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1997 CART PPG World Series

Sports season

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. 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
United States Target Chip Ganassi	Reynard 97i	Honda HRR		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-Mercedes
IC108D		2	USA Al Unser Jr.	All	Marlboro
3	CAN Paul Tracy	All
USA Walker Racing	Reynard 97i	Honda HRR		5	BRA Gil de Ferran	All	Valvoline
USA Newman-Haas Racing	Swift 007.i	Ford XD		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		7	USA Bobby Rahal	All	Miller Lite
8	USA Bryan Herta	All	Shell
USA Hogan Racing	Reynard 97i	Mercedes IC108D		9	UK Dario Franchitti (R)	1–16	Hogan Racing
USA Robby Gordon	17
USA Bettenhausen Racing	Reynard 97i	Mercedes IC108D		16	CAN Patrick Carpentier (R)	1–14, 17	Alumax
BRA Roberto Moreno	15–16
USA PacWest	Reynard 97i	Mercedes IC108D		17	BRA Maurício Gugelmin	All	Hollywood Cigarettes
18	GBR Mark Blundell	All	Motorola
USA Payton/Coyne Racing	Reynard 97i	Ford XD		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		20	USA Scott Pruett	All	Brahma
40	BRA Raul Boesel	All
USA Della Penna Motorsports	Lola T97/00	Ford XD		21	USA Richie Hearn	1–16	Ralphs
Swift 007.i	17
USA Arciero-Wells Racing	Reynard 97i	Toyota RV8B		24	JPN Hiro Matsushita	All	Panasonic
25	ITA Max Papis	All	MCI Worldcom
USA Team KOOL Green	Reynard 97i	Honda HRR		27	USA Parker Johnstone	All	KOOL
USA Tasman Motorsports	Reynard 97i	Honda HRR		31	BRA André Ribeiro	10–17	LCI Communications
Lola T97/00	1–9
32	MEX Adrian Fernández	All	Tecate
USA All American Racing	Reynard 96i
Reynard 97i	Toyota RV8B		36	ARG Juan Manuel Fangio II	All	Castrol
98	USA P. J. Jones	All
USA Project Indy	Lola T97/00	Ford XD		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		77	BRA Gualter Salles (R)	All	Davis Racing 2
Indusval 15
USA Forsythe Racing	Reynard 96i
Reynard 97i	Mercedes IC108D		99	CAN Greg Moore	All	Player's

