22.135 11 USA Jim Guthrie Blueprint Racing USA Tony Stewart Team Menard USA Davey Hamilton A. J. Foyt Enterprises USA The 1997 Phoenix 200 was the fourth round of the 1996–1997 Indy Racing League. The race was held on March 23, 1997, at the 1.000 mi km on Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, and was won by the unheralded Jim Guthrie, who beat IRL stalwart Tony Stewart after leading 74 laps. Guthrie's win, with no sponsorship, a huge monetary debt and a second mortgage on his house, went down as one of the biggest upsets in the history of Indy car racing.https://www.sopwithmotorsports.com/the-miracle-in-phoenix-an-interview-with-jim-guthrie/ THE MIRACLE IN PHOENIX: An Interview with Jim Guthrie Sopwith Motorsports January 7, 2019 October 21, 2013https://abq-live.com/jim-guthrie-the-cinderella-man/ Jim Guthrie the Cinderella Man ABQ-Live January 8, 2019 January 23, 2015 Pre-race news Shortly after the race at Walt Disney World Speedway, the significant injuries sustained by both Davy Jones and Eliseo Salazar in rear-first crashes raised some safety concerns. As a result, the Indy Racing League mandated a seven-pound attenuator fixed behind the gearbox, to act as a 'crash-box' and help dissipate the energy in that area.http://www.icr.com:80/cgi-win/webster2i.exe?4977%inputnewsId=56 https://web.archive.org/web/19970625085758/http://www.icr.com/cgi-win/webster2i.exe?4977%inputnewsId=56 dead June 25, 1997 News From CART and the IRL IndyCar Magazine January 2, 2019 January 30, 1997 On February 4–7, the week after the Copper World Classic, Goodyear held a tire test at Phoenix with 5 drivers.https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-phoenix-test-96-02-04/7561/ Sharp 1st To Run Dallara At Phoenix; Brack Tests For Galles As Part Of Goodyear Sessions Motorsport.com January 2, 2019 February 4, 1997 January 3, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190103004858/https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-phoenix-test-96-02-04/7561/ dead Galles Racing took part with 1996 Formula 3000 runner-up Kenny Bräck, who was being evaluated as a long-term replacement for the injured Jones after fielding newcomer Jeff Ward at Orlando. Bräck had only run once on an oval, during his Barber Saab Pro Series title run at New Hampshire back in 1993. After posting the fastest time of the week at 165.975 mph, the 30-year old Swede was signed for the rest of the season a few days later.http://www.icr.com:80/cgi-win/webster2i.exe?4977%inputnewsId=58 https://web.archive.org/web/19970625085732/http://www.icr.com/cgi-win/webster2i.exe?4977%inputnewsId=58 dead June 25, 1997 News from CART and IRL – Galles Signs Bräck IndyCar Magazine January 2, 2019 February 20, 1997 On February 18, Texas Motor Speedway held its first ever IRL test with Tony Stewart and Buddy Lazier, although the three-day program devised by Firestone was cut in half because of windy conditions and the threat of rain.http://www.brickyard.com:80/irl/97pr-022.htm https://web.archive.org/web/19970713220329/http://www.brickyard.com/irl/97pr-022.htm dead July 13, 1997 Testing Ends Early At Texas Motor Speedway Indy Racing League January 2, 2019 February 18, 1997 From February 24–28, 24 drivers took part in the 'Test in the West' at Phoenix, with the absence of Beck Motorsports, which still had no engines available, and Chitwood Motorsports. Scott Sharp and Tony Stewart shared the lead over the five days, being the only drivers to break the 170 mph mark.https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-phoenix-testing-97-02-26/7807/ Stewart, Sharp Top 170 Miles Per Hour At The "Test In The West" Motorsport.com January 2, 2019 February 26, 1997 January 3, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190103004957/https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-phoenix-testing-97-02-26/7807/ dead Sharp had the fastest lap at 170.777 mph with a brand-new G-Force chassis bought by A. J. Foyt Enterprises to evaluate its performance against the Dallara.https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-phoenix-testing-97-02-25/7788/ Sharp Hits 169.731 In IRL's "Test In The West" Motorsport.com January 2, 2019 February 