1997 Indy Lights season

Events December 2019 December 2020 February 2025 Indy Lights PPG/Firestone Indy Lights Championship 1997 14 March 2 September 27 BRA Tony Kanaan 1996 1998 The 1997 PPG/Firestone Indy Lights Championship Powered By Buick consisted of 13 races. Tony Kanaan edged out good friend and teammate Hélio Castro-Neves to the title by only four points.https://www.racing-reference.info/yeardet/1997/IL Standings This was the first season where all teams used the Lola T97/20-Buick spec car. The scoring system was 20-16-14-12-10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 points awarded to the first 12 (twelve) finishers, with 1 (one) extra point given to the driver who took pole-position, and another extra point given to the driver who led most laps in the race. Team and driver chart The following drivers and teams competed in the series: TeamNo. Car numberDriversRound(s)Autosport Racing5CAN Eric Jensen957FRA Didier André1–1275FRA Jean-Philippe Belloc12Bordin Racing56CAN Andrew Bordin1–2, 6–12Brian Stewart Racing2BRA Airton DaréAll3BRA Cristiano da MattaAll34USA Jaques Lazier2–7FRA Frédéric Gosparini9–1363USA Brian Cunningham1Conquest Racing21FRA Christophe TinseauAllDorricott Racing31BRA Luiz Garcia Jr.All32USA Bob Dorricott Jr.AllEclipse Racing20CAN John Jones1–4, 7–8CAN Claude Bourbonnais9–12FRE Racing4BRA Sérgio Paese1–2, 4–12Forsythe Racing33CAN David EmpringhamAll99CAN Lee BenthamAllGenoa Racing97BRA Oswaldo Negri Jr.2, 4, 8–12Indy Regency Racing28JPN Hideki Noda1–1277MEX Rodolfo LavínAllJohansson Motorsports36SWE Fredrik Larsson1–970USA Jeff Ward11–13Leading Edge Motorsports5USA Chris Bingham1–3, 8Lucas Place Motorsports5USA Brian Cunningham11–1316JPN Shigeaki Hattori2–1324USA David DeSilvaAllPacWest Lights18USA Robby UnserAllProject Indy15AUT Philipp Sager1FRA Frédéric Gosparini2Tasman Motorsports7BRA Tony KanaanAll8BRA Hélio CastronevesAllTeam Green25JPN Naoki HattoriAll26USA Chris SimmonsAll27USA Mark HotchkisAllTeam Mears10USA Casey MearsAll11USA Clint MearsAllTeam Medlin12USA Geoff Boss1–12 Schedule Rd.DateTrackLocation1March 2transparent O silver Homestead-Miami SpeedwayHomestead, Florida2April 13lightblue R silver Long Beach Street CircuitLong Beach, California3April 27transparent O silver Nazareth SpeedwayNazareth, Pennsylvania4May 18lightblue R silver Grand Prize of America Road CourseSavannah, Georgia5May 24transparent O silver Gateway International RacewayMadison, Illinois6June 1transparent O silver Milwaukee MileWest Allis, Wisconsin7June 8lightblue R silver The Raceway at Belle Isle ParkDetroit, Michigan8June 22lightblue R silver Portland International RacewayPortland, Oregon9July 20lightblue R silver Exhibition PlaceToronto, Ontario10August 3lightblue R silver Circuit Trois-RivièresTrois-Rivières, Quebec11August 31lightblue R silver Streets of VancouverVancouver, British Columbia12September 7lightblue R silver Laguna Seca RacewayMonterey, California13September 27transparent O silver California SpeedwayFontana, California Race results RoundCircuitPole positionFastest lapMost laps ledRace WinnerDriverTeam1USA Homestead-Miami SpeedwayBRA Hélio CastronevesUSA Mark HotchkisUSA Mark HotchkisCAN David EmpringhamForsythe Racing2USA Long Beach Street CircuitBRA Hélio CastronevesBRA Cristiano da MattaBRA Hélio CastronevesBRA Hélio CastronevesTasman Motorsports3USA Nazareth SpeedwayUSA Chris SimmonsUSA David DeSilvaUSA Chris SimmonsBRA Cristiano da MattaBrian Stewart Racing4USA Grand Prize of America Road CourseBRA Hélio CastronevesNot announcedBRA Hélio CastronevesBRA Hélio CastronevesTasman Motorsports5USA Gateway International RacewayUSA Chris SimmonsBRA Cristiano da MattaCAN Lee BenthamCAN Lee BenthamForsythe