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2000 Indy Racing League

(Redirected from 2000 in IRL)

The 2000 Indy Racing Northern Light Series was another season that saw a high level of parity, as only one driver, champion Buddy Lazier, won more than a single race. It also saw the beginning of the jump from CART as Al Unser Jr. moved to the series full-time and Chip Ganassi Racing came over to run the Indy 500, which it won with driver Juan Pablo Montoya. It was also the final season for the Riley & Scott chassis, which also saw its first series win in 2000.

2000 Indy Racing League season
Indy Racing Northern Light Series
2000 Indy Racing League
Season
Races10 9
Start dateJanuary 29
End dateOctober 15
Awards
Drivers' championUnited States Buddy Lazier
Manufacturers' CupUnited States Oldsmobile
Rookie of the YearBrazil Airton Daré
Indianapolis 500 winnerColombia Juan Pablo Montoya
← 1999
2001 →
Buddy Lazier (left) won his first and only Drivers' Championship while Scott Goodyear (right) finished second in the championship.

A planned race at Cleveland was cancelled on September 9, 1999, and reverted to a CART event.

Confirmed entries

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The 5 year tire war between Goodyear and Firestone in both CART and the IRL ended after Goodyear left both series as a tire supplier in 1999. This meant from this season onward all teams used Firestone tires.

Chassis Engine No. Drivers Rounds
  Team Menard Dallara Oldsmobile 1   Greg Ray All
32   Robby Gordon 4
  Galles Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 3   Al Unser Jr. All
  Panther Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 4   Scott Goodyear All
  Treadway Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 5   Robby McGehee All
50   Jason Leffler  R  4
55 3
  Raul Boesel 4
  Shigeaki Hattori  R  5–9
  Tri Star Motorsports Dallara Oldsmobile 6   Jeret Schroeder  R  All
9   Robby Unser 1
21   Dr. Jack Miller 3–4
  Zak Morioka  R  9
  Dick Simon Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 7   Stéphan Grégoire All
90   Lyn St. James 4
  Kelley Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 8   Scott Sharp All
28   Mark Dismore All
  Target Chip Ganassi Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 9   Juan Pablo Montoya  R  4
10   Jimmy Vasser 4
  A. J. Foyt Enterprises G-Force Oldsmobile 11   Eliseo Salazar All
14   Jeff Ward All
41   Billy Boat 4
  Bradley Motorsports Dallara Oldsmobile 12   Buzz Calkins All
  Walker Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 15   Sarah Fisher  R  2–9
  Team Xtreme G-Force Oldsmobile 16   John Hollansworth Jr. 1
  Davey Hamilton 2–8
  Jaques Lazier 9
88   Airton Daré  R  All
  Nienhouse Motorsports G-Force Oldsmobile 17   Niclas Jönsson  R  2
  Scott Harrington 3–4
  PDM Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 18   Sam Hornish Jr.  R  1–6, 8–9
  Logan Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 19   Billy Roe 5–6
  Stevie Reeves  R  7–9
  Hubbard-Immke Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 20   Tyce Carlson 1–3, 5–9
  Roberto Guerrero 4
  Indy Regency Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 22   Johnny Unser 4
  Dreyer & Reinbold Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 23   Steve Knapp 4
24   Robbie Buhl All
  Blueprint Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 27   Niclas Jönsson  R  1
  Jimmy Kite 2–9
  Byrd-McCormack Racing Riley & Scott Oldsmobile 29   Robby Unser 4
30 5–6
G-Force Oldsmobile   Jon Herb  R  1
  Ronnie Johncox 2–4
  J. J. Yeley 7–9
  Truscelli Team Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 33   Jaques Lazier 1, 3–6
  Bobby Regester  R  2
  Team Coulson Racing G-Force Oldsmobile 40   Davy Jones 4
  Roberto Guerrero 8
  Mid America Motorsports Dallara Oldsmobile 43   Doug Didero  R  1–6
  Scott Harrington 7
  Jaques Lazier 8
  Davey Hamilton 9
  Sinden Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 44   Davey Hamilton 1
  Fast Track Racing Enterprises Dallara Oldsmobile 48   Andy Hillenburg  R  4
  Dan Drinan  R  4
  Team Cheever Dallara Infiniti 51   Eddie Cheever All
52   Ross Cheever 4
  Pagan Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 75   Richie Hearn 4
  Team Pelfrey Dallara Oldsmobile 81   Billy Boat 1–3, 5–9
82   Memo Gidley 4
  Hemelgarn Racing Riley & Scott
Dallara 		Oldsmobile 91   Buddy Lazier All
92   Stan Wattles 4
  Cahill Racing Dallara Oldsmobile 98   Donnie Beechler All

