1999 Indy Racing League season

The 1999 Pep Boys Indy Racing League season was highly competitive and parity was the order of the year. Team Menard had a very good season with their driver Greg Ray capturing 3 race wins in a row and the series championship. This was the last year before CART teams began to break ranks and jump to the IRL.

Calendar
All races running on Oval/Speedway.

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TransWorld Diversified Services Indy 200
This race was held January 24 at Walt Disney World Speedway. Scott Sharp won the pole.

Top ten results
 * 1) 51- Eddie Cheever
 * 2) 4- Scott Goodyear
 * 3) 35- Jeff Ward
 * 4) 8- Scott Sharp
 * 5) 30- Raul Boesel
 * 6) 28- Mark Dismore
 * 7) 18- Steve Knapp
 * 8) 9- Davey Hamilton
 * 9) 11- Billy Boat
 * 10) 91- Buddy Lazier

MCI WorldCom 200
This race was held March 28 at Phoenix International Raceway. Greg Ray won the pole.

Top ten results
 * 1) 4- Scott Goodyear
 * 2) 21- Jeff Ward
 * 3) 44- Robbie Buhl
 * 4) 11- Billy Boat
 * 5) 66- Scott Harrington
 * 6) 33- Roberto Moreno
 * 7) 28- Mark Dismore
 * 8) 8- Scott Sharp
 * 9) 99- Sam Schmidt
 * 10) 7- Stephan Gregoire

Visionaire 500k
This race was held May 1 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Greg Ray won the pole.

With crowds estimated at 50,000, the track opened extra sections of track to accommodate the additional spectators. As reported on the radio broadcast, sections of Turn 1 and Turn 4, and the first eight rows of all open grandstands, were closed by the track for safety. At 8:50 p.m. during lap 59 of the race, Stan Wattles suffered a suspension failure that shot his car into the wall, shearing both right wheels off the car. John Paul, Jr.'s car subsequently hit the debris field and the contact sent Wattles' right rear wheel and tire assembly over the catch fence. Three spectators in the vicinity of the section which had been opened for the overflow crowd were killed from the flying tire debris. Scott Harrington spun to miss the debris field and the accident is often described as a 3-car crash, however, Harrington's car made no contact with the wall or other cars and was undamaged.

Buddy Lazier was leading the race at the time of the caution. He pitted a few laps later to change tires because of a puncture. Greg Ray then took over the lead. A long caution resulted from the lap 62 crash. After 25 minutes under yellow, race officials brought out the red flag, and stopped the cars in the pit area. Medical helicopters needed space to land to aid the injured spectators. At 9:15 p.m., the halted race was scored through 79 laps. Shortly after the red flag was put out, track and series officials announced the fatalities had occurred, and cancelled the remainder of the race.

It should be noted the Indy Racing League does not use the FIA Code on abandoning a race where a race is official on the start of the fourth lap, as the 1991 Australian Grand Prix is the most notable "abandoned race," having been abandoned on Lap 14 of 82 with half points awarded. Instead, the sanctioning body uses the traditional North American standard, similar to a rain situation in that more than one-half of the distance, rounded up, plus one lap, determines an official race (105 laps). As the race was stopped on Lap 79, the race was declared abandoned and all statistics were scratched from official record. Spectators were offered ticket refunds, and participants were reimbursed entry fees and selected travel costs. The league does not recognize the race in its historical archives, and omitted the event in it count for the 100th race celebration in 2004.

From the IRL radio broadcast, and consistent with the television broadcast on Speedvision, this was the leaderboard at the time of the abandonment of the race on lap 79:
 * 1) 2- Greg Ray
 * 2) 4- Scott Goodyear
 * 3) 51- Eddie Cheever
 * 4) 99- Sam Schmidt
 * 5) 98- Donnie Beechler
 * 6) 8- Scott Sharp
 * 7) 91- Buddy Lazier
 * 8) 28- Mark Dismore
 * 9) 55- Robby McGehee
 * 10) 14- Kenny Bräck

83rd Indianapolis 500
The Indy 500 was held May 30 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Arie Luyendyk sat on pole.

