1997 CART PPG World Series

American motorsport season February 2025 1997 CART PPG CART World Series CART vertical logo (1997-2002).svg 17 March 2 September 28 Italy Alex Zanardi United Kingdom Reynard Germany Mercedes Canada Patrick Carpentier United States United States 1996 1998 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.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18017851/cart_1997/ Cart 1997 The Indianapolis Star 2 March 1997 46 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. TeamChassisEngineTiresNoDriversRoundsPrimary Sponsors United States Target Chip Ganassi Reynard 97i Honda HRR Firestone 1 USA Jimmy Vasser All Target 4 ITA Alex Zanardi 1–16 NED Arie Luyendyk 17 USA Marlboro Team Penske Penske PC-26-97 Ilmor-MercedesIC108D Goodyear 2 USA Al Unser Jr. All Marlboro 3 CAN Paul Tracy All USA Walker Racing Reynard 97i Honda HRR Goodyear 5 BRA Gil de Ferran All Valvoline USA Newman-Haas Racing Swift 007.i Ford XD Goodyear 6 USA Michael Andretti All Texaco-Havoline 11 BRA Christian Fittipaldi 1–2, 9–17 Budweiser BRA Roberto Moreno 3–8 USA Team Rahal Reynard 97i Ford XD Goodyear 7 USA Bobby Rahal All Miller Lite 8 USA Bryan Herta All Shell USA Hogan Racing Reynard 97i Mercedes IC108D Firestone 9 UK Dario Franchitti (R) 1–16 Hogan Racing USA Robby Gordon 17 USA Bettenhausen Racing Reynard 97i Mercedes IC108D Goodyear 16 CAN Patrick Carpentier (R) 1–14, 17 Alumax BRA Roberto Moreno 15–16 USA PacWest Reynard 97i Mercedes IC108D Firestone 17 BRA Maurício Gugelmin All Hollywood Cigarettes 18 GBR Mark Blundell All Motorola USA Payton/Coyne Racing Reynard 97i Ford XD Goodyear 19 MEX Michel Jourdain Jr. 11, 14, 16 Herdez Lola T97/00 1–10, 12–13, 15, 17 34 BRA Roberto Moreno 1 Data Control USA Paul Jasper (R) 2–7 Hype GER Christian Danner 8–9 Payton/Coyne Racing USA Charlie Nearburg (R) 10, 13 Nearburg Exploration USA Dennis Vitolo 11–12 Payton/Coyne Racing Reynard 97i USA Charlie Nearburg (R) 14, 16 Nearburg Exploration GER Christian Danner 15 Payton/Coyne Racing USA Dennis Vitolo 17 SmithKline Beecham USA Patrick Racing Reynard 97i Ford XD Firestone 20 USA Scott Pruett All Brahma 40 BRA Raul Boesel All USA Della Penna Motorsports Lola T97/00 Ford XD Goodyear 21 USA Richie Hearn 1–16 RalphsSwift 007.i17 USA Arciero-Wells Racing Reynard 97i Toyota RV8B Firestone 24 JPN Hiro Matsushita All Panasonic 25 ITA Max Papis All MCI Worldcom USA Team KOOL Green Reynard 97i Honda HRR Firestone 27 USA Parker Johnstone All KOOL USA Tasman Motorsports Reynard 97i Honda HRR Firestone 31 BRA André Ribeiro 10–17 LCI Communications Lola T97/00 1–9 32 MEX Adrian Fernández All Tecate USA All American Racing Reynard 96iReynard 97i Toyota RV8B Goodyear 36 ARG Juan Manuel Fangio II All Castrol 98 USA P. J. Jones All USA Project Indy Lola T97/00 Ford XD Goodyear 64 USA Dennis Vitolo 1, 3–4, 15–16 SmithKline Beecham GER Arnd Meier (R) 2, 5–6, 8–14, 17 Hasseröder USA Davis Racing Reynard 97i Ford XD Goodyear 77 BRA Gualter Salles (R) All Davis Racing 2 1–2Indusval 15 3–17 USA Forsythe Racing Reynard 96iReynard 97i Mercedes IC108D Firestone 99 CAN Greg Moore