Season Summary

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Schedule

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Rnd Date Race Name Track City
1 January 29 Delphi Indy 200 Walt Disney World Speedway Bay Lake, Florida
2 March 19 MCI WorldCom Indy 200 Phoenix International Raceway Phoenix, Arizona
3 April 22 Vegas Indy 300 Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas, Nevada
4 May 28 84th Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana
5 June 11 Casino Magic 500 Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas
6 June 18 Radisson 200 Pikes Peak International Raceway Fountain, Colorado
7 July 15 Midas 500 Classic Atlanta Motor Speedway Hampton, Georgia
8 August 27 Belterra Resort Indy 300 Kentucky Speedway Sparta, Kentucky
9 October 15 Excite 500 Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas
Sources:[1][2]

Race results

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Rnd Race Pole position Fastest lap Most Laps Led Winner
1 Walt Disney World   Greg Ray   Mark Dismore   Robbie Buhl   Robbie Buhl
2 MCI WorldCom Indy 200   Greg Ray   Tyce Carlson   Scott Sharp   Buddy Lazier
3 Vegas Indy 300   Mark Dismore   Mark Dismore   Mark Dismore   Al Unser Jr.
4 84th Indianapolis 500   Greg Ray   Buddy Lazier   Juan Pablo Montoya  R    Juan Pablo Montoya  R 
5 Casino Magic 500   Buddy Lazier   Eddie Cheever   Al Unser Jr.   Scott Sharp
6 Radisson 200   Greg Ray   Buzz Calkins   Scott Sharp   Eddie Cheever
7 Midas 500 Classic   Greg Ray   Donnie Beechler   Greg Ray   Greg Ray
8 Belterra Resort Indy 300   Scott Goodyear   Buddy Lazier   Scott Goodyear   Buddy Lazier
9 Excite 500   Greg Ray   Jaques Lazier   Al Unser Jr.   Scott Goodyear

Note: All races running on Oval/Speedway.

Race summaries

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Delphi Indy 200

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The final Delphi Indy 200 race was held January 29 at Walt Disney World Speedway. Greg Ray won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 24- Robbie Buhl
  2. 91- Buddy Lazier
  3. 51- Eddie Cheever
  4. 4- Scott Goodyear
  5. 11- Eliseo Salazar
  6. 98- Donnie Beechler
  7. 14- Jeff Ward
  8. 12- Buzz Calkins
  9. 81- Billy Boat
  10. 55- Robby McGehee

MCI WorldCom Indy 200

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This race was held March 19 at Phoenix International Raceway. Greg Ray won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 91- Buddy Lazier
  2. 4- Scott Goodyear
  3. 98- Donnie Beechler
  4. 11- Eliseo Salazar
  5. 8- Scott Sharp
  6. 81- Billy Boat
  7. 24- Robbie Buhl
  8. 7- Stephan Gregoire
  9. 3- Al Unser Jr.
  10. 51- Eddie Cheever
  • This was the first victory for the Riley & Scott chassis

Vegas Indy 300

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This race was held April 22 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mark Dismore won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 3- Al Unser Jr.
  2. 28- Mark Dismore
  3. 18- Sam Hornish Jr.  R 
  4. 6- Jeret Schroeder  R 
  5. 24- Robbie Buhl
  6. 5- Robby McGehee
  7. 81- Billy Boat
  8. 20- Tyce Carlson
  9. 1- Greg Ray
  10. 33- Jaques Lazier
  • This was Al Unser Jr.'s 1st victory since the 1995 CART Molson Indy Vancouver and his 1st IRL victory.

