1997 Indy Racing League Drivers Championship Standings
| # | Driver | Country | Overall | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  Tony Stewart |
 | 278 |  |
| 2. |  Davey Hamilton |
| 272 | |
| 3. | Eddie Cheever |
| 230 | |
| = | Marco Greco |
 | 230 | |
| 5. | Scott Goodyear |
 | 226 | |
| 6. | Arie Luyendyk |
 | 223 | |
| 7. | Roberto Guerrero |
 | 221 | |
| 8. |  Buddy Lazier |
| 209 | |
| 9. | Eliseo Salazar |
 | 208 | |
| 10. | Buzz Calkins |
| 204 | |
| 11. | Stephan Gregoire |
 | 192 | |
| 12. | Jim Guthrie |
| 186 | |
| 13. | Robbie Buhl |
| 170 | |
| 14. | Mike Groff |
| 169 | |
| 15. | John Paul Jr. |
| 163 | |
| 16. | Affonso Giaffone |
| 159 | |
| 17. | Mark Dismore |
| 158 | |
| 18. | Billy Boat |
| 151 | |
| 19. | Kenny Brack |
 | 139 | |
| 20. | Robbie Groff |
| 135 | |
| 21. | Vincenzo Sospiri |
 | 134 | |
| 22. |  Scott Sharp |
| 119 | |
| 23. | Jack Miller |
| 114 | |
| 24. | Tyce Carlson |
| 84 | |
| 25. | FermÃn Velez |
 | 82 | |
| 26. | Sam Schmidt |
| 76 | |
| = | Jimmy Kite |
| 76 | |
| 28. | Greg Ray |
| 73 | |
| 29. | Jeff Ward |
| 69 | |
| 30. | Billy Roe |
| 55 | |
| 31. | Jeret Schroeder |
| 37 | |
| 32. | Robby Gordon |
| 27 | |
| 33. | Alessandro Zampedri |
| 24 | |
| 34. | Paul Durant |
| 23 | |
| 35. | Lyn St. James |
| 22 | |
| = | Danny Ongais |
| 22 | |
| 37. | Steve Kinser |
| 21 | |
| 38. | Dennis Vitolo |
| 20 | |
| 39. | Michael Shank |
| 19 | |
| 40. | Allen May |
| 13 | |
| 41. | Claude Bourbonnais |
| 5 | |