1997 Marlboro 500

Last updated

Flag of the United States.svg 1997 Fontana
Race details
Race 17 of 17 in the 1997 CART season
Auto Club Speedway (formerly California Speedway) - Speedway.svg
DateSeptember 28, 1997
Official name Marlboro 500 Presented By Toyota
Location California Speedway
CourseOval
2.029 mi / 3.265 km
Distance250 laps
507.250 mi / 816.340 km
WeatherTemperatures reaching up to 100.4 °F (38.0 °C); wind speeds up to 10.2 miles per hour (16.4 km/h) [1]
Pole position
Driver Maurício Gugelmin  (PacWest Racing)
Time30.316
Fastest lap
Driver Greg Moore  (Forsythe Racing)
Time30.900 (on lap 83 of 250)
Podium
First Mark Blundell  (PacWest Racing)
Second Jimmy Vasser  (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Third Adrian Fernández  (Tasman Motorsports)

The 1997 Marlboro 500 Presented By Toyota was the 17th and last round of the 1997 CART season. It happened on September 28, 1997, at the then brand-new California Speedway.

Contents

Qualifying

Brazilian PacWest Racing driver Maurício Gugelmin set the pole with 240.942 mph (387.759 km).

Race

Before the start

All American Racers's Juan Manuel Fangio II did not start the race due a fire on the back of his car. 1st caution even before the start.

Lap 10 - Lap 52

Chip Ganassi Racing Dutch driver Arie Luyendyk, who was replacing series champion Alex Zanardi, had a pit problem, his car was on fire, but he was able to remain in the race. The restart came out at lap 12. But one lap later, Paul Tracy had a serious crash at turn 4. The 2nd caution came out. It was Tracy's 6th DNF in the season. At lap 14, the top 6 was: Maurício Gugelmin, Jimmy Vasser, Bryan Herta, Michel Jourdain Jr., Michael Andretti and Mark Blundell. Restart came out at lap 23. At lap 40, German driver Arnd Meier spun at turn 4. Arie Luyendyk couldn't avoid him and Arie hit Arnd car. Both drivers suffered slight injuries. At lap 47, Al Unser Jr. had a pit problem, just like Arie had laps before. He retired. Restart came out at lap 52, with Andretti leading the field.

Lap 59 - Lap 106

The top 6 at lap 59 was: Michael Andretti, Maurício Gugelmin, Jimmy Vasser, André Ribeiro, Mark Blundell and Greg Moore. After pitstops, Ribeiro leads on lap 90. After 106 laps, Michael Andretti retired.

Lap 119 - 133

4th caution came out at lap 119 because of debris. Restart came out at lap 126. At lap 133, the top 6 was: André Ribeiro, Gil de Ferran, Adrian Fernández, Jimmy Vasser, Greg Moore and Mark Blundell.

Closing stages: 98 laps to go until the finish

With 98 laps to go, Adrian Fernandez stalled in the pits, but kept the engine running, and remained in the race. With 47 laps to go, André Ribeiro's car was out of fuel, but he went to the pits, crawling his car to his pit area. He came back to the track in 6th, 1 lap behind. But 5 laps later, Ribeiro suffered a bad crash at turn 2 and stopped after crashing in the infield wall. He walked away. 5th caution. With 35 laps to go, Maurício Gugelmin takes the lead, as the restart came out. With 32 laps to go the top 10 was: Maurício Gugelmin, Gil de Ferran, Jimmy Vasser, Greg Moore, Mark Blundell, Bobby Rahal, Adrian Fernandez, Christian Fittipaldi, Scott Pruett and Robby Gordon. With 19 laps to go, Gugelmin had tyre problems, and the new leader was Greg Moore, but 8 laps later, Greg Moore had flames on the back of his car. Jimmy Vasser thought the yellow flag was out, but only thought, as Mark Blundell took the lead. Blundell won for the last time in CART; his only oval win and only 500-mile race win. Jimmy Vasser finished second.

