Track: Phoenix International Raceway
Date: Sunday, March 23, 1997
Start time: 2:09 PM PST
Weather: Warm, dry
Serial: #4 of 10 in 1996-1997 season
History: IRL race #2, Indycar race #54 at this track
Config: 1-mile oval
Wing package: Short track
Rookie Jim Guthrie survived a slow, attrition-filled race to capture his first IRL victory. A seemingly minor design detail -- an oil line fitting on the Olds Aurora engine -- resulted in blown engines and oil spills throughout the afternoon, making for a slow race with many caution flags. Tony Stewart assumed the lead at the start as expected, but was dogged by persistent rookie Jim Guthrie in his unsponsored car (for which he had mortgaged his house). The race got off to a bad start with two caution flags in the first twenty laps, one for Arie Luyendyk's blown engine, a story that would be repeated throughout the day. The Treadway team ran in poor luck this day as Luyendyk's teammate Scott Goodyear also blew his engine on lap 51, triggering a four-car crash out of which only Sam Schmidt was able to continue (he would later be eliminated in another crash). Another rookie, Affonso Giaffone, lead briefly until encountering driveline problems. Scott Sharp also led briefly until his engine blew; engine problems also sidelined Disney World winner Eddie Cheever and contender Buddy Lazier. When Sharp retired on lap 66, Stewart reassumed the lead while Kenny Brack, in his first IRL race, moved up through the field. Guthrie assumed the lead on lap 95 when Stewart pitted, and held the lead until he pitted during a caution on lap 119, showing that he would contend for the win. Brack, however, found himself in the lead after this caution, and held the lead until his car got loose and he crashed on lap 146. Guthrie regained the lead during the subsequent caution, with Hamilton and Stewart in hot pursuit. During a late caution, Stewart made one last effort, pitting to put on sticker option tires while Guthrie remained on the track. The green waved on lap 191. Three laps later Stewart was back up to second and was gaining on Guthrie at a half second per lap. But Guthrie made one last charge on the final lap, negotiating traffic well, and Stewart ran out of time. Guthrie's win was the first Indycar victory by an unsponsored team since 1991 (ironically by Arie Luyendyk in a CART race at Phoenix). The storybook win brought sponsorship to the team and assured Guthrie's continued career.
Fin St Qual Car C/E/T Driver Entrant Laps Status Laps Pts
Spd # Led
1 2 NA 27 D/A/F Jim Guthrie Blueprint 200 Running 73 35
2 1 NA 2 G/A/F Tony Stewart Menard 200 Running 83 36
3 14 NA 14 G/A/G Davey Hamilton Foyt 200 Running 32
4 8 NA 22 D/A/G Marco Greco Scandia 199 Running 31
5 19 NA 77 G/A/G Stephan Gregoire Chastain 199 Running 30
6 16 NA 10 G/I/F Mike Groff Byrd-C'ham 195 Running 29
7 10 NA 21 D/I/G Roberto Guerrero Pagan 194 Running 28
8 22 NA 12 G/A/G Buzz Calkins Bradley 187 Running 27
9 11 NA 18 D/A/G John Paul Jr. PDM 179 Running 26
10 6 NA 16 D/A/F Sam Schmidt Blueprint 176 Crash T4 25
11 9 NA 4 G/A/G Kenny Brack Galles 145 Crash T3 25 24
12 7 NA 51 G/A/G Eddie Cheever Cheever 120 Overheat 23
13 21 NA 17 D/A/G Affonso Giaffone Chitwood 114 Halfshaft 14 22
14 15 NA 33 D/A/G Fermin Velez Scandia 94 Electrical 21
15 17 NA 50 D/A/F Billy Roe Euroint'l 82 Crash T3 20
16 20 NA 1 G/A/G Scott Sharp Foyt 65 Engine 5 19
17 3 NA 6 G/A/F Scott Goodyear Treadway 51 Engine 18
18 5 NA 3 G/A/F Robbie Buhl Menard 51 Crash T2 17
19 12 NA 30 G/A/G Jeret Schroeder McCormack 51 Crash T2 16
20 18 NA 40 D/I/F Jack Miller Sinden 33 Fuel Pick. 15
21 13 NA 91 D/I/F Buddy Lazier Hemelgarn 31 Engine 14
22 4 NA 5 G/A/F Arie Luyendyk Treadway 11 Engine 13
I have not located a race report with the qualifying speeds. If
anyone has this information, please contact me.
Laps under green: 113 of 200 laps (56.5%)
Caution flags: 9 for 87 laps (43.5%)
#1: lap 2, stalled car (Guerrero), BS, 5 laps
#2: lap 12, blown engine (Luyendyk), BS, 7 laps
#3: lap 36, oil on track, T4, 9 laps
#4: lap 52, blown engine/crash (Goodyear, Buhl, Schmidt, Schroeder),
T2, 9 laps
#5: lap 69, oil on track, FS, 7 laps
#6: lap 85, oil leak/crash (Roe), T3, 14 laps
#7: lap 117, stalled car/oil on track (Giaffone), BS, 16 laps
#8: lap 146, crash (Brack), T3, 9 laps
#9: lap 180, crash (Schmidt), T4, 11 laps
Red flags: 0 for 0 minutes
Lead changes: 10
St: Stewart 1-41
#1: Guthrie 42
#2: Giaffone 43-56
#3: Stewart 57-61
#4: Sharp 62-66
#5: Stewart 67-95
#6: Guthrie 96-120
#7: Stewart 121
#8: Brack 122-146
#9: Stewart 147-153
#10: Guthrie 154-200
C/E/T finish averages (# started / avg finish):
Dallara: 10 / 11.4
G-Force: 12 / 11.6
Aurora: 19 / 10.8
Infiniti: 3 / 15.7
Firestone: 10 / 13.2
Goodyear: 12 / 10.1