Samsonite 200

Location: Pikes Peak International Raceway 1 Mile Paved Oval 200 Laps/200 Miles June 29, 1997 Time of race: 1:59:50.787 Average speed of winner: 100.128 Margin of victory: 0.222 Lead changes: 6 among 5 leaders Cautions: 9 for 82 laps Lap leaders: Sharp pole, Stewart 1-89, Luyendyk 90, Gregoire 91-95, Stewart 96-148, Goodyear 149, Stewart 150-200

Summary:

Tony Stewart came into this race having just missed victory in the past three IRL races. And while he had been competitive in those races, he put the issue beyond doubt by dominating this race, leading all but seven of the 200 laps. The race started off badly with polesitter Scott Sharp wrecking on the first lap. He backed the car into the wall exiting turn 4 and suffered a non-contact brain injury, despite relatively minor damage to the rear of the car. The accident (following on the heels of a similar accident the week 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 lengthly cleanups and many laps under caution. Roberto Guerrero was surprisingly competitive, perhaps as a result of a change of engine makes in the Pagan car, but he got collected when Billy Boat spun in front of him on lap 87. Eddie Cheever dogged Stewart all day long, and Stephan Gregoire 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 Gregoire dueled three-wide for second. Gregoire broke out and made it interesting by attempting 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 a stellar Indycar career, and the first win for team owner John Menard after 18 years of Indycar competition. Seven cars finished the race on the lead lap, an IRL record. (from IRL Underground)