25, 1997 January 3, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190103004900/https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-phoenix-testing-97-02-25/7788/ deadhttps://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-phoenix-testing-97-02-28/7824/ Record Speeds End IRL "Test In The West" Motorsport.com January 2, 2019 February 28, 1997 January 3, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190103004856/https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-phoenix-testing-97-02-28/7824/ dead His teammate Davey Hamilton finished third overall, a distant 3.5 mph behind, but just ahead of the surprising Jim Guthrie, while early favourite Arie Luyendyk and championship leader Mike Groff lagged behind. A faulty bearing application on the scarce contingent of Infiniti engines cause Buddy Lazier, Groff and Jack Miller to have engine issues throughout the week. Sam Schmidt, who had finished fourth in U.S. F2000 in 1996, passed his rookie test and was approved to race the second Blueprint Racing car. Schmidt's planned debut at Orlando had been postponed due to the lack of testing caused by engine shortages. Team Menard had unofficially parted ways with Mark Dismore, and evaluated Billy Boat and Dave Blaney as contenders for their second seat. Both finished in the overall top 10, Boat being slightly faster, but neither got the drive in the end. Darrin Miller and Pat Abold both passed their rookie tests in the PDM Racing mule car. The entry list for the Phoenix 200 was unveiled on March 5 with 23 entries, including Danny Ongais and Robbie Buhl. EuroInternational, with the legendary George Bignotti as chief mechanic, also filed an entry for Phoenix resident Billy Roe, who had attempted to race the previous year.https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-phoenix-entry-list-2008-03-27/7883/ Luyendyk, '96 IRL co-champions Lead March 23 Phoenix 200 Entries Motorsport.com January 2, 2019 March 5, 1997 September 20, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190920120102/https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-phoenix-entry-list-2008-03-27/7883/ dead A day later, Team Menard confirmed Robbie Buhl as their second driver, leaving Beck Motorsports without a driver. Tire testing was conducted on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway the following week. Fermín Vélez drove for Goodyear, while Tony Stewart, who topped out at 216.080 mph, and John Paul Jr. tested for Firestone.https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-goodyear-ims-test-97-03-07/7904/ Velez, Goodyear End First Speedway Tire Test For New IRL Cars Motorsport.com January 2, 2019 March 7, 1997 January 3, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190103004938/https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-goodyear-ims-test-97-03-07/7904/ deadhttps://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-ims-testing-97-03-12/7996/ Stewart Reaches 216.080 On Final Day Of Speedway Test Motorsport.com January 2, 2019 March 12, 1997 January 3, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190103055652/https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-ims-testing-97-03-12/7996/ dead During this period, Stan Wattles confirmed that Metro Racing Systems would become the second team to take on the Riley & Scott chassis, with a delivery date expected for July. On March 19, Team SABCO had a 300-mile test at Indianapolis with Robby Gordon, who was due to attempt the Double Duty in May.https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-gordon-sabco-test-97-03-19/8100/ Team Sabco Concludes "Coming Out" Party At Speedway Motorsport.com January 2, 2019 March 19, 1997 January 3, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190103004833/https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-gordon-sabco-test-97-03-19/8100/ dead Practice & qualifying report On race week, Chitwood Motorsports replaced Danny Ongais with Affonso Giaffone, originally a one-race deal with the support of General Motors do Brasil.https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/1997/04/14/tidbits.html Cha, Cha, Cha The Business Journals January 2, 2019 