|
1997 VisionAire 500
The 1997 VisionAire 500 was the eighth round of the 1996–1997 Indy Racing League. The race was held on July 26, 1997, at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, US. The event was the first Indy Racing League event to be held at Charlotte. Qualifying Results # Failed to qualify after breaking a cam sensor in practice, but was allowed to start the race at the back of the field. Failed to qualify or withdrew * Buzz Calkins for Bradley Motorsports - suffered a concussion during testing on July 8 at New Hampshire and was unable to compete. * Robbie Buhl for Team Menard - entered for the race, but was still recovering from a concussion suffered during testing on June 4. * Jeff Ward for Team Cheever - withdrew prior to the start of practice. Race Report Buddy Lazier beat rookie Billy Boat to take his second IRL victory in the first-ever Indy car race at this long-time stock-car racing venue. The race was dominated by Tony Stewart at the begi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
VisionAire 500K
The VisionAire 500K was an Indy Racing League race held at Charlotte Motor Speedway from 1997 to 1999. During the 1999 event, three spectators were killed when debris from a crash on the track went into the grandstands. The race was stopped and canceled, and the event was removed from the Indy Racing League schedule. Race history The first open wheel races in the region were held at the Charlotte Speedway board track built in Pineville from 1924 to 1927. Tommy Milton won the first race, a 250-mile event. USAC In 1980, USAC announced plans for a 500 km event at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the first Indy car event at the facility. Charlotte Motor Speedway had opened in 1960, and was home to the NASCAR World 600. However, no Indy car races had been held at the track over its first twenty years. The plans for the race, however, were scrapped when USAC entered into a joint sanctioning effort with CART, and the 1980 calendar was reorganized. Indy Racing League In 1996, the ups ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marco Greco
Marco Greco (Born December 1, 1963 in São Paulo) is a Brazilian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and auto racing driver who competed in the Indy Racing League from 1996 to 1999. His best finish in the season points was third in 1996–1997. He made four starts in the Indianapolis 500 with a best finish of 14th in 1998. He previously competed in the CART World Series in full seasons in 1993 for Sovereign Motorsports and in 1994 for Arciero Racing and partial seasons in 1995 and 1996 for Dick Simon Racing, Galles Racing Galles Racing is a former auto racing team owned by Rick Galles that competed in the CART series, Can-Am and the Indy Racing League. The team won the 1990 CART championship as well as the 1992 Indianapolis 500, both with driver Al Unser Jr. T ..., and Team Scandia. Career results Career summary Grand Prix motorcycle racing Races by year ( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) Complete Inter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buzz Calkins
Bradley Hobson "Buzz" Calkins Jr. (born May 2, 1971 in Denver, Colorado) is a former Indy Racing League driver. After a successful run in Indy Lights from 1993 to 1995 where he finished 11th, 10th, and 6th in his three seasons, he and his Bradley Motorsports team purchased a 1995 Reynard chassis to compete in the inaugural season of the IRL. He won the series' inaugural race, the 1996 Indy 200 at Walt Disney World ahead of Tony Stewart and was that year's league co-champion with Scott Sharp. He competed in the Indianapolis 500 six times, with a best finish of 10th in 1998 His win in the series' first race would end up to be his only IRL win. Calkins graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1993. Calkins earned a Master of Business Administration from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the histori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sam Schmidt
Samuel Schmidt (born August 15, 1964) is a former IndyCar, Indy Racing League driver and NTT IndyCar Series and Indy Lights series team owner. Schmidt's brief IndyCar career included a win in 1999, but an accident before the 2000 season left him a quadriplegic. Schmidt was a co-owner of the Arrow McLaren IndyCar team. Racing career After graduating from Pepperdine University, Schmidt became a successful businessman, eventually purchasing his father's parts company in 1989 at the age of 25. He raced at a competitive amateur level, supported by his business income, but dreamed of someday driving in the Indianapolis 500. Schmidt first drove professionally in 1995 in the CARS Pro Cup Series, USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series at the age of 31, where he won Rookie of the Year (award), Rookie of the Year honors. In 1996–1997 Indy Racing League season, 1997 Schmidt made his first Indy Racing League start and became a rising star in the league. He raced three consecutive years at the Indian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Groff
Michael Dennis Groff (born November 16, 1961, in Van Nuys, California) is a former race car driver who competed in CART and the IRL IndyCar Series and was the 1989 Indy Lights champion. His younger brother Robbie was also a CART and IRL driver from 1994 to 1998. Racing career Formula Super Vee and Indy Lights Groff made his professional debut in 1984 competing in the Valvoline/Robert Bosche Formula Super Vee series. He finished third in the series in 1985 and second in 1986. In 1986 he also made his American Racing Series debut (later renamed Indy Lights). Driving for a family team, he captured wins at the Milwaukee Mile and Road America and finished third in points. In 1987 he won at Nazareth Speedway and finished fifth in points. In 1988 he only competed in three Indy Lights races for three different teams, but finished second at Nazareth. In 1989 he competed full-time for Leading Edge Racing and captured four wins on his way to the championship. CART Champ Car Gro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Paul Jr
