The Indy 500 was scheduled for May 25 , 1997 , but the start was delayed until the 26th and was halted by rain, the race was finally completed on Tuesday the 27th. Arie Luyendyk sat on pole.
This race took place June 7 , 1997 at Texas Motor Speedway . Race officials had presented the checkered flag to Billy Boat as winner of the race, but Arie Luyendyk stormed to victory lane claiming he had won the race. Boat's owner A.J. Foyt slapped Luyendyk and told him to leave. The race tape was reviewed and it was determined that laps where Luyendyk passed through pit road were not properly counted by the scoring system and that he indeed was the winner. Foyt, however refused to return the trophy and retains a copy to this day. A duplicate was awarded to Luyendyk.