April 14, 1997 As in Orlando, Tony Stewart swept both practice sessions during the first day with a 165.983 mph lap in the morning,http://www.brickyard.com:80/pir/970321a.htm https://web.archive.org/web/19970713213138/http://www.brickyard.com/pir/970321a.htm dead July 13, 1997 Practice Summary – Friday 03/21/97 – AM Indy Racing League January 2, 2019 March 21, 1997 and a 164.865 mph lap in the afternoon.http://www.brickyard.com:80/pir/970321b.htm https://web.archive.org/web/19970713213147/http://www.brickyard.com/pir/970321b.htm dead July 13, 1997 Practice Summary – Friday 03/21/97 – PM Indy Racing League January 2, 2019 March 21, 1997 Jim Guthrie doubled down on his testing results and emerged as Stewart's main contender, placing second in the morning session and third in the afternoon session behind Arie Luyendyk. Spaniard Fermín Vélez also surprised during first practice by posting the third fastest time, just before blowing an engine. Marco Greco and Scott Sharp had engine problems in the morning too, while Roberto Guerrero and Giaffone crashed in the afternoon.http://www.brickyard.com:80/pir/970321c.htm https://web.archive.org/web/19970713213158/http://www.brickyard.com/pir/970321c.htm dead July 13, 1997 1997 Phoenix 200 at Phoenix International Raceway, Friday March 21, 1997 – Trackside Notes Indy Racing League January 2, 2019 March 21, 1997 Guerrero's crash was triggered by another engine failure, which brought concerns on the Oldsmobile camp regarding a potential oil link issue in their engines. Despite also entering a couple of Dallaras, Foyt decided to run the G-Force chassis for both of its drivers. On Saturday, Stewart led the last practice session with a 167.973 mph lap, just ahead of Guthrie by 0.021 seconds and Luyendyk.http://www.brickyard.com:80/pir/970322a.htm https://web.archive.org/web/19970713213212/http://www.brickyard.com/pir/970322a.htm dead July 13, 1997 Practice Summary – Saturday 03/22/97 – AM Indy Racing League January 2, 2019 March 22, 1997 He later asserted his dominance in qualifying, putting his car on pole with a 170.012 mph lap.https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-phoenix-qualifying-report/8159/ IRL: Phoenix qualifying report Motorsport.com January 2, 2019 March 22, 1997 January 3, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190103004917/https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-phoenix-qualifying-report/8159/ dead Guthrie was the last driver scheduled to qualify and, despite running the fastest first lap, he came up short at 169.484 mph, comfortably qualifying in a career-best second place as the only driver within 4 mph of Stewart's mark. Treadway Racing swept the second row with Scott Goodyear and Luyendyk, in front of Buzz Calkins and Robbie Buhl, the early leaders before Stewart's run.March 22, 1997 1997 Phoenix 200 at Phoenix International Raceway, Saturday March 22, 1997 – Trackside Notes Indy Racing League http://www.brickyard.com:80/pir/970322c.htm dead January 2, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/19970713213249/http://www.brickyard.com/pir/970322c.htm July 13, 1997 Blueprint Racing was co-owned by Guthrie, who had no sponsorship on his mustard yellow Dallara. The car had been bought after Guthrie took out a loan against his house for a second time, owing $185,000 to his creditors. With minimal resources, the team arrived at the track with a rental flatbed trailer and a race crew composed of volunteers. As Blueprint could not afford a spare engine, their lone Oldsmobile engine had been rebuilt three times, with 640 miles run until that point. Because of this, Guthrie likened their efforts with "the David and Goliath story". Although the new IRL cars were 15 mph off 1996's speeds, Guthrie qualified 6 mph faster than his own time in 1996, which was only good enough for 18th place in that grid. In his first IRL qualifying session, Sam Schmidt put his car in a solid seventh place, while Kenny Bräck and Billy Roe qualified in 10th and 18th place, respectively. Roberto Guerrero was the fastest Infiniti qualifier in 11th place after getting his car fixed in time, unlike Affonso Giaffone, who was not able to qualify. On a similar