IndyCar races in Las Vegas

This article is about IndyCar race at Las Vegas. For the series, seeIndyCar Series.For other races in Las Vegas, seeLas Vegas Grand Prix (disambiguation).

TheIZOD IndyCar World Championship Presented by Hondawas anIndyCar Seriesrace on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km)Las Vegas Motor Speedway,held from 1996 to 2000, and again in 2011. It was first known as the Las Vegas 500k. The Champ Car World Series held a race at the track during the2004and2005seasons as doubleheaders with theNASCAR Camping World Truck Seriesand a street race was held in Las Vegas at theFremont Street Experiencein 2007.

IZOD IndyCar World Championship

IndyCar Series
Venue	Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Corporatesponsor	Izod,Honda
First race	1996
Last race	2011
Distance	300 miles
Laps	200
Previous names	Silver State Century(1954) Las Vegas 500K(1996-1998) Vegas 500(1999) Vegas Indy 300(2000) Bridgestone 400 Presented by Corona"Double Down in the Desert" (2004) Champ Car Hurricane Relief 400"Double Down in the Desert" (2005) Vegas Grand Prix(2007) IZOD IndyCar World Championship Presented by Honda(2011)

Race history

AAA Championship Car

TheSilver State Centurywas a 100-lap/100-mile race at Las Vegas Park, a dirt track in Las Vegas.Jimmy Bryanwas the winner of the race's lone running.

Stardust Raceway

Main article:Stardust International Raceway

TheUSAC Championship Carseries held a race on the short-livedStardust International Racewayin 1968.Bobby Unserwon theStardust 150ahead ofMario AndrettiandJoe Leonard.

Caesars Palace

Main article:Caesars Palace Grand Prix

Starting in 1981,Formula Onescheduled a race on laid out in the parking lot of theCaesars Palacehotel. Following mediocre crowds, Formula One left after only two years. In 1983,CARTpicked up where Formula One left off, and started holding a race on the same course (albeit the layout was modified). After two editions under CART sanctioning, the race ended.

Indy Racing League

In 1996,Las Vegas Motor Speedwaywas announced as a venue for the newly formedIndy Racing League.The facility was still under construction when it was added to the1996-97 season.

For the first four runnings, the race was advertised as a 500 km race. Starting in 1997, the race was moved to a night race. In 2000, it was moved from the fall to the spring, and returned to a day race. After 2000, the race was removed from theIndyCar Seriesfor a decade.

Champ Car

In 2004–2005, theChamp Carseries held a 400-kilometre (250 mi) race atLas Vegas Motor Speedway.Both editions were held under the lights on a Saturday night as part of theNASCARCraftsman Truck Seriesweekend in the fall. After only two years, however, the race was considered unpopular and was removed from the schedule.

For 2005, the name of the race was changed to theHurricane Relief 400,and it served as a fundraiser forHurricane Katrinarecovery.

Fremont Street

Fremont Street circuit, which was the place of2007 Vegas Grand Prix.

In July 2006, theLas Vegas City Councilapproved a 2.44-mile (3.93 km), 14-turn, counterclockwise street circuit inDowntown Las Vegasarea near theFremont Street Experience.Champ Carheld their first event onEaster Sunday,April 8, 2007. The race was titled theVegas Grand Prix.The course was generally liked by competitors and fans. With the dissolution of the Champ Car World Series in 2008, the event was cancelled after only one running.

Lap Records

Category	Time	Driver	Vehicle	Date
Grand Prix Circuit: 3.927 km (2007)
Champ Car	1:19.934	Will Power	Panoz DP01	2007 Vegas Grand Prix

IZOD IndyCar World Championships

2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship logo

The fiery crash in the2011 racethat killedDan Wheldon

On February 22, 2011, IndyCar CEORandy Bernardannounced the IZOD IndyCar World Championships to be held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, reviving the 200-lap, 300-mile race format on the new variable banking. The race was adopted as a tripleheader, with the NASCAR Camping World Truck SeriesSmith's 350on Saturday and for the first time, a 100.5-mileFirestone Indy Lightsrace on Sunday morning.