John Paul may refer to: People Given name * John Paul (given name), a list of bearers of the name, and equivalent names in other languages * Pope John Paul I (1912–1978) * Pope John Paul II (1920–2005) Given name and surname *John Paul (actor) (1921–1995), British actor * John Paul (artist) (1804–1887), English painter *John Paul (colonial administrator) (1916–2004), British government official * John Paul (footballer) (1873–?), British footballer * John Paul (judge) (1839–1901), American politician and judge *John Paul Jr. (judge) (1883–1964), American politician and judge *John Paul (minister) (1795–1873), Scottish minister *John Paul (pioneer) (1758–1830), American politician and city founder * John Paul (priest) (1928–2009), Scottish Anglican dean of Moray, Ross and Caithness * John Paul (medical scientist) (1922–1994) biomedical research scientist * John Paul (screenwriter) (1950–2022), Indian screenwriter * John Paul Sr. (racing driver) (1939–?), di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robbie Groff
Robert Clayton Groff (born January 31, 1966, in Mission Hills, California), is a former driver in the Indy Racing League and CART Championship Car series and is brother of Mike Groff. He raced in the 1994 CART season and 1997-1998 IRL seasons with 9 combined starts. His best career finish was in his first race, a ninth place at the 1997 Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian .... Motorsports Career Results American Open-Wheel racing results ( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) American Racing Series / Indy Lights CART Indy Car World Series Indy Racing League References External links * 1966 births Champ Car drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Indy Lights drivers SCCA Formula Super Vee drivers IndyCar Series drivers 24 Hours ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Miller (racing Driver)
Jack Miller (born June 14, 1961), usually known as Dr. Jack Miller, is an American retired racing driver. He drove in the Indy Racing League from 1997 to 2001 and the Indianapolis 500 from 1997 to 1999. Miller is a practicing dentist and was accordingly "The Racing Dentist." For much of his racing career, he was sponsored by dental product companies including Crest and Water Pik. Miller's best IRL finish was a 9th in 1998 at Charlotte. His best finish in the Indianapolis 500 was a 20th his rookie year of 1997. During his stay in Indy Lights he won the 1993 B-series championship. This class of racing was only run in 1993 and consisted of drivers using the previous March chassis as the rest of the series introduced new Lola chassis. Miller won the championship by virtue of being the only driver to compete in every race in a B-series car. Miller's final IRL start came at Atlanta in 2001. Miller was involved in a 13-car crash, and suffered injuries that ended his racing career. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenny Bräck
Per Cenny "Kenny" Bräck (born 21 March 1966) is a Swedish former race car driver. Until his retirement from racing, he competed in the Champ Car, CART, Indy Racing League and the IROC series. He won the 1998 Indy Racing League championship and the 1999 Indianapolis 500, becoming the first Swedish driver to win the race. He survived one of the racing sport's biggest crashes at Texas Motor Speedway in 2003, where he recorded the highest horizontal g-force ever survived by a human being at . Eighteen months later he made a comeback at the Indy 500 and set the fastest qualifying time of the field. He retired from IndyCar racing after the race. In 2009, he made a comeback to rally, competing in Rally X at X Games 15, X-Games 15 and winning Gold. Bräck still drives occasionally and won The Dukerie's Stage Rally in Nottingham, England with co-driver Emil Axelsson in June 2011. The duo also won the Swedish classic The Midnight Sun Rally in July 2011. In September Bräck took pole posit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greg Ray
Gregory Ray (born August 3, 1966) is an American former race car driver. After winning the SCCA national Formula Atlantic championship in 1993, he moved up to the CART-sanctioned Toyota Atlantic series in 1994. In 1997 he made his Indy Racing League debut driving for Thomas Knapp in an unsponsored black #97 car. He made his mark on the series a year later during qualifying for the 1998 Indianapolis 500. Driving the same, plain, black #97, he qualified second behind A. J. Foyt's driver Billy Boat. The car attracted sponsorship from local businesses and the national anti-tobacco campaign, and became known as Ash Kicker Racing. Though he failed to finish that race, he scored several good results in subsequent races and caught the eye of successful businessman and team owner John Menard Jr. In 1999 he won the IRL championship on the strength of three victories. However, 2000 was a difficult season with only one victory. He qualified on pole for the Indianapolis 500 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Affonso Giaffone
Affonso Giaffone Neto (born April 6, 1968, in Santos, São Paulo, Brazil) is a Brazilian former racing driver. He is one of several racing drivers in his family; he is a cousin of Felipe Giaffone, and a cousin-in-law of Rubens Barrichello. His father Affonso Giaffone Jr. was also a racing driver. Giaffone raced in the 1996–1997 Indy Racing League season with eight career starts, including the 1997 Indianapolis 500. His best career finish was in fourth position at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1997. Before the IRL he finished third in the 1995 Indy Lights Indy NXT (pronounced "Indy Next"), previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as INDY NXT by Firestone for sponsorship reasons. Indy NXT is the highest step on the Roa ... championship behind Greg Moore and Robbie Buhl. He was the 1991 Formula Three Sudamericana Champion with five victories. Motorsports Career Results American open–wheel ra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eddie Cheever
Edward McKay Cheever Jr. (born January 10, 1958) is an American former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to , CART between 1986 and 1995, and IndyCar between 1996 and 2006. In American open-wheel racing, Cheever won the Indianapolis 500 in 1998 with Team Cheever. Cheever raced for almost 30 years in Formula One, sports cars, CART, and the Indy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 Formula One World Championship races and started 132, more than any other American, driving for nine different teams from 1978 through 1989. In 1996, he formed his own IRL team, Team Cheever, and won the 1998 Indianapolis 500 as both owner and driver. The team later competed in sports cars. His younger brother Ross Cheever, nephew Richard Antinucci and son Eddie Cheever III also became racing drivers. Early life Though born in Phoenix, Arizona, Cheever lived in Rome, Italy, as a child and attended St. George's British International School and later ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
