# 1996 Indy Lights season

The 1996 PPG/Firestone Indy Lights Championship Powered By Buick consisted of 12 races. Canadian David Empringham captured three wins on his way to the championship.

## Team and driver chart

The following drivers and teams competed in the series:
| Team | No. | Drivers | Round(s) |
| Brian Stewart Racing | 2 | Mattias Andersson | 1–2 |
| Brian Stewart Racing | 2 | Nick Firestone | 4–9 |
| Brian Stewart Racing | 2 | Felipe Giaffone | 11–12 |
| Brian Stewart Racing | 3 | Gualter Salles | All |
| Brian Stewart Racing | 61 | Jack Miller | All |
| Dorricott Racing | 31 | Shigeaki Hattori | All |
| Dorricott Racing | 32 | Jeff Ward | All |
| FRE Racing | 17 | José Cordova | 1–2 |
| FRE Racing | 17 | Peter Faucetta Jr. | 3 |
| FRE Racing | 17 | Jaki Scheckter | 5–7, 12 |
| FRE Racing | 17 | Robbie Buhl | 9 |
| Forsythe Racing | 33 | David Empringham | All |
| Forsythe Racing | 66 | Claude Bourbonnais | All |
| Forsythe Racing | 99 | Bertrand Godin | 9–12 |
| Genoa Racing | 24 | David DeSilva | All |
| Indy Regency Racing | 28 | Hideki Noda | All |
| Leading Edge Motorsports | 4 | Felipe Giaffone | 1–8 |
| Leading Edge Motorsports | 4 | José Giaffone | 10–12 |
| Leading Edge Motorsports | 4 | Sohrab Amirsardari | 9 |
| Leading Edge Motorsports | 5 | Sohrab Amirsardari | 6 |
| Leading Edge Motorsports | 23 | Mark Hotchkis | All |
| Leading Edge Motorsports | 77 | Rodolfo Lavín | 1–2, 4–12 |
| PacWest Lights | 10 | Bob Reid | 9 |
| PacWest Lights | 10 | Robby Unser | 1–2 |
| PacWest Lights | 12 | Robby Unser | 3–7, 9–12 |
| PacWest Lights | 12 | Casey Mears | 8 |
| Performance Racing | 9 | Andy Boss | 1–2 |
| Performance Racing | 9 | David LaCroix | 11 |
| RaceCars | 88 | Diego Gumzán | 1 |
| RaceCars | 88 | Paulo Carcasci | 2 |
| RaceCars | 88 | Freddy van Beuren | 8–12 |
| RaceCars | 89 | Danny Candía | 1 |
| RaceCars | 89 | Roque Aranda | 2–4 |
| RaceCars | 89 | Maurício Slaviero | 7–9 |
| Summit Motorsports | 20 | Doug Boyer | 1–2, 4–6 |
| Tasman Motorsports | 37 | Tony Kanaan | All |
| Tasman Motorsports | 38 | José Luís Di Palma | All |
| Tasman Motorsports | 39 | Hélio Castroneves | All |
| Team Green | 26 | Chris Simmons | All |
| Team Green | 27 | Greg Ray | All |
| Team Leisy / McCormack | 34 | Harry Puterbaugh Jr. | 1, 3 |
| Team Leisy / McCormack | 34 | Shan Groff | 2, 12 |
| Team Leisy / McCormack | 35 | Niclas Jönsson | 2 |
| Team Medlin | 12 | Alex Padilla | 1–3, 5–12 |

## Schedule

| Rd. | Date | Track | Location |
| 1 | March 3 | O Homestead-Miami Speedway | Homestead, Florida |
| 2 | April 14 | R Long Beach Street Circuit | Long Beach, California |
| 3 | April 28 | O Nazareth Speedway | Nazareth, Pennsylvania |
| 4 | May 25 | O Michigan International Speedway | Brooklyn, Michigan |
| 5 | June 2 | O Milwaukee Mile | West Allis, Wisconsin |
| 6 | June 9 | R The Raceway at Belle Isle Park | Detroit, Michigan |
| 7 | June 23 | R Portland International Raceway | Portland, Oregon |
| 8 | June 30 | R Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport | Cleveland, Ohio |
| 9 | July 14 | R Exhibition Place | Toronto, Ontario |
| 10 | August 4 | R Circuit Trois-Rivières | Trois-Rivières, Quebec |
| 11 | September 1 | R Streets of Vancouver | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| 12 | September 8 | R Laguna Seca Raceway | Monterey, California |

