1997 Indy 200 at Walt Disney World
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| 3rd round of the 1996–1997 Indy Racing League season | |
| Date | January 25, 1997 |
| Official name | Indy 200 at Walt Disney World |
| Location | Walt Disney World Speedway |
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.000 mi / 1.609 km |
| Distance | 149 laps 149.000 mi / 239.792 km |
| Scheduled Distance | 200 laps 200.000 mi / 321.869 km |
| Weather | Mixture of dry weather and rain; temperatures reaching up to 75.2 °F (24.0 °C) along with wind speeds reaching up to 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) |
| Pole position | |
| Driver | Tony Stewart (Team Menard) |
| Time | 21.685 |
| Fastest lap | |
| Driver | Tony Stewart (Team Menard) |
| Time | 22.579 (on lap 5 of 149) |
| Podium | |
| First | Eddie Cheever (Team Cheever) |
| Second | Mike Groff (Byrd-Cunningham Racing) |
| Third | Scott Goodyear (Treadway Racing) |
The 1997 Indy 200 at Walt Disney World was the third round of the 1996–1997 Indy Racing League. The race was held on January 25, 1997, at the 1.000 mi (1.609 km) Walt Disney World Speedway in Bay Lake, Florida, being the first IRL race of the calendar year 1997. It was the first race with the new chassis from Dallara and G-Force, as well as for the 4000 cc naturally aspirated engines supplied by Oldsmobile and Infiniti, and it marked the first time that a major open-wheel series contested a race with brand-new cars and engines. The race was won by Eddie Cheever after being called off on lap 149 of the scheduled 200 due to heavy rain.