1996 USAC Gold Crown Series (Johnsonverse)

The 1996 USAC Marlboro Gold Crown Series season was the 41st national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by USAC. The season consisted of 36 races. 
The national champion was Jimmy Vasser, and rookie Tony Stewart won the Indianapolis 500, as well as rookie of the year honors. The competition soon starting catching up to Vasser, who had to fend off two late challenges from veterans: Al Unser Jr.'s consistent performance saw him come close to tying Vasser late in the season, but his hopes evaporated after a last-lap crash at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and an engine failure while leading on the final turn at Road America. Michael Andretti's resulting victory there and in Vancouver put him in contention at the final race, but a disappointing result at Laguna Seca gave Vasser the championship.
Starting this season, the Indianapolis 500 became a joint USAC-Formula One event (it had previously been on the Formula One schedule from 1950 to 1960), and the field for that race was expanded from the traditional 33 to 47 cars (taking advantage of pit road improvements made prior to the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994). Formula One cars were plagued with numerous engine failures in the race (as F1 engines were not designed for full throttle racing), though Michael Schumacher managed to finish second, after a photo-finish with Tony Stewart, who won the race by .005, the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history. For the Indianapolis 500, a qualifying rule known as the "33-14" was implemented, in which 33 spots were guaranteed for USAC drivers, and the remaining 14 would be guaranteed for Formula One drivers.
1996 also saw an explosion of new teams entering the sport (most of them from the Silver and Bronze Crown Series), as costs were the lowest they had ever been. Because of this, the amount of available numbers between 0-99 completely ran out. The additional teams also resulted in highly-competitive qualifying sessions for each race; Bump Day for the Indianapolis 500 was especially heated, with a physical fight breaking out between the Benetton and Williams F1 teams when the latter accused the former of cheating when Jean Alesi posted a faster time than Jacques Villeneuve, in spite of the fact that Alesi had zero experience on ovals, while Villeneuve was the defending race winner.
In the Constructors' Cup, the battle was yet another heated one. Perennial favorites Mopar and Lola ran up against General Motors, in a war of engineering and trust in the engine manufacturers. Mopar took its sixth Constructors' Cup, winning 10 of 36 races. Lola had 8 wins, GM had 6 wins (including the Indianapolis 500 with Tony Stewart), Reynard and Stacker had 2 each (with Stacker winning the California 500, and Ford, Toyota, Watson, Vollstedt, Dallara, and Tatuus each had one win. Penske, shockingly, went completely winless in 1996.
== Honda displacement scandal and other safety issues ==
The season was marred by several high-profile incidents. During a practice run for the Indianapolis 500, Scott Brayton blew a tire in his backup car, and was killed upon impacting the wall, the first fatality in Gold Crown competition since Jim Hickman in 1982. USAC was left scrambling to find an answer as to why Brayton had been killed after all of the safety enhancements made in 1983, quickly finding that Brayton's HANS device had been improperly secured.
At Toronto in July, rookie Jeff Krosnoff was killed on the final lap when his car went airborne, and his body struck a tree and a light post; a volunteer track official, Gary Avrin, was also killed in the crash. Following the crash, USAC considered adding cockpit canopies to all cars (styled after those used on jet fighters), but Sheldon Johnson, Jr. objected to this, as it would make getting out of a burning car very difficult. USAC then decided to add catchfencing to the fastest parts of street courses.
Two weeks after Krosnoff's death, Emerson Fittipaldi was involved in a serious accident on the first lap of the Marlboro 500 at Michigan, and was forced to retire from racing.
Johnson convened a safety review panel at the end of the season to investigate the sudden failings of the 1983 safety features. The panel determined that speeds were outstripping these safety standards, which had not been updated since their introduction aside from adjusting the Stacker device. The new turbocharged Honda engines were very powerful, which only added to the problem. The new Honda HRH engine was investigated by the panel, who found that Honda had lied about the engine's displacement. The 1979 turbocharger ban had been lifted in 1993 due to concerns over the Dodge Viper V10 running circles around the competition, and a strict limit was placed on which engines could have a turbocharger, using the engine's displacement as the bar. The Honda HRH grossly exceeded the maximum displacement, yet Honda had posted inaccurate numbers in order to make it look like the engine was undersized, and therefore turbo-eligible. 
