   
 
The
Top Drivers:
Eddie
Cheever
Birthdate.
January 10th 1958, Phoenix, Arizona
Lives.
Aspen, Colorado
Indy 500
Career. 7 starts
Highest
Finish. 4th in 1992
1996 Indy 500.
Recorded fastest ever race time at the Brickyard,
obtaining 236.103 mph average on lap 78.
IRL Highlight.
Winner of Indy 200 at Walt Disney World in January.
Drives.
No.51 FIRSTPLUS TEAM CHEEVER G-FORCE/OLDSMOBILE
AURORA/GOODYEAR
Experienced racer
Eddie Cheever comes to Indianapolis this year as one
of the favourites to win the Borg-Warner Trophy.
A former Grand
Prix driver for teams such as Tyrrell, Arrows, Alfa
Romeo and Ligier, Cheever won the Indy 200 at Walt
Disney World in January - the first event for the new
IRL formula.
His win in Florida
was the first for an owner/driver combination in the
Indy Racing League.
compiled by James
Beckett
Photo Credit.
FlRSTPLUS TEAM CHEEVER
Roberto
Guerrero
Birthdate.
November 16th 1958, Medellin, Colombia
Lives.
San Juan Capistrano, California
Indy 500
Career. 12 starts
Highest
Finish. 2nd in 1984 and 1987
1996 Indy 500.
Led the most laps of the race (47) of any driver in
his Pennzoil/Pagan Racing Reynard-Ford. Classified
5th despite hitting Turn 4 wall on the final lap of
the race.
IRL Highlight.
5th in 1996 points standings.
Drives.
No.21 PENNZOIL-PAGAN RACING DALLARA/NISSAN
INFINITI/GOODYEAR
Roberto Guerrero
is one of the most experienced drivers currently
racing in the Indy Racing League.
A Grand Prix
driver for Ensign and Theodore during 1982/1983,
Guerrero made a switch to American racing the
following year finishing as runner-up in his first
'500'.
Second at Indy
again in 1987, Guerrero won races at Phoenix and
Mid-Ohio before a huge testing crash at Indy ended
his season and almost his career.
Guerrero qualified
for Pole Position at the 1992 Indy, and he would be a
popular winner of the 'Greatest Spectacle in Racing'
On May 25th.
compiled by James
Beckett
Photo Credit. James
Beckett
Kenny
Brack
Birthdate.
March 21st 1966, Arvika, Sweden
Lives.
Karlstad, Sweden
Indy 500
Career. 1997 will be Brack's first '500'
Highest
Finish. Not applicable
1996 Indy 500.
Not applicable
IRL Highlight.
Led maiden IRL race at Phoenix in March.
Drives.
No.4 MONSOON GALLES RACING G-FORCE/OLDSMOBILE
AURORA/GOODYEAR
Kenny Brack made
his IRL debut in March replacing the injured Davy
Jones in the Rick Galles run Monsoon-Galles Racing
G-Force car.
The Swede finished
as runner-up in the FIA International F3000
Championship last season scoring three wins, two
seconds and two third place finishes. Brack also
tested an Arrows Formula 1 Grand Prix car through his
links with Tom Walkinshaw's TWR concern.
Brack will be
making his debut in the Indy 500 on May 25th and is
one of five Europeans on the entry list.
compiled by James
Beckett
Photo Credit. James
Beckett
Buddy
Lazier
Birthdate.
October 31st 1967, Vail, Colorado
Lives.
Vail, Colrado
Indy 500
Career. 4 starts
Highest
Finish. 1st in 1996
1996 Indy 500.
Winner of the 'Greatest Spectacle in Racing' by the
narrow margin of just 0.695s from Davy Jones.
IRL Highlight.
Winning the maiden IRL sanctioned Indy 500.
Drives.
No.91 HEMELGARN/DELTA-FAUCET/MONTANA G-FORCE/NISSAN/
FIRESTONE
Buddy Lazier
dramatically won last years Indianapolis 500 by just
0.695s from the Galles Racing Lola driven by Davy
Jones.
Injuries sustained
in an accident at Phoenix (March 1996) left the
Colorado driver with severe pain throughout the
'Month of May'.
