The 1997 Indianapolis 500 was the 81st running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” and Round 5 of the 1996-97 Indy Racing League. The event was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana, United States on Sunday, 27 May 1997. Arie Luyendyk started on pole position and was the race winner. Having also won in 1990, this was Luyendyk’s 2nd Indy 500 victory.
81st Indianapolis 500 Race Result
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Chassis | Engine | Tire | Started | Laps | Total Time | Laps Led | Status | Points | Avg. Speed | Pit Stops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Arie Luyendyk | G-Force | Oldsmobile | Firestone | 1 | 200 | - | 61 | Running | 37 | 145.827 | - |
| 2 | 6 | Scott Goodyear | G-Force | Oldsmobile | Firestone | 5 | 200 | - | 2 | Running | 33 | - | - |
| 3 | 52 | Jeff Ward | G-Force | Oldsmobile | Goodyear | 7 | 200 | - | 49 | Running | 32 | - | - |
| 4 | 91 | Buddy Lazier | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Firestone | 10 | 200 | - | 7 | Running | 31 | - | - |
| 5 | 2 | Tony Stewart | G-Force | Oldsmobile | Firestone | 2 | 200 | - | 64 | Running | 31 | - | - |
| 6 | 14 | Davey Hamilton | G-Force | Oldsmobile | Goodyear | 8 | 199 | - | 0 | Running | 29 | - | - |
| 7 | 11 | Billy Boat | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Goodyear | 22 | 199 | - | 1 | Running | 28 | - | - |
| 8 | 3 | Robbie Buhl | G-Force | Oldsmobile | Firestone | 4 | 199 | - | 16 | Running | 27 | - | - |
| 9 | 30 | Robbie Groff | G-Force | Oldsmobile | Goodyear | 21 | 197 | - | 0 | Running | 26 | - | - |
| 10 | 33 | Fermin Velez | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Goodyear | 29 | 195 | - | 0 | Running | 25 | - | - |
| 11 | 12 | Buzz Calkins | G-Force | Oldsmobile | Goodyear | 16 | 188 | - | 0 | Half Shaft | 24 | - | - |
| 12 | 10 | Mike Groff | G-Force | Oldsmobile | Firestone | 18 | 188 | - | 0 | Running | 23 | - | - |
| 13 | 90 | Lyn St. James | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Firestone | 34 | 186 | - | 0 | Accident T4 | 22 | - | - |
| 14 | 44 | Steve Kinser | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Goodyear | 20 | 185 | - | 0 | Accident T4 | 21 | - | - |
| 15 | 54 | Dennis Vitolo | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Firestone | 28 | 173 | - | 0 | Running | 20 | - | - |
| 16 | 22 | Marco Greco | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Goodyear | 27 | 166 | - | 0 | Gearbox | 19 | - | - |
| 17 | 8 | Vincenzo Sospiri | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Goodyear | 3 | 163 | - | 0 | Running | 18 | - | - |
| 18 | 9 | Johnny Unser | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Firestone | 35 | 158 | - | 0 | Oil Pressure | 17 | - | - |
| 19 | 18 | Tyce Carlson | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Goodyear | 26 | 156 | - | 0 | Accident T2 | 16 | - | - |
| 20 | 40 | Jack Miller | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Firestone | 17 | 131 | - | 0 | Accident T3 | 15 | - | - |
| 21 | 1 | Paul Durant | G-Force | Oldsmobile | Goodyear | 33 | 111 | - | 0 | Accident T3 | 14 | - | - |
| 22 | 50 | Billy Roe | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Firestone | 24 | 110 | - | 0 | Accident | 13 | - | - |
| 23 | 51 | Eddie Cheever Jr. | G-Force | Oldsmobile | Goodyear | 11 | 84 | - | 0 | Timing Chain | 12 | - | - |
| 24 | 7 | Eliseo Salazar | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Goodyear | 9 | 70 | - | 0 | Accident T2 | 11 | - | - |
| 25 | 97 | Greg Ray | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Firestone | 30 | 48 | - | 0 | Water Pump | 10 | - | - |
| 26 | 27 | Jim Guthrie | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Firestone | 6 | 43 | - | 0 | Engine | 9 | - | - |
| 27 | 21 | Roberto Guerrero | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Goodyear | 19 | 25 | - | 0 | Steering Gear | 8 | - | - |
| 28 | 28 | Mark Dismore | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Goodyear | 25 | 24 | - | 0 | Accident T4 | 7 | - | - |
| 29 | 42 | Robby Gordon | G-Force | Oldsmobile | Goodyear | 12 | 19 | - | 0 | Fire | 6 | - | - |
| 30 | 72 | Claude Bourbonnais | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Firestone | 32 | 9 | - | 0 | Engine | 5 | - | - |
| 31 | 77 | Stephan Gregoire | G-Force | Oldsmobile | Goodyear | 13 | 0 | - | 0 | Accident T4 | 4 | - | - |
| 32 | 17 | Affonso Giaffone | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Goodyear | 14 | 0 | - | 0 | Accident T4 | 3 | - | - |
| 33 | 4 | Kenny Brack | G-Force | Oldsmobile | Goodyear | 15 | 0 | - | 0 | Accident T4 | 2 | - | - |
| 34 | 16 | Sam Schmidt | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Firestone | 23 | 0 | - | 0 | Engine | 1 | - | - |
| 35 | 34 | Alessandro Zampedri | Dallara | Oldsmobile | Goodyear | 31 | 0 | - | 0 | Oil Leak | 1 | - | - |