Top ten results
 * 1) 14- Kenny Bräck
 * 2) 21- Jeff Ward
 * 3) 11- Billy Boat
 * 4) 32- Robby Gordon
 * 5) 55- Robby McGehee
 * 6) 84- Robbie Buhl
 * 7) 91- Buddy Lazier
 * 8) 81- Robby Unser
 * 9) 22- Tony Stewart
 * 10) 54- Hideshi Matsuda

Longhorn 500
This race was held June 12 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mark Dismore won the pole.

Top ten results
 * 1) 4- Scott Goodyear
 * 2) 2- Greg Ray
 * 3) 99- Sam Schmidt
 * 4) 7- Stephan Gregoire
 * 5) 6- Eliseo Salazar
 * 6) 81- Robby Unser
 * 7) 9- Davey Hamilton
 * 8) 28- Mark Dismore
 * 9) 12- Buzz Calkins
 * 10) 8- Scott Sharp

Radisson 200
This race was held June 27 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Greg Ray won the pole.

Top ten results
 * 1) 2- Greg Ray
 * 2) 99- Sam Schmidt
 * 3) 9- Davey Hamilton
 * 4) 51- Eddie Cheever
 * 5) 91- Buddy Lazier
 * 6) 81- Robby Unser
 * 7) 14- Kenny Bräck
 * 8) 8- Scott Sharp
 * 9) 21- Jeff Ward
 * 10) 33- Jaques Lazier

Kobalt Mechanics Tools 500
This race was held July 17 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Billy Boat won the pole.

Top ten results
 * 1) 8- Scott Sharp
 * 2) 81- Robby Unser
 * 3) 14- Kenny Bräck
 * 4) 6- Eliseo Salazar
 * 5) 12- Buzz Calkins
 * 6) 51- Eddie Cheever
 * 7) 9- Davey Hamilton
 * 8) 98- Donnie Beechler
 * 9) 30- Jimmy Kite
 * 10) 11- Billy Boat

MBNA Mid-Atlantic 200
This race was held August 1 at Dover International Speedway. Mark Dismore won the pole.

Top ten results
 * 1) 2- Greg Ray
 * 2) 91- Buddy Lazier
 * 3) 14- Kenny Bräck
 * 4) 11- Billy Boat
 * 5) 99- Sam Schmidt
 * 6) 66- Scott Harrington
 * 7) 33- Jaques Lazier
 * 8) 12- Buzz Calkins
 * 9) 55- Robby McGehee
 * 10) 98- Donnie Beechler

Colorado Indy 200
This race was held August 29 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Greg Ray won the pole.

Top ten results
 * 1) 2- Greg Ray
 * 2) 9- Davey Hamilton
 * 3) 28- Mark Dismore
 * 4) 91- Buddy Lazier
 * 5) 99- Sam Schmidt
 * 6) 66- Scott Harrington
 * 7) 55- Robby McGehee
 * 8) 30- Jimmy Kite
 * 9) 81- Robby Unser
 * 10) 14- Kenny Bräck

Vegas.com 500
This race was held September 26 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Sam Schmidt won the pole.

Top ten results
 * 1) 99- Sam Schmidt
 * 2) 14- Kenny Bräck
 * 3) 22- Robbie Buhl
 * 4) 8- Scott Sharp
 * 5) 12- Buzz Calkins
 * 6) 55- Robby McGehee
 * 7) 33- Jaques Lazier
 * 8) 7- Stephan Gregoire
 * 9) 20- Tyce Carlson
 * 10) 21- Jeff Ward

Mall.com 500
This race was held October 17 at Texas Motor Speedway. Greg Ray won the pole.

Top ten results
 * 1) 28- Mark Dismore
 * 2) 9- Davey Hamilton
 * 3) 2- Greg Ray
 * 4) 51- Eddie Cheever
 * 5) 42- John Hollansworth, Jr.
 * 6) 66- Scott Harrington
 * 7) 33- Jaques Lazier
 * 8) 12- Buzz Calkins
 * 9) 11- Billy Boat
 * 10) 91- Buddy Lazier

Final points standings
In every race, points are awarded to drivers on the following basis: 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).
 * 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.