Just eight points separate IndyCar Series championship leaders Scott Dixon (570 points), Dario Franchitti (565) and Ryan Briscoe (562) entering the season-ending Firestone Indy 300 on Oct. 10 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It will be the 10th time in 14 IndyCar Series seasons that the title will be decided at the final race. This is the first of a six-part series looking back at some of the classic championship races in IndyCar Series history. Today: 1996-97: Stewart vs. Hamilton
When:
1996-97
Who:
Tony Stewart, Davey Hamilton
Where:
New Hampshire International Speedway (Aug. 17, 1997), Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Oct. 11, 1997)
The story:
Tony Stewart led fellow American Davey Hamilton by seven points, 233-226, in the standings entering the second-to-last race of the season, at New Hampshire. Hamilton suffered engine failure in his AJ Foyt Power Team Racing G Force/Aurora/Goodyear on Lap 121 of the 200-lap race, finishing 17th. But Stewart couldn’t capitalize after also having engine problems on Lap 174, finishing 14th in his Glidden/Menards Special G Force/Aurora/Firestone. He carried a 10-point lead, 254-244, over Hamilton into the season finale at Las Vegas.
At Las Vegas, Hamilton qualified a season-best second, Stewart third. Both drivers encountered problems during the event, neither finishing on the lead lap. Hamilton managed a seventh-place finish, one lap down. But it wasn’t enough as Stewart finished 11th, four laps down, to clinch the series title by six points, 278-272, over Hamilton.
What They Say Now:
Tony Stewart:
“I know the last race at Las Vegas when we won the championship, there was actually a point in the race where I hit the wall. I very lightly hit it, but those are cars that you don’t normally graze the wall and don’t have damage or significant damage. For Davey and I, we had both been competitive and on our game all year. For some reason, when we both ran Vegas that night - I don’t know if the nerves got the best of us or what - but we both had an off night. Neither one of us were a contender to win the race, but it was a matter of who could just battle through the problems to win that night. It was one of those championships that didn’t come easy. At that time, it was the pinnacle of my career. To be an Indiana kid and have the chance to race at Indy and not only to have that opportunity but to have the chance to race for an IndyCar championship. Man, it was just an unbelievable moment. And of all things and all people, to get to race against a good friend of mine, Davey Hamilton, for that championship made it that much more special. To go from Midgets and Sprint cars to all of a sudden racing in the IRL and having a shot at the championship there, it was just a dream to have that opportunity.”
Davey Hamilton:
“In ‘97 when I was against Stewart, we blew an engine in New Hampshire. That was tough for me because I knew right then I was going to lose it (championship). It wasn’t going to happen. But then a few laps later, Tony had some problems, too, and he went out. So it was game back on again. It was cool. I remember fighting right down to the end at Vegas. Both of us had problems at that particular race. Neither of us finished well. We both had a terrible day. It came down to him beating me fairly. But he got it done. I’m from Idaho and a short-track guy, and being in that position was pretty cool. I had a lot of confidence going into that race (Las Vegas). I really thought we could get the job done. You know what? It’s this deal where you tell yourself we got here for a reason, we got here racing the way we race. But I’ll be honest, it’s hard to not race just that one guy. We tried not to change anything, and I tried not to change the way I was doing anything. But at the end of the day, any time that I saw Tony or was around Tony, I always kept track of where he was. You can’t help that. I’ll guarantee you the guys right now, Dario, Briscoe and Dixon, they’re doing the same thing. They’re paying attention to the race, but they’re definitely paying attention to where each other are running during the race, for sure.”
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