Surgery during the
winter months has returned Lazier to full fitness,
although he is expected to struggle in this years
classic due to the reliability of the Nissan V8
engine his car uses.
compiled by James
Beckett
Photo Credit. James
Beckett
Buzz
Calkins
Birthdate.
May 2nd 1971, Denver, Colorado
Lives.
Denver, Colorado
Indy 500
Career. 1 start
Highest
Finish. 17th in 1996
1996 Indy 500.
Qualified ninth at a speed of 229.013 mph.
Ran as high as sixth before brake failure forced him
out.
IRL Highlight.
Won the first ever Indy Racing League event the Indy
200 at Walt Disney World , Florida, in January 1996
driving a Reynard-Ford. Jointly crowned as 1996 IRL
Champion with AJ Foyt Enterprise driver Scott Sharp.
Drives.
No.12 BRADLEY FOOD MARTS G-FORCE/OLDSMOBILE
AURORA/GOODYEAR
Buzz Calkins made
the step into Indianapolis-style cars when the IRL
broke cover at the beginning of 1996.
The Denver driver
entered the record-books by winning the first ever
IRL event in a family run Reynard-Ford, and his sixth
place finish in the Dura-Lube 200 at Phoenix allowed
him to jointly claim the first ever IRL Drivers
Championship.
compiled by James
Beckett
Photo Credit. Bradley
Motorsports
Jim
Guthrie
Birthdate.
September 13th 1961, Gadsden, Alabama
Lives.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Indy 500
Career. 1 start
Highest
Finish. 18th in 1996
1996 Indy 500.
Passed Drivers Test on Day 3 in Blueprint Racing
entry. Started the race in nineteenth, ran twelfth
before engine problems forced him out on lap 144.
IRL Highlight.
winning the Dura-Lube 200 at the Phoenix
International Raceway in March.
Drives.
No. 27 BLUEPRINT RACING DALLARA/OLDSMOBILE
AURORA/FIRESTONE
Jim Guthrie
arrives at Indy fresh from his first
Indianapolis-style car victory in the Dura-Lube 200
at the Phoenix International Raceway - the fourth
round of the 1996/97 IRL Championship.
Racing for the
underfinanced Blueprint team, Guthrie's victory was
the first in the Indy Racing League for the Italian
marque Dallara. The IR7 chassis powered by an
Oldsmobile Aurora V8 engine.
For Indianapolis
both Guthrie and Blueprint will be backed by the
Jacuzzi company. Manufacturers of the famous baths
that bubble !
compiled by James
Beckett
Photo Credit. James
Beckett
Eliseo
Salazar
Birthdate.
November 15th 1955, Santiago, Chile
Lives.
Santiago, Chile
Indy 500
Career. 2 starts
Highest
Finish. 4th in 1995
1996 Indy 500.
Started from outside of front row. Involved in Turn 4
final lap accident with Zampedri and Guerrero.
IRL Highlight.
First driver to test 1997 specification
Dallara/Oldsmobile.
Drives.
No.7 CRISTAL/COPEC/SCANDIA DALLARA/OLDSMOBILE
AURORA/GOODYEAR
You may have seen
Salazar on BBC's 'A Question of Sport' in the 'What
happened next' section when Nelson Piquet punched and
kicked him following their collision in the 1982
German Grand Prix.
Salazar has raced
all forms of cars from saloons, Formula 3, Formula
3000, Sportscars and of course Formula 1.
A hugely
experienced campaigner, Salazar returns to
Indianapolis having just racovered from a hip
breaking accident in pre-season testing at the Walt
Disney World Speedway in Florida.
compiled by James
Beckett
Photo Credit. James
Beckett
Tony Stewart
Birthdate.
May 20th 1971
Lives.
Rushville, Indiana
Indy 500.
Career. 1 start
Highest
Finish. 24th in 1996
1996 Indy 500.
Started from Pole Position following the death of
team-mate and fastest qualifier Scott Brayton. Led
forty-four laps before engine problems forced him
out.
IRL Highlight.
Lapping at 237.336 mph on Day 3 of 1996 USAC Rookie
Orientation Programme - second fastest of the entire
month.
Drives.
No.2 GLIDDEN/MENARDS/SPECIAL G-FORCE/OLDSMOBILE
AURORA/GOODYEAR
Tony Stewart has
been the discovery of the IRL. A USAC Midget
Championship star, Stewart joined the IRL with John
Menard's team in January 1996.
