The 80th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 26, 1996. This was the first Indy 500 contested by the Indy Racing League, under the overall sanctioning umbrella of USAC. It was the third and final race of the 1996 IRL season. Buddy Lazier won the race, his first career victory in top-level Indy car competition.
The race was surrounded by months of controversy. Most of the top teams and drivers in Indy car racing chose to boycott the race, protesting a perceived lockout of CART teams by the IRL.[1] Rival teams effectively staged a "walkout" and instead scheduled a competing race the same day, the U.S. 500 at Michigan. Participants in the 1996 Indy 500 included several familiar Indy car teams and owners such as A.J. Foyt, Dick Simon, Hemelgarn, and Menard. However, there were also many new teams, some of which moved up from Indy Lights, AIS, or sports cars. Many of the drivers were inexperienced rookies from an obscure range of backgrounds, giving the impression of a field of replacement drivers.[1] There was only one former Indy winner in the field (Arie Luyendyk), but three former pole position winners entered. In addition, there were no former National Champions in the field for the first time since 1928.
Media attention of the open wheel "split" was highly critical going into the race, as a number of the IRL participants were ridiculed and the prestige of the Indianapolis 500 itself was brought into question.[1][2] The "split" embittered a significant portion of the fanbase, and journalist Robin Miller of the The Indianapolis Star was among the most outspoken of critics. However, the race itself was found to be competitive and entertaining,[1][2] while the rival U.S. 500 suffered a multi-car pile-up on the opening lap.[1][2]
During practice, the month was marred by the death of pole position winner Scott Brayton, who was killed in a crash testing a backup car.[1] The month was also plagued by constant rain. In Indianapolis, May 1996 was the fifth-wettest month of May on record, and the 4th wettest month of May in Indy 500 history.[3]
The 1996 race marked Firestone's first Indy 500 victory since 1971. In what would be the final year contested under the turbocharged engine formula (until they returned in 2012), all-time track record speeds would be set during practice and time trials. Arie Luyendyk set the 1-lap track record (237.498 mph) and the four-lap track record (236.986 mph), while Eddie Cheever ran the fastest race lap (236.103 mph) in Indy history - all records that still stand as of 2015. Luyendyk also ran the fastest practice lap in Indy history (239.260 mph) just a fraction of a second shy of breaking the 240 mph barrier. Taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Indianapolis_500
Starting Lineup:
| Row | Inside | Middle | Outside |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  20 - Tony Stewart (R) |
70 - Davy Jones |
 7 - Eliseo Salazar |
| 2 | 3 - Eddie Cheever |
91 - Buddy Lazier |
 21 - Roberto Guerrero |
| 3 |  8 - Alessandro Zampedri |
 22 - Michel Jourdain, Jr. (R) |
12 - Buzz Calkins (R) |
| 4 | 14 - Davey Hamilton (R) |
60 - Mike Groff |
33 - Michele Alboreto (R) |
| 5 |  9 - Stephan Gregoire |
30 - Mark Dismore (R) |
4 - Richie Hearn (R) |
| 6 | 64 - Johnny Unser (R) |
18 - John Paul, Jr. |
45 - Lyn St. James |
| 7 | 27 - Jim Guthrie (R) |
 5 - Arie Luyendyk (W) |
11 - Scott Sharp |
| 8 |  41 -Marco Greco |
54 - Robbie Buhl (R) |
96 - Paul Durant (R) |
| 9 | 90 - Racin Gardner (R) |
 10 - Brad Murphey (R) |
16 - Johnny Parsons |
| 10 |  34 - Fermín Velez (R) |
75 - Johnny O'Connell (R) |
 52 - Hideshi Matsuda |
| 11 | 43 - Joe Gosek (R) |
44 - Scott Harrington (R) |
32 - Danny Ongais |
Other Drivers on Entry List:
| Andy Michner |
| Billy Boat |
| Butch Brickell |
| Dan Drinan |
| David Kudrave |
| Jeff Wood |
| Justin Bell |
| Randy Tolsma |
| Rob Wilson |
| Russ Wicks |
| Scott Brayton |
| Tyce Carlson |
Lap-By-Lap Summery:
Green Flag: Tony Stewart Leads Lap 1
Lap 3: Caution #1 Debris on the Track from Car #30 Mark Dismore kicking up mud in Turn 1
Lap 5: Green Flag
Lap 11: Caution #2 Car #96 Paul Durant Spun in Turn 3
Lap 16: Green Flag
Lap 17: Caution #3 Car #32 Danny Ongais Spun in Turn 4
Lap 20: Green Flag
Lap 32: Roberto Guerrero Took the lead
Lap 38: Buddy Lazier Took the lead
Lap 42: Tony Stewart Took the lead
Lap 50: Caution #4 Car #16 Johnny Parsons Jr. Blew an Engine
Lap 55: Green Flag: Roberto Guerrero Took the lead
Lap 69: Caution #5 Debris on the Track
Lap 71: Davy Jones Took the lead
Lap 73: Green Flag
Lap 87: Buddy Lazier Took the lead
Lap 94: Caution #6 Car #10 Brad Murphy Brushed the wall in Turn 2
During the Caution: Car #5 Arie Luyendyk, and Car #7 Eliseo Salazar Collided coming out of the pits.
