This last-lap incident, followed by a major scoring snafu two weeks later at Texas, led to the USAC being permanently removed from sanctioning the IRL and Indy 500, in favor of in-house officiating.

[5][6] * Includes days where trackactivity was significantlylimited due to rain ROP — denotes RookieOrientation Program New engines and new cars arrived at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for 1997.

Mehl also quoted the creation of the IRL as "necessary", because of stagnant television ratings, NASCAR's rise and the increasing flux of grassroots open wheel drivers into stock car racing.

[12] Jeff Ward, who failed to qualify for the 1995 race, was signed to drive for Team Cheever's second entry on April 10,[13] while the release of the entry list confirmed the participation of two Indy car debutants: Vincenzo Sospiri, the 1995 Formula 3000 champion and brief Formula 1 driver for the failed MasterCard Lola team, and Greg Ray, third in the 1994 Atlantic Championship and 12th in the previous Indy Lights season.

[10] However, on April 25 he was replaced on the entry list by Mark Dismore, backed by Kelley Automotive Group, who had placed orders on the yet-to-be-delivered chassis from Riley & Scott the previous year.

Stefan Johansson originally planned to race in his own entry, but he gave up earlier in the year due to an injury sustained in a fire at his home, as well as financing issues.

[19] Robbie Groff also took laps for McCormack Motorsports, as the former Indy Lights driver, with two CART races under his belt back in 1994, had struck a deal to drive with the team, in detriment of Jeret Schroeder.

The lengthening of the season, devised to switch to a calendar schedule for 1998, meant a new deal had to be reached in order for Stewart to finalize his NASCAR Busch Series outings.

Andretti, who switched to NASCAR Winston Cup in 1994 and was driving for Cale Yarborough Motorsports, had expressed an interest in doing the Double Duty for the second time.

[26] After struggling to compete for the top spots during two days of practice with Goodyear tires, Team Menard switched back to mounting compounds from Firestone.

With them, 30 of the 32 confirmed car-driver combinations had taken to the track before Pole Day qualifying, the exceptions being Mark Dismore due to the lateness of the ownership and crew switch in the #28 entry, and Scott Harrington, as Johansson Motorsports saw its Oldsmobile engine deal being scuppered.

After two days of on-truck struggles in the 209 mph range, Hemelgarn Racing announced Saturday morning that Buddy Lazier would use Oldsmobile powerplants instead of Infiniti's, citing a lack of speed and sponsor deference.

Because of the shortages being faced from Oldsmobile, their first Aurora engine was loaned by driver-owner Stan Wattles, whose upstart operation Metro Racing Systems was yet in the planning process.

A week later, during Bump Day, USAC allowed a similar change to Buddy Lazier's car at the request of Ron Hemelgarn, despite being safely in the field at 214.286 mph.

[36][37] Off the track, A. J. Foyt announced that he was working on a deal for John Andretti to replace the injured Scott Sharp in the #1 entry, providing that travel and scheduling constraints were arranged with his NASCAR team owner Cale Yarborough.

[35] A. J. Foyt conceded defeat in his intentions to bring John Andretti as a driver, as his NASCAR commitment with Cale Yarborough would not provide enough travel time to make it to the Coca-Cola 600.

Meanwhile, the three already qualified drivers from Team Scandia sat out the whole week of practice because of the lingering engine parts shortages, including Alessandro Zampedri despite his bubble spot.

Off the track, the Indy Racing League confirmed the technical specifications for 1998 and beyond, which included the elimination of the 25/8 Rule, that had grown in controversy beyond its alleged CART-blocking purposes.

[44] During the week, competitors and officials alike were growing apprehensive of the rule, as it became increasingly possible that the "fastest 33 cars", a cornerstone Indy tradition, could not necessarily make the field.

Foyt had previously discarded using that berth for Boat, and told reporters he would not sign another replacement driver, reducing the number of cars yet to qualify on Bump Day to just four.

Unable to go over 200 mph during practice on Saturday, Johansson Motorsports took possession of Davey Hamilton's back-up chassis from Foyt, and changed its number to #36 to make it their primary car.

However, it is unknown if Harrington would've been reinstated in that case; while USAC's decision was taken to ensure that the 33 fastest drivers would start the race, the official ruling stated that only bumped cars were eligible for the procedure.

Also absent was longtime Speedway public address announcer John Totten, who had fallen ill. On the first parade lap, Dr. Jack Miller got sideways with cold tires and nearly spun in turn 4.

TV replays proved inconclusive to determine the cause of the accident, but a fan recording from the grandstands showed that Bräck had forced down Giaffone, whose left front tyre touched with Grégoire's car, turning him sideways and triggering the 3-car incident.

The caution came out, and the car was returned to the pits, with Gordon still willing to drive, but he had to retire from the race with first and second-degree burns on his wrists and right thigh, for which he would miss an entire month of Winston Cup competition.

By the halfway point, thirteen cars had dropped out, and six stayed on the lead lap, with Billy Boat, Marco Greco, Paul Durant and Davey Hamilton in the top 10.

Buddy Lazier, Robbie Buhl and Jeff Ward, meanwhile, elected to stretch their stints, and their choice initially paid off when the 5th caution of the day came out on Lap 114.

The pace car did not enter the track to pick up the leader, as was the normal procedure, and both teams and drivers understood the race would finish under caution, as did IMS Radio Network announcer Bob Jenkins.

The entire field hesitated as the yellow caution lights around the track remained illuminated, unsure if the green flag was an error, and if the conditions were safe to race.

Host/Announcer: Paul Page Color: Tom Sneva Color/Turn 2: Bobby Unser Color/Turn 4: Danny Sullivan Practice and time trials were carried over three networks: ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2.