note, Scott Sharp was in second place during the morning practice when his engine caught fire, and a spare was not ready in time for qualifying. Both were allowed to start the race at the back of the field. Coincidentally, Marco Greco was able to qualify thanks to an engine previously loaned by A. J. Foyt Enterprises, achieving his first top-10 qualifying result. Sharp's teammate, Davey Hamilton, did not come to grips with his new chassis and could only qualify in 15th place behind Buddy Lazier, while championship leader Mike Groff was mired in 17th place. John Paul Jr. qualified 12th despite waving off his first lap for a suspected timing chain failure, and Stéphan Grégoire qualified last after losing a gear. During afternoon's final practice, Buzz Calkins had an oil leak, crashed in Turn 4 and had to use a back-up car for the race, forfeiting his 5th place on the grid. For the first time in series' history, every driver that took part in the practice sessions was able to start the race. Qualifying Results Key Meaning R Rookie W Past winner Pos No. Name Lap 1 Lap 2 Best (in mph) 1 2 USA Tony Stewart 21.424 21.175 170.012 2 27 USA Jim Guthrie R 21.364 21.241 169.484 3 6 CAN Scott Goodyear 21.975 21.681 166.044 4 5 NED Arie Luyendyk W 21.736 21.715 165.784 5 3 USA Robbie Buhl 21.956 22.257 163.964 6 16 USA Sam Schmidt R 22.141 21.973 163.837 7 51 USA Eddie Cheever 22.059 22.017 163.510 8 22 BRA Marco Greco 22.064 22.019 163.495 9 4 SWE Kenny Bräck R 22.051 22.027 163.436 10 21 COL Roberto Guerrero W 22.129 22.075 163.080 11 18 USA John Paul Jr. Waved off 22.100 162.896 12 30 USA Jeret Schroeder R 22.136 22.166 162.631 13 91 USA Buddy Lazier 22.148 22.202 162.543 14 14 USA Davey Hamilton 22.161 22.209 162.448 15 33 ESP Fermín Vélez R 22.235 22.477 161.907 16 10 USA Mike Groff 22.593 22.520 159.858 17 50 USA Billy Roe R 22.916 22.650 158.940 18 40 USA Jack Miller R 22.933 22.779 158.040 19 77 FRA Stéphan Grégoire 23.386 23.235 154.939 20 1 USA Scott Sharp1 1 Didn't qualify No speed 21 17 BRA Affonso Giaffone2 2 R Didn't qualify No speed 22 12 USA Buzz Calkins3 3 22.217 21.947 164.032Source:Qualification Summary – Saturday 03/22/97 (archived from Archive.org) http://www.brickyard.com/pir/970322q.htm 23 January 2017 bot: unknown https://web.archive.org/web/19970713213222/http://www.brickyard.com/pir/970322q.htm 13 July 1997 1 His engine caught fire in practice, and a spare was not ready on time for qualifying. He was allowed to start the race at the back of the field. 2 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. 3 Changed to a backup car following a crash in a practice session after qualifying. Race report The Phoenix event resulted in a slow, attrition-filled race, as 83 of the 200 laps were run under nine caution periods. Six cautions were caused by engine failures and oil spills, five of those from Oldsmobile engines, which suffered a dozen failures overall throughout the weekend. It wasn't until after the event that the brand identified the issue as an oil line fitting that wasn't suitable in the plumbing system of the new IRL chassis.https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-oldsmobile-aurora-phoenix-preview/13922/ IRL Engine Competition Heats Up in Arizona Desert Motorsport.com January 7, 2019 March 27, 1998 January 8, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190108045855/https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-oldsmobile-aurora-phoenix-preview/13922/ dead Despite that, the race was won by Jim Guthrie, whose engine 860 miles of running by the end of the day.https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-phoenix-aurora-report/8188/ Aurora V8 Sweeps IRL Phoenix 200 Motorsport.com January 7, 2019 March 23, 1997 January 7, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190107233433/https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-phoenix-aurora-report/8188/ dead From his front-row position, Guthrie tried to jump Tony Stewart on the outside, but the pole-sitter held on into Turn 1, while Scott Goodyear lost two places. Roberto Guerrero suffered a battery failure and was unable to get going from 10th on the grid.http://www.brickyard.com:80/pir/1997/970323a.htm