Lap 98: Davy Jones Took the lead
Lap 105: Green Flag
Lap 119: Caution #7 Car #34 Fermin Velez Tow-In
Lap 121: Buddy Lazier Took the lead
Lap 124: Green Flag
Lap 132: Caution #8 Car #30 Mark Dismore Blew an Engine
Lap 134: Roberto Guerrero Took the lead
Lap 139: Green Flag
Lap 159: Davy Jones Took the lead
Lap 161: Buddy Lazier Took the lead
Lap 162: Caution #9 Car #44 Scott Harrington, and Car #45 Lyn St. James Crashed in Turn 1
Lap 168: Green Flag: Davy Jones Took the lead
Lap 170: Alessandro Zampedri Took the lead
Lap 190: Davy Jones Took the lead
Lap 193: Buddy Lazier Took the lead
Lap 196: Caution #10 Car #11 Scott Sharp Crashed in Turn 2
Lap 199: Green Flag and White Flag
Lap 200: Checkered Flag: Buddy Lazier Wins his only Indy 500.
Coming to the Checkered Flag: Car #7 Eliseo Salazar, Car #8 Alessandro Zampedri, and Car #21 Roberto Guerrero MAJOR CRASH in Turn 4.
Race Results:
| Finish | Driver | Laps | Status | Prize Money |
| 1 | Buddy Lazier | 200 | 147.956 | $1,367,854 |
| 2 | Davy Jones | 200 | 147.948 | $632,503 |
| 3 | Richie Hearn | 200 | 147.871 | $375,203 |
| 4 | Alessandro Zampedri | 199 | Accident | $270,853 |
| 5 | Roberto Guerrero | 198 | Accident | $315,503 |
| 6 | Eliseo Salazar | 197 | Accident | $226,653 |
| 7 | Danny Ongais | 197 | Running | $228,253 |
| 8 | Hideshi Matsuda | 197 | Running | $233,953 |
| 9 | Robbie Buhl | 197 | Running | $195,403 |
| 10 | Scott Sharp | 194 | Running | $202,053 |
| 11 | Eddie Cheever Jr. | 189 | Running | $206,103 |
| 12 | Davey Hamilton | 181 | Running | $184,003 |
| 13 | Michel Jourdain Jr. | 177 | Running | $193,653 |
| 14 | Lyn St. James | 153 | Accident | $182,603 |
| 15 | Scott Harrington | 150 | Accident | $190,753 |
| 16 | Arie Luyendyk | 149 | Damage | $216,503 |
| 17 | Buzz Calkins | 148 | Brake | $173,553 |
| 18 | Jim Guthrie | 144 | Engine | $168,453 |
| 19 | Mark Dismore | 129 | Engine | $161,253 |
| 20 | Mike Groff | 122 | Tire | $158,503 |
| 21 | Fermin Velez | 107 | Engine fire | $176,653 |
| 22 | Joe Gosek | 106 | Radiator | $169,653 |
| 23 | Brad Murphey | 91 | Suspension | $177,853 |
| 24 | Tony Stewart | 82 | Engine | $222,053 |
| 25 | Racin Gardner | 76 | Suspension | $149,853 |
| 26 | Marco Greco | 64