Honda was publicly accused of cheating; shortly after this revelation, fans accused Honda of killing Jeff Krosnoff, as his car had a Honda HRH in it (Brayton, meanwhile, was running one of Team Menards' custom-built V6 engines, while Fittipaldi, who was driving for a Penske satellite team, had a Chevrolet V8 engine in his car; both engines were turbocharged, yet well within USAC rules because they were under the maximum displacement). All Honda wins were allowed to stand, however, as the season was over, and nobody seemed interested in re-calculating the points.
On top of the fine, Krosnoff's family sued Honda on gross negligence manslaughter charges; Honda attempted to settle out of court, but the case went through anyways. In the case of Krosnoff v. Honda Motor Company, in a much-viewed trial, Honda was found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter by virtue of having put a turbocharger into their oversized engines, thus causing speeds to spiral out of control and beyond USAC's safety features. The Krosnoff family was awarded $8 million. In the aftermath of the scandal, CEO Nobuhiko Kawamoto was forced to step down, and Honda's share prices and sales plummeted.
In terms of USAC, Honda completely shut down its USAC engine program, and the Honda HRH engine was banned in 1997; Offenhauser offered trade-in deals on all Honda engines. The 1997 March Engineering 200 was also subject to a driver boycott, as Suzuka International Raceway was owned by Honda. USAC ultimately cancelled the race, and has yet to return to Suzuka.
== Drivers and teams ==
Team 	Chassis 	Engine 	Tires	No 	Drivers 	Primary Sponsor
Brahma Sports Team 	Reynard 96I 	Cosworth 	G 	1 	Raul Boesel 	Brahma
Marlboro Team Penske 	Penske PC-25 	Chevrolet 	G 	2 	Al Unser Jr. 	Marlboro
Marlboro Team Penske 	Penske PC-25 	Chevrolet 	G 	3 	Paul Tracy 	Marlboro
Target/Chip Ganassi Racing 	Mopar M96 	Dodge 	F 	4 	Alex Zanardi 	Target
Target/Chip Ganassi Racing 	Mopar M96 	Dodge 	F 	12 	Jimmy Vasser 	Target
Walker Racing 	Reynard 96I 	Cosworth 	G 	5 	Robby Gordon 	Valvoline
Walker Racing 	Reynard 96I 	Cosworth 	G 	15 	Scott Goodyear 	Valvoline DuraBlend
Newman/Haas Racing 	Lola T96/00 	Pontiac 	G 	6 	Michael Andretti 	Texaco-Havoline
Newman/Haas Racing 	Lola T96/00 	Pontiac 	G 	11 	Christian Fittipaldi 	Budweiser
Hall Racing 	Toyota GR96 	Toyota 	G 	8 	Gil de Ferran 	Pennzoil
Hogan Penske Racing 	Penske PC-25 	Offenhauser 	G 	9 	Emerson Fittipaldi 	Mobil 1
Hogan Penske Racing 	Penske PC-25 	Offenhauser 	G 	9 	Jan Magnussen 	Mobil 1
Galles Racing International 	Galmer 96 	Chevrolet 	G 	10 	Eddie Lawson 	Delco Electronics
Galles Racing International 	Galmer 96 	Chevrolet 	G 	70 	Davy Jones 	Delco Electronics
Bettenhausen Motorsports 	Penske PC-24 	Chevrolet 	G 	16 	Stefan Johansson 	Alumax