All Player's Schedule Icon Legend white O silver Oval/Speedway lightblue R silver Road course peachpuff S silver Street circuit Rnd Date Race Name Circuit Location TV Broadcaster 1 March 2 USA Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami white O silver Homestead Motorsports Complex Homestead, Florida ABC 2 April 6 AUS Sunbelt IndyCarnival peachpuff S silver Surfers Paradise Street Circuit Surfers Paradise, Australia ABC 3 April 13 USA Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach peachpuff S silver Streets of Long Beach Long Beach, California ABC 4 April 27 USA Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix white O silver Nazareth Speedway Nazareth, Pennsylvania ABC 5 May 11 BRA Hollywood Rio 400K white O silver Autódromo de Jacarepaguá Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ABC 6 May 24 USA Motorola 300 white O silver Gateway International Raceway Madison, Illinois ABC 7 June 1 USA Miller 200 white O silver Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wisconsin ESPN 8 June 8 USA ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix peachpuff S silver The Raceway on Belle Isle Park Detroit, Michigan ABC 9 June 22 USA Budweiser/G. I. Joe's 200 lightblue R silver Portland International Raceway Portland, Oregon ESPN 10 July 13 USA Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland peachpuff S silver Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport Cleveland, Ohio ABC 11 July 20 Canada Molson Indy Toronto peachpuff S silver Exhibition Place Toronto, Ontario ABC 12 July 27 USA U.S. 500 white O silver Michigan Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan ABC 13 August 10 USA Miller 200 lightblue R silver Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio ABC 14 August 17 USA Texaco/Havoline 200 lightblue R silver Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin ESPN 15 August 31 Canada Molson Indy Vancouver peachpuff S silver Streets of Vancouver Vancouver, British Columbia ESPN 16 September 7 USA Toyota Grand Prix of Monterey lightblue R silver Laguna Seca Raceway Monterey, California ESPN 17 September 28 US Marlboro 500 white O silver California Speedway Fontana, California ESPN * 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. Results Rnd Race Pole position Fastest lap Race WinnerRace time Report Driver Team Chassis Engine 1 USA Homestead ITA Alex Zanardi United States Michael Andretti United States Michael Andretti Newman/Haas Racing Swift Ford1:38:45 Report 2 AUS Surfers Paradise ITA Alex Zanardi ITA Alex Zanardi USA Scott Pruett Patrick Racing Reynard Ford2:01:04 Report 3 USA Long Beach BRA Gil de Ferran ITA Alex Zanardi ITA Alex Zanardi Target Chip Ganassi Reynard Honda1:46:17 Report 4 USA Nazareth CAN Paul Tracy CAN Paul Tracy CAN Paul Tracy Marlboro Team Penske Penske Mercedes1:53:31 Report 5 BRA Rio BRA Maurício Gugelmin BRA Gil de Ferran CAN Paul Tracy Marlboro Team Penske Penske Mercedes2:10:47 Report 6 USA Gateway BRA Raul Boesel GBR Dario Franchitti CAN Paul Tracy Marlboro Team Penske Penske Mercedes2:37:54 Report 7 USA Milwaukee CAN Paul Tracy CAN