## Race results

| Round | Circuit | Pole position | Most laps led | Race Winner | Race Winner |
| Round | Circuit | Pole position | Most laps led | Driver | Team |
| 1 | Homestead-Miami Speedway | David Empringham | David Empringham | David Empringham | Forsythe Racing |
| 2 | Long Beach Street Circuit | Gualter Salles | David Empringham | David Empringham | Forsythe Racing |
| 3 | Nazareth Speedway | Claude Bourbonnais | David DeSilva | David DeSilva | Genoa Racing |
| 4 | Michigan International Speedway | David Empringham | David Empringham | David Empringham | Forsythe Racing |
| 5 | Milwaukee Mile | Mark Hotchkis | Mark Hotchkis | Mark Hotchkis | Leading Edge Motorsports |
| 6 | The Raceway at Belle Isle Park | David Empringham | Tony Kanaan | Tony Kanaan | Tasman Motorsports |
| 7 | Portland International Raceway | Tony Kanaan | Gualter Salles | Gualter Salles | Brian Stewart Racing |
| 8 | Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport | Mark Hotchkis | Gualter Salles | Gualter Salles | Brian Stewart Racing |
| 9 | Exhibition Place | Jeff Ward | Gualter Salles | Gualter Salles | Brian Stewart Racing |
| 10 | Circuit Trois-Rivières | Hélio Castroneves | Hélio Castroneves | Hélio Castroneves | Tasman Motorsports |
| 11 | Streets of Vancouver | Jeff Ward | Tony Kanaan | Claude Bourbonnais | Forsythe Racing |
| 12 | Laguna Seca Raceway | Tony Kanaan | Tony Kanaan | Tony Kanaan | Tasman Motorsports |

## Race summaries
### Homestead race

Held March 3 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. David Empringham won the pole.
Top Five Results
* David Empringham
* Chris Simmons
* Mark Hotchkis
* David DeSilva
* Jeff Ward

### Long Beach race

Held April 14 at Long Beach, California Street Course. Gualter Salles won the pole.
Top Five Results
* David Empringham
* Tony Kanaan
* Gualter Salles
* Hélio Castro-Neves
* Alex Padilla

### Nazareth race

Held April 28 at Nazareth Speedway. Claude Bourbonnais won the pole.
Top Five Results
* David DeSilva
* David Empringham
* Mark Hotchkis
* Chris Simmons
* Jeff Ward

### Michigan race

Held May 25 at Michigan International Speedway. David Empringham won the pole.
Top Five Results
* David Empringham
* Mark Hotchkis
* Jeff Ward
* Robby Unser
* Hélio Castro-Neves

### Milwaukee race

Held June 2 at The Milwaukee Mile. Mark Hotchkis won the pole.
Top Five Results
* Mark Hotchkis
* Greg Ray
* David Empringham
* Gualter Salles
* Chris Simmons

### Detroit race

Held June 9 at Belle Isle Raceway. David Empringham won the pole.
Top Five Results
* Tony Kanaan
* Alex Padilla
* Claude Bourbonnais
* José Luis Di Palma
* Jaki Scheckter

### Portland race

Held June 23 at Portland International Raceway. Tony Kanaan won the pole.
Top Five Results
* Gualter Salles
* Alex Padilla
* David Empringham
* Claude Bourbonnais
* Tony Kanaan

### Cleveland race

Held June 30 at Burke Lakefront Airport. Mark Hotchkis won the pole.
Top Five Results
* Gualter Salles
* Claude Bourbonnais
* Hélio Castro-Neves
* Nick Firestone
* Hideki Noda

### Toronto race

Held July 14 at Exhibition Place. Jeff Ward won the pole.
Top Five Results
* Gualter Salles
* Claude Bourbonnais
* Hideki Noda
* Shigeaki Hattori
* Alex Padilla

### Trois-Rivières race

Held August 4 at the Trois-Rivières, Quebec Street Circuit. Hélio Castro-Neves won the pole.
Top Five Results
* Hélio Castro-Neves
* Tony Kanaan
* Alex Padilla
* David Empringham
* Bertrand Godin

### Vancouver race

Held September 1 at Pacific Place. Jeff Ward won the pole.
Top Five Results
* Claude Bourbonnais
* Tony Kanaan
* Jeff Hotchkis
* Alex Padilla
* David Empringham

### Laguna Seca race

Held September 8 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Tony Kanaan won the pole.
Top Five Results
* Tony Kanaan
* Hélio Castro-Neves
* Claude Bourbonnais
* Alex Padilla
* Jeff Ward