Racing6USA Milwaukee MileUSA Clint MearsUSA Clint MearsUSA Clint MearsUSA Clint MearsTeam Mears7USA The Raceway at Belle Isle ParkBRA Tony KanaanBRA Hélio CastronevesBRA Tony KanaanBRA Tony KanaanTasman Motorsports8USA Portland International RacewayBRA Hélio CastronevesBRA Oswaldo Negri Jr.BRA Hélio CastronevesJPN Hideki NodaIndy Regency Racing9CAN Exhibition PlaceBRA Tony KanaanFRA Christophe TinseauBRA Hélio CastronevesBRA Hélio CastronevesTasman Motorsports10CAN Circuit Trois-RivièresUSA Mark HotchkisUSA Mark HotchkisBRA Tony KanaanBRA Tony KanaanTasman Motorsports11CAN Streets of VancouverBRA Cristiano da MattaJPN Hideki NodaBRA Cristiano da MattaBRA Cristiano da MattaBrian Stewart Racing12USA Laguna Seca RacewayBRA Tony KanaanBRA Cristiano da MattaBRA Cristiano da MattaBRA Cristiano da MattaBrian Stewart Racing13USA California SpeedwayUSA Clint MearsBRA Cristiano da MattaBRA Hélio CastronevesUSA Clint MearsTeam Mears Championship standings Drivers' championship Scoring system Position 1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th  7th  8th  9th  10th  11th  12th Points20161412108654321 The driver who qualifies on pole is awarded one additional point. An additional point is awarded to the driver who leads the most laps in a race. PosDriverHMSUSALBHUSANAZUSASAVUSAGATUSAMILUSADETUSAPORUSATORCANTROCANVANCANLAGUSAFONUSAPoints1 BRA Tony Kanaan 6 5 5 23 10 3 1* 3 2 1* 2 2 91562 BRA Hélio Castroneves 14 1* 4 1* 3 12 2 2* 1* 20 19 3 5*1523 BRA Cristiano da Matta 21 2 1 21 2 4 26 5 18 4 1* 1* 41414 CAN David Empringham 1 10 9 14 4 2 4 7 3 5 5 26 131075 CAN Lee Bentham 5 14 22 3 1* 9 22 8 27 8 8 5 3886 USA Chris Simmons 3 4 2* 16 5 17 8 13 21 15 4 28 2887 USA Mark Hotchkis 4* 3 23 17 22 7 6 16 17 2 11 4 11748 USA Clint Mears 12 18 7 18 11 1* 18DNS 13 12 14DNS 1539 JPN Hideki Noda 18 19 16 6 16 14 14 1 15 6 3 125110 BRA Airton Daré 11 6 8 8 6 11 13 20 9 9 7 11 85111 FRA Christophe Tinseau 25 26 14 12 12 21 11 4 5 3 18 6 124912 SWE Fredrik Larsson 2 22 3 10 24 5 25 22 284313 BRA Luiz Garcia Jr. 16 15 24 4 17 19 9 6 25 23 6 10 103814 FRA Didier André 22 8 25 9 20 18 21 25 4 7 10 83515 USA Robby Unser 8 7 10 22 7 6 12 14 7 19 21 22 163516 JPN Naoki Hattori 13DNS 15 5 14 13 7 24 6 24 15 20 63217 USA Geoff Boss 10 24 17 20 21 20 3 10 14 11 9 93018 BRA Sérgio PaeseDNS 20 2 18 24 5 12 23 25 27 132719 USA David DeSilva 17 12 6 DNQ 8 25 10 26 24 26 17 171720 BRA Oswaldo Negri Jr. 27 7 9 8 21 20 271521 USA Brian Cunningham 7 25 7 141222 USA Jaques Lazier 11 12 24 9 8 231223 USA Casey Mears 9 17 13 13 13 10 25 11 20 17 16 19 15924 USA Jeff Ward 22 15 7625 JPN Shigeaki Hattori 9 20 15 23 16 24 23 26 14 12 14 18526 FRA Frédéric GospariniDNS 12 10 24 23 19427 USA Bob Dorricott Jr. 24 21 18 11 19 23 16 15 11 16 13 21 20428 CAN Andrew Bordin 23 23 15 17 17 10 13 23 16329 USA Chris Bingham 15 13 11 21230 MEX Rodolfo Lavín 20 16 21 25 15 22 19 19 22 22 26 25 17031 CAN Eric Jensen 16032 CAN Claude Bourbonnais 19 18 28 18033 CAN John Jones 19 25 19 19 20 18034 FRA Jean-Philippe Belloc 24035 AUT Philipp SagerDNS0PosDriverHMSUSALBHUSANAZUSASAVUSAGATUSAMILUSADETUSAPORUSATORCANTROCANVANCANLAGUSAFONUSAPointsColorResultGoldWinnerSilver2nd placeBronze3rd placeGreen4th & 5th placeLight Blue6th–10th placeDark BlueFinished (Outside Top 10)PurpleDid not finishRedDid not qualify (DNQ)BrownWithdrawn (Wth)BlackDisqualified (DSQ)WhiteDid not start (DNS)BlankDid not participate (DNP)Not competingIn-line notationBoldPole position(1 point)ItalicsRan fastest race lap*Led most race laps (2 points)1Qualifying cancelled no bonus point awarded Ties in points broken by number of wins, or best finishes. References Category:Indy Lights seasons Indy Lights Season, 1997 Indy Lights Indy Lights