https://web.archive.org/web/19970713215938/http://www.brickyard.com/pir/1997/970323a.htm dead July 13, 1997 1997 Phoenix 200 at Phoenix International Raceway, Sunday March 23, 1997 – Trackside Notes Indy Racing League January 7, 2019 March 23, 1997 After failing to bring the car up to speed, he had to pull into the apron on Lap 2, bringing out a caution. He was able to take the restart on Lap 7, albeit five laps down. Guthrie tried Stewart again on the restart, but had to defend himself from Arie Luyendyk. John Paul Jr. gained four spots and was already in 4th place, having passed three cars at the start of the race. On Lap 12, Luyendyk's brand new engine, which had been installed the day prior, went up in smoke, triggering another caution period. Paul Jr. passed Guthrie for second in the Lap 19 restart, but he didn't have enough speed to go after Stewart, and Guthrie reclaimed the spot three laps later, staying within 3–4 seconds of the leader. Affonso Giaffone gained eight positions in ten laps, and was up to 6th place by Lap 35. After a good stint, being as high as 7th, Buddy Lazier slowly faded to 9th place before retiring on Lap 33 with an engine failure that caused extensive oil spilling on the track and pit entry, triggering a caution that lasted for 10 laps due to the cleanup. As the leaders made their first pit stop, Guthrie had the lapped car of Roberto Guerrero on the inside, and had to swerve up the track, missing the pits. He was serviced a lap later, dropping several places. During his stop, John Paul Jr. suffered an electrical issue and lost several laps, leaving Scott Goodyear and Robbie Buhl as Stewart's main contenders. Meanwhile, Giaffone, Eddie Cheever (7th before the caution period), Kenny Bräck (10th) and Scott Sharp (11th) stayed on track, and led the restart on Lap 45, with 12 drivers on the lead lap. Stewart passed Sharp, and both were able to put Bräck behind on that lap. The three of them quickly caught up to Cheever, and passed him on Lap 51 when he run high on Turn 3 due to a misfire. In the meantime, Guthrie had passed four cars on track. On Lap 52, Scott Goodyear had an engine failure on the exit of Turn 1 while running sixth, and Marco Greco spun on the oil. Buhl, who had been passed by Greco on the restart and was trying to avoid the crash, was hit by Sam Schmidt. Just behind them, Jeret Schroeder lost control of the car and crashed into the outside wall. Among the five-car incident, only Greco, who remained in 7th place, and Schmidt, who lost a lap, continued, while Schroeder was transported by ambulance with a mild concussion and a shoulder abrasion.https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-medical-updates/8210/ IRL: Medical Updates Motorsport.com January 7, 2019 March 26, 1997 January 7, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190107232928/https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-medical-updates/8210/ dead During the caution, Affonso Giaffone, Kenny Bräck and Eddie Cheever made their pit stops, handing the lead to Stewart, who made a late splash-and-go while retaining the race lead. Giaffone spun on the grass during the restart and would stop again on Lap 61. Scott Sharp stayed out again and took advantage of Stewart's cold tires to grab the lead on the Lap 61 restart, only for his engine to blow up four laps later. He was able to pull into an access road located after Turn 1, but the caution came out two laps later when John Paul Jr. slowed on the backstretch. With only six drivers on the lead lap, Eddie Cheever made another pit stop, placing behind Bräck for the Lap 76 restart. Davey Hamilton had been greatly benefitted by the attrition rate and got past Greco for third, but both were passed by Bräck, who emerged as a serious contender in his debut Indy car race, although he was 10 seconds behind Stewart and Guthrie by then. Another newcomer, Billy Roe, started losing oil on Lap 82 while running 11th and was black flagged, but he was unaware of the situation until he crashed heavily on Lap 85, entering Turn 3. During a long caution, Stewart chose to make another pit stop on Lap 95, while Guthrie's crew gambled on staying