1997 Pikes Peak

Race details
7th round of the 1996–1997 Indy Racing League season
Date	June 29, 1997
Official name	Samsonite 200
Location	Pikes Peak International Raceway
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.000 mi / 1.609 km
Distance	200 laps 200.000 mi / 321.869 km
Weather	Dry with temperatures reaching up to 84.9 °F (29.4 °C); wind speeds reaching up to 20 miles per hour (32 km/h)[1]
Pole position
Driver	Scott Sharp (A. J. Foyt Enterprises)
Time	20.441
Fastest lap
Driver	Jimmy Kite (Team Scandia)
Time	21.465 (on lap 15 of 200)
Podium
First	Tony Stewart (Team Menard)
Second	Stéphan Grégoire (Chastain Motorsports)
Third	Davey Hamilton (A. J. Foyt Enterprises)

The 1997 Samsonite 200 (also referred to as the Colorado 200 on ABC's TV coverage) was the seventh round of the 1996–1997 Indy Racing League. The race was held on June 29, 1997, at the 1.000 mi (1.609 km) Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colorado.

Qualifying

Pos	No.	Name	Lap 1	Lap 2	Best (in mph)
1	1	Scott Sharp	20.441	20.485	176.117
2	2	Tony Stewart	20.584	20.569	175.021
3	6	Scott Goodyear	20.663	20.671	174.224
4	14	Davey Hamilton	20.704	20.783	173.879
5	21	Roberto Guerrero	21.039	20.717	173.770
6	4	Kenny Bräck R	20.743	20.773	173.553
7	12	Buzz Calkins	20.870	20.892	172.496
8	5	Arie Luyendyk	21.006	20.886	172.364
9	33	Jimmy Kite R	20.977	20.963	171.731
10	17	Affonso Giaffone R	20.978	21.115	171.608
11	77	Stéphan Grégoire	21.068	20.978	171.608
12	91	Buddy Lazier	21.009	20.985	171.551
13	51	Eddie Cheever	21.018	21.041	171.282
14	7	Eliseo Salazar	21.018	21.219	171.282
15	18	Billy Boat R	21.057	21.040	171.103
16	30	Robbie Groff R	21.122	21.511	170.438
17	97	Greg Ray R	21.178	21.323	169.988
18	22	Vincenzo Sospiri R	21.592	21.257	169.356
19	10	Johnny Unser	21.754	21.813	165.487
20	40	Jack Miller R	21.785	21.776	165.320
21	28	Mark Dismore	22.140	22.145	162.602
22	70	Marco Greco1	Did not qualify		No speed

Failed to qualify or withdrew

• Jim Guthrie R for Blueprint Racing - crashed during Friday's first practice session and was hospitalised with a fractured vertebra.
• Robbie Buhl for Team Menard - suffered a concussion during testing on June 13 and was unable to compete.
• Mike Groff for Byrd-Cunningham Racing - entered for the race, but not cleared to drive because of the injuries suffered at Texas. Replaced by Johnny Unser
• John Paul Jr. for PDM Racing - entered for the race, but not cleared to drive because of the injuries suffered at Indianapolis. Replaced by Billy Boat R
• Alessandro Zampedri for Team Scandia - Although not officially withdrawn for the weekend, he didn't appear at the track, as Team Scandia downgraded its operation from five to three cars following an engine shortage at Texas and a reshuffle of the team's lineup,

Race Recap

Tony Stewart came into this race having just missed victory in the past three IRL races, but he put the issue beyond doubt by dominating this race, leading all but seven of the 200 laps. The race started off with polesitter Scott Sharp wrecking on the first lap. He suffered a non-contact brain injury, despite relatively minor damage to the car. The accident (following a similar accident 2 weeks before which forced Stewart's teammate Robbie Buhl to miss the race) revived concern about the cars' inability to absorb energy in a rear-end accident, leading to changes in the gearbox case and bellhousing. Sharp would miss the rest of the season as the result of the injury. Turns 2 and 4 were treacherous all day, and several early crashes resulted in lengthy cleanups and many laps under caution.

Eddie Cheever dogged Stewart all day long, and Stéphan Grégoire led his first-ever laps in an IRL race. In the end neither of them had enough for Stewart, but after a late caution Cheever, Davey Hamilton, and Grégoire dueled three-wide for second. Grégoire broke out and attempted to slingshot Stewart at the finish line, missing by about a car length. Cheever and Hamilton finished side-by-side with Hamilton taking third. The win was Stewart's first in his Indy car career, and the first win for team owner John Menard Jr. after 18 years of Indy car competition. Seven cars finished the race on the lead lap, an IRL record.

Box Score

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Laps Led	Points
1	2	Tony Stewart	Team Menard	200	1:59:50.787	2	193	36
2	77	Stéphan Grégoire	Chastain Motorsports	200	+ 0.222 sec	11	5	33
3	14	Davey Hamilton	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	200	Running	4	0	32
4	51	Eddie Cheever	Team Cheever	200	Running	13	0	31
5	12	Buzz Calkins	Bradley Motorsports	200	Running	7	0	30
6	22	Vincenzo Sospiri R	Team Scandia	200	Running	18	0	29
7	6	Scott Goodyear	Treadway Racing	200	Running	3	1	28
8	91	Buddy Lazier	Hemelgarn Racing	198	+ 2 laps	12	0	27
9	17	Affonso Giaffone R	Chitwood Motorsports	196	+ 4 laps	10	0	26
10	30	Robbie Groff R	McCormack Motorsports	193	Spin BS	16	0	25
11	28	Mark Dismore	Kelley Racing-PDM	192	+ 8 laps	21	0	24
12	7	Eliseo Salazar	Team Scandia	190	+ 10 laps	14	0	23
13	70	Marco Greco	Galles Racing	190	+ 10 laps	22	0	22
14	4	Kenny Bräck R	Galles Racing	179	Accident T4	6	0	21
15	5	Arie Luyendyk	Treadway Racing	163	Accident T2	8	1	20
16	40	Jack Miller R	Arizona Motorsports	141	Accident T4	20	0	19
17	97	Greg Ray R	Knapp Motorsports	108	Accident T4	17	0	18
18	21	Roberto Guerrero	Pagan Racing	85	Accident T4	5	0	17
19	18	Billy Boat R	PDM Racing	83	Accident T4	15	0	16
20	33	Jimmy Kite R	Team Scandia	39	Accident T4	9	0	15
21	10	Johnny Unser	Byrd-Cunningham Racing	23	Accident T2	19	0	14
22	1	Scott Sharp	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	0	Accident T2	1	0	15

Race Statistics

• Lead changes: 5 among 4 drivers

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Davey Hamilton	207
2	Tony Stewart	202
3	Buzz Calkins	183
4	Arie Luyendyk	167
5	Marco Greco	162

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for the standings.