Bettenhausen Motorsports 	Penske PC-24 	Chevrolet 	G 	26 	Gary Bettenhausen 	Alumax
PacWest Racing Group 	Ford F-196 	Cosworth 	G 	17 	Maurício Gugelmin 	Hollywood Cigarettes
PacWest Racing Group 	Ford F-196 	Cosworth 	G 	21 	Mark Blundell 	Visa
Team Rahal 	Rahal RH-004 	Offenhauser 	G 	18 	Bobby Rahal 	Miller
Team Rahal 	Rahal RH-004 	Offenhauser 	G 	28 	Bryan Herta 	Shell
Payton/Coyne Racing 	Coyne DC-11 	Offenhauser 	F 	19 	Hiro Matsushita 	Panasonic
Payton/Coyne Racing 	Coyne DC-11 	Offenhauser 	F 	34 	Roberto Moreno 	Data Control
Patrick Racing 	Ligier JS44 	Cosworth 	F 	120	Scott Pruett 	Firestone
Arciero-Wells Racing 	Reynard I95 	Honda 	F 	25 	Jeff Krosnoff 	Arciero-Wells Racing
MCI
Arciero-Wells Racing 	Reynard I95 	Honda 	F 	25 	Max Papis 	Arciero-Wells Racing
MCI
Tasman Motorsports Group 	Lola T96/00 	Honda 	F 	31 	André Ribeiro 	LCI International
Tasman Motorsports Group 	Lola T96/00 	Honda 	F 	32 	Adrián Fernández 	Tecate
All American Racers 	Eagle MK-V 	Toyota 	G 	36 	Juan Manuel Fangio II 	Castrol
All American Racers 	Eagle MK-V 	Toyota 	G 	98 	P. J. Jones 	Castrol
Brix Comptech Racing 	Reynard 96I 	Honda 	F 	149	Parker Johnstone 	Motorola
Player's/Forsythe Racing 	Reynard 96I 	Chevrolet 	F 	99 	Greg Moore 	Player's
ABF Motorsports 	Lola T92/00 	Buick 	G 	196	Paul Durant 	
A. J. Foyt Enterprises 	Watson 96 	Offenhauser 	G 	11 	Scott Sharp 	
A. J. Foyt Enterprises 	Watson 96 	Offenhauser 	G 	14 	Davey Hamilton 	
A. J. Foyt Enterprises 	Watson 96 	Offenhauser 	G 	41 	Mike Groff 	
Beck Motorsports/Zunne Group 	Mopar M96 	Dodge 	F 	52 	Hideshi Matsuda 	
Beck Motorsports/Zunne Group 	Mopar M96 	Dodge 	F 	54 	Robbie Buhl 	
Blueprint Racing 	McLaren M42 	Chevrolet 	F 	16 	Johnny Parsons 	
Blueprint Racing 	McLaren M42 	Chevrolet 	F 	27 	Jim Guthrie 	
Blueprint Racing 	McLaren M42 	Chevrolet 	F 	36 	Dan Drinan 	
Loop Hole Racing 	Lola T91/00 	Chevrolet 	G 	37 	Marco Greco 	
Bradley Motorsports 	Ford F-196 	Cosworth 	F 	12 	Buzz Calkins 	
Brickell Racing 	Lola T93/00 	Menard 	G 	77 	Tyce Carlson 	
Byrd/Leberle–Treadway Racing 	Reynard 95I
Reynard 94I	Ford-Cosworth	FG 	105	Arie Luyendyk 	
Cunningham Racing 	Reynard 95I
Lola T94/00	Ford-Cosworth	F 	175	Johnny O'Connell 	
Della Penna Motorsports 	Reynard 95I 	Ford-Cosworth	G 	44 	Richie Hearn 	
Della Penna Motorsports 	Reynard 95I 	Ford-Cosworth	G 	144	Scott Harrington 	
DeLorto Motorsports 	Lola T92/00 	Buick 	G 	81 	Rick DeLorto 	
Hemelgarn Racing 	Tatuus US96 	Cosworth 	F 	109	Stéphan Grégoire 	
Hemelgarn Racing 	Tatuus US96 	Cosworth 	F 	110	Brad Murphey 	
Hemelgarn Racing 	Tatuus US96 	Cosworth 	F 	91 	Buddy Lazier 	
Leigh Miller Racing 	Stacker 96B 	Cosworth 	F 	117	Stan Wattles 	
Pagan Racing 	Ferrari I96 	Cosworth 	G 	21 	Roberto Guerrero 	
Pagan Racing 	Ferrari I96 	Cosworth 	G 	99 	Billy Boat 	
PDM/Automatic Sprinkler System	Watson 96 	Menard 	G 	18 	John Paul Jr. 	
