The 1997 VisionAire 500 was the eighth round of the 1996–1997 Indy Racing League. The race was held on July 26, 1997, at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, US. The event was the first Indy Racing League event to be held at Charlotte.
Qualifying Results Key Meaning R Rookie W Past winner
Pos No. Name Lap 1 Lap 2 Best (in mph) 1 2 Tony Stewart 24.986 24.866 217.164 2 5 Arie Luyendyk 25.245 25.172 214.524 3 1 Billy Boat R 25.543 25.419 212.440 4 14 Davey Hamilton 25.454 25.424 212.398 5 91 Buddy Lazier 25.478 25.514 211.948 6 27 Jim Guthrie R 25.782 25.661 210.436 7 21 Roberto Guerrero 25.736 25.688 210.215 8 6 Scott Goodyear 26.065 25.787 209.408 9 77 Stéphan Grégoire 25.967 25.799 209.310 10 28 Mark Dismore 25.827 25.808 209.237 11 70 Marco Greco 25.823 25.861 209.116 12 22 Vincenzo Sospiri R 26.236 25.833 209.035 13 33 Jimmy Kite R 25.865 25.891 208.776 14 7 Eliseo Salazar 25.891 25.961 208.567 15 51 Eddie Cheever 25.929 25.911 208.406 16 17 Affonso Giaffone R 26.045 26.074 207.333 17 31 Greg Ray R 26.120 26.054 207.262 18 4 Kenny Bräck R 26.089 26.062 207.198 19 40 Jack Miller R 26.413 26.193 206.162 20 30 Robbie Groff R 26.328 26.333 205.066 21 18 John Paul Jr. 26.883 26.577 203.183 22 10 Mike Groff 27.548 27.187 198.624 23 99 Sam Schmidt R Did not qualify No speed
Failed to qualify after breaking a cam sensor in practice, but was allowed to start the race at the back of the field.
Failed to qualify or withdrew Buzz Calkins for Bradley Motorsports - suffered a concussion during testing on July 8 at New Hampshire and was unable to compete. Robbie Buhl for Team Menard - entered for the race, but was still recovering from a concussion suffered during testing on June 4. Jeff Ward R for Team Cheever - withdrew prior to the start of practice.
Race Report
Buddy Lazier beat rookie Billy Boat to take his second IRL victory in the first-ever Indy car race at this long-time stock-car racing venue. The race was dominated by Tony Stewart at the beginning, but his car developed handling problems after pitting during a caution period on lap 75 and was out of contention thereafter. Lazier stayed out during the caution and assumed the lead, but had to make a green-flag stop on lap 93 and fell a lap down.
Mark Dismore moved up steadily through the field but blew an engine at full speed going down the front stretch on lap 99; he spun the car harmlessly into the infield in turn 1. Boat, Roberto Guerrero and Jimmy Kite (in only his second IRL start) swapped the lead until Guerrero touched wheels with points leader Davey Hamilton in turn 2 and both cars spun into the wall. Neither driver was hurt, but his resulting 16th-place finish cost Hamilton the points lead. Lazier unlapped himself on the subsequent caution and joined the duel with Boat and Kite; the latter's race ended when his car pushed up into the wall exiting turn 4.
After the caution, Lazier took the lead and tried to pull away from Boat, but got caught behind Scott Goodyear who was trying to stay on the lead lap. While Lazier made several high-risk pass attempts (including two runs through the grass in the quad-oval), Boat caught him and briefly assumed the lead, but then Goodyear conceded and Lazier moved back in front for the final 11 laps. In the last few laps, Kenny Bräck and Eddie Cheever staged a furious duel for fifth as they picked through traffic, with Bräck coming out on top.
Race results Box Score Key Meaning R Rookie W Past winner
Pos No. Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid LapsLed Points 191 Buddy LazierHemelgarn Racing2081:55:29.22455835 21 Billy Boat RA. J. Foyt Enterprises208+ 3.301 sec33833 36 Scott GoodyearTreadway Racing207+ 1 lap8132 417 Affonso Giaffone RChitwood Motorsports206+ 2 laps16031 54 Kenny Bräck RGalles Racing206+ 2 laps18030 651 Eddie CheeverTeam Cheever206+ 2 laps15029 72 Tony StewartTeam Menard205+ 3 laps17431 877 Stéphan GrégoireChastain Motorsports202+ 6 laps9027 970 Marco GrecoGalles Racing202+ 6 laps11026 107 Eliseo SalazarTeam Scandia200+ 8 laps14025 1118 John Paul Jr.PDM Racing198+ 10 laps21024 1227 Jim Guthrie RBlueprint Racing197+ 11 laps6023 1330 Robbie Groff RMcCormack Motorsports189Half shaft20022 1410 Mike GroffByrd-Cunningham Racing176+ 32 laps22021 1533 Jimmy Kite RTeam Scandia163Accident131120 1614 Davey HamiltonA. J. Foyt Enterprises 141Accident4019 1721 Roberto GuerreroPagan Racing 141Accident72618 1899 Sam Schmidt RLP Racing-PCI114Engine23017 1928 Mark DismoreKelley Racing-PDM97Engine10016 2022 Vincenzo Sospiri R Team Scandia70Engine12015 215 Arie LuyendykTreadway Racing67Handling2014 2231 Greg Ray RKnapp Motorsports30Engine17013 2340 Jack Miller RArizona Motorsports13Electrical19013
Race Statistics Lead changes: 13 among 6 drivers
Lap Leaders Laps Leader1-47 Tony Stewart48 Scott Goodyear49-75 Tony Stewart76-92 Buddy Lazier93-100 Billy Boat101-126 Roberto Guerrero127-139 Billy Boat140-145 Jimmy Kite146 Billy Boat147-151 Jimmy Kite152-166 Billy Boat167-195 Buddy Lazier196 Billy Boat197-208 Buddy Lazier
Cautions: 4 for 27 laps Laps Reason74-76Debris99-106Mark Dismore's engine leaks oil on track145-154Guerrero, Hamilton and Salazar crash165-170Jimmy Kite crash
Standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Tony Stewart 233 2 Davey Hamilton 226 3 Eddie Cheever 189 4 Marco Greco 188 5 Buzz Calkins 183
Note: Only the top five positions are included for the standings.
Broadcasting Television Although the event was run on July 26, the race was not broadcast live. Instead, CBS carried it on a one-day tape delay as part of its sports anthology series, which was known at the time as The CBS Sports Show.
Mike Joy was the lap-by-lap commentator. Scott Sharp, who at the time was nursing injuries that were preventing him from driving, was the driver analyst in the booth. Brian Hammons and Mike King reported from the pits. 1997 IRL Visionaire 500k at Charlotte (Full Race) References
External links IndyCar official website