1996 IndyCar season

The 1996 IndyCar season, the eighteenth in the CART era of U.S. open-wheel racing, consisted of 16 races, beginning in Homestead, Florida on March 3 and concluding in Monterey, California on September 8, in which it was marred by the death of Jeff Krosnoff. The PPG Indy Car World Series Drivers' Champion was Jimmy Vasser. Rookie of the Year was Alex Zanardi. This was the first season after the split with the Indy Racing League and the last year that CART licensed the "IndyCar" trademark from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Indianapolis 500 was replaced in the Series by the U.S. 500, held in Brooklyn, Michigan.

Teams and drivers
The following teams and drivers competed in the 1996 Indy Car World Series season.

Races
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Final driver standings
Point Scoring System:
 * Points are awarded based on each driver's resulting place (regardless of whether the car is running at the end of the race):

Bonus Points:
 * 1 For Pole Position
 * 1 For Leading The Most Laps Of The Race

Note
Jeff Krosnoff died at the Molson Indy Toronto after a horrendous accident. He was 31 years old.

Nation's Cup

 * Top result per race counts towards Nation's Cup.