Schedule

Icon	Legend
	Oval/Speedway
	Road course
	Street circuit

Rnd	Date	Race Name	Circuit	Location
March 2	USA Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami	Homestead Motorsports Complex	Homestead, Florida	ABC
April 6	AUS Sunbelt IndyCarnival	Surfers Paradise Street Circuit	Surfers Paradise, Australia	ABC
April 13	USA Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach	Streets of Long Beach	Long Beach, California	ABC
April 27	USA Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix	Nazareth Speedway	Nazareth, Pennsylvania	ABC
May 11	BRA Hollywood Rio 400K	Autódromo de Jacarepaguá	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	ABC
May 24	USA Motorola 300	Gateway International Raceway	Madison, Illinois	ABC
June 1	USA Miller 200	Milwaukee Mile	West Allis, Wisconsin	ESPN
June 8	USA ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix	The Raceway on Belle Isle Park	Detroit, Michigan	ABC
June 22	USA Budweiser/G. I. Joe's 200	Portland International Raceway	Portland, Oregon	ESPN
July 13	USA Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland	Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport	Cleveland, Ohio	ABC
July 20	Canada Molson Indy Toronto	Exhibition Place	Toronto, Ontario	ABC
July 27	USA U.S. 500	Michigan Speedway	Brooklyn, Michigan	ABC
August 10	USA Miller 200	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	Lexington, Ohio	ABC
August 17	USA Texaco/Havoline 200	Road America	Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin	ESPN
August 31	Canada Molson Indy Vancouver	Streets of Vancouver	Vancouver, British Columbia	ESPN
September 7	USA Toyota Grand Prix of Monterey	Laguna Seca Raceway	Monterey, California	ESPN
September 28	US Marlboro 500	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 Winner	Race time	Report	Driver	Team
USA Homestead	ITA Alex Zanardi	United States Michael Andretti	United States Michael Andretti	Newman/Haas Racing	Swift	Ford	1:38:45	[Report](1997-marlboro-grand-prix-of-miami)
AUS Surfers Paradise	ITA Alex Zanardi	ITA Alex Zanardi	USA Scott Pruett	Patrick Racing	Reynard	Ford	2:01:04	[Report](1997-sunbelt-indycarnival)
USA Long Beach	BRA Gil de Ferran	ITA Alex Zanardi	ITA Alex Zanardi	Target Chip Ganassi	Reynard	Honda	1:46:17	[Report](1997-toyota-grand-prix-of-long-beach)
USA Nazareth	CAN Paul Tracy	CAN Paul Tracy	CAN Paul Tracy	Marlboro Team Penske	Penske	Mercedes	1:53:31	[Report](1997-bosch-spark-plug-grand-prix)
BRA Rio	BRA Maurício Gugelmin	BRA Gil de Ferran	CAN Paul Tracy	Marlboro Team Penske	Penske	Mercedes	2:10:47	[Report](1997-hollywood-rio-400k)
USA Gateway	BRA Raul Boesel	GBR Dario Franchitti	CAN Paul Tracy	Marlboro Team Penske	Penske	Mercedes	2:37:54	[Report](1997-motorola-300)
USA Milwaukee	CAN Paul Tracy	CAN Paul Tracy	CAN Greg Moore	Forsythe Racing	Reynard	Mercedes	1:43:32	[Report](1997-miller-genuine-draft-200)
United States Belle Isle	BRA Gil de Ferran	GBR Dario Franchitti	CAN Greg Moore	Forsythe Racing	Reynard	Mercedes	1:52:45	[Report](1997-itt-automotive-detroit-grand-prix)
United States Portland	USA Scott Pruett	BRA Raul Boesel	GBR Mark Blundell	PacWest	Reynard	Mercedes	2:00:12	[Report](1997-budweiser-g-i-joe-s-200)
USA Cleveland	ITA Alex Zanardi	ITA Alex Zanardi	ITA Alex Zanardi	Target Chip Ganassi	Reynard	Honda	1:41:40	[Report](1997-medic-drug-grand-prix)
Canada Toronto	GBR Dario Franchitti	GBR Mark Blundell	GBR Mark Blundell	PacWest	Reynard	Mercedes	1:45:43	[Report](1997-molson-indy-toronto)
USA Michigan	USA Scott Pruett	BRA Maurício Gugelmin	ITA Alex Zanardi	Target Chip Ganassi	Reynard	Honda	2:59:35	[Report](1997-u-s-500-presented-by-toyota)
US Mid-Ohio	USA Bryan Herta	ITA Alex Zanardi	ITA Alex Zanardi	Target Chip Ganassi	Reynard	Honda	1:41:16	[Report](1997-miller-200)
USA Road America	BRA Maurício Gugelmin	ITA Alex Zanardi	ITA Alex Zanardi	Target Chip Ganassi	Reynard	Honda	1:57:54	[Report](1997-texaco-havoline-200)
CAN Vancouver	ITA Alex Zanardi	ITA Alex Zanardi	BRA Maurício Gugelmin	PacWest	Reynard	Mercedes	1:47:17	[Report](1997-molson-indy-vancouver)
USA Laguna Seca	USA Bryan Herta	GBR Mark Blundell	USA Jimmy Vasser	Target Chip Ganassi	Reynard	Honda	1:41:38	[Report](1997-honda-grand-prix-of-monterey)
US Fontana	BRA Maurício Gugelmin	CAN Greg Moore	GBR Mark Blundell	PacWest	Reynard	Mercedes	3:02:42	[Report](1997-marlboro-500)