Project Indy 	Reynard 95I 	Cosworth 	G 	46 	Rob Wilson 	
Project Indy 	Reynard 95I 	Cosworth 	G 	164	Johnny Unser 	
Project Indy 	Reynard 95I 	Cosworth 	G 	165	Dennis Vitolo 	
Team Scandia 	Dallara IR-96	Cosworth 	G 	7 	Eliseo Salazar 	
Team Scandia 	Dallara IR-96	Cosworth 	G 	108	Alessandro Zampedri 	
Team Scandia 	Dallara IR-96	Cosworth 	G 	22 	Michel Jourdain Jr. 	
Team Scandia 	Dallara IR-96	Cosworth 	G 	33 	Michele Alboreto 	
Team Scandia 	Dallara IR-96	Cosworth 	G 	134	Fermín Vélez 	
Team Scandia 	Dallara IR-96	Cosworth 	G 	143	Joe Gosek 	
Team Menard 	GM 96C 	Menard 	F 	102	Scott Brayton 	
Team Menard 	GM 96C 	Menard 	F 	102	David DeSilva 	
Team Menard 	GM 96C 	Menard 	F 	103	Eddie Cheever 	
Team Menard 	GM 96C 	Menard 	F 	20 	Tony Stewart 	
Team Menard 	GM 96C 	Menard 	F 	30 	Mark Dismore 	
Team Menard 	GM 96C 	Menard 	F 	32 	Danny Ongais 	
Tempero–Giuffre Racing 	Watson 96 	Offenhauser 	G 	115	Bill Tempero 	
Tempero–Giuffre Racing 	Watson 96 	Offenhauser 	G 	125	Racin Gardner 	
Walker Racing 	Reynard 95I 	Cosworth 	G 	160	Mike Groff 	
Zunne Group Racing 	Dallara IR-96	Buick 	F 	24 	Randy Tolsma 	
Zunne Group Racing 	Dallara IR-96	Buick 	F 	145	Robbie Buhl 	
Vollstedt Racing 	Vollstedt 96 	Oldsmobile 	G 	152	Keith Kauffman 	
Stacker & Associates 	Stacker 96B 	Buffalo 	F 	56 	Guido Daccò 	McDonald's
Stacker & Associates 	Stacker 96B 	Buffalo 	F 	57 	Mike Borkowski 	KFC
Stacker & Associates 	Stacker 96B 	Buffalo 	F 	58 	Brian Till 	WBC
Ferrari Racing 	Ferrari I96 	Ferrari 	F 	53 	Christian Danner 	Shell
Ferrari Racing 	Ferrari I96 	Ferrari 	F 	83 	Fredrik Ekblom 	Shell
Williams Indy Engineering 	Williams IW96	Cosworth 	G 	49 	Didier Theys 	Rothmans
Williams Indy Engineering 	Williams IW96	Cosworth 	G 	51 	Mark Hotchkis 	Rothmans
McLaren-Moore 	McLaren M42 	Peugeot 	F 	62 	Franck Fréon 	Sega
McLaren-Moore 	McLaren M42 	Peugeot 	F 	64 	Doug Boyer 	Sega
Équipe Ligier 	Ligier JS44 	Honda 	F 	89 	Teo Fabi 	Gitanes
Équipe Ligier 	Ligier JS44 	Honda 	F 	96 	Pedro Chaves 	Gitanes
Team Tyrrell 	Tyrrell 025I 	Honda 	G 	43 	David Kudrave 	STP
Team Tyrrell 	Tyrrell 025I 	Honda 	G 	45 	Ted Prappas 	STP
Minardi Indy 	Minardi I196 	Cosworth 	G 	65 	Domenico Schiattarella	Lucchini
Minardi Indy 	Minardi I196 	Cosworth 	G 	66 	Ross Bentley 	Lucchini
GM Performance Racing 	GM 96C 	Chevrolet 	G 	13 	Billy Roe 	GM Goodwrench
GM Performance Racing 	GM 96C 	Chevrolet 	G 	103	Justin Bell 	GM Goodwrench
Ford-Roush Racing 	Ford F-196 	Cosworth 	G 	23 	Joe Gosek 	PrimeStar
Ford-Roush Racing 	Ford F-196 	Cosworth 	G 	97 	Lyn St. James 	PrimeStar
Mopar Racing 	Mopar M96 	Dodge 	G 	60 	Jack Hewitt 	Makita
Mopar Racing 	Mopar M96 	Dodge 	G 	69 	Alex Padilla 	Dickies
Mopar Racing 	Mopar M96 	Dodge 	G 	80 	Steve Butler 	Nintendo
Toyota Racing Development 	Toyota GR96 	Toyota 	G 	63 	Bruce Field 	FedEx
Toyota Racing Development 	Toyota GR96 	Toyota 	G 	154	Nick Firestone 	FedEx
Dallara Racing 	Dallara IR-96	Chevrolet 	F 	78 	Gary Brabham 	Izod
Dallara Racing 	Dallara IR-96	Chevrolet 	F 	82 	Jim Crawford 	Izod
Tatuus Racing 	Tatuus US96 	Chevrolet 	G 	73 	Hubert Stromberger 	Old Navy
Tatuus Racing 	Tatuus US96 	Chevrolet 	G 	177	Dean Hall 	Old Navy
=== Formula One entrants in Indianapolis 500 ===
Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis	Engine 	No.	Driver
Scuderia Ferrari 	Ferrari 	F310 	Ferrari 046 3.0 V10 	201	Michael Schumacher
