2000 Indy Racing League

The 2000 Indy Racing Northern Light Series was the fifth season of the Indy Racing League. The season consisted of nine races, all on oval circuits. The showcase event of the season was the 84th running of the Indianapolis 500.
The season 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 Indianapolis 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.
A planned race at Cleveland – which would have been the Indy Racing League's first road course event – was cancelled on September 9, 1999, and reverted to a CART event.

Confirmed entries

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

Drivers

Rounds

Results

Note: All races running on Oval/Speedway.

Race summaries

Delphi Indy 200

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

This was Robbie Buhl's 2nd and final IndyCar victory.
This was the final Indy Racing League event at the track.

MCI WorldCom Indy 200

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

This was the first victory for the Riley & Scott chassis

Vegas Indy 300

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

This was Al Unser Jr.'s 1st victory since the 1995 CART Molson Indy Vancouver and his 1st IRL victory.

84th Indianapolis 500">2000 Indianapolis 500">84th Indianapolis 500

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

Juan Pablo Montoya was the 1st rookie since Graham Hill to win the Indianapolis 500 as a rookie.
Buddy Lazier took over the points lead after this race by 26 points over Robbie Buhl.

Casino Magic 500

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

This was Robby McGehee's best ever finish.
Shigeaki Hattori debuts after a disappointing 1999 CART season which ended after his CART competition license was revoked at Laguna Seca.

Radisson 200

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

This was the Infiniti engine's 1st victory.
This was Cheevers penultimate IndyCar victory.

Midas 500 Classic

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

Belterra Resort Indy 300

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

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

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

This was the final race victory for Scott Goodyear as he lost his ride to Sam Hornish Jr. in the off-season, then during the 2001 Indianapolis 500 he would suffer career ending injuries after a huge accident during that race.