84th Indianapolis 500

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The Indy 500 was held May 28 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Greg Ray sat on pole.

Top ten results

  1. 9- Juan Pablo Montoya  R 
  2. 91- Buddy Lazier
  3. 11- Eliseo Salazar
  4. 14- Jeff Ward
  5. 51- Eddie Cheever
  6. 32- Robby Gordon
  7. 10- Jimmy Vasser
  8. 7- Stephan Gregoire
  9. 4- Scott Goodyear
  10. 8- Scott Sharp

Casino Magic 500

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This race was held June 11 at Texas Motor Speedway. Qualifying was rained out and Buddy Lazier was on the pole based on points standings.

Top ten results

  1. 8- Scott Sharp
  2. 5- Robby McGehee
  3. 3- Al Unser Jr.
  4. 12- Buzz Calkins
  5. 4- Scott Goodyear
  6. 28- Mark Dismore
  7. 91- Buddy Lazier
  8. 55- Shigeaki Hattori  R 
  9. 51- Eddie Cheever
  10. 88- Airton Daré  R 

Radisson 200

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This race was held June 18 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Greg Ray won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 51- Eddie Cheever
  2. 88- Airton Daré  R 
  3. 8- Scott Sharp
  4. 28- Mark Dismore
  5. 98- Donnie Beechler
  6. 11- Eliseo Salazar
  7. 6- Jeret Schroeder  R 
  8. 7- Stephan Gregoire
  9. 33- Jaques Lazier
  10. 3- Al Unser Jr.
  • This was the Infiniti engine's 1st victory.
  • This was Cheevers penultimate IndyCar victory.

Midas 500 Classic

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This race was held July 15 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Greg Ray won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 1- Greg Ray
  2. 91- Buddy Lazier
  3. 3- Al Unser Jr.
  4. 5- Robby McGehee
  5. 98- Donnie Beechler
  6. 24- Robbie Buhl
  7. 7- Stephan Gregoire
  8. 81- Billy Boat
  9. 55- Shigeaki Hattori  R 
  10. 11- Eliseo Salazar

Belterra Resort Indy 300

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The inaugural Indy Racing League event was held August 27 at Kentucky Speedway. Scott Goodyear won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 91- Buddy Lazier
  2. 4- Scott Goodyear
  3. 15- Sarah Fisher  R 
  4. 51- Eddie Cheever
  5. 7- Stephan Gregoire
  6. 14- Jeff Ward
  7. 1- Greg Ray
  8. 55- Shigeaki Hattori  R 
  9. 18- Sam Hornish Jr.  R 
  10. 98- Donnie Beechler
  • This was Roberto Guerrero's final IndyCar race he qualified for. He would blow an engine after completing 48 laps and would finish 23rd.
  • Sarah Fisher becomes the first woman to lead laps and finish on the Podium in an IRL race.

Excite 500

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This race was held October 15 at Texas Motor Speedway. Greg Ray won the pole.

Top ten results

  1. 4- Scott Goodyear
  2. 51- Eddie Cheever
  3. 81- Billy Boat
  4. 91- Buddy Lazier
  5. 11- Eliseo Salazar
  6. 98- Donnie Beechler
  7. 55- Shigeaki Hattori  R 
  8. 14- Jeff Ward
  9. 12- Buzz Calkins
  10. 16- Jaques Lazier

