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May 1997
Arie Luyendyk won the 81st Indianapolis 500 in the 3rd closest finish in history!!!
Scott Goodyear came in a close second....again.
August 1997
Ricky Rudd won the 4th annual Brickyard 400 Nascar race.
September 1997
Tony George, president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), announced
that beginning in 1998, there will no longer be 2 weekends of qualifying, just one.
This will save money for the speedway as well as for the race teams. This will help those
race fans who travel long distance for the race to be able to experience more of the event.
December 1997
An IROC race will be held in 1998 a couple of days before the Brickyard 400 on July 31.
Two IRL drivers will be competing in the IROC series in 1998 - Arie Luyendyk and Tony
Stewart.
The IROC (International Race Of Champions) series is using Firebirds this year.
The IROC races pit champions from various American racing series together in equally prepped race
cars on ovals.