Track: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Date: Saturday, October 11, 1997
Start time: 8:05 PM EDT
Weather: Cold, Windy
Serial: #10 of 10 in 1996-1997 season
History: IRL race #2, Indycar race #2 at this track
Config: 1-mile oval, flat track
Wing package: Short track
Eliseo Salazar took home his first IRL victory as Tony Stewart clinched the 1997 championship. 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. Polesitter Billy Boat didn't 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 and looked strong, but during a pit stop on lap 116 a wheel wasn't 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 Eliseo 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 late caution was occasioned 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 and Scott chassis, with Stan Wattles taking one to a credible 8th-place finish.
Fin St Qual Car C/E/T Driver Entrant Laps Status Laps Pts
Spd # Led
1 5 204.615 7 D/A/G Eliseo Salazar Scandia 208 Running 70 36
2 8 203.489 6 G/A/F Scott Goodyear Treadway 208 Running 5 33
3 4 205.074 3 G/A/F Robbie Buhl Menard 208 Running 12 32
4 19 200.602 27 D/A/F Jim Guthrie Blueprint 208 Running 9 31
5 9 203.443 28 D/A/G Mark Dismore Kelly 208 Running 45 30
6 7 203.758 33 D/A/G Jimmy Kite Scandia 208 Running 29
7 2 205.300 14 G/A/G Davey Hamilton Foyt 207 Running 1 31
8 25 197.542 19 R/A/G Stan Wattles Metro 206 Running 27
9 16 201.372 77 G/A/G Stephan Gregoire Chastain 204 Running 26
10 10 203.221 70 G/A/G Marco Greco Galles 204 Running 25
11 3 205.113 2 G/A/F Tony Stewart Menard 204 Running 24
12 24 197.679 18 D/A/F John Paul Jr. PDM 201 Running 23
13 26 196.951 24 D/A/F Billy Roe Roe 198 Running 22
14 18 200.714 21 D/A/G Roberto Guerrero Pagan 197 Crash BS 21
15 11 202.916 17 D/A/G Affonso Giaffone Chitwood 193 Running 16 20
16 28 191.918 23 R/A/G Mike Shank Nienhouse 191 Running 19
17 12 202.680 35 D/A/G Jeff Ward ISM 168 Overheat 41 18
18 27 195.893 30 G/A/G Robbie Groff McCormack 168 Running 17
19 30 No Spd. 9 D/I/F Johnny Unser Hemelgarn 142 Engine 16
20 13 202.589 4 G/A/G Kenny Brack Galles 139 Suspension 6 15
21 29 No Spd. 51 G/A/G Eddie Cheever Cheever 129 Engine 14
22 15 201.568 22 D/A/G Vincenzo Sospiri Scandia 114 Engine 13
23 1 207.413 1 D/A/G Billy Boat Foyt 97 Electrical 3 14
24 23 197.998 95 D/I/G Tyce Carlson Immke 96 Ignition 11
25 6 204.460 5 G/A/F Arie Luyendyk Treadway 72 Engine 10
26 31 200.185 10 G/A/F Paul Durant Byrd-C'ham 62 Mechanical 9
27 22 198.231 99 D/A/F Sam Schmidt LP 60 Crash BS 8
28 21 198.529 12 G/A/G Buzz Calkins Bradley 60 Crash BS 7
29 17 200.885 40 D/I/F Jack Miller Sinden 59 Crash BS 6
30 20 199.837 97 D/A/F Greg Ray Knapp 35 Crash T2 5
31 14 202.240 91 D/A/F Buddy Lazier Hemelgarn 4 Mechanical 4
The car #10 was qualified by Mike Groff, who was injured in a
post-qualifying practice crash and was unable to race.
Laps under green: 164 of 208 laps (78.8%)
Caution flags: 8 for 44 laps (21.2%)
#1: lap 1, tire warm-up, 3 laps
#2: lap 9, stalled car (Lazier), T3, 4 laps
#3: lap 35, crash (Ray), T2, 6 laps
#4: lap 64, crash (Calkins, Miller, Schmidt), BS, 8 laps
#5: lap 118, lost wheel (Giaffone), T2 8 laps
#6: lap 131, blown engine (Cheever), FS, 5 laps
#7: lap 155, stalled car (Unser), BS, 6 laps
#8: lap 201, crash (Guerrero), BS, 4 laps
Red flags: 0 for 0 minutes
Lead changes: 13
St: Boat 1-3
#1: Hamilton 4
#2: Ward 5-45
#3: Buhl 46-51
#4: Dismore 52-94
#5: Buhl 95-99
#6: Giaffone 100-115
#7: Goodyear 116-120
#8: Dismore 121-122
#9: Guthrie 123-131
#10: Brack 132-137
#11: Salazar 138-158
#12: Buhl 159
#13: Salazar 160-208
C/E/T finish averages (# started / avg finish):
Dallara: 17 / 17.2
G-Force: 12/ 15.0
Riley & Scott: 2 / 12.0
Aurora: 28 / 14.6
Infiniti: 3 / 24.0
Firestone: 13 / 17.8
Goodyear: 18 / 14.7