81st Indianapolis 500
Date— Tuesday, May 27, 1997, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race was rained out Sunday and postponed one day. The race was started on Monday but then stopped after more rain and suspended again until Tuesday. It was the fifth time in history that the Indy 500 had been postponed overnight. The other postponements came in 1915, 1967, 1973 and 1986. Distance— 500 miles; Course— 2.5 mile oval; Field—35 cars; Winner's average speed—145.827 mph; Margin of victory— 0.570 seconds; Time of race— 3 hours, 25 minutes, 43.388 seconds; Caution flags— 10 for 59 laps; Lead changes— 15 by 5 drivers; Lap leaders— Stewart (64), Luyendyk (61), Ward (49), Buhl (16), Lazier (7), Goodyear (2), Boat (1); Pole Sitter—Arie Luyendyk at 218.263 mph; Attendance—100,000 (est.); TV Rating— 6.6/18 share on Mon., 5.0/18 share on Tues. (ABC). Note that (r) indicates rookie driver.
| Driver (start pos.) | Country | Car | Laps | Ended | Earnings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arie Luyendyk (1) | Netherlands | G/A/F | 200 | Running | $1,568,150 |
| 2 | Scott Goodyear (5) | Canada | G/A/F | 200 | Running | 513,300 |
| 3 | r-Jeff Ward (7) | Scotland | G/A/G | 200 | Running | 414,250 |
| 4 | Buddy Lazier (10) | United States | D/A/F | 200 | Running | 279,250 |
| 5 | Tony Stewart (1) | United States | G/A/F | 200 | Running | 345,050 |
| 6 | Davey Hamilton (8) | United States | G/A/G | 199 | Running | 214,000 |
| 7 | r-Billy Boat (22) | United States | D/A/G | 199 | Running | 269,700 |
| 8 | Robbie Buhl (4) | United States | G/A/F | 199 | Running | 235,200 |
| 9 | r-Robbie Groff (4) | United States | G/A/G | 197 | Running | 222,350 |
| 10 | Fermin Velez (29) | Spain | G/A/G | 195 | Running | 216,400 |
| 11 | Buzz Calkins (16) | United States | G/A/G | 188 | Rt Half Shaft | 201,000 |
| 12 | Mike Groff (18) | United States | G/I/F | 188 | Running | 197,300 |
| 13 | Lyn St. James (34) | United States | D/I/F | 186 | Accident | 188,000 |
| 14 | Steve Kinser (20) | United States | D/A/G | 185 | Accident | 193,250 |
| 15 | Dennis Vitolo (28) | United States | D/I/F | 173 | Running | 210,000 |
| 16 | Marco Greco (27) | Brazil | D/A/G | 166 | Gearbox | 193,000 |
| 17 | r-Vincenzo Sospiri (3) | Italy | D/A/G | 163 | Running | 196,250 |
| 18 | Johnny Unser (35) | United States | D/I/F | 158 | Oil Pressure | 158,000 |
| 19 | r-Tyce Carlson (26) | United States | D/A/G | 156 | Accident | 173,250 |
| 20 | r-Dr. Jack Miller (17) | United States | D/I/F | 131 | Accident | 171,250 |
| 21 | Paul Durant (33)` | United States | G/A/G | 111 | Accident | 178,000 |
| 22 | Billy Roe (24) | United States | D/A/F | 110 | Accident | 150,250 |
| 23 | Eddie Cheever Jr. (11) | United States | G/A/G | 84 | Timing Chain | 176,000 |
| 24 | Eliseo Salazar (9) | Chile | D/A/G | 70 | Accident | 164,000 |
| 25 | Greg Ray (30) | United States | D/A/F | 48 | Water Pump | 171,250 |
| 26 | r-Jim Guthrie (6) | United States | D/A/F | 43 | Engine | 164,500 |
| 27 | Roberto Guerrero (19) | Colombia | D/I/G | 25 | Steering Gear | 160,000 |
| 28 | Mark Dismore (25) | United States | D/A/G | 24 | Accident | 159,000 |
| 29 | Robby Gordon (12) | United States | G/A/G | 19 | Fire | 139,500 |
| 30 | Claude Bourbonnais (32) | Canada | D/A/F | 9 | Engine | 152,250 |
| 31 | Stephan Gregoire (13) | France | G/A/G | 0 | Accident | 158,000 |
| 32 | r-Alphonse Giaffone (14) | Brazil | D/A/G | 0 | Accident | 158,250 |
| 33 | r-Kenny Brack (15) | Sweden | G/A/G | 0 | Accident | 202,250 |
| 34 | r-Sam Schmidt (23) | United States | D/A/F | 0 | Engine | 150,250 |
| 34 | Alessandro Zampedri (31) | Italy | D/A/G | 0 | Oil Leak | 145,000 |
| IRL Race Locations | Indy Racing League Results | Indy Racing League Point Standings |
Trending
Here are the facts and trivia that people are buzzing about.
