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 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 Billy Boat R 26.272 26.035 207.413 2 14 Davey Hamilton 26.373 26.303 205.300 3 2 Tony Stewart 26.327 26.363 205.113 4 3 Robbie Buhl 26.355 26.332 205.074 5 7 Eliseo Salazar 26.391 26.429 204.615 6 5 Arie Luyendyk 26.425 26.411 204.460 7 33 Jimmy Kite R 26.502 26.552 203.758 8 6 Scott Goodyear 26.781 26.537 203.489 9 28 Mark Dismore 26.621 26.543 203.443 10 70 Marco Greco 26.572 26.715 203.221 11 17 Affonso Giaffone R 26.612 26.618 202.916 12 35 Jeff Ward R 26.643 26.820 202.680 13 4 Kenny Bräck R 26.775 26.655 202.589 14 91 Buddy Lazier 26.701 26.752 202.240 15 22 Vincenzo Sospiri R 27.003 26.790 201.568 16 77 Stéphan Grégoire 27.045 26.816 201.372 17 40 Jack Miller R 27.240 26.881 200.885 18 21 Roberto Guerrero 26.933 26.904 200.714 19 27 Jim Guthrie R 26.919 27.801 200.602 20 97 Greg Ray R 27.022 27.065 199.837 21 12 Buzz Calkins 27.382 27.200 198.529 22 99 Sam Schmidt R 27.602 27.241 198.231 23 95 Tyce Carlson R 27.320 27.273 197.998 24 18 John Paul Jr. 27.593 27.317 197.679 25 19 Stan Wattles R 27.714 27.336 197.542 26 24 Billy Roe R 27.575 27.418 196.951 27 30 Robbie Groff R 27.566 27.574 195.893 28 23 Mike Shank R 28.362 28.137 191.918 29 51 Eddie Cheever Waved off No speed 30 9 Johnny Unser Didn't qualify No speed 31 10 Paul Durant R 27.220 26.975 200.185

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. 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. 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 17 Eliseo SalazarTeam Scandia2082:11:07.000 57036 26 Scott GoodyearTreadway-Shelby Racing208+ 1.204 sec8533 33 Robbie BuhlTeam Menard208Running41232 427 Jim Guthrie RBlueprint Racing 208Running19931 528 Mark DismoreKelley Racing-PDM208Running94530 633 Jimmy Kite RTeam Scandia208Running7029 714 Davey Hamilton A. J. Foyt Enterprises207+ 1 lap2128 819 Stan Wattles RMetro Racing Systems206+ 2 laps25027 977 Stéphan GrégoireChastain Motorsports204Gearbox16026 1070 Marco GrecoGalles Racing204+ 4 laps10025 112 Tony StewartTeam Menard204+ 4 laps3024 1218 John Paul Jr.PDM Racing201+ 7 laps24023 1324 Billy Roe RRoe Racing198+ 10 laps26022 1421 Roberto GuerreroPagan Racing197Accident18021 1517 Affonso Giaffone RChitwood Motorsports193+ 15 laps111620 1623 Mike Shank RNienhouse Motorsports 191+ 17 laps28019 1735 Jeff Ward RSRS-ISM Racing168Overheat124118 1830 Robbie Groff RMcCormack Motorsports168+ 40 laps27017 199 Johnny UnserHemelgarn Racing142Engine30016 204 Kenny Bräck RGalles Racing139Suspension13615 2151 Eddie CheeverTeam Cheever129Engine29014 2222 Vincenzo Sospiri R   Team Scandia114Mechanical15013 231 Billy Boat RA. J. Foyt Enterprises97Electrical1314 2495 Tyce Carlson RIZ Racing96Ignition23011 255 Arie LuyendykTreadway-Shelby Racing72Engine6010 2610 Paul Durant RByrd-Cunningham Racing62Mechanical3109 2799 Sam Schmidt RLP Racing-PCI60Accident2208 2812 Buzz CalkinsBradley Motorsports60Accident2107 2940 Jack Miller RArizona Motorsports59Accident1706 3097 Greg Ray RKnapp Motorsports35Accident2005 3191 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 Tony Stewart 278 2 Davey Hamilton 272 3 Marco Greco 230 4 Eddie Cheever 230 5 Scott Goodyear 226

Note: Only the top five positions are included for the standings.

References

External links IndyCar official website