Final results

  1. Mark Blundell
  2. Jimmy Vasser
  3. Adrian Fernández
  4. Maurício Gugelmin
  5. Bobby Rahal
  6. Gil de Ferran
  7. Scott Pruett
  8. Robby Gordon
  9. Christian Fittipaldi
  10. P. J. Jones
  11. Parker Johnstone
  12. Max Papis

Point Standings

  1. Alex Zanardi 195 points
  2. Gil de Ferran 162 points
  3. Jimmy Vasser 144 points
  4. Maurício Gugelmin 132 points
  5. Paul Tracy 121 points
  6. Mark Blundell 115 points
  7. Greg Moore 111 points
  8. Michael Andretti 108 points
  9. Scott Pruett 102 points
  10. Raul Boesel 91 points
  11. Bryan Herta 72 points
  12. Bobby Rahal 70 points

Rookie of the Year standings

  1. Patrick Carpentier 27 points
  2. Gualter Salles 10 points
  3. Dario Franchitti 10 points
  4. Arnd Meier 1 point

Notes

  1. Last win - Mark Blundell
  2. Fastest lap - Greg Moore: 30.900 seconds
  3. Last Race for Penske Racing - Paul Tracy
  4. Last Race - Arie Luyendyk, Parker Johnstone, Juan Manuel Fangio II
  5. Alex Zanardi was replaced by Arie Luyendyk after two bad crashes on free practice. Rookie of the year, Patrick Carpentier also did not start.
  6. Robby Gordon replaced Dario Franchitti in this race.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1995 Indianapolis 500</span> 79th running of the Indianapolis 500

The 79th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 28, 1995. Sanctioned by USAC, it was part of the 1995 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season. Jacques Villeneuve was victorious in his second start, the first Canadian to the "500". Villeneuve would go on to win the 1995 CART Championship, before moving to Williams for 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michigan 500</span> Indy car race at Michigan

The Michigan 500 was an IndyCar Series race held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. Held from 1981 to 2001, the event was held in high prestige, constituting part of Indy car racing's 500-mile "Triple Crown".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Prix of Portland</span> IndyCar Series race held in Portland, Oregon, United States

The Grand Prix of Portland is a race in the IndyCar Series held at the Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon. The race was an annual event from 1984 to 2007, initially as a race in the CART series, and later as part of the Champ Car World Series. After a ten-year hiatus, the race made its return to the IndyCar Series in the 2018 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IndyCar Monterey Grand Prix</span> IndyCar race at Laguna Seca

The Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey is an IndyCar Series race held at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca near Monterey, California, United States. The event dates back to 1960, and became an American open wheel race in 1983. The race was part of the CART series from 1983 to 2003, and then the Champ Car World Series, CART's successor, for 2004. After a fifteen-year hiatus, the event returned in 2019 as part of the IndyCar Series, replacing Sonoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1995 PPG Indy Car World Series</span> Sports season

The 1995 PPG Indy Car World Series season was the seventeenth in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) era of U.S. American open-wheel car racing. It consisted of 17 races, beginning in Miami, Florida on March 5 and concluding in Monterey, California on September 10. The PPG Indy Car World Series Drivers' Champion and Indianapolis 500 winner was Jacques Villeneuve, and the Rookie of the Year was Gil de Ferran. This was the last season before the formation of the Indy Racing League (IRL) by Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony George and the last time the United States Auto Club-sanctioned Indianapolis 500 would appear in the Series, while Villeneuve became the last driver to win both the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar drivers' championship in the same season until Dan Wheldon in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1999 Molson Indy Toronto</span> 1999 CART race held at Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The 1999 Molson Indy Toronto was the eleventh round of the 1999 CART season and took place on July 18, 1999, at the 2.824-kilometre (1.755 mi) Exhibition Place temporary street circuit in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1998 Rio 400</span> Motor car race

The 1998 Rio 400 was the fifth round of the 1998 CART World Series Season, held on May 10, 1998, on the Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2001 Honda Grand Prix of Monterey</span> Motor car race

