The 1996 PPG Indy Car World Series season was the eighteenth in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) era of American open-wheel car racing . It consisted of 16 races, beginning in Homestead, Florida on March 3 and concluding in Monterey, California on September 8. This was the first season after the split with the Indy Racing League and the last year that CART operated under the name "IndyCar", with the trademark reverting to Indianapolis Motor Speedway at season's end. The Indianapolis 500 was replaced by the U.S. 500 , held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan .
The PPG Indy Car World Series Drivers' Champion was Jimmy Vasser , whose Honda/Reynard won four of the first six races, including the inaugural US 500 . Rookie of the Year was Alex Zanardi . The competition soon starting catching up to Vasser, who had to fend off two late challenges from veterans: Al Unser Jr. 's consistent performance saw him come close to tying Vasser late in the season, but his hopes evaporated after a last-lap crash at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and an engine failure while leading on the final turn at Road America . Michael Andretti 's resulting victory there and in Vancouver put him in contention at the final race, but a disappointing result at Laguna Seca gave Vasser the championship. Rookie driver Jeff Krosnoff and a course worker died in an accident at the Toronto round, and one week later, Emerson Fittipaldi was in a serious accident at the start of the Marlboro 500 and had to retire.
The following teams and drivers competed in the 1996 Indy Car World Series season.
Team
Chassis
Engine
Tires
No
Drivers
Rounds
Primary Sponsor
Brahma Sports Team
Reynard 96I
Ford Cosworth XD
G
1
Raul Boesel
Alle
Brahma
Marlboro Team Penske
Penske PC-25
Mercedes IC 108C
G
2
Al Unser Jr.
Alle
Marlboro
3
Paul Tracy
1–12, 14–16
Jan Magnussen
13
Target/Chip Ganassi Racing
Reynard 96I
Honda HRH
F
4
Alex Zanardi R
Alle
Target
12
Jimmy Vasser
Alle
Walker Racing
Reynard 96I
Ford Cosworth XD
G
5
Robby Gordon
Alle
Valvoline
Reynard 96I
Ford Cosworth XB
G
15
Scott Goodyear
1–2, 11, 15–16
Valvoline DuraBlend
Mike Groff
5
Fredrik Ekblom
6
Newman/Haas Racing
Lola T96/00
Ford Cosworth XD
G
6
Michael Andretti
Alle
Texaco -Havoline
11
Christian Fittipaldi
Alle
Budweiser
Team Scandia
Lola T96/00
Ford Cosworth XB
G
7
Marco Greco
1–2
Int. Sports/Perry Ellis
Eliseo Salazar
7, 9, 12–13
Cristal
22
Carlos Guerrero
1–3
Herdez
Michel Jourdain Jr. R
4, 7–9, 15–16
Hall Racing
Reynard 96I
Honda HRH
G
8
Gil de Ferran
Alle
Pennzoil
Hogan Penske Racing
Penske PC-25
Mercedes IC 108C
G
9
Emerson Fittipaldi
1–12
Mobil 1
Jan Magnussen R
14–16
Galles Racing International
Lola T96/00
Mercedes IC 108C
G
10
Eddie Lawson R
1–11
Delco Electronics
Davy Jones
12–16
Bettenhausen Motorsports
Reynard 96I
Mercedes IC 108C
G
16
Stefan Johansson
Alle
Alumax
Penske PC-23
Mercedes IC 108C
G
26
Gary Bettenhausen
6
Alumax
PacWest Racing Group
Reynard 96I
Ford Cosworth XB
G
17
Maurício Gugelmin
Alle
Hollywood Cigarettes
21
Mark Blundell R
1–2, 6–16
Visa
Teo Fabi
4–5
Team Rahal
Reynard 96I
Mercedes IC 108C
G
18
Bobby Rahal
Alle
Miller
28
Bryan Herta
Alle
Shell
Payton/Coyne Racing
Lola T96/00
Ford Cosworth XB
F
19
Hiro Matsushita
Alle
Panasonic
34
Roberto Moreno
Alle
Data Control
Patrick Racing
Lola T96/00
Ford Cosworth XD
F
20
Scott Pruett
Alle
Firestone
Arciero-Wells Racing
Reynard 96I
Toyota RV8A
F
25
Jeff Krosnoff R
1–11
Arciero-Wells Racing MCI
Max Papis R
13–14, 16
Tasman Motorsports Group
Lola T96/00
Honda HRH
F
31
André Ribeiro
Alle
LCI International
32
Adrián Fernández
Alle
Tecate
All American Racers
Eagle MK-V
Toyota RV8A
G
36
Juan Manuel Fangio II R
Alle
Castrol
98
P. J. Jones R
6–16
Della Penna Motorsports
Reynard 95I
Ford Cosworth XB
G
44
Richie Hearn R
4, 11, 16
Ralphs
Brix Comptech Racing
Reynard 96I
Honda HRH
F
49
Parker Johnstone
Alle
Motorola
Project Indy
Reynard 95I
Ford Cosworth XB
G
64
Dennis Vitolo
4
SmithKline Beecham
Player's/Forsythe Racing
Reynard 96I
Mercedes IC 108C
F
99
Greg Moore R
Alle
Player's
Rnd
Date
Race Name
Circuit
Standort
1
March 3
Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami Presented by Toyota
O Homestead Motorsports Complex
Homestead, Florida
2
March 17
IndyCar Rio 400
O Autódromo de Jacarepaguá
Rio de Janeiro , Brazil
3
March 31
Indy Carnival
R Surfers Paradise Street Circuit
Surfers Paradise , Australia
4
April 14
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
R Streets of Long Beach
Long Beach, California
5
April 28
Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix
O Nazareth Speedway
Nazareth, Pennsylvania
6
May 26
U.S. 500
O Michigan International Speedway
Brooklyn, Michigan
7
June 2
Miller 200
O Milwaukee Mile
West Allis, Wisconsin
8
June 9
ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix
R The Raceway on Belle Isle Park
Detroit , Michigan
9
June 23
Budweiser/G. I. Joe's 200
R Portland International Raceway
Portland, Oregon
10
June 30
Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland
R Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport
Cleveland, Ohio
11
July 14
Molson Indy Toronto
R Exhibition Place
Toronto, Ontario
12
July 28
Marlboro 500
O Michigan International Speedway
Brooklyn, Michigan
13
August 11
Miller 200
R Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Lexington, Ohio
14
August 18
The Chicago Tribune Presents the Texaco/Havoline 200
R Road America
Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
15
September 1
Molson Indy Vancouver
R Concord Pacific Place
Vancouver, Britisch-Kolumbien
16
September 8
Toyota Grand Prix of Monterey Featuring the Bank of America 300
R Laguna Seca Raceway
Monterey, California
– Toronto was scheduled to run 170 miles, but was shortened due to the fatal accident of Jeff Krosnoff .
O Oval/Speedway
R Road/Street course
Final driver standings
edit
Color
Result
Gold
Winner
Silver
2nd place
Bronze
3rd place
Green
4th–6th place
Light Blue
7th–12th place
Dark Blue
Finished (Outside Top 12)
Purple
Did not finish
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
Kühn
Pole position
Italics
Ran fastest race lap
*
Led most race laps
RY
Rookie of the Year
R
Rookie
Note: 1 Jeff Krosnoff died in an accident at the Molson Indy Toronto .
Top result per race counts towards Nations' Cup.