Paul Tracy CAN Greg Moore Forsythe Racing Reynard Mercedes1:43:32 Report 8 United States Belle Isle BRA Gil de Ferran GBR Dario Franchitti CAN Greg Moore Forsythe Racing Reynard Mercedes1:52:45 Report 9 United States Portland USA Scott Pruett BRA Raul Boesel GBR Mark Blundell PacWest Reynard Mercedes2:00:12 Report 10 USA Cleveland ITA Alex Zanardi ITA Alex Zanardi ITA Alex Zanardi Target Chip Ganassi Reynard Honda1:41:40 Report 11 Canada Toronto GBR Dario Franchitti GBR Mark Blundell GBR Mark Blundell PacWest Reynard Mercedes1:45:43 Report 12 USA Michigan USA Scott Pruett BRA Maurício Gugelmin ITA Alex Zanardi Target Chip Ganassi Reynard Honda2:59:35 Report 13 US Mid-Ohio USA Bryan Herta ITA Alex Zanardi ITA Alex Zanardi Target Chip Ganassi Reynard Honda1:41:16 Report 14 USA Road America BRA Maurício Gugelmin ITA Alex Zanardi ITA Alex Zanardi Target Chip Ganassi Reynard Honda1:57:54 Report 15 CAN Vancouver ITA Alex Zanardi ITA Alex Zanardi BRA Maurício Gugelmin PacWest Reynard Mercedes1:47:17 Report 16 USA Laguna Seca USA Bryan Herta GBR Mark Blundell USA Jimmy Vasser Target Chip Ganassi Reynard Honda1:41:38 Report 17 US Fontana BRA Maurício Gugelmin CAN Greg Moore GBR Mark Blundell PacWest Reynard Mercedes3:02:42 Report Final driver standings List of American Championship car racing point scoring systems Pos Driver HOM US SUR Australia LBH US NAZ US RIO Brazil GTW US MIL US BEL US POR US CLE US TOR Canada MIS US MOH US ROA US VAN Canada LAG US CAL US Pts 1 Italy Alex Zanardi 7 4 1* 11 4 4 13 26 11 1 2 1* 1* 1 4 3 Wth 195 2 Brazil Gil de Ferran 22 5 21 4 11 3 7 3* 2 2* 25 3 6 3 3 5 6 162 3 US Jimmy Vasser 3 12 9 5 9 5 3 4 19 13 7 24 5 8 2* 1* 2 144 4 Brazil Maurício Gugelmin 6 17 2 9 22 6 5 16 6* 15 6 6 7 2 1 9 4 132 5 Canada Paul Tracy 2 19* 7 1* 1 1 6 DNS 7 7 10 4 27 28 28 26 26 121 6 UK Mark Blundell 14 8 13 19 8 24 12 17 1 9 1* 2 26 16* 7 2 1 115 7 Canada Greg Moore 4 2 23 16 2 13 1* 1 5 24 23 27 2 18 17 24 13 111 8 US Michael Andretti 1* 3 22 2 21 11* 2 2 8 23 4 21 8 26 16 27 19 108 9 US Scott Pruett 5 1 3 10 3 19 9 24 17 8 5 14 9 5 18 16 7 102 10 BRA Raul Boesel 17 7 8 8 5 14 4 6 3 16 8 18 4 21 6 8 20 91 11 US Bryan Herta 10 22 6 7 6 22 15 7 21 3 17 5 24 11 8 6 21 72 12 US Bobby Rahal 16 10 10 6 10* 20 11 9 24 5 9 17 3 6 24 19 5 70 13 US Al Unser Jr. 27 27 4 3 7 18 20 8 25 4 20 20 22 7 5 11 22 67 14 Brazil André Ribeiro 12 6 14 26 15 10 26 25 13 14 3 23 10 22 10 4 17* 45 15 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi 26 28 4 6 11 16 21 4 9 21 9 42 16 USA Parker Johnstone 8 21 5 17 12 7 25 20 9 10 12 25 12 23 11 12 11 36 17 Canada Patrick Carpentier yellow RY silver 9 15 15 12 28 2 8 15 16 12 16 15 15 27 Wth 27 18 Mexico Adrián Fernández 13 11 11 23 26 8 24 27 10 17 14 26 23 12 19 23 3 27 19 Brazil Roberto Moreno 24 24 14 18 25 10 5 15 10 16 20 Brazil Gualter Salles orange R silver 15 24 18 24 19 12 22 21 23 19 18 10 20 13 26 7 14 10 21 US Richie Hearn 11 13 27 18 14 9 23 23 14 28 27 22 13 9 22 25 15 10 22 UK Dario Franchitti orange R silver 25 9 12 13 27 17 16 13 26 11 26 19 11 25 13 13 10 23 ARG Juan Manuel Fangio II 20 20 26 15 20 