## Championship standings
### Drivers' championship
#### Scoring system

| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th |
| Points | 20 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
* The driver who qualifies on pole is awarded one additional point.
* An additional point is awarded to the driver who leads the most laps in a race.
| Pos | Driver | HMS | LBH | NAZ | MIS | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | TOR | TRO | VAN | LAG | Points |
| 1 | David Empringham | 1* | 1* | 2 | 1* | 3 | 21 | 3 | 21 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 148 |
| 2 | Tony Kanaan | 10 | 2 | 12 | 17 | 7 | 1* | 5 | 19 | 24 | 2 | 2* | 1* | 113 |
| 3 | Gualter Salles | 6 | 3 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 22 | 1* | 1* | 1* | 15 | 21 | 19 | 108 |
| 4 | Claude Bourbonnais | Wth | 7 | 16 | 18 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 104 |
| 5 | Mark Hotchkis | 3 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 1* | 9 | 10 | 18 | 9 | 19 | 3 | 7 | 102 |
| 6 | Alex Padilla | 17 | 5 | 15 | | 17 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 90 |
| 7 | Hélio Castroneves | DNS | 4 | 17 | 5 | 11 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 23 | 1* | 10 | 2 | 84 |
| 8 | David DeSilva | 4 | 10 | 1* | 7 | 19 | 6 | 12 | 16 | 15 | 7 | 18 | 9 | 61 |
| 9 | José Luís Di Palma | 15 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 56 |
| 10 | Chris Simmons | 2 | 23 | 4 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 21 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 7 | 12 | 54 |
| 11 | Jeff Ward | 5 | 8 | 5 | 3 | DNS | 11 | 17 | 13 | 20 | 16 | 20 | 5 | 53 |
| 12 | Greg Ray | 7 | 11 | 18 | 15 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 6 | 17 | 16 | 48 |
| 13 | Shigeaki Hattori | 9 | DNS | 10 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 16 | 14 | 42 |
| 14 | Hideki Noda | 11 | 16 | 7 | 13 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 5 | 3 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 34 |
| 15 | Robby Unser | 13 | 15 | 14 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 15 | | 10 | 9 | 14 | 20 | 25 |
| 16 | Bertrand Godin | | | | | | | | | 7 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 21 |
| 17 | Felipe Giaffone | 14 | 24 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 18 | 16 | 6 | | | 22 | 8 | 20 |
| 18 | Nick Firestone | | | | 11 | 16 | 20 | 9 | 4 | 19 | | | | 18 |
| 19 | Jaki Scheckter | | | | | | 5 | 18 | | | | | 11 | 12 |
| 20 | Jack Miller | 21 | 18 | 6 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 19 | 14 | 21 | 10 | 9 | 23 | 12 |
| 21 | Roque Aranda | | 20 | 9 | 9 | | | | | | | | | 8 |
| 22 | Freddy van Beuren | | | | | | | | 12 | 12 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 7 |
| 23 | Doug Boyer | 8 | 22 | | 16 | 13 | 19 | | | | | | | 5 |
| 24 | Casey Mears | | | | | | | | 8 | | | | | 5 |
| 25 | Robbie Buhl | | | | | | | | | 11 | | | | 2 |
| 26 | Rodolfo Lavín | 16 | 19 | | 14 | 15 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 18 | 12 | 21 | 2 |
| 27 | Shan Groff | | 12 | | | | | | | | | | 22 | 1 |
| 28 | José Cordova | 12 | 25 | | | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| 29 | Mauricio Slaviero | | | | | | | 13 | 17 | 18 | | | | 0 |
| 30 | Mattias Andersson | 20 | 13 | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| 31 | Sohrab Amirsardari | | | | | | 14 | | | 17 | | | | 0 |
| 32 | José Giaffone | | | | | | | | | | 14 | 19 | 18 | 0 |
| 33 | Andy Boss | 19 | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| 34 | David LaCroix | | | | | | | | | | | 15 | | 0 |
| 35 | Niclas Jönsson | | 17 | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| 36 | Diego Guzmán | 18 | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| 37 | Peter Faucetta Jr. | | | 19 | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| 38 | Paulo Carcasci | | 21 | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| 39 | Danny Candía | 22 | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| 40 | Bob Reid | | | | | | | | | 22 | | | | 0 |
| 41 | Harry Puterbaugh Jr. | 23 | | DNS | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| Pos | Driver | HMS | LBH | NAZ | MIS | MIL | DET | POR | CLE | TOR | TRO | VAN | LAG | Points |
| Color | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | 2nd place |
| Bronze | 3rd place |
| Green | 4th & 5th place |
| Light Blue | 6th–10th place |
| Dark Blue | Finished (Outside Top 10) |
| Purple | Did not finish |
| Red | Did not qualify (DNQ) |
| Brown | Withdrawn (Wth) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| Blank | Did not participate (DNP) |
| Blank | Not competing |
In-line notation :
| Bold | Pole position(1 point) |
| Italics | Ran fastest race lap |
| * | Led most race laps (2 points) |
| $^1$ | Qualifying cancelled no bonus point awarded |
* Ties in points broken by number of wins, or best finishes.