1997 Las Vegas 500K

March 2026 February 2025 USA Las Vegas Las_Vegas_Motor_Speedway_diagram.svg October 11 1997 yes Las Vegas 500K 10th Indy Racing League Las Vegas Motor Speedway Permanent racing facility 1.500 2.414 208 312.000 502.115 Night race, dry with temperatures reaching up to 80.1 F C; wind speeds reaching up to 34 mph km/hhttp://www.almanac.com/weather/history/NV/Las%20Vegas/1997-10-11 1997 Las Vegas 500K weather information Old Farmers' Almanac 2015-07-16 Billy Boat A. J. Foyt Enterprises 26.035 USA Billy Boat A. J. Foyt Enterprises 26.424 19 USA Eliseo Salazar Team Scandia CHL Scott Goodyear Treadway-Shelby Racing CAN Robbie Buhl Team Menard USA 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 1.500 mi km on Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada. Qualifying Results Key Meaning R Rookie W Past winner Pos No. Name Lap 1 Lap 2 Best (in mph) 1 1 USA Billy Boat R 26.272 26.035 207.413 2 14 USA Davey Hamilton 26.373 26.303 205.300 3 2 USA Tony Stewart 26.327 26.363 205.113 4 3 USA Robbie Buhl 26.355 26.332 205.074 5 7 CHL Eliseo Salazar 26.391 26.429 204.615 6 5 NED Arie Luyendyk 26.425 26.411 204.460 7 33 USA Jimmy Kite R 26.502 26.552 203.758 8 6 CAN Scott Goodyear 26.781 26.537 203.489 9 28 USA Mark Dismore 26.621 26.543 203.443 10 70 BRA Marco Greco 26.572 26.715 203.221 11 17 BRA Affonso Giaffone R 26.612 26.618 202.916 12 35 USA Jeff Ward R 26.643 26.820 202.680 13 4 SWE Kenny Bräck R 26.775 26.655 202.589 14 91 USA Buddy Lazier 26.701 26.752 202.240 15 22 ITA Vincenzo Sospiri R 27.003 26.790 201.568 16 77 FRA Stéphan Grégoire 27.045 26.816 201.372 17 40 USA Jack Miller R 27.240 26.881 200.885 18 21 COL Roberto Guerrero 26.933 26.904 200.714 19 27 USA Jim Guthrie R 26.919 27.801 200.602 20 97 USA Greg Ray R 27.022 27.065 199.837 21 12 USA Buzz Calkins 27.382 27.200 198.529 22 99 USA Sam Schmidt R 27.602 27.241 198.231 23 95 USA Tyce Carlson R 27.320 27.273 197.998 24 18 USA John Paul Jr. 27.593 27.317 197.679 25 19 USA Stan Wattles R 27.714 27.336 197.542 26 24 USA Billy Roe R 27.575 27.418 196.951 27 30 USA Robbie Groff R 27.566 27.574 195.893 28 23 USA Mike Shank R 28.362 28.137 191.918 29 51 USA Eddie Cheever1 1 Waved off No speed 30 9 USA Johnny Unser2 2 Didn't qualify No speed 31 10 USA Paul Durant3 3 R 27.220 26.975 200.185 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 Report 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 (and only) IRL victory as Tony Stewart clinched the 1997 championship. Race results Box Score Pos No. Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid LapsLed Points 17CHL Eliseo SalazarTeam Scandia2082:11:07.000 57036 26CAN Scott GoodyearTreadway-Shelby Racing208+ 1.204 sec8533 33USA Robbie BuhlTeam Menard208Running41232 427USA Jim Guthrie RBlueprint Racing 208Running19931 528USA Mark DismoreKelley Racing-PDM208Running94530 633USA Jimmy Kite RTeam Scandia208Running7029 714USA Davey Hamilton A. J. Foyt Enterprises207+ 1 lap2128 819USA Stan Wattles RMetro Racing Systems206+ 2 laps25027 977FRA Stéphan GrégoireChastain Motorsports204Gearbox16026 1070BRA Marco GrecoGalles Racing204+ 4 laps10025 112USA Tony StewartTeam Menard204+ 4 laps3024 1218USA John Paul Jr.PDM Racing201+ 7 laps24023 1324USA Billy Roe RRoe Racing198+ 10 laps26022 1421COL Roberto GuerreroPagan Racing197Accident18021 1517BRA Affonso Giaffone RChitwood Motorsports193+ 15 laps111620 1623USA Mike Shank RNienhouse Motorsports 191+ 17 laps28019 1735USA Jeff Ward RSRS-ISM Racing168Overheat124118 1830USA Robbie Groff RMcCormack Motorsports168+ 40 laps27017 199USA Johnny UnserHemelgarn Racing142Engine30016 204SWE Kenny Bräck RGalles Racing139Suspension13615 2151USA Eddie CheeverTeam Cheever129Engine29014 2222ITA Vincenzo Sospiri R   Team Scandia114Mechanical15013 231 USA Billy Boat RA. J. Foyt Enterprises97Electrical1314 2495 USA Tyce Carlson RIZ Racing96Ignition23011 255NED Arie LuyendykTreadway-Shelby Racing72Engine6010 2610USA Paul Durant RByrd-Cunningham Racing62Mechanical3109 2799USA Sam Schmidt RLP Racing-PCI60Accident2208 2812USA Buzz CalkinsBradley Motorsports60Accident2107 2940USA Jack Miller RArizona Motorsports59Accident1706 3097 USA Greg Ray RKnapp Motorsports35Accident2005 3191 USA Buddy LazierHemelgarn Racing4Mechanical1404 Race Statistics Lead changes: 13 among 10 drivers Lap Leaders Laps Leader1-3 Billy Boat4 Davey Hamilton5-45 Jeff Ward46-51 Robbie Buhl52-94 Mark Dismore95-99 Robbie Buhl100-115 Affonso Giaffone116-120 Scott Goodyear121-122 Mark Dismore123-131 Jim Guthrie132-137 Kenny Bräck138-158 Eliseo Salazar159 Robbie Buhl160-208 Eliseo Salazar Cautions: 8 for 45 laps Laps Reason1-3Additional warm up laps because of windy, cold conditions9-12Tow-in for Buddy Lazier (gearbox issues)38-43Greg Ray crash64-71Schmidt, Miller and Calkins crash118-125Affonso Giaffone's wheel loose131-135Eddie Cheever's engine leaks oil on track158-163Tow-in for Johnny Unser (engine issue)200-204Roberto Guerrero crash, Backstretch Final IRL season standings after the race Final Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 USA Tony Stewart 278 2 USA Davey Hamilton 272 3 BRA Marco Greco 230 4 USA Eddie Cheever 230 5 CAN Scott Goodyear 226 Note: Only the top five positions are included for the standings. References External links IndyCar official website Indy Racing League Las Vegas 500K 1996-1997 1997 Pennzoil 200 1998 Indy 200 at Walt Disney World(1998 season) 1996 Las Vegas 500K 1998 Las Vegas 500K Category:1996–97 in IndyCar Category:1997 in sports in Nevada Category:Motorsport in Las Vegas Las Vegas 500K 1997 Category:Organized events in Las Vegas Category:Organized events in Nevada