1997 Phoenix 200

  1996–1997 Phoenix

Race details
4th Round of the 1996–97 Indy Racing League.
Date	March 23, 1997
Official name	Phoenix 200
Location	Phoenix International Raceway
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.000 / 1.609 km
Distance	200 laps, 200.000 mi / 321.869 km
Weather	Dry with temperatures reaching up to 89.6 °F (32.0 °C); wind speeds reaching up to 15.9 miles per hour (25.6 km/h)[1]
Pole
Driver	Tony Stewart	Team Menard
Time	21.175
Fastest Lap
Driver	Tony Stewart	Team Menard
Time	22.135 (on lap 11 of 200)
Podium
First	Jim Guthrie	Blueprint Racing
Second	Tony Stewart	Team Menard
Third	Davey Hamilton	A. J. Foyt Enterprises

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 (1.609 km) Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona.

Report

Key	Meaning
R	Rookie
W	Past winner

Qualifying

2-laps qualifying. The worst lap from any of the drivers is unknown.

Pos	No.	Name	Lap	Best (in mph)
1	2	Tony Stewart	21.175	170.012
2	27	Jim Guthrie R	21.241	169.484
3	6	Scott Goodyear	21.681	166.044
4	5	Arie Luyendyk W	21.715	165.784
5	3	Robbie Buhl	21.956	163.964
6	16	Sam Schmidt R	21.973	163.837
7	51	Eddie Cheever	22.017	163.510
8	22	Marco Greco	22.019	163.495
9	4	Kenny Brack R	22.027	163.436
10	21	Roberto Guerrero W	22.075	163.080
11	18	John Paul, Jr.	22.100	162.896
12	30	Jeret Schroeder R	22.136	162.631
13	91	Buddy Lazier	22.148	162.543
14	14	Davey Hamilton	22.161	162.448
15	33	Fermín Vélez R	22.235	161.907
16	10	Mike Groff	22.520	159.858
17	50	Billy Roe R	22.650	158.940
18	40	Jack Miller R	22.779	158.040
19	77	Stephan Gregoire	23.235	154.939
20	1	Scott Sharp†	Didn't qualify	No speed
21	17	Affonso Giaffone† R	Didn't qualify	No speed
22	12	Buzz Calkins†	21.947	164.032

• † Sharp and Giaffone didn't qualify, but were allowed to start the race at the back of the field.
  Calkins had to change to a backup car for the race, following a crash in a practice session after qualifying.

Failed to qualify or withdrew

• Danny Ongais for Chitwood Motorsports - was replaced by Affonso Giaffone prior to the start of practice.
• The #54 Beck Motorsports entry was vacant after Robbie Buhl signed with Team Menard to drive the vacant #3 entry prior to the start of practice, and they couldn't find a replacement in time.

Race

Rookie Jim Guthrie survived a slow, attrition-filled race to capture his first IRL victory. A seemingly minor design detail (an oil line fitting on the Oldsmobile Aurora engine) resulted in blown engines and oil spills throughout the afternoon. Tony Stewart assumed the lead at the start as expected, but was dogged by persistent rookie Jim Guthrie in his unsponsored car (for which he had taken a second mortgage on his house). The race got off with two caution flags in the first twenty laps, one for Arie Luyendyk's blown engine, the first of many throughout the day.

Luyendyk's teammate Scott Goodyear also blew his engine on lap 51, triggering a four-car crash out of which only Sam Schmidt was able to continue, although he would later be eliminated in another crash. Another rookie, Affonso Giaffone, lead briefly until encountering driveline problems. Scott Sharp also led briefly until his engine blew; engine problems also sidelined Walt Disney World winner Eddie Cheever and contender Buddy Lazier. When Sharp retired on lap 66, Stewart reassumed the lead while Kenny Brack, in his first IRL race, moved up through the field. Guthrie assumed the lead on lap 95 when Stewart pitted, and held the lead until he pitted during a caution on lap 119. Brack found himself in the lead after this caution, and held the lead until his car got loose and he crashed on lap 146. Guthrie regained the lead during the subsequent caution, with Hamilton and Stewart in pursuit.

On lap 180, a crash involving Sam Schmidt brought out a lengthy yellow flag. In an effort to run down Guthrie after the restart, Stewart made one last effort, pitting twice under the caution, once to put on sticker option tires and once for a wing adjustment. Guthrie stayed out, looking to stretch his fuel. The green waved on lap 191. Three laps later Stewart was back up to second and was gaining on Guthrie at a half second per lap. But Guthrie made one last charge on the final lap, negotiating traffic well, and Stewart ran out of time, losing by 0.854 seconds.

Guthrie's win was the first Indy car victory by an unsponsored team since Arie Luyendyk's triumph in the same venue in 1991. The $170,100 payoff for the victorious Guthrie helped settle his debts, and the storybook win brought sponsorship from Jacuzzi for Indianapolis and beyond, assuring Guthrie's continued career. The race went down in Indy car lore as one of the biggest upsets in series history, with Guthrie one of the biggest underdogs ever to win an Indy car event.

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Laps Led	Points
1	27	Jim Guthrie R	Blueprint Racing	200	2:14:32.667	2	74	35
2	2	Tony Stewart	Team Menard	200	+ 0.854 sec	1	85	36
3	14	Davey Hamilton	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	200	Running	14	0	32
4	22	Marco Greco	Team Scandia	199	+ 1 lap	8	0	31
5	77	Stephan Gregoire	Chastain Motorsports	199	+ 1 lap	19	0	30
6	10	Mike Groff	Byrd-Cunningham Racing	195	+ 5 laps	16	0	29
7	21	Roberto Guerrero W	Pagan Racing	194	+ 6 laps	10	0	28
8	12	Buzz Calkins	Bradley Motorsports	187	+ 13 laps	22	0	27
9	18	John Paul, Jr.	PDM Racing	179	+ 21 laps	11	0	26
10	16	Sam Schmidt R	Blueprint Racing	176	Accident T4	6	0	25
11	4	Kenny Bräck R	Galles Racing	145	Accident T4	9	24	24
12	51	Eddie Cheever	Team Cheever	120	Overheating	7	0	23
13	17	Affonso Giaffone R	Chitwood Motorsports	114	Half Shaft	21	13	22
14	33	Fermin Velez R	Team Scandia	94	Electrical	15	0	21
15	50	Billy Roe R	Eurointernational	82	Accident T3/Engine	17	0	20
16	1	Scott Sharp	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	65	Engine	20	4	19
17	6	Scott Goodyear	Treadway Racing	52	Engine	3	0	18
18	3	Robbie Buhl	Team Menard	51	Accident T2	5	0	17
19	30	Jeret Schroeder R	McCormack Motorsports	51	Accident T2	12	0	16
20	40	Jack Miller R	Arizona Motorsport	33	Fuel Pickup	18	0	15
21	91	Buddy Lazier	Hemelgarn Racing	31	Engine	13	0	14
22	5	Arie Luyendyk W	Treadway Racing	11	Mechanical	4	0	13

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Mike Groff 125 2 Davey Hamilton 114 3 Buzz Calkins 113 4 Marco Greco 112 5 Roberto Guerrero 106 Note: Only the top five positions are included for the standings. References "1997 Phoenix 200 weather information". Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2013-10-27. External links IndyCar official website