1997 Las Vegas 500K


The 1997 Las Vegas 500K was the tenth and final round of the 1996–1997 Indy Racing League. The race was held on October 11, 1997 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Report

Qualifying

  1. Had an engine failure in the last practice session, and tried to qualify in a last-minute effort, only to wave off his attempt. He was allowed to start the race at the back of the field.
  2. Had an engine failure in the last practice session, and a spare was not ready on time. He was allowed to start the race at the back of the field.
  3. Changed to a backup car for the race, following a crash in a practice session after qualifying.

    Race

The race began under cold and windy conditions that caused tire problems, which resulted in two accidents occurring immediately after pit stops. Greg Ray slid into the wall in turn-2 on lap 38, and about 25 laps later Sam Schmidt spun coming out of turn-2 and hit the wall. Buzz Calkins and Jack Miller both ran into debris from Schmidt's car, and all three were out.
Pole sitter Billy Boat did not stay up front very long; Jeff Ward quickly took charge until he began having engine problems and then Mark Dismore moved into the lead. Affonso Giaffone took the lead on lap 100, but during a pit stop on lap 116 a wheel was not tightened properly and it came off as Giaffone pulled back onto the track, damaging the suspension and undercarriage. Giaffone would finish, but well back.
Several drivers then dueled for the lead until Salazar took over; the veteran driver led most of the rest of the way and survived a two-lap sprint with Scott Goodyear after a late caution to win. The caution occurred when Roberto Guerrero touched wheels with a slower car and suffered a frightening accident; the car became airborne and then barrel-rolled through the infield grass on the backstretch. It was the first time an IRL car had been upside down during a live run, and the safety systems worked as planned: Guerrero walked away with minor injuries.
Both of the championship contenders, Stewart and Davey Hamilton, had problems; Stewart won the title owing to the points lead that he had coming in. This race marked the first competition for the new Riley & Scott chassis, with Stan Wattles taking one to an eighth-place finish. Eliseo Salazar took home his first IRL victory as Tony Stewart clinched the 1997 championship.
PosNo.DriverTeamLapsTime/RetiredGridLaps
Led		Points
17 Eliseo SalazarTeam Scandia2082:11:07.00057036
26 Scott GoodyearTreadway-Shelby Racing208+ 1.204 sec8533
33 Robbie BuhlTeam Menard208Running41232
427 Jim Guthrie RBlueprint Racing208Running19931
528 Mark DismoreKelley Racing-PDM208Running94530
633 Jimmy Kite RTeam Scandia208Running7029
714 Davey HamiltonA. J. Foyt Enterprises207+ 1 lap2128
819 Stan Wattles RMetro Racing Systems206+ 2 laps25027
977 Stéphan GrégoireChastain Motorsports204Gearbox16026
1070 Marco GrecoGalles Racing204+ 4 laps10025
112 Tony StewartTeam Menard204+ 4 laps3024
1218 John Paul, Jr.PDM Racing201+ 7 laps24023
1324 Billy Roe RRoe Racing198+ 10 laps26022
1421 Roberto GuerreroPagan Racing197Accident18021
1517 Affonso Giaffone RChitwood Motorsports193+ 15 laps111620
1623 Mike Shank RNienhouse Motorsports191+ 17 laps28019
1735 Jeff Ward RSRS-ISM Racing168Overheat124118
1830 Robbie Groff RMcCormack Motorsports168+ 40 laps27017
199 Johnny UnserHemelgarn Racing142Engine30016
204 Kenny Bräck RGalles Racing139Suspension13615
2151 Eddie CheeverTeam Cheever129Engine29014
2222 Vincenzo Sospiri R Team Scandia114Mechanical15013
231 Billy Boat RA. J. Foyt Enterprises97Electrical1314
2495 Tyce Carlson RIZ Racing96Ignition23011
255 Arie LuyendykTreadway-Shelby Racing72Engine6010
2610 Paul Durant RByrd-Cunningham Racing62Mechanical3109
2799 Sam Schmidt RLP Racing-PCI60Accident2208
2812 Buzz CalkinsBradley Motorsports60Accident2107
2940 Jack Miller RArizona Motorsports59Accident1706
3097 Greg Ray RKnapp Motorsports35Accident2005
3191 Buddy LazierHemelgarn Racing4Mechanical1404

Race Statistics

;Drivers' Championship standings
PosDriverPoints
1 Tony Stewart278
2 Davey Hamilton272
3 Marco Greco230
4 Eddie Cheever230
5 Scott Goodyear226