The 2001 Honda Grand Prix of Monterey was a CART motor race held on October 14, 2001 at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in California, United States. It was the 19th round of the 2001 CART season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 Grand Prix of Miami</span> Motor car race

The 1996 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami Presented by Toyota was a CART race at the Metro-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex, held on March 3, 1996. It was the first round of the 1996 IndyCar season, and first CART race since the open-wheel split in 1996. It was preceded in the 1996 racing season by the inaugural Indy Racing League race in Orlando, which was not contested by any of the CART drivers that appeared at Homestead. Jimmy Vasser scored the first win of his CART career. It was also the second major racing event at the recently completed 1.527-mile oval, which had previously hosted a NASCAR Busch Grand National event in November 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 Grand Prix of Long Beach</span> Motor car race

The 1996 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach was the 4th round of the 1996 IndyCar season. It happened on April 14, 1996, on the streets of Long Beach, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 1996 Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix was a CART race which happened at the Nazareth Speedway on April 28, 1996. It was the 5th round of the 1996 IndyCar season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 U.S. 500</span> CART race at Michigan on May 26, 1996

The 1996 U.S. 500 was a CART series race held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan on Sunday May 26, 1996. It was the sixth round of the 1996 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season, and was run on the same day as the 1996 Indianapolis 500. Jimmy Vasser of Chip Ganassi Racing won the race from the pole position. It marked the first and only time that two 500-mile Indy car races were held at Michigan in the same season, alongside the traditional Michigan 500, which was held two months later on July 28.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1997 Molson Indy Vancouver</span> Motor car race

The 1997 Molson Indy Vancouver was the 15th round of the 1997 CART season. At that time, the Italian driver Alex Zanardi was the leader of the standings with 39 points in front of the French-Brazilian driver Gil de Ferran.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 Miller Genuine Draft 200</span> Motor car race

The 1996 Miller Genuine Draft 200 was a CART race that happened at the Milwaukee Mile. It happened on June 2, 1996. It was the 7th round of the 1996 IndyCar season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1998 Molson Indy Toronto</span> 1998 CART Fed/Ex Champ Car World Series race held at Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The 1998 Molson Indy Toronto was the eleventh round of the 1998 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on July 19, 1998, on the streets of Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Alex Zanardi passed Michael Andretti with three laps to go to win the race, after Andretti had inherited the lead when pole-sitter Dario Franchitti retired due to a brake failure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 ITT Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit</span> Motor car race

The 1996 ITT Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit was a CART race which happened at the Belle Isle Park. It happened on June 9, 1996. It was the 8th round of the 1996 IndyCar season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 IndyCar Rio 400</span> Motor car race

The 1996 Rio 400 was a CART race at the Emerson Fittipaldi Speedway. It happened on March 17, 1996. It was the 2nd round of the 1996 IndyCar season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1998 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami</span> Motor car race

The 1998 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami was a CART race which happened at the Homestead Motorsports Complex. It happened on March 15, 1998. It was the 1st round of the 1998 CART season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 Michigan 500</span> Motor car race

The 1996 Michigan 500, the sixteenth running of the event, was held at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan, on Sunday, July 28, 1996. Branded as the 1996 Marlboro 500 for sponsorship reasons, the race was won by Andre Ribeiro, his last Indy Car victory. The event was race number 12 of 16 in the 1996 PPG Indy Car World Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1997 Michigan 500</span> Motor car race

The 1997 Michigan 500, the seventeenth running of the event, was held at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan, on Sunday, July 27, 1997. The race was branded as the 1997 U.S. 500 Presented by Toyota, for sponsorship reasons, and in an attempt to create a link to the 1996 U.S. 500, which had been run on Memorial Day the previous season. The race was won by Alex Zanardi, his first Indy Car victory on an oval. The race was round 12 of 17 in the 1997 CART PPG World Series.

References

  1. "1997 Marlboro 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved July 13, 2013.