Eliseo Salazar is driving for Nienhouse Motorsports in '99 Pep Boys series. Suffered serious injuries in 1998 at Dover and missed final five races. Scored first-ever Indy-car victory in 1997 Indy Racing League finale at Las Vegas after breaking his back in January testing accident. Ran four years of F-1.

Salazar was part of a Riley & Scott factory effort in 1998. A proven winner and his team shoed with the big bucks of Reebok, Salazar crashed while running for the pole at Indy and ended up an alternate for the IRL's premier event.

Salazar's long and difficult 1996-97 season was finally rewarded in the season finale at Las Vegas. Salazar topped an extremely competitive field to gain engineer Dick Simon his first Indy car victory in several decades of trying. Salazar had returned from an injury in testing at Orlando to qualify ninth at the Indianapolis 500. He finished 24th there but came back with a seventh at Texas and a fourth at New Hampshire before gaining a trip to victory lane.

Salazar began his professional racing career in 1974 as the Chilean Saloon Cars Champion. He captured the Argentine Formula Ford championship in 1978 and moved on to compete in British Formula 3 the next year.

By the end of 1980 he had won three races in Aurora British Formula One including the International Trophy at Silverstone. He placed second in the championship.

Salazar was the first Chilean to compete in Formula One. In his rookie year, 1981, he placed sixth at the Dutch Grand Prix with Ensign. He continued F1 competition through 1983 racing for Dome, ATS and Ram.

He returned to the South American circuit and won back-to-back Chilean Champion Rally Hill Climbs in 1984-85 with a Toyota Corolla. The next two years were spent running Formula 3000.

By 1994 he was runing the IMSA World Sports Car season for Momo-Ferrari. He started 16 of 17 PPG Cup events for Dick Simon Racing on way to a fourth-place finish in IndyCar Rookie of the Year standings in 1995. He also finished fourth in his first Indianapolis 500 in 1995.

In 1996 he wrecked at Orlando but returned to post a sixth-place finish at Indianapolis.

Sources: Star/News and SpeedNet staff reports.