1996 Las Vegas 500K

1996 Las Vegas

Race details
2nd round of the1996–1997 Indy Racing League season
Date	September 15, 1996
Official name	Las Vegas 500K
Location	Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.500 mi / 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
Pole position
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 Racing)

The1996 Las Vegas 500Kwas the second round of the1996-1997 Indy Racing League.The race was held on September 15, 1996, and was the inaugural event for the 1.500 mi (2.414 km)Las Vegas Motor SpeedwayinClark County, Nevada.It was the fifth and last race for the IRL in the year 1996, and, thus, the last race contested under the frozen 1995 IndyCar regulations, before the arrival of a new chassis and engine formula for 1997.Richie Hearnwas the winner of the race, which was defined by its multiple crashes and high attrition, with nine lengthy cautions, 83 laps under yellow, a red flag and four drivers being extricated from their cars.

At 300 miles in length, it tied the existing record for non-500 mile Indy Car oval races, alongside theTrenton 300(1969 - 1972) and the 1966Atlanta 300.The race was completed at an average speed of just 115.171 mph, the slowest average for an Indy car superspeedway race since the1946 Indianapolis 500,completed at an average of 114.820 mph in a time where qualifying speeds were 100 mph slower. It would also be the slowest race held at the Las Vegas oval by a major racing series until the2018 edition of the NASCAR Cup Series race.

Report

Pre-Race

Less than a month after the season opener atNew Hampshire,the Indy Racing League was set to cut the ribbon of the newLas Vegas Motor Speedway,even though some amenities and facilities within the track were still under construction. In the meantime,Michel Jourdain Jr.raced in the last two Indy Car events of the year atVancouverandLaguna Seca,sharing the grid in the latter withRichie Hearn.Tony Stewarttook part in all three of theNASCAR Busch Seriesheld between the IRL events, andJohn Paul Jr.had successful outings inIMSA GT,with a win atMosportand a third place in a street course at Dallas.

In the meantime, the League secured the addition of another new venue, theTexas Motor Speedway.The 500-kilometre race, to be held on June 7, 1997, was announced as the first round of the planned 1997–98 season, despite being scheduled just two weeks after the Indianapolis 500.Before the announcementTeam Menardheld a private test atAtlanta Motor Speedway,another track owned byBruton Smith'sSpeedway Motorsports,which fueled speculations about a future IRL round.Tony Stewart's fastest lap was reportedly in the 213 mph range.

The entry list was unveiled on September 4, with 26 drivers listed.Treadway Racingadded a two-year-old car forJohnny O'Connell,who skipped the New Hampshire race after losing his ride with Byrd-Cunningham Racing.Dave Steele,having failed to pass his rookie test before the New Hampshire round, andJuan Carlos Carbonell,who also failed at New Hampshire but got to pass his test on an August 25 test at Phoenix, were entered again by ABF Motorsports andTempero–Giuffre Racing,whileJohnny ParsonsandMichel Jourdain Jr.were back in their regular Team Blueprint Racing andTeam Scandiarides after missing the previous round. IndyCar teamWalker Racingentered a car without a driver assignment, andLyn St. Jamesalso filled an entry without a car assigned. It would not be found in time for the race weekend, eventually forcing her to withdraw.One week before the race,Della Penna Motorsportsannounced it would leave the IRL in 1997 to complete its expected full-time move to theIndyCar World Series,withRichie Hearnas a driver.

Practice and qualifying

More entries were filled on race week for total of 29 drivers, a new record for a non-Indy 500 IRL race. On September 11, Walker confirmed thatRobby Gordonwould drive with the team at Las Vegas, this being his last race with the team as he was bound toNASCARfor 1997. Gordon had ended a lacklustre IndyCar season the week prior, but was considered by the media as the marquee name of the event.Scandia also entered another car, to be run as a second entry by the Arizona Motorsports crew, for Brazilian rookieAffonso Giaffone,who had finished third in the1995 Indy Lights season.Despite being absent from the first entry list,Tyce CarlsonandBrad Murpheywere confirmed to retain their drives atPDM RacingandHemelgarn Racing.Like Carbonell and Steele, Giaffone was required to pass the USAC rookie test, along withStan Wattles,who had not run in a superspeedway-type event during a race weekend.