Thefirst INDYCAR race since 2000started with a hard-charging Indy Lights race whereSam Schmidt MotorsportsteammatesJosef Newgarden,Esteban Guerrieri,andVictor Carbonebattled each other on the final lap, but Carbone cut the new Indy Lights champion Newgarden's tire on the Nellis Straightaway, leading Guerrieri and Carbone to fight for the win in a side-by-side finish, with Carbone winning by.0229 seconds.

The 200-lap IndyCar feature ended on lap 12 after a 15-car crash that claimed the life of fellow Sam Schmidt Motorsports driverDan Wheldon.IndyCar decided that the race would not continue, and spectators were offered refunds of all Sunday tickets that were used, and partial refunds of multiple-day tickets (Qualifying and NASCAR tickets could not be refunded, as Friday qualifying and Saturday NASCAR events finished without incident, so only the portion relating with the Sunday race could be processed).

As a result of the incident, on December 8, 2011, Bernard announced that the IndyCar World Championships would not return to Las Vegas in 2012. The Smith's 350, which had been set for the IndyCar weekend, was moved up two weeks.

Indy Autonomous Challenge

INDYCAR returned in 2022 with a unique autonomous racing event, theIndy Autonomous Challenge,held as a special event during theConsumer Electronics Show.Colleges participate in a series of challenges on the 1.5 mile oval with car required to overtake cars at different rates of speed.

Past winners

Las Vegas Park (dirt oval)

Season	Date	Driver	Team	Car	Race Distance		Race Time	Average Speed (mph)	Ref
					Laps	Miles (km)
1954	November 14	Jimmy Bryan	Dean Van Lines	Kuzma-Offy	100	100 (160.934)	1:10:44	84.818

Fremont Street circuit

Season	Date	Driver	Team	Car	Race Distance		Race Time	Average Speed (mph)	Report	Ref
					Laps	Miles (km)
2007	April 8	Will Power	Walker Racing	Panoz-Cosworth	68	165.92 (267.022)	1:45:13	93.056	Report

Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Season	Date	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine	Race Distance		Race Time	Average Speed (mph)	Report	Ref
						Laps	Miles (km)
IndyCar Serieshistory
1996–97	Sept 15, 1996	Richie Hearn	Della Penna Motorsports	Reynard	Ford-Cosworth	200	300 (482.803)	2:36:17	115.171	Report
	Oct 11, 1997	Eliseo Salazar	Team Scandia	Dallara	Oldsmobile	208	312 (502.115)	2:11:07	142.757	Report
1998	October 11	Arie Luyendyk	Treadway Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	208	312 (502.115)	2:18:19	135.338	Report
1999	September 25	Sam Schmidt	Treadway Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	208	312 (502.115)	2:29:50	124.196	Report
2000	March 22	Al Unser Jr.	Galles Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	208	312 (502.115)	2:16:57	136.691	Report
Champ Car World Serieshistory
2004	September 25	Sébastien Bourdais	Newman/Haas Racing	Lola	Ford-Cosworth	166	249 (400.726)	1:29:01	167.832	Report
2005	September 24	Sébastien Bourdais	Newman/Haas Racing	Lola	Ford-Cosworth	166	249 (400.726)	1:26:22	172.962	Report
IndyCar Serieshistory
2011	October 16	Race abandoned after 12 laps -- 15-car crash on lap 11 and death ofDan Wheldon								Report

Firestone Indy Lights

In 2011, the Firestone Indy Lights support race was added to the World Championships.

Season	Date	Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine	Race Distance		Race Time	Average Speed (mph)	Ref
						Laps	Miles (km)
2011	October 16	Victor Carbone	Sam Schmidt Motorsports	Dallara	Infiniti	67	100.5 (161.739)	0:35:26	175.153

External links

• IndyCar race page