For the 1997 portion of the season, Lazier drove the No. 91 Dallara IR7-Infiniti, with additional sponsorship from Xerox and Cinergy. At the Indy 200 at Walt Disney World, Lazier started in 11th place and finished in 5th place, his first top-five of the season. At the Phoenix 200 at Phoenix International Raceway, Lazier started in 13th place and finished in 21st place due to an engine failure after 31 laps. Prior to the Indianapolis 500, the Infiniti engine was replaced with an Oldsmobile engine. Lazier qualified in 10th place and was fastest on two practice days post-qualifying. In the race Lazier battled with Luyendyk, Scott Goodyear, Jeff Ward, Stewart and Robbie Buhl, leading for 7 laps and finished fourth behind Luyendyk, Goodyear and Ward. At the following race, the True Value 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, Lazier started in 4th place and led twice for a combined total of 57 laps. On lap 157, Lazier retired from the race due to an engine failure and was scored in 17th place. Lazier then finished in 8th place at the following race, the Samsonite 200 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Lazier achieved his first win of the season at the VisionAire 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, after starting in 5th place and leading for 58 laps. At the Pennzoil 200 at New Hampshire, Lazier started in 15th place and finished in 12th place, five laps down. At the season-ending Las Vegas 500K, Lazier started in 14th place but retired due to a mechanical problem after 4 laps. Lazier finished in 8th place in the final point standings with 209 points, having been as high as 5th during the season.