Final points standings

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Further information: List of American Championship car racing point scoring systems
Pos Driver WDW
 PHX
 LSV
 INDY
 TXS
 PIK
 ATL
 KTY
 TXS
 Pts
1   Buddy Lazier 2 1 22 2 7 26 2 1 4 290
2   Scott Goodyear 4 2 12 9 5 16 11 2* 1 272
3   Eddie Cheever 3 10 11 5 9 1 21 4 2 257
4   Eliseo Salazar 5 4 18 3 17 6 10 25 5 210
5   Mark Dismore 16 16 2* 11 6 4 18 11 14 202
6   Donnie Beechler 6 3 26 12 22 5 5 10 6 202
7   Scott Sharp 15 5* 27 10 1 3* 16 24 24 196
8   Robbie Buhl 1* 7 5 26 18 23 6 13 18 190
9   Al Unser Jr. 25 9 1 29 3* 10 3 27 17* 188
10   Billy Boat 9 6 7 15 23 18 8 18 3 181
11   Jeff Ward 7 11 21 4 19 15 19 6 8 176
12   Robby McGehee 10 24 6 21 2 13 4 14 24 174
13   Greg Ray 17 19 9 33 15 20 1* 7 26 172
14   Stéphan Grégoire 18 8 28 8 11 8 7 5 20 171
15   Buzz Calkins 8 23 25 18 4 12 23 12 9 145
16   Airton Daré  RY  11 22 14 25 10 2 25 19 12 142
17   Jeret Schroeder  R  19 12 4 14 21 7 24 26 16 136
18   Sarah Fisher  R  13 17 31 12 25 14 3 11 124
19   Tyce Carlson 13 15 8 Wth 13 11 13 22 23 124
20   Jaques Lazier 23 10 13 14 9 20 10 112
21   Sam Hornish Jr.  R  20 17 3 24 20 19 9 27 110
22   Shigeaki Hattori  R  8 17 9 8 7 109
23   Davey Hamilton 26 18 20 20 24 14 15 16 19 98
24   Jimmy Kite 26 16 30 16 24 12 17 21 79
25   Juan Pablo Montoya 1* 54
26   Doug Didero  R  14 25 19 DNQ 27 22 43
27   Ronnie Johncox 14 13 Wth 33
28   J. J. Yeley 17 15 25 33
29   Robby Gordon 6 28
30   Jason Leffler  R  15 17 28
31   Niclas Jönsson  R  12 21 27
32   Jimmy Vasser 7 26
33   Stevie Reeves  R  22 21 22 25
34   Robby Unser 24 DNQ 26 21 19
35   Scott Harrington 23 DNQ 20 17
36   Zak Morioka  R  15 15
37   Raul Boesel 16 14
38   Steve Knapp 19 11
39   Bobby Regester  R  20 10
40   John Hollansworth Jr. 21 9
41   Jon Herb  R  22 8
42   Johnny Unser 22 8
43   Stan Wattles 23 7
44   Roberto Guerrero DNQ 23 7
45   Dr. Jack Miller 24 DNQ 6
46   Billy Roe 25 5
47   Richie Hearn 27 3
48   Andy Hillenburg  R  28 2
49   Lyn St. James 32 1
–   Dan Drinan DNQ 0
–   Memo Gidley DNQ 0
–   Davy Jones DNQ 0
–   Ross Cheever Wth 0
–   Hideshi Matsuda Wth 0
Pos Driver WDW
 PHX
 LSV
 INDY
 TXS
 PIK
 ATL
 KTY
 TXS
 Pts
Color Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green 4th & 5th place
Light Blue 6th–10th place
Dark Blue Finished
(Outside Top 10)
Purple Did not finish
(Ret)
Red Did not qualify
(DNQ)
Brown Withdrawn
(Wth)
Black Disqualified
(DSQ)
White Did not start
(DNS)
Blank Did not
participate
(DNP)
Not competing
In-line notation
Bold Pole position
(2 points)
Italics Ran fastest race lap
* Led most race laps
(1 point)
DNS Any driver who qualifies
but does not start (DNS),
earns all the points
had they taken part.
 RY  Rookie of the Year
 R  Rookie
  • Ties in points broken by number of wins, followed by number of 2nds, 3rds, etc., and then by number of pole positions, followed by number of times qualified 2nd, etc.

Additional points were awarded to the pole winner (3 points), the second best qualifier (2 points), the third best qualifier (1 point) and to the driver leading the most laps (2 point).

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "NTT IndyCar Series Calendar 2000". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  2. ^ "2000 Schedule". Indy Racing League. Archived from the original on June 21, 2000. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
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