The 1996 True Value 200 was the first round of the 1996–1997 Indy Racing League. The race was held on August 18, 1996, at the New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. This race was dominated, but not won, by Tony Stewart, who passed Arie Luyendyk on lap 15 and led 165 laps until he suffered an engine computer failure, with 18 laps to go and a nearly three-lap lead. 1996 Indy Racing League co-champion Scott Sharp went on to win the race.
Pre-Race News Due to the Indy Racing League's original wish to end every season at the Indianapolis 500, New Hampshire would host the 1996–1997 season opener on August 18, a race that had been counter-scheduled by CART at Road America, with the Texaco/Havoline 200 to be held on the same day. During the 11-week hiatus between seasons, some of the drivers in the series competed in CART Indy Car events. Eliseo Salazar took part in four races with Dick Simon Racing, teaming the week after Indy with Michel Jourdain Jr. at Milwaukee, and at Portland. Afterwards, Salazar raced in Michigan, where he finished 11th, and Mid-Ohio, while Jourdain did so at Detroit. On the other hand, Richie Hearn raced in Toronto, with Robbie Buhl taking part in the Indy Lights event, and Stan Wattles in his regular Atlantic Championship ride.
Tony Stewart also competed in four NASCAR events, scoring his first top-10 in his Truck Series debut at Indianapolis Raceway Park, and Scott Sharp grabbed another win in his second IMSA GT outing of the year at Sonoma Raceway, with John Paul Jr. in third place. Previously, Sharp was one of four IRL regular competitors who took part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, along Michele Alboreto, Fermín Vélez and Mark Dismore, whose car managed to finish the race. Indy 500 runner-up Davy Jones was one of the overall winners.
Pre-season testing started at the brand-new Las Vegas Motor Speedway, whose inaugural event in September would be headlined by the IRL. 20 drivers took part in a 3-day test on June 26–28, with 12 regular drivers being joined by Mark Dismore, who had driven with Team Menard at Indianapolis. Dismore had been signed on a permanent basis, replacing the late Scott Brayton. Richie Hearn set a first unofficial track record with a 222.359 mph lap, and nine drivers went over 210 mph. In that test, the Brickell Racing car prepared by PDM Racing continued its role as a 'mule' for USAC's drivers test.
A short-lived run by Joe Gosek was followed by Andy Michner, who passed a refresher test, and by Dave Blaney, the reigning World of Outlaws sprint car champion at the time, who fell five laps short of passing his test after his engine blew. Doug Kalitta and Jack Hewitt were also scheduled to take part, although they never took a lap. New Zealand's Rob Wilson, who didn't qualify for the Indy 500, also passed a refresher test with Foyt. On the last day of testing, three Indy 500 entrants took some laps, with Brad Murphey driving for Hemelgarn Racing, Billy Roe with Team Blueprint Racing, and Randy Tolsma for McCormack Motorsports, a team that was embarking in an effort on its own after running the Zunne Group Racing operation in the Indy 500.
Additionally, Goodyear held private tests at New Hampshire on July 8–10, with A. J. Foyt Enterprises (Scott Sharp and Davey Hamilton), Pagan Racing (Roberto Guerrero), Della Penna Motorsports (Richie Hearn) and Team Scandia (Eliseo Salazar), on which Hearn suffered a hard crash during the first day, although he was uninjured. During that month, Jonathan Byrd's Racing announced the end of their partnership with Treadway Racing to become partners with Cunningham Racing. Mike Groff, who had driven for Foyt and Walker Racing during the year, was selected as their driver, replacing Johnny O'Connell, who would remain on New Hampshire's entry list before being 'scratched'. Also, McCormack Motorsports announced the signing of an injury-free Stan Wattles, on the sidelines since Leigh Miller Racing's assets were bought by Beck Motorsports in the spring.
On August 5, the entry list for New Hampshire was released, with the absence of Johnny Parsons in Blueprint's No. 16, as well as some driver changes. After being released by Team Menard, Eddie Cheever bought the car he had been using to form his own team, and Stéphan Grégoire left Hemelgarn Racing to drive in Team Scandia, subbing for Michel Jourdain Jr. in that race. Scandia also fielded a fourth car for Marco Greco, who had hired the services of the Arizona Motorsports rental crew headed by Jeff Sinden. McCormack Motorsports announced a second entry for Randy Tolsma that would be eventually scratched, Tempero–Giuffre Racing entered sportscar gentleman Jon Field, and ABF Motorsports entered supermodified driver Mike Ordway. In the following days, PDM Racing entered Tyce Carlson in its second car, and it was confirmed that the Indy Racing League would be visiting Pikes Peak International Raceway, another new oval, with a date set for July 27, 1997.
Practice & Qualifying Report An IRL open test at NHIS planned for July 23–25 was cancelled after some NASCAR drivers complained that the track was breaking up in some spots during the Jiffy Lube 300 two weeks earlier. Therefore, IRL officials scheduled two days of testing on August 14–15, prior to the start of practice. The first day was reserved for USAC's driver tests. After Tyce Carlson passed a refresher test, his car was used by NASCAR Whelen Modified drivers Tim Connolly, who passed his test, and Ted Christopher, who run out of time in his attempt after completing three phases. Five other drivers (Divina Galica, Reggie Ruggiero, Ed Flemke Jr., Tom Cravenho and Tony Turco) were left waiting for their opportunity.
