1996 Las Vegas 500K

  1996–1997 Las Vegas

Race details
2nd Round of the 1996–97 Indy Racing League.
Date	September 15, 1996
Official name	Las Vegas 500K
Location	Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.500 / 2.414 km
Distance	200 laps, 300.000 mi / 482.803 km
Weather	Dry with temperatures reaching up to 90 °F (32 °C); maximum wind speeds of 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) reported throughout the day[1]
Pole
Driver	Arie Luyendyk	Treadway Racing
Time	23.842
Fastest Lap
Driver	Richie Hearn	Della Penna Motorsports
Time	24.636 (on lap 53 of 200)
Podium
First	Richie Hearn	Della Penna Motorsports
Second	Michel Jourdain, Jr.	Team Scandia
Third	Mike Groff	Byrd-Cunningham

The 1996 Las Vegas 500K was the second round of the 1996-1997 Indy Racing League. The race was held on September 15, 1996 at the 1.500 mi (2.414 km) Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Clark County, Nevada.^[2] This race was carried live on ABC, but a slow pace caused by several cautions saw the broadcast run late, and was ultimately cut off before the conclusion of the race.

Report

Key	Meaning
R	Rookie (in 1996)
W	Past winner

Qualifying

Pos	No.	Name	Lap 1	Lap 2	Best (in mph)
1	5	Arie Luyendyk	23.856	23.842	226.491
2	2	Tony Stewart R	24.083	24.202	224.225
3	50	Robby Gordon	24.234	24.175	223.371
4	91	Buddy Lazier	24.355	24.222	222.938
5	14	Davey Hamilton R	24.443	24.235	222.818
6	10	Mike Groff	24.285	Waved off	222.359
7	1	Scott Sharp	24.316	24.288	222.332
8	4	Richie Hearn R	24.576	24.378	221.511
9	21	Roberto Guerrero	24.569	24.469	220.678
10	3	Mark Dismore	24.577	24.795	219.718
11	6	Johnny O'Connell R	24.860	24.585	219.646
12	18	John Paul, Jr.	24.604	24.633	219.477
13	7	Eliseo Salazar	24.977	24.808	217.672
14	28	Tyce Carlson R	24.873	24.828	217.496
15	54	Robbie Buhl	25.328	24.967	216.285
16	12	Buzz Calkins R	25.230	25.001	215.991
17	16	Johnnie Parsons	25.017	25.092	215.853
18	33	Michele Alboreto R	25.155	25.100	215.139
19	27	Jim Guthrie R	25.120	Waved off	214.968
20	64	Johnny Unser	25.278	25.300	213.624
21	30	Stan Wattles R	25.418	25.333	213.161
22	22	Michel Jourdain, Jr. R	Waved off	25.398	212.615
23	34	Affonso Giaffone R	25.802	25.563	211.243
24	40	Marco Greco	25.937	25.691	210.190
25	8	Stephan Gregoire R	26.127	25.717	209.978
26	9	Brad Murphey R	26.388	26.219	205.958
27	51	Eddie Cheever	28.003	Waved off	192.836
28	15	Juan Carlos Carbonell R	30.204	29.800	181.208

Failed to qualify ow withdrew

• Dave Steele R for ABF Motorsports - Took part in the practice sessions, but did not attempt to qualify for the race.

Race

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Laps Led	Points
1	4	Richie Hearn R	Della Penna Motorsports	200	1:36:57.912	8	90	36
2	22	Michel Jourdain, Jr. R	Team Scandia	200	+ 1.693	22	0	33
3	10	Mike Groff	Byrd-Cunningham Racing	199	+ 1 lap	6	0	32
4	21	Roberto Guerrero	Pagan Racing	198	+ 2 laps	9	0	31
5	33	Michele Alboreto R	Team Scandia	197	+ 3 laps	18	0	30
6	12	Buzz Calkins R	Bradley Motorsports	197	+ 3 laps	16	0	29
7	7	Eliseo Salazar	Team Scandia	196	+ 4 laps	13	0	28
8	54	Robbie Buhl	Beck Motorsports	195	+ 5 laps	15	0	27
9	40	Marco Greco	Team Scandia-Arizona	191	+ 9 laps	24	0	26
10	34	Affonso Giaffone R	Team Scandia	190	+ 10 laps	23	0	25
11	14	Davey Hamilton R	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	187	+ 13 laps	5	0	24
12	6	Johnny O'Connell R	Treadway Racing	183	Accident T4	11	3	23
13	27	Jim Guthrie R	Blueprint Racing	182	+ 18 laps	19	0	22
14	50	Robby Gordon	Walker Racing	179	Wheel Bearing	3	60	21
15	18	John Paul, Jr.	PDM Racing	170	+ 30 laps	12	22	20
16	1	Scott Sharp	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	168	Wheel Bearing	7	0	19
17	3	Mark Dismore	Team Menard	149	Accident T4	10	0	18
18	30	Stan Wattles R	McCormack Motorsports	119	Accident T4	21	0	17
19	15	Juan Carlos Carbonell R	Tempero/Giuffre Racing	112	Overheating	28	0	16
20	5	Arie Luyendyk	Treadway Racing	106	Accident T1	1	25	17
21	2	Tony Stewart R	Team Menard	77	Accident T2	2	0	14
22	64	Johnny Unser	Project Indy	67	Wheel Bearing	20	0	13
23	28	Tyce Carlson R	PDM Racing	53	Accident T2	14	0	12
24	91	Buddy Lazier	Hemelgarn Racing	35	Handling	4	0	11
25	51	Eddie Cheever	Team Cheever	27	Accident T2	27	0	10
26	8	Stephan Gregoire R	Team Scandia	27	Accident T2	25	0	9
27	9	Brad Murphey R	Hemelgarn Racing	26	Accident T2	26	0	8
28	16	Johnny Parsons	Blueprint Racing	7	Accident T4	17	0	7

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Mike Groff 63 2= Michele Alboreto 62 2= Buzz Calkins 62 4 Roberto Guerrero 60 5 Richie Hearn 59 Note: Only the top five positions are included for the standings. References "1996 Las Vegas 500K weather information". Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2013-10-13. Glick, Shav (September 15, 1996). "Fast Beginning Likely at the Las Vegas 500K". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-07-02. External links IndyCar official website