The track was deemed to be even more dirty than in June testing as practice opened.Buddy Lazierled the Friday morning practice with a 221.766 mph lap, followed byRichie HearnandEliseo Salazar.In the afternoon practice, Lazier finished third and was the first driver to beatRichie Hearn's unofficial lap record from testing.Neither of them got even close toArie Luyendyk,who led the proceedings with an impressive lap of 229.768 mph, leadingMark Dismoreby almost 5 mph.Luyendyk remained as the pace-setter on Saturday morning practice with a lap of 226.757 mph, faster than anyone else by 2 mph.Roberto Guerrerofinished second ahead ofMike Groff,but he crashed in Turn 2 one hour into the session. Guerrero was testingPagan's backup car, a Reynard 94I that offered less drag and was being prepared to qualify before the crash. With the session nearing its end,Dave Steelealso crashed between Turns 1 and 2. He had been allowed to qualify despite topping at 202 mph, but his Lola T92 was too damaged and ABF Motorsports lacked a back-up car, which forced them to withdraw from the event.

In qualifying, championship leaderScott Sharpwas the first driver to go over 220 mph with a 222.322 mph lap, being edged first byMike Grofffirst and then byRobby Gordon.Tony Stewarthad mechanical issues on Friday afternoon and had finished 12th in all practice sessions, but Team Menard found enough speed to put Stewart on the provisional pole with a 224.225 mph lap. However, it would not be a match forArie Luyendyk,as the Dutch was the only driver to lap under 24 seconds with two laps in 226 mph, and scored his third career pole position with a best lap of 226.491 mph. Stewart qualified second, with Gordon and Lazier making up the second row.Davey Hamiltonand Groff qualified in a career-best fifth and sixth place, in front of Sharp.

Among the newcomers,Affonso Giaffonequalified in 23rd place andJuan Carlos Carbonellwas last with a very slow lap of 181.208 mph, six seconds off Luyendyk's time. During practice, Carbonell had not turned a lap above 194 mph.Michele Alboretowas restricted to an 18th place with pop-off valve issues;Michel Jourdain Jr.,tenth fastest in morning practice, qualified in 22nd place after he waved off his first lap and lost a cylinder, andEddie Cheeversuffered an engine failure just before taking the green flag, which left him in 27th place.

That morning,Galles Racingannounced it would field a team in the Indy Racing League in 1997 withDavy Jones,who finished second at the Indy 500 and had taken the place ofEddie Lawsona few months earlier, as their driver. Also, three-timeTour de FrancewinnerGreg LeMondannounced he would start a career in open-wheel racing inIndy Lights,although he later decided to race in the lowerU.S. F2000 Championshipinstead. During a Shelby Pro Series support race, held before the last IRL practice session, a 49-year-old retired Las Vegas police officer named R.C. "Rod" Mathis suffered multiple injuries in a crash at Turn 4, at 3:20 p.m.He was airlifted toUniversity Medical Center of Southern Nevada,where he was pronounced dead at 10:49 p.m., becoming the first fatality at theLas Vegas Motor Speedway.

Pos	No.	Name	Lap 1	Lap 2	Best (in mph)
1	5	Arie Luyendyk	23.856	23.842	226.491
2	2	Tony StewartR	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 HamiltonR	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 HearnR	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'ConnellR	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 CarlsonR	24.873	24.828	217.496
15	54	Robbie Buhl	25.328	24.967	216.285
16	12	Buzz CalkinsR	25.230	25.001	215.991
17	16	Johnny Parsons	25.017	25.092	215.853
18	33	Michele AlboretoR	25.155	25.100	215.139
19	27	Jim GuthrieR	25.120	Waved off	214.968
20	64	Johnny Unser	25.278	25.300	213.624
21	30	Stan WattlesR	25.418	25.333	213.161
22	22	Michel Jourdain Jr.R	Waved off	25.398	212.615
23	34	Affonso GiaffoneR	25.802	25.563	211.243
24	40	Marco Greco	25.937	25.691	210.190
25	8	Stéphan GrégoireR	26.127	25.717	209.978
26	9	Brad MurpheyR	26.388	26.219	205.958
27	51	Eddie Cheever	28.003	Waved off	192.836
28	15	Juan Carlos CarbonellR	30.204	29.800	181.208

Key	Meaning
R	Rookie (in 1996)
R	Season rookie
W	Past winner

Failed to qualify or withdrew

• Dave SteeleRforABF Motorsports

Race

An estimated crowd of 67.132 spectators made it to the yet unfinished Las Vegas Motor Speedway for its first big race, despite long traffic jams that continued throughout the race. Windy conditions during the afternoon played havoc with the track, blowing sand onto the outside line.Arie Luyendykkept the lead at the start, asTony Stewartconceded second place withRobby Gordonin Turn 3. Electrical issues leftDavey Hamiltonimmediately out of contention, andJohn Paul Jr.took advantage of some drivers checking up, jumping from 12th to 6th. He would later passMike Grofffor fifth. Gordon began to reel in Luyendyk, but the lapped cars ofJuan Carlos CarbonellandBrad Murpheyallowed Stewart to retake second place on Lap 8. In the next lap,Johnny Parsonssuffered an engine failure while running 19th. He failed to keep the control of the car and spun on his own oil, crashing in Turn 4.This was the last start of his Indy car career, which harkened all the way back to 1969.