Tempero–Giuffre assigned their second car to sportscar and occasional Indy Lights driver Juan Carlos Carbonell, who had been partnering Jon Field in selected IMSA rounds, but the team had to withdraw both of them, as Carbonell did not complete his test and Field crashed in Turn 1 before being approved. ABF Motorsports had switched Ordway for USAC Silver Crown talent Dave Steele, but he also crashed in Turn 4 before completing his test. During the second day, Hemelgarn Racing confirmed that Brad Murphey would be driving the No. 9 car previously used by Stéphan Grégoire, and Tempero–Giuffre announced the return of David Kudrave, while Project Indy, initially absent in the first entry list, returned to competition with Johnny Unser, their regular driver. Unser and Kudrave were among a group of 10 entered drivers who had previous Indy car experience at New Hampshire, with Eliseo Salazar, Eddie Cheever, Marco Greco and Buddy Lazier having taken part in the 1995 race; Unser, Scott Sharp, Mike Groff and Arie Luyendyk had started the 1994 race, while Roberto Guerrero, with a 4th-place finish, and Kudrave had been part of the 1993 event.
Richie Hearn dominated on Friday, leading a rain affected morning practice with a 175.335 mph lap, followed by Arie Luyendyk and Tony Stewart, and the afternoon practice at 172.297 mph, in front of Mark Dismore and Stewart. In that session, Johnny Unser lost control of his car, crashed in Turn 2 and travelled all the way down the back straight without steering until he crashed in Turn 3 again. The car was lost for the weekend, and Project Indy withdrew from the event. On Saturday morning, Michele Alboreto jumped to the front with a 173.364 mph lap, beating Stewart and Buddy Lazier. Also, ABF Motorsports returned to the track, with Joe Gosek at the wheel of the No. 96, and Brad Murphey crashed in Turn 2, leaving himself out of qualifying.
After a few runs had been completed in qualifying, Buddy Lazier set the pace with a 172.664 mph lap. That mark was surpassed by Michele Alboreto, who registered a 175.125 mph. The Italian veteran was close to obtain the pole position after Tony Stewart, Mark Dismore and Arie Luyendyk fell short, but Richie Hearn got to set the two fastest laps of the day, securing his first Indy car pole position at 175.367 mph, two miles short of André Ribeiro's 177.436 mph track record, yet fast enough for a 4th place spot in the 1995 grid. Luyendyk and Lazier completed the second row, while Dismore qualified in a career-best fifth place, in front of Eliseo Salazar and Stewart. Further behind, John Paul Jr. soldiered his 1993 Lola to an 11th place, between IRL co-champions Buzz Calkins and Scott Sharp. His teammate Tyce Carlson, qualifying for his first Indy car race, only got to do a single lap after missing his qualifying turn, but it was good enough for 16th place, in front of favourites Davey Hamilton and Roberto Guerrero.
Qualifying Results
Pos No. Name Lap 1 Lap 2 Best (in mph) 1 4 Richie Hearn R 21.729 21.719 175.367 2 33 Michele Alboreto R 21.749 21.776 175.125 3 5 Arie Luyendyk 21.836 21.809 174.643 4 91 Buddy Lazier 22.059 22.402 172.664 5 3 Mark Dismore 22.175 22.137 172.056 6 7 Eliseo Salazar 22.767 22.248 171.197 7 2 Tony Stewart R 22.249 22.457 171.190 8 51 Eddie Cheever 22.293 22.326 170.852 9 10 Mike Groff 22.321 22.325 170.638 10 12 Buzz Calkins R 22.464 22.427 169.831 11 18 John Paul Jr. 22.482 22.802 169.416 12 1 Scott Sharp 22.654 22.555 168.867 13 54 Robbie Buhl 22.962 22.576 168.710 14 22 Stéphan Grégoire R 22.769 22.628 168.322 15 40 Marco Greco 22.989 22.905 166.287 16 28 Tyce Carlson R 22.948 No time 165.975 17 14 Davey Hamilton R 22.958 23.093 165.903 18 21 Roberto Guerrero 23.184 23.157 164.477 19 27 Jim Guthrie R 23.629 23.220 164.031 20 30 Stan Wattles R 23.534 23.559 161.842 21 96 Joe Gosek R 24.701 24.881 154.196 22 15 David Kudrave 25.408 25.246 150.867 23 9 Brad Murphey R Didn't qualify No speed
Couldn't qualify after his chassis had been damaged in a practice crash. He was allowed to start the race at the back of the field.
Key Meaning R Rookie (in 1996) R Season rookie W Past winner
Failed to qualify or withdrew Johnny Unser for Project Indy
Race Report With an estimated attendance of 24.000 espectators, Richie Hearn kept the lead when the green flag was waved, while Arie Luyendyk passed Michele Alboreto for second place. The first caution came out immediately, as Jim Guthrie lost control of his car accelerating off Turn 4 due to a leak, and Robbie Buhl had found the Turn 1 wall after being loose. The race was restarted on Lap 7, and Luyendyk took advantage to overtake Hearn in Turn 3, taking the lead. Having started in seventh place, Stewart had already made it past Eliseo Salazar and a slow starting Mark Dismore at the start, and passed Buddy Lazier during the restart, paving the way for his dominating performance. He soon caught up to the leading trio on Lap 11 and, helped by traffic, grabbed the lead on Lap 14. Amid concerns that high fuel consumption would subject Team Menard to an additional pit stop, Stewart rapidly started to pull away, being at least a full second faster than anyone else: by Lap 25, he had a 10-second lead, which was increased to 22 seconds by Lap 30.