1996 Las Vegas 500K

United States 1996 Las Vegas
Race details
2nd round of the 1996–1997 Indy Racing League season
DateSeptember 15, 1996
Official nameLas Vegas 500K
LocationLas Vegas Motor Speedway
CoursePermanent racing facility
1.500 mi / 2.414 km
Distance200 laps
300.000 mi / 482.803 km
WeatherDry with temperatures reaching up to 90 °F (32 °C); maximum wind speeds of 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) reported throughout the day[1]
Pole position
DriverArie Luyendyk (Treadway Racing)
Time23.842
Fastest lap
DriverRichie Hearn (Della Penna Motorsports)
Time24.636 (on lap 53 of 200)
Podium
FirstRichie Hearn (Della Penna Motorsports)
SecondMichel Jourdain Jr. (Team Scandia)
ThirdMike Groff (ByrdCunningham Racing)

The 1996 Las Vegas 500K was the second round of the 1996-1997 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 Speedway in Clark County, Nevada.[2] 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 Hearn was 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.[3]

At 300 miles in length, it tied the existing record for non-500 mile Indy Car oval races, alongside the Trenton 300 (1969 - 1972) and the 1966 Atlanta 300. The race was completed at an average speed of just 115.171 mph, the slowest average for an Indy car superspeedway race since the 1946 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 the 2018 edition of the NASCAR Cup Series race.

  1. ^ "1996 Las Vegas 500K weather information". Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2013-10-13.
  2. ^ Glick, Shav (September 15, 1996). "Fast Beginning Likely at the Las Vegas 500K". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
  3. ^ "Las Vegas 500K a big smash". Las Vegas Sun. September 16, 1996. Retrieved January 22, 2018.