Final driver standings

Pos	Driver	HOM US	[SUR](1997-sunbelt-indycarnival) Australia	LBH US	NAZ US	RIO Brazil	GTW US	MIL US	BEL US	POR US	CLE US	TOR Canada	[MIS](1997-michigan-500) US	MOH US	ROA US	[VAN](1997-molson-indy-vancouver) Canada	LAG US
Italy Alex Zanardi	7	*4*	1*	11	4	4	13	26	11	*1*	2	1*	1*	1	*4*	3	Wth
Brazil Gil de Ferran	22	5	21	4	11	3	7	3*	2	2*	25	3	6	3	3	5	6
US Jimmy Vasser	3	12	9	5	9	5	3	4	19	13	7	24	5	8	2*	1*	2
Brazil Maurício Gugelmin	6	17	2	9	22	6	5	16	6*	15	6	6	7	2	1	9	4
Canada Paul Tracy	2	19*	7	*1**	1	1	*6*	DNS	7	7	10	4	27	28	28	26	26
UK Mark Blundell	14	8	13	19	8	24	12	17	1	9	1*	2	26	16*	7	2	1
Canada Greg Moore	4	2	23	16	2	13	1*	1	5	24	23	27	2	18	17	24	13
US Michael Andretti	1*	3	22	2	21	11*	2	2	8	23	4	21	8	26	16	27	19
US Scott Pruett	5	1	3	10	3	19	9	24	17	8	5	14	9	5	18	16	7
BRA Raul Boesel	17	7	8	8	5	14	4	6	3	16	8	18	4	21	6	8	20
US Bryan Herta	10	22	6	7	6	22	15	7	21	3	17	5	24	11	8	6	21
US Bobby Rahal	16	10	10	6	10*	20	11	9	24	5	9	17	3	6	24	19	5
US Al Unser Jr.	27	27	4	3	7	18	20	8	25	4	20	20	22	7	5	11	22
Brazil André Ribeiro	12	6	14	26	15	10	26	25	13	14	3	23	10	22	10	4	17*
Brazil Christian Fittipaldi	26	28							4	6	11	16	21	4	9	21	9
USA Parker Johnstone	8	21	5	17	12	7	25	20	9	10	12	25	12	23	11	12	11
	9	15	15	12	28	2	8	15	16	12	16	15	15	27			Wth
Mexico Adrián Fernández	13	11	11	23	26	8	24	27	10	17	14	26	23	12	19	23	3
Brazil Roberto Moreno	24		24	14	18	25	10	5							15	10
Brazil Gualter Salles	15	24	18	24	19	12	22	21	23	19	18	10	20	13	26	7	14
US Richie Hearn	11	13	27	18	14	9	23	23	14	28	27	22	13	9	22	25	15
UK Dario Franchitti	25	9	12	13	27	17	16	13	26	11	26	19	11	25	13	13
ARG Juan Manuel Fangio II	20	20	26	15	20	23	21	10	22	21	19	11	25	10	12	15	27
ITA Max Papis	19	14	25	22	13	26	19	11	28	27	15	8	14	15	20	14	12
USA Dennis Vitolo	23		DNS	DNQ							28	7			27	20	16
USA Robby Gordon																	8
JPN Hiro Matsushita	21	25	20	25	23	15	17	19	15	20	22	9	19	24	14	28	23
USA P. J. Jones	28	26	16	21	16	21	14	14	20	25	21	28	17	14	25	17	10
MEX Michel Jourdain Jr.	18	18	17	20	17	16	27	22	12	18	13	13	18	20	21	22	18
GER Arnd Meier		16			25	DNS		18	18	22	24	12	16	19			25
GER Christian Danner								12	27						23
USA Charlie Nearburg										26			28	17		18
USA Paul Jasper		23	19	DNQ	24	Wth	18
NED Arie Luyendyk																	24

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

|- |

In-line notation
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Nations' Cup

Top result per race counts towards Nations' Cup.

Pos	Country	Pts	1	252	2	238	3	198	4	190	5	115	6	27	7	10	8	9	9	4	10	2	11	0	Pos	Country	Pts
USA United States
Brazil Brazil
Italy Italy
Canada Canada
ENG England
Mexico Mexico
SCO Scotland
ARG Argentina
Japan Japan
Germany Germany
Netherlands Netherlands

[[Chassis]] Constructors' Cup

Pos	Chassis	Pts	Wins	1	346	13	2	156	3	3	143	1	4	45	0	Pos	Chassis	Pts	Wins
GBR Reynard 97I/96I
USA Penske PC-26
USA Swift 007.i
GBR Lola T9700

[[Engine]] Manufacturers' Cup

Pos	Engine	Pts	Wins	1	316	9	2	290	6	3	230	2	4	15	0	Pos	Engine	Pts	Wins
GER Mercedes
Japan Honda
USA Ford XD/XB
Japan Toyota

References

(2 March 1997). "Cart 1997". The Indianapolis Star.

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