1996 Indy Lights season

The 1996 PPG/Firestone Indy Lights Championship Powered By Buick consisted of 12 races. Canadian David Empringham captured three wins on his way to the championship.

Team and driver chart
The following drivers and teams competed in the series:

Homestead race
Held March 3 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. David Empringham won the pole.

Top Five Results
 * 1) David Empringham
 * 2) Chris Simmons
 * 3) Mark Hotchkis
 * 4) David DeSilva
 * 5) Jeff Ward

Long Beach race
Held April 14 at Long Beach, California Street Course. Gualter Salles won the pole.

Top Five Results
 * 1) David Empringham
 * 2) Tony Kanaan
 * 3) Gualter Salles
 * 4) Hélio Castro-Neves
 * 5) Alex Padilla

Nazareth race
Held April 28 at Nazareth Speedway. Claude Bourbonnais won the pole.

Top Five Results
 * 1) David DeSilva
 * 2) David Empringham
 * 3) Mark Hotchkis
 * 4) Chris Simmons
 * 5) Jeff Ward

Michigan race
Held May 25 at Michigan International Speedway. David Empringham won the pole.

Top Five Results
 * 1) David Empringham
 * 2) Mark Hotchkis
 * 3) Jeff Ward
 * 4) Robby Unser
 * 5) Hélio Castro-Neves

Milwaukee race
Held June 2 at The Milwaukee Mile. Mark Hotchkis won the pole.

Top Five Results
 * 1) Mark Hotchkis
 * 2) Greg Ray
 * 3) David Empringham
 * 4) Gualter Salles
 * 5) Chris Simmons

Detroit race
Held June 9 at Belle Isle Raceway. David Empringham won the pole.

Top Five Results
 * 1) Tony Kanaan
 * 2) Alex Padilla
 * 3) Claude Bourbonnais
 * 4) José Luis Di Palma
 * 5) Jaki Scheckter

Portland race
Held June 23 at Portland International Raceway. Tony Kanaan won the pole.

Top Five Results
 * 1) Gualter Salles
 * 2) Alex Padilla
 * 3) David Empringham
 * 4) Claude Bourbonnais
 * 5) Tony Kanaan

Cleveland race
Held June 30 at Burke Lakefront Airport. Mark Hotchkis won the pole.

Top Five Results
 * 1) Gualter Salles
 * 2) Claude Bourbonnais
 * 3) Hélio Castro-Neves
 * 4) Nick Firestone
 * 5) Hideki Noda

Toronto race
Held July 14 at Exhibition Place. Jeff Ward won the pole.

Top Five Results
 * 1) Gualter Salles
 * 2) Claude Bourbonnais
 * 3) Hideki Noda
 * 4) Shigeaki Hattori
 * 5) Alex Padilla

Trois-Rivières race
Held August 4 at the Trois-Rivières, Quebec Street Circuit. Hélio Castro-Neves won the pole.

Top Five Results
 * 1) Hélio Castro-Neves
 * 2) Tony Kanaan
 * 3) Alex Padilla
 * 4) David Empringham
 * 5) Bertrand Godin

Vancouver race
Held September 1 at Pacific Place. Jeff Ward won the pole.

Top Five Results
 * 1) Claude Bourbonnais
 * 2) Tony Kanaan
 * 3) Jeff Hotchkis
 * 4) Alex Padilla
 * 5) David Empringham

Laguna Seca race
Held September 8 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Tony Kanaan won the pole.

Top Five Results
 * 1) Tony Kanaan
 * 2) Hélio Castro-Neves
 * 3) Claude Bourbonnais
 * 4) Alex Padilla
 * 5) Jeff Ward

Drivers' championship

 * Scoring system


 * The driver who qualifies on pole is awarded one additional point.
 * An additional point is awarded to the driver who leads the most laps in a race.


 * Ties in points broken by number of wins, or best finishes.