The 1997 CART PPG World Series season was the nineteenth in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) era of American open-wheel car racing. It consisted of 17 races, beginning in Homestead, Florida on March 2 and concluding in Fontana, California on September 28. The PPG CART World Series Drivers' Champion was Alex Zanardi. Rookie of the Year was Patrick Carpentier. Mercedes-Benz won their first and only CART engine-manufacturer's title.
After a settlement with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, CART relinquished its license of the "IndyCar" trademark for 1997 and beyond. As a result, the series was renamed for the first time since 1980. The CART term, which had been mostly eschewed since 1992, was brought back and embraced, a new logo was unveiled, and participants were encouraged to refer to the machines of the CART series as "Champ Cars". The revival of the historic term (and curtailing the use of the mostly generic term "Indy cars") helped to differentiate the machines from those of the rival Indy Racing League, and was part of a concerted and necessary effort to distance the series from the Indianapolis 500, to which it no longer had any link. This was also the last year of title sponsorship by PPG Industries, although the Driver's Championship continued to be known as the PPG Cup until 1999. This was the first season since 1983 not to feature Emerson Fittipaldi.
Drivers and constructors
The following teams and drivers competed in the 1997 CART World Series season.
Season summary
Schedule
– The Australian Indy Grand Prix was supposed to run 182 miles, but was shortened due to time constraints.
– Portland was supposed to be 193 miles, but was shortened due to rain.
O Oval/Speedway
R Road/Street course
Race results
(R) Dedicated road course, (O) Oval/Speedway, (S) Temporary street circuit
Final driver standings
Nations' Cup
- Top result per race counts towards Nations' Cup.
Chassis Constructors' Cup
Engine Manufacturers' Cup
See also
- 1997 Toyota Atlantic Championship season
- 1997 Indianapolis 500
- 1996–97 Indy Racing League
- 1997 Indy Lights season
- Super Speedway
- CART World Series
References
- Åberg, Andreas. "CART FedEx Champ Car World Series 1997 (sic)". Driver Database. Archived from the original on October 9, 2008. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
- "1997 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series (sic)". Champ Car Stats. Archived from the original on March 3, 2009. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
- "PPG Helps Penske Racing Go "Green" with ENVIROBASE High Performance Coatings" (Press release). PPG Industries. March 9, 2009. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
- "Standings after California". Champ Car World Series. Archived from the original on October 22, 2008. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