out to make their stop on Lap 120 to try and jump Stewart in the event of more caution laps. After the restart on Lap 99, Guthrie pulled an 11-second lead over Kenny Bräck, while Stewart climbed to third by Lap 112. Five laps later, Giaffone, running a lap down in 7th place, pulled to the side of the track with a half-shaft problem, and brought a timely caution for Guthrie's odds. Their strategy from that point was to go flat-out until the end, hoping to make it without another pit stop and the help of two more caution periods at the very least. Stewart topped off a lap later than Guthrie, and emerged in front of him, but Team Menard was already planning for a late splash-and-go. Another lengthy clean-up ensued, on which Eddie Cheever retired with an oil pressure issue, after repeatedly trying to pass Marco Greco. As the front of the field, led by lapped cars, was already on Turn 3 for a Lap 129 restart, with the Pace Car pulling into the pit lane, race officials suddenly aborted the restart for an additional track inspection, which caused Pace Car driver Johnny Rutherford to swerve back onto the left side of the track before being passed by four different drivers, including race leader Kenny Bräck, who was due to make his second pit-stop. No penalties were issued, and the race was finally underway on Lap 133, with Hamilton and Stewart passing Greco simultaneously on the outside of Turn 3; Hamilton would be passed by Stewart in the same fashion two laps later, after being blocked by Groff. By Lap 140, Guthrie also got past Hamilton, and joined Stewart in pursuit of Bräck. All three drivers were a second apart from each other when, on Lap 146, Bräck run high into the oil dry in Turn 3, spun and crashed. Stewart pitted for a splash of fuel and some tyre pressure changes just before the Lap 155 restart, and quickly passed Greco. During the longest green flag run of the day, at just 26 laps, Stewart struggled to navigate the heavy traffic situation on the track, and Guthrie had easily gained a 11-second lead by Lap 178, with Stewart a further four seconds behind Hamilton. There were only three cars on the lead lap, as Greco had gone a lap down in fourth place. 20 laps from the end, Sam Schmidt was trying to hunt down Stéphan Grégoire for fifth place when he lost the right-rear tyre entering Turn 3, right in front of Davey Hamilton. He was transported by ambulance with mid-back pain, but he was not injured. The rear-first crash pounded a significant hole in the concrete wall that had to be fixed with a metal plate over eleven laps of caution. Having complained of handling issues in the previous laps, and aiming to run down Guthrie after the restart, Stewart pitted twice under the yellow, the first one for drastic changes in his rear wing, and the second one for fuel and 'option' tires for better grip, briefly stalling the engine afterwards. Guthrie stayed out, looking to stretch his fuel. As the race restarted with 9 laps to go, Stewart was placed behind the lapped cars of Marco Greco and Roberto Guerrero, which he passed in the following lap. Aiming for the win, Stewart passed Hamilton on the outside of Turn 3 with five laps to go, and was gaining half a second per lap on Guthrie, but he ran out of time, and Guthrie held on by less than a second. Emulating Arie Luyendyk's win with an unsponsored car back in 1991, the $170,100 payoff partially helped Guthrie on settling his debts.https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-phoenix-results-2008-03-27/8190/ Guthrie Holds Back Stewart to Celebrate Phoenix 200 Win Motorsport.com January 7, 2019 April 23, 1997 January 7, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190107233436/https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-phoenix-results-2008-03-27/8190/ dead This would be Guthrie's one-and-only podium finish of his Indy car career. A month later, the team announced a year-long sponsorship agreement with Jacuzzi, which guaranteed a proper effort for the Indianapolis 500 with new engines and a back-up car.https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-blueprint-announces-sponsor/8839/ U.S. Industries and Blueprint Racing Form Year-Long