After a long cleanup, the green flag was shown on Lap 19. Stewart's crew were unaware of the restart, which costed Stewart three spots to Gordon,Buddy Lazierand Paul Jr. Shortly after, Lazier's pace faded, dropping places with an unspecified issue that eventually left him out of the race.Michel Jourdain Jr.,who had gone from 22nd to 14th at the end of Lap 2, entered the top 10, with the Mexican being eighth by Lap 28. With traffic as a factor, Gordon caught Luyendyk and both drivers passed one another from Lap 26 to 28. After Gordon took the lead for the second time,Eddie Cheever,running in 18th place, was rammed from behind byBrad Murphey,who was a lap down in 26th place, and both made hard contact with the wall.Stéphan Grégoire,running 21st at the time, hit a loose tire and tried to get past between the two destroyed cars while they were still moving, but crashed with the back end of Cheever's car. Murphey had to be extricated from his car and airlifted toUniversity Medical Centerwith a broken right thighbone, pelvis and hip. He underwent various surgeries and, although he recovered successfully, he would never race again in the IRL.

During the caution,John Paul Jr.served a pit stop from third, andTony Stewartdid so a few laps later as a precautionary measure, removing a punctured tire in the process. At the restart, Gordon and Luyendyk pulled away fromMike Groff,whileRoberto Guerrerodropped from fourth in the order with handling issues. On Lap 55, while running in 16th place,Tyce Carlsoncollided with the lapped car of Carbonell, in 22nd place at the time, and crashed in Turn 2, coming to rest on the sandy surface alongside the backstraight. All of the front runners who had not yet pitted made their first pit stop on the ensuing caution, conceding the lead toJohn Paul Jr.overTony Stewart.Mark Dismorehad also stopped in the previous caution, and was now in fourth place between Gordon and Luyendyk.Richie Hearngained positions over Groff andScott Sharp,and battled with Luyendyk for fifth place after the race went back to green, both closing on Gordon and Dismore afterwards.Michel Jourdain Jr.followed suit, passing Groff and Sharp on track.

Stewart followed Paul Jr. closely in the following laps, but he was unable to make a pass. On Lap 78, just as Luyendyk was passing Dismore for fourth, Stewart's car suddenly snapped on Turn 2, crashing sideways. He suffered a broken left collarbone and neck ligament damage, being transported toUniversity Medical Centerby ambulance.With Paul and Dismore pitting during the caution, Gordon retook the lead over Luyendyk andRichie Hearn.After repelling a pass by Jourdain, Hearn became the new race leader by passing Luyendyk on Lap 93 and Gordon on Lap 100 with identical moves in the exit of Turn 4. Gordon was saving fuel, and Luyendyk took advantage two laps later. During these laps,John Paul Jr.suffered a wheel bearing failure and retired while running in seventh place, andMike Groffhad to do a green flag pit stop on Lap 104.

On Lap 107, Luyendyk caused the fifth caution of the day after crashing in Turn 1 due to another wheel bearing failure. There were six cars on the lead lap, among themMichele Alboretoin third after passing Jourdain and Sharp in the pit stops, andJohnny O'Connellin sixth place. Jourdain and Sharp would engage in battle when the race resumed, with Sharp as the early victor. On Lap 125,Stan Wattlessuffered a left-rear puncture and crashed in Turn 4. He was not injured, but lost consciousness and had to be slowly extricated from his car.During this caution period,ABCsigned off their TV broadcast in the East Coast, as the slow, caution-filled pace had consumed the allotted TV window with around 68 laps to go. Due to scheduling conflicts, the race couldn't be moved toESPN,and only a few selected moments of the remaining laps were aired on late-night news. As of 2023, the West Coast version of the broadcast has not surfaced.

