Английская Википедия:1997 Las Vegas 500K
Шаблон:American Championship Car race report infobox
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 Шаблон:Convert Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Qualifying
| Key | Meaning |
|---|---|
| R | Rookie |
| W | Past winner |
| Pos | No. | Name | Lap 1 | Lap 2 | Best (in mph) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Шаблон:Flagicon Billy Boat R | 26.272 | 26.035 | 207.413 |
| 2 | 14 | Шаблон:Flagicon Davey Hamilton | 26.373 | 26.303 | 205.300 |
| 3 | 2 | Шаблон:Flagicon Tony Stewart | 26.327 | 26.363 | 205.113 |
| 4 | 3 | Шаблон:Flagicon Robbie Buhl | 26.355 | 26.332 | 205.074 |
| 5 | 7 | Шаблон:Flagicon Eliseo Salazar | 26.391 | 26.429 | 204.615 |
| 6 | 5 | Шаблон:Flagicon Arie Luyendyk | 26.425 | 26.411 | 204.460 |
| 7 | 33 | Шаблон:Flagicon Jimmy Kite R | 26.502 | 26.552 | 203.758 |
| 8 | 6 | Шаблон:Flagicon Scott Goodyear | 26.781 | 26.537 | 203.489 |
| 9 | 28 | Шаблон:Flagicon Mark Dismore | 26.621 | 26.543 | 203.443 |
| 10 | 70 | Шаблон:Flagicon Marco Greco | 26.572 | 26.715 | 203.221 |
| 11 | 17 | Шаблон:Flagicon Affonso Giaffone R | 26.612 | 26.618 | 202.916 |
| 12 | 35 | Шаблон:Flagicon Jeff Ward R | 26.643 | 26.820 | 202.680 |
| 13 | 4 | Шаблон:Flagicon Kenny Bräck R | 26.775 | 26.655 | 202.589 |
| 14 | 91 | Шаблон:Flagicon Buddy Lazier | 26.701 | 26.752 | 202.240 |
| 15 | 22 | Шаблон:Flagicon Vincenzo Sospiri R | 27.003 | 26.790 | 201.568 |
| 16 | 77 | Шаблон:Flagicon Stéphan Grégoire | 27.045 | 26.816 | 201.372 |
| 17 | 40 | Шаблон:Flagicon Jack Miller R | 27.240 | 26.881 | 200.885 |
| 18 | 21 | Шаблон:Flagicon Roberto Guerrero | 26.933 | 26.904 | 200.714 |
| 19 | 27 | Шаблон:Flagicon Jim Guthrie R | 26.919 | 27.801 | 200.602 |
| 20 | 97 | Шаблон:Flagicon Greg Ray R | 27.022 | 27.065 | 199.837 |
| 21 | 12 | Шаблон:Flagicon Buzz Calkins | 27.382 | 27.200 | 198.529 |
| 22 | 99 | Шаблон:Flagicon Sam Schmidt R | 27.602 | 27.241 | 198.231 |
| 23 | 95 | Шаблон:Flagicon Tyce Carlson R | 27.320 | 27.273 | 197.998 |
| 24 | 18 | Шаблон:Flagicon John Paul Jr. | 27.593 | 27.317 | 197.679 |
| 25 | 19 | Шаблон:Flagicon Stan Wattles R | 27.714 | 27.336 | 197.542 |
| 26 | 24 | Шаблон:Flagicon Billy Roe R | 27.575 | 27.418 | 196.951 |
| 27 | 30 | Шаблон:Flagicon Robbie Groff R | 27.566 | 27.574 | 195.893 |
| 28 | 23 | Шаблон:Flagicon Mike Shank R | 28.362 | 28.137 | 191.918 |
| 29 | 51 | Шаблон:Flagicon Eddie CheeverШаблон:Ref | Waved off | No speed | |
| 30 | 9 | Шаблон:Flagicon Johnny UnserШаблон:Ref | Didn't qualify | No speed | |
| 31 | 10 | Шаблон:Flagicon Paul DurantШаблон:Ref R | 27.220 | 26.975 | 200.185 |
- Шаблон:Note 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.
- Шаблон:Note 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.
- Шаблон:Note Changed to a backup car for the race, following a crash in a practice session after qualifying.
Race recap
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.
Box score
Race Statistics
- Lead changes: 13 among 10 drivers
Шаблон:Col-begin Шаблон:Col-break
| Lap Leaders | |
|---|---|
| Laps | Leader |
| 1-3 | Billy Boat |
| 4 | Davey Hamilton |
| 5-45 | Jeff Ward |
| 46-51 | Robbie Buhl |
| 52-94 | Mark Dismore |
| 95-99 | Robbie Buhl |
| 100-115 | Affonso Giaffone |
| 116-120 | Scott Goodyear |
| 121-122 | Mark Dismore |
| 123-131 | Jim Guthrie |
| 132-137 | Kenny Bräck |
| 138-158 | Eliseo Salazar |
| 159 | Robbie Buhl |
| 160-208 | Eliseo Salazar |
| Cautions: 8 for 45 laps | |
|---|---|
| Laps | Reason |
| 1-3 | Additional warm up laps because of windy, cold conditions |
| 9-12 | Tow-in for Buddy Lazier (gearbox issues) |
| 38-43 | Greg Ray crash |
| 64-71 | Schmidt, Miller and Calkins crash |
| 118-125 | Affonso Giaffone's wheel loose |
| 131-135 | Eddie Cheever's engine leaks oil on track |
| 158-163 | Tow-in for Johnny Unser (engine issue) |
| 200-204 | Roberto Guerrero crash, Backstretch |
Final standings after the race
- Drivers' Championship standings
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Шаблон:Flagicon Tony Stewart | 278 |
| 2 | Шаблон:Flagicon Davey Hamilton | 272 |
| 3 | Шаблон:Flagicon Marco Greco | 230 |
| 4 | Шаблон:Flagicon Eddie Cheever | 230 |
| 5 | Шаблон:Flagicon Scott Goodyear | 226 |
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for the standings.
References
External links
Шаблон:American Championship Car race report footer