Partnership Motorsport.com January 7, 2019 April 30, 1997 January 8, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190108045744/https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/irl-blueprint-announces-sponsor/8839/ dead After Stewart, Davey Hamilton had his first podium finish in Indy car racing and jumped to second in the standings, while Marco Greco, who kept his top-10 streak, and Stéphan Grégoire finished in the top-5 for the first time. While leading a restart on Lap 138 as an already lapped car, Mike Groff's car had started to smoke and it was black flagged, losing four laps to fix the issue and falling down to 18th place at one point. However, high attrition brought Groff a sixth place finish, retaining the championship lead in the process. With a very basic setup in his back-up car, Buzz Calkins was not a factor during the race and lost several laps, but managed to see the checkered flag in 8th place. For the fifth race in a row, the Indy Racing League had produced a first-time Indy car winner, an unprecedented feat in post-war Indy car history, and none of the top-6 drivers had ever won an Indy car race before, for the first time since the 1959 Golden State 100 at the California State Fairgrounds in Sacramento. This became the second slowest Indy car race ever held at Phoenix, with an average speed of just 89.19 mph, just under 3 mph faster than the 1967 Jimmy Bryan Memorial at the same track, and slower than any NASCAR Cup Series race ever held at Phoenix since their debut in 1988. At 2 hours and 14 minutes, it holds the record for the longest Indy car race at Phoenix, being 45 minutes longer than the 1986 Circle K/Fiesta Bowl 200, which had the average speed record at 134 mph. Race Results Box Score Pos No. Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid LapsLed Points 127USA Jim Guthrie RBlueprint Racing2002:14:32.66727435 22US Tony StewartTeam Menard200+ 0.854 sec18536 314US Davey HamiltonA. J. Foyt Enterprises200Running14032 422BRA Marco GrecoTeam Scandia199+ 1 lap8031 577FRA Stéphan GrégoireChastain Motorsports199+ 1 lap19030 610USA Mike GroffByrd-Cunningham Racing195+ 5 laps16029 721COL Roberto Guerrero W   Pagan Racing194+ 6 laps10028 812USA Buzz CalkinsBradley Motorsports187+ 13 laps22027 918USA John Paul Jr.PDM Racing179+ 21 laps11026 1016US Sam Schmidt RBlueprint Racing176Accident T46025 114SWE Kenny Bräck RGalles Racing145Accident T492424 1251USA Eddie CheeverTeam Cheever120Overheating7023 1317BRA Affonso Giaffone RChitwood Motorsports114Half Shaft211322 1433Spain Fermín Vélez RTeam Scandia94Electrical15021 1550US Billy Roe REurointernational82Accident T3/Engine17020 161US Scott SharpA. J. Foyt Enterprises65Engine20419 176CAN Scott GoodyearTreadway Racing52Engine3018 183US Robbie BuhlTeam Menard51Accident T25017 1930US Jeret Schroeder RMcCormack Motorsports51Accident T212016 2040US Jack Miller RArizona Motorsport33Fuel Pickup18015 2191US Buddy LazierHemelgarn Racing31Engine13014 225NED Arie Luyendyk WTreadway Racing11Mechanical4013 Race Statistics Lead changes: 10 among 5 drivers Lap Leaders Laps Leader1–41 Tony Stewart42 Jim Guthrie43–55 Affonso Giaffone56–61 Tony Stewart62–65 Scott Sharp66–94 Tony Stewart95–120 Jim Guthrie121 Tony Stewart122–145 Kenny Bräck146–153 Tony Stewart154–200 Jim Guthrie Cautions: 9 for 86 laps Laps Reason2–6Tow-in for Roberto Guerrero (battery issues)13–18Arie Luyendyk stopped, oil on the track36–44Buddy Lazier's engine leaks oil on the track52–60Goodyear's engine leaks oil on the track; Buhl, Schroeder and Schmidt's crash69–75Oil on track from Scott Sharp's engine85–98Billy Roe's crash; oil on the track117–132Affonso Giaffone stopped, oil on the track146–154Kenny Bräck's crash180–190Sam Schmidt's crash Standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 US Mike Groff 125 2 US Davey Hamilton 114 3 US Buzz Calkins 113 4 BRA Marco Greco 112 5 COL Roberto Guerrero 106 Note: Only the top five positions are included for the standings. References External links IndyCar official website Indy Racing League Phoenix 200 1996–1997 1997 Indy 200 at Walt Disney World 1997 Indianapolis 500 1996 Dura Lube 200 1998 Dura Lube 200 Category:1996–97 in IndyCar Phoenix 200