Rain called a halt to the Indy
200 at the Walt Disney World Speedway, Florida, on
Sunday - the opening race for the new look Indy
Racing League - Round 3 of the 1996/97 season, writes
James Beckett.
Although
Tony Stewart had dominated practically the entire race,
leading 131 laps, it was Grand Prix veteran Eddie Cheever
who was leading the race when the rain fell and the race
stopped.
Cheever,
driving his own FirstPlus Team Cheever G-Force-Aurora,
picked up the lead of the race only four laps prior
to the stoppage after Tony Stewart's team Menard Glidden/Menard
Special G-Force-Aurora crashed in Turn 3 due to an
oil leak.
The win
was Cheever's first single seat victory since 1979 and
he was obviously delighted. "I saw Tony come out
of the pits and when I saw him come out of Turn 2
there was smoke coming off his tyres. He then skidded
sidewards and I went past into the lead."
Cheever
continued, "This was one of the most enjoyable races
I've ever had - not worrying about the turbo was
great. Because these cars are easier to drive, it's a
lot more fun out there."
Mike
Groff, the IRL points leader, was classified second
in his Jonathan Byrd's Cafeteria Bryant Heating &
Cooling G-Force-Nissan-Infiniti, while League
debutant Scott Goodyear took third in his Treadway NORTEL-G-Force-Aurora.
Groff was
pleased with his second place spot despite the limited
test mileage of Nissan's Infiniti Indy V-8 engine.
"We went into the race really conservative, not
knowing what we were up against. We just didn't want
to go up in flames."
The
series moves to its fourth race, the Phoenix 200, at
the one-mile Phoenix International Raceway on March
23rd.
Result
of Indy 200 - Walt Disney World Speedway
1. |
Eddie
Cheever |
149
Laps |
2. |
Mike Groff |
149 |
3. |
Scott
Goodyear |
149 |
4. |
Scott Sharp |
149 |
5. |
Buddy Lazier |
149 |
6. |
Jim Guthrie |
148 |
7. |
Davey
Hamilton |
148 |
8. |
Marco Greco |
147 |
9. |
Fermin Velez |
147 |
10. |
Tony Stewart |
146 Accident
Turn 3 |
11. |
Buzz Calkins |
144 Engine |
12. |
Arie Luyendyk |
97 Accident |
13. |
Danny Ongais |
94 Suspension |
14. |
Jeret
Schroeder |
93 Accident
Turn 1 |
15. |
Jack Miller |
85 Suspension |
16. |
Jeff Ward |
63 Gearbox |
17. |
Roberto
Guerrero |
56 Fuel Pump |
18. |
John Paul
Jnr. |
46 Oil Pump |
19. |
Stephan
Gregoire |
2 Fuel Pump |
Lap
Leaders
1-130 |
No. 2 |
Tony Stewart |
131-144 |
No. 12 |
Buzz Calkins |
145 |
No. 2 |
Tony Stewart |
146-149 |
No.
51 |
Eddie
Cheever |
Caution
Flags
99-106 |
No.
30 Schroeder and No. 5 Luyendyk T1 |
146-149 |
No.
2 Stewart Accident T3 |
150 |
Rain,
red flag |
1996-1997
IRL Points Standings After Indy 200
1. |
Mike
Groff |
96 |
2. |
Buzz Calkins |
86 |
3. |
Scott Sharp |
85 |
4. |
Davey
Hamilton |
82 |
5. |
Marco Greco |
81 |
6. |
Roberto
Guerrero |
78 |
7. |
Tony Stewart |
66 |
8. |
Eddie Cheever |
65 |
9. |
Jim Guthrie |
63 |
10. |
Arie Luyendyk |
62 |
James
Beckett.