1996 Michigan 500
The 1996 Michigan 500, the sixteenth running of the event, was held at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan, on Sunday, July 28, 1996. Branded as the 1996 Marlboro 500 for sponsorship reasons, the race was won by Andre Ribeiro, his last Indy Car victory. The event was race number 12 of 16 in the 1996 PPG Indy Car World Series. Background Tony George, owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, formed the Indy Racing League as an alternative to CART. While the Indianapolis 500 had continued to be sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC) since the formation of CART in 1979, CART teams and drivers represented the vast majority of the Indy field, and USAC had taken steps to ensure that the technical specifications for Indy did not preclude CART teams from participating. In 1996, however, following his creation of the IRL, George stipulated that 25 of the 33 starting positions at Indy would be reserved for the top 25 cars which ran events in his series. This move created potential scheduling conflicts with CART-sanctioned events. Interpreting this policy as a lockout of CART teams, the CART board agreed to stage the U.S. 500 at an alternative