23 21 10 22 21 19 11 25 10 12 15 27 9 24 ITA Max Papis 19 14 25 22 13 26 19 11 28 27 15 8 14 15 20 14 12 8 25 USA Dennis Vitolo 23 DNS DNQ 28 7 27 20 16 6 26 USA Robby Gordon 8 5 27 JPN Hiro Matsushita 21 25 20 25 23 15 17 19 15 20 22 9 19 24 14 28 23 4 28 USA P. J. Jones 28 26 16 21 16 21 14 14 20 25 21 28 17 14 25 17 10 3 29 MEX Michel Jourdain Jr. 18 18 17 20 17 16 27 22 12 18 13 13 18 20 21 22 18 1 30 GER Arnd Meier orange R silver 16 25 DNS 18 18 22 24 12 16 19 25 1 31 GER Christian Danner 12 27 23 1 32 USA Charlie Nearburg orange R silver 26 28 17 18 0 33 USA Paul Jasper orange R silver 23 19 DNQ 24 Wth 18 0 34 NED Arie Luyendyk 24 0 Pos Driver HOM US SUR Australia LBH US NAZ US RIO Brazil GTW US MIL US BEL US POR US CLE US TOR Canada MIS US MOH US ROA US VAN Canada LAG US CAL US Pts 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 notparticipate(DNP) Not competingIn-line notationBoldPole positionItalicsRan fastest race lap*Led most race lapsyellow RY silver Rookie of the Yearorange R silver Rookie Nations' Cup Top result per race counts towards Nations' Cup. Pos Country Pts 1 USA United States 252 2 Brazil Brazil 238 3 Italy Italy 198 4 Canada Canada 190 5 ENG England 115 6 Mexico Mexico 27 7 SCO Scotland 10 8 ARG Argentina 9 9 Japan Japan 4 10 Germany Germany 2 11 Netherlands Netherlands 0 Pos Country Pts Chassis Constructors' Cup Pos Chassis Pts Wins 1 GBR Reynard 97I/96I 346 13 2 USA Penske PC-26 156 3 3 USA Swift 007.i 143 1 4 GBR Lola T9700 45 0 Pos Chassis Pts Wins Engine Manufacturers' Cup Pos Engine Pts Wins 1 GER Mercedes 316 9 2 Japan Honda 290 6 3 USA Ford XD/XB 230 2 4 Japan Toyota 15 0 Pos Engine Pts Wins See also 1997 Toyota Atlantic Championship season 1997 Indianapolis 500 1996–97 Indy Racing League 1997 Indy Lights season Super Speedway CART World Series References http://www.driverdb.com/standings/5-1997/ CART FedEx Champ Car World Series 1997 (sic) Åberg, Andreas Driver Database 2009-05-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20081009130126/http://www.driverdb.com/standings/5-1997/ 2008-10-09 live http://www.champcarstats.com/year/1997.htm 1997 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series (sic) Champ Car Stats 2009-05-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20090303233631/http://www.champcarstats.com/year/1997.htm 2009-03-03 live http://corporateportal.ppg.com/PPG/Newsroom/News/20090309.htm PPG Helps Penske Racing Go "Green" with ENVIROBASE High Performance Coatings PPG Industries 2009-03-09 2009-05-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20110605080741/http://corporateportal.ppg.com/PPG/Newsroom/News/20090309.htm 2011-06-05 live http://www.champcar.ws/Results/Standings.asp?Year=1997 Standings after California Champ Car World Series 2009-05-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20081022080345/http://www.champcar.ws/Results/Standings.asp?Year=1997 2008-10-22 dead Bibliography Shaw Jeremy Autocourse Cart World Series 1997-98: Official Yearbook 1997 Hazleton Publishing Richmond, Surrey 978-1-874557-62-3 collapsed Category:Champ Car seasons CART CART CART