During this caution, Alboreto encountered a problem in his car on Lap 138 and had to pit, losing three laps as the race went back to green a lap later.Mark Dismorewas the best driver not on the lead lap in sixth place when he had the seventh crash of the day on Lap 151, being removed in a stretcher with pelvis and left hip socket fractures.The order at the top remained unchanged in the subsequent pit stops, but Gordon regained the lead over Hearn at the restart on Lap 161, just before a brief caution period for debris. Hearn went back to the lead on Lap 169, and Sharp could not join the fight as he had a wheel bearing failure on that same lap. Gordon remained within 1.5 seconds of Hearn when, ten laps later, he suffered the fourth wheel bearing failure of the day and retired from the race.

The high attrition had promotedJohnny O'Connellto third, until he crashed in Turn 4 with 15 laps left due to a mechanical failure. His car went upside down on the right side, and the race was red-flagged, only for O'Connell to climb out of the car before the medical car arrived.After a 20-minute stoppage, the race was restarted for its final 15 laps. With just two cars on the lead lap, onlyMichel Jourdain Jr.was in position to fight for the win, butRichie Hearnhad a great restart and maintained a small gap until the end. His IRL farewell brought Hearn the only Indy car win of his career, as well as his last podium finish. For Jourdain, it would be his lone Indy car podium until the2001 Michigan 500,and his best result until the2003 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg,as well as his last IRL race during the Split. Coincidentally, both drivers had competed in selectedCARTraces that season, having partaken in the IRL as a stepping stone for a full-time switch in 1997.

Mike Grofftook the lead of the championship with his podium finish, andRoberto Guerreroovercame his handling issues to finish fourth in front ofMichele AlboretoandBuzz Calkins,who had finished all IRL races outside the Indy 500 in the top 6 like Groff did. Calkins wsd tied for second in the standings with Alboreto, who also left the League for 1997.Affonso Giaffonemanaged to finish his first IRL race in the Top 10.Juan Carlos Carbonellsaw its only IRL start ended early by a black flag on Lap 147 for spraying oil on the track, while running 35 laps down on the leaders for his early contact withTyce Carlson.

Pos	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Laps Led	Points
1	4	Richie HearnR	Della Penna Motorsports	200	2:36:17.345	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 AlboretoR	Team Scandia	197	+ 3 laps	18	0	30
6	12	Buzz CalkinsR	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 Motorsports	191	+ 9 laps	24	0	26
10	34	Affonso GiaffoneR	Team Scandia/Arizona Motorsports	190	+ 10 laps	23	0	25
11	14	Davey HamiltonR	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	187	+ 13 laps	5	0	24
12	6	Johnny O'ConnellR	Treadway Racing	183	Accident	11	3	23
13	27	Jim GuthrieR	Team 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	10	0	18
18	30	Stan WattlesR	McCormack Motorsports	119	Accident	21	0	17
19	15	Juan Carlos CarbonellR	Tempero/Giuffre Racing	112	Overheating	28	0	16
20	5	Arie Luyendyk	Treadway Racing	106	Accident	1	25	17
21	2	Tony StewartR	Team Menard	77	Accident	2	0	14
22	64	Johnny Unser	Project Indy	67	Wheel Bearing	20	0	13
23	28	Tyce CarlsonR	PDM Racing/BRG	53	Accident	14	0	12
24	91	Buddy Lazier	Hemelgarn Racing	35	Handling	4	0	11
25	51	Eddie Cheever	Team Cheever	27	Accident	27	0	10
26	8	Stéphan GrégoireR	Team Scandia	27	Accident	25	0	9
27	9	Brad MurpheyR	Hemelgarn Racing	26	Accident	26	0	8
28	16	Johnny Parsons	Team Blueprint Racing	7	Accident	17	0	7

Race Statistics

• Lead changes:10 among 5 drivers

Lap Leaders
Laps	Leader
1-25	Arie Luyendyk
26-57	Robby Gordon
58-79	John Paul Jr.
80-99	Robby Gordon
100-110	Richie Hearn
111	Johnny O'Connell
112-153	Richie Hearn
154-155	Johnny O'Connell
156-160	Richie Hearn
161-168	Robby Gordon
169-200	Richie Hearn

Cautions: 9 for 83 laps
Laps	Reason
9-18	Johnny Parsons crash
30-46	Murphey, Cheever and Grégoire crash
55-62	Tyce Carlson crash
78-87	Tony Stewart crash
107-115	Arie Luyendyk crash
125-138	Stan Wattles crash
152-160	Mark Dismore crash
162-165	Debris
185-186	Johnny O'Connell crash

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.

External links

• IndyCar official website

Previous race: 1996 True Value 200	Indy Racing League 1996-1997 season	Next race: 1997 Indy 200 at Walt Disney World
Previous race: none	Las Vegas 500K	Next race: 1997 Las Vegas 500K