Stewart has yet to
win an IRL race although he has set the pace at
practically every event.
Driving a
Glidden/Menard/Special G-Force/Olds Stewart has
recorded the fastest pre-Indy 500 speed around the
Brickyard at 218.436 mph.
compiled by James
Beckett
Photo Credit James
Beckett
Vincenzo
Sospiri
Birthdate.
October 7th 1966, Italy
Lives.
Monte Carlo, Monaco
Indy 500
Career. No starts
Highest
Finish. Not applicable
1996 Indy 500.
Not applicable
IRL Highlight.
Speeding through first four stages of USAC 'Rookie
Test' with ease during Day 2 of 1997 'Month of May'
in a Team Scandia Dallara.
Drives.
No. 8 SCANDIA ROYAL PURPLE ALTA XCEL DALLARA/
OLDSMOBILE AURORA/GOODYEAR
Vincenzo Sospiri
started the season as a Grand Prix driver with the
Mastercard Lola team. However financial problems
forced the team to quit Fl after just one Grand Prix,
leaving the 1995 FIA International F3000 Champion
without a drive.
Sospiri tested a
Lola for Scandia last year at Indianapolis and
returns to the 'Brickyard' with the same team for his
first '500' assault.
The experienced
campaigner, although still only thirty-years-old, is
Europe's best hope of winning the 'Greatest Spectacle
in Racing' for along time.
compiled by James
Beckett
Photo Credit James
Beckett
Affonso
Giaffone
Name.
AFFONSO GIAFFONE
Birthdate.
April 6th 1968, Santos, Brazil
Lives.
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Indy 500
Career. 1997 will be Giaffone's first start
in the 'Greatest Spectacle'.
Highest
Finish. Not applicable
IRL Highlight.
Highest finishing rookie in the Las Vegas 500K.
Drives.
No.17 GENERAL MOTORS OF BRAZIL/CHITWOOD DALLARA/
OLDSMOBILE AURORA/GOODYEAR
Giaffone arrives
at Indy having contested just two IRL events.
A tenth place
finish at Las Vegas last September, and a thirteenth
at Phoenix in March being his two results to-date.
The
radio-controlled aircraft enthusiast has also raced
in Formula Ford, Formula Vauxhall, Indy Lights and
was the South American F3 Champion in 1991.
compiled by James
Beckett
Photo Credit James
Beckett
Circuit
History
INDIANAPOLIS
MOTOR SPEEDWAY BACKGROUND.
The Indianapolis Motor
Speedway hosts the 81st running of the 'Greatest
Spectacle in Racing' on May 25th.
Built on 328 acres of
farmland, five miles northwest of Indiana's capital
city in the spring of 1909, the Speedway was financed
by four local businessmen.
Planned as a year
round testing facility for Indiana's rapidly growing
motor industry, the track was constructed using
banked turns linked together by two main straights.
The surface of crushed
rock and tar however proved to be disastrous at the
opening racing event in August 1909, and so 3,200,000
paving bricks were laid or their sides in a bed of
sand , fixed with cement, to inspire the name 'The
Brickyard'.
For 1911 Organisers
planned a single event 1 and hosted on Memorial Day,
if would feature a race held over a 500 mile distance
with the winner claiming a huge $14,250 prize-the
Indy 500 was born.
The race continues to
this day, having only failed to take place in years
that saw America involved in the two World Wars.
Tarmac was applied to
the track in 1936, with the whole 2. 5 miles becoming
paved by 1961-with only ayard of bricks at the
start/finish line to remind racers of the circuit's
history.
Acquired in 1927 by
World War 1 flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker, a
Competitor in the '500', he installed a golf course
on the infield, which today hosts Senior PGA Tour
matches.
However, when the
Second World War started. the Speedway war left to
become overgrown , and was purcha5ed, in 1949 ,by
Terre Haute, Indiana, and businessman Anton Itony 1
Hulman jnr.
Hulman transformed the
Speedway, spreading the name of the Indianapolis 500
across the globe.
Following his death in
1977, the day to day running was taken over by
members of his family and his grandson, Tony
George-the President of the IMS, is the father figure
of the Indy Racing League.
This year's '500' is
the second running under the IRL banner, and the
first for the new specification IRL cars.
James
Beckett
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designed and laid out by David Coveney
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