Scuderia Ferrari 	Ferrari 	F310 	Ferrari 046 3.0 V10 	202	Eddie Irvine
Mild Seven Benetton Renault 	Benetton-Renault 	B196 	Renault RS8 3.0 V10 	203	Jean Alesi
Mild Seven Benetton Renault 	Benetton-Renault 	B196 	Renault RS8 3.0 V10 	204	Gerhard Berger
Rothmans Williams Renault 	Williams-Renault 	FW18 	Renault RS8 3.0 V10 	205	Damon Hill
Rothmans Williams Renault 	Williams-Renault 	FW18 	Renault RS8 3.0 V10 	206	Jacques Villeneuve
Marlboro McLaren Mercedes 	McLaren-Mercedes 	MP4/11
MP4/11B	Mercedes FO 110/3 3.0 V10 	207	Mika Häkkinen
Marlboro McLaren Mercedes 	McLaren-Mercedes 	MP4/11
MP4/11B	Mercedes FO 110/3 3.0 V10 	208	David Coulthard
Ligier Gauloises Blondes 	Ligier-Mugen-Honda	JS43 	Mugen-Honda MF-301 HA 3.0 V10	209	Olivier Panis
Ligier Gauloises Blondes 	Ligier-Mugen-Honda	JS43 	Mugen-Honda MF-301 HA 3.0 V10	210	Pedro Diniz
Benson & Hedges Total Jordan Peugeot	Jordan-Peugeot 	196 	Peugeot A12 EV5 3.0 V10 	211	Rubens Barrichello
Benson & Hedges Total Jordan Peugeot	Jordan-Peugeot 	196 	Peugeot A12 EV5 3.0 V10 	212	Martin Brundle
Red Bull Sauber Ford 	Sauber-Ford 	C15 	Ford JD Zetec-R 3.0 V10 	214	Johnny Herbert
Red Bull Sauber Ford 	Sauber-Ford 	C15 	Ford JD Zetec-R 3.0 V10 	215	Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Footwork Hart 	Footwork-Hart 	FA17 	Hart 830 3.0 V8 	216	Ricardo Rosset
Footwork Hart 	Footwork-Hart 	FA17 	Hart 830 3.0 V8 	217	Jos Verstappen
Tyrrell Yamaha 	Tyrrell-Yamaha 	024 	Yamaha OX11A 3.0 V10 	218	Ukyo Katayama
Tyrrell Yamaha 	Tyrrell-Yamaha 	024 	Yamaha OX11A 3.0 V10 	219	Mika Salo
Minardi Team 	Minardi-Ford 	M195B 	Ford ED2 3.0 V8
Ford ED3 3.0 V8	220	Pedro Lamy
Minardi Team 	Minardi-Ford 	M195B 	Ford ED2 3.0 V8
Ford ED3 3.0 V8	221	Giancarlo Fisichella
Forti Grand Prix 	Forti-Ford 	FG01B
FG03	Ford ECA Zetec-R 3.0 V8 	222	Luca Badoer
Forti Grand Prix 	Forti-Ford 	FG01B
FG03	Ford ECA Zetec-R 3.0 V8 	223	Andrea Montermini
== Schedule==
No.	Race title 	Track 	Track type 	Date
1 	Indy 200 at Walt Disney World 	Walt Disney World Speedway, Bay Lake, Florida 	One-mile oval 	January 27
2 	Firestone Indy 500K 	Calder Park Thunderdome, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 	Intermediate oval 	February 11
3 	Gilroy Garlic 500 	San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy, California 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	February 25
4 	Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami Presented by Toyota 	Homestead Motorsports Complex, Homestead, Florida 	Intermediate oval 	March 3
5 	Pennzoil 200 	Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Virginia 	Short oval 	March 10
6 	Indy Rio 400 	Autódromo de Jacarepaguá, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 	Intermediate oval 	March 17
7 	Dura Lube 200 	Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale, Arizona 	One-mile oval 	March 24
8 	Indy Carnival 	Surfers Paradise Street Circuit, Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia	Street course 	March 31
9 	Kansas Indy Grand Prix 	Heartland Park Topeka, Topeka, Kansas 	Road course 	April 7
10 	Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach 	Streets of Long Beach, California 	Street course 	April 14
11 	Detective Jenny 200 	Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario, California 	Superspeedway (unrestricted)	April 21
12 	Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix 	Nazareth Speedway, Nazareth, Pennsylvania 	One-mile oval 	April 28
13 	Indianapolis 500 	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana 	Superspeedway (unrestricted)	May 26
14 	Miller 200 	Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wisconsin 	One-mile oval 	June 2
15 	ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix 	The Raceway on Belle Isle Park, Detroit, Michigan 	Street course 	June 9
16 	Dallara 200 	Monza Circuit, Monza, Lombardy, Italy 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	June 16
17 	Budweiser/G. I. Joe's 200 	Portland International Raceway, Portland, Oregon 	Road course 	June 23
18 	Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland 	Burke Lakefront Airport, Cleveland, Ohio 	Road course 	June 30
19 	U.S. 500 	San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy, California 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	July 7
20 	Molson Indy Toronto 	Exhibition Place, Toronto, Ontario, Canada 	Street course 	July 14
21 	Coca-Cola 300 in Memory of Jeff Krosnoff 	Denver International Speedway, Denver, Colorado 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	July 21
22 	Marlboro 500 	Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan 	Superspeedway (unrestricted)	July 28
23 	Quaker State 500 	Pocono International Raceway, Long Pond, Pennsylvania 	Superspeedway (unrestricted)	August 4
24 	Miller 200 	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio 	Road course 	August 11
25 	The Chicago Tribune Presents the Texaco/Havoline 200 	Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin 	Road course 	August 18
26 	True Value 200 	New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, New Hampshire 	One-mile oval 	August 25
27 	California 500 	Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario, California 	Superspeedway (unrestricted)	September 1
28 	Molson Indy Vancouver 	Concord Pacific Place, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 	Street course 	September 8
29 	Las Vegas 500K 	Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada 	Intermediate oval 	September 15
30 	Toyota Grand Prix of Monterey Featuring the Bank of America 300	Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey, California 	Road course 	September 22
31 	Reynard 200 	Suzuka International Raceway, Suzuka, Kansai 	Road course 	September 29
32 	Molson 400 	Fuji Speedway, Fuji, Kanto 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	October 6
33 	Alabama 500K 	Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln, Alabama 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	October 13
34 	Lola Cars 200 	Mallory Park, Leicestershire, United Kingdom 	One-mile oval 	October 20
35 	Mopar 200 	Sebring International Raceway, Sebring, Florida 	Road course 	October 27
36 	Florida Citrus Growers 500 	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida 	Superspeedway (restricted) 	November 3
==Results ==
No.	Race title 	Pole position 	Winner 	Team 	Chassis/Engine
1 	Indy 200 at Walt Disney World 	Buddy Lazier 	Buzz Calkins 	Bradley Motorsports 	Ford/Cosworth
2 	Firestone Indy 500K 	Paul Tracy 	Brian Till 	Stacker & Associates 	Stacker/Buffalo
3 	Gilroy Garlic 500 	Scott Goodyear 	Jimmy Vasser 	Target Chip Ganassi Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
4 	Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami Presented by Toyota 	Paul Tracy 	Jimmy Vasser 	Target Chip Ganassi Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
5 	Pennzoil 200 	Christian Fittipaldi	Tony Stewart 	Team Menard 	GM/Menard
6 	Indy Rio 400 	Alex Zanardi 	André Ribeiro 	Tasman Racing Group 	Lola/Honda
7 	Dura Lube 200 	Arie Luyendyk 	Arie Luyendyk 	Byrd/Leberle–Treadway Racing	Reynard/Cosworth
8 	Indy Carnival 	Jimmy Vasser 	Jimmy Vasser 	Target Chip Ganassi Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
9 	Kansas Indy Grand Prix 	Tony Stewart 	Eliseo Salazar 	Team Scandia 	Dallara/Cosworth
10 	Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach 	Gil de Ferran 	Jimmy Vasser 	Target Chip Ganassi Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
11 	Detective Jenny 200 	Al Unser Jr. 	Keith Kauffman 	Vollstedt Racing 	Vollstedt/Oldsmobile
12 	Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix 	Paul Tracy 	Michael Andretti	Newman/Haas Racing 	Lola/Pontiac
13 	Indianapolis 500 	Tony Stewart * 	Tony Stewart 	Team Menard 	GM/Menard
14 	Miller 200 	Paul Tracy 	Michael Andretti	Newman/Haas Racing 	Lola/Pontiac
15 	ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix 	Scott Pruett 	Michael Andretti	Newman/Haas Racing 	Lola/Pontiac
16 	Dallara 200 	Jimmy Vasser 	Jack Hewitt 	Mopar Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
17 	Budweiser/G. I. Joe's 200 	Alex Zanardi 	Alex Zanardi 	Target Chip Ganassi Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
18 	Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland 	Jimmy Vasser 	Gil de Ferran 	Hall Racing 	Gazoo/Toyota
19 	US 500 	Tony Stewart 	Jack Hewitt 	Mopar Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
20 	Molson Indy Toronto 	André Ribeiro 	Adrián Fernández	Tasman Racing Group 	Lola/Honda
21 	Coca-Cola 300 in Memory of Jeff Krosnoff 	Gary Bettenhausen 	Tony Stewart 	Team Menard 	GM/Menard
22 	Marlboro 500 	Jimmy Vasser 	André Ribeiro 	Tasman Racing Group 	Lola/Honda
23 	Quaker State 500 	Bryan Herta 	Tony Stewart 	Team Menard 	GM/Menard
24 	Miller 200 	Alex Zanardi 	Alex Zanardi 	Target Chip Ganassi Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
25 	The Chicago Tribune Presents the Texaco/Havoline 200 	Alex Zanardi 	Michael Andretti	Newman/Haas Racing 	Lola/Pontiac
26 	True Value 200 	Richie Hearn 	Scott Sharp 	A. J. Foyt Enterprises 	Watson/Offenhauser
27 	California 500 	Tony Stewart 	Guido Daccò 	Stacker & Associates 	Stacker/Buffalo
28 	Molson Indy Vancouver 	Alex Zanardi 	Michael Andretti	Newman/Haas Racing 	Lola/Pontiac
29 	Las Vegas 500K 	Arie Luyendyk 	Richie Hearn 	Della Penna Motorsports 	Reynard/Cosworth
30 	Toyota Grand Prix of Monterey Featuring the Bank of America 300	Alex Zanardi 	Alex Zanardi 	Target Chip Ganassi Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
31 	Reynard 200 	Danny Ongais 	Tony Stewart 	Team Menard 	GM/Menard
32 	Molson 400 	Jimmy Vasser 	Jack Hewitt 	Mopar Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
33 	Alabama 500K 	Arie Luyendyk 	Buddy Lazier 	Hemelgarn Racing 	Tatuus/Cosworth
34 	Lola Cars 200 	Guido Daccò 	Tony Stewart 	Team Menard 	GM/Menard
35 	Mopar 200 	Raul Boesel 	Eddie Lawson 	Galles Racing International 	Galmer/Chevrolet
36 	Florida Citrus Growers 500 	Al Unser Jr. 	Jack Hewitt 	Mopar Racing 	Mopar/Dodge
* * Scott Brayton was the fastest qualifier for the 1996 Indianapolis 500, but was killed during practice. Hence, second-fastest qualifier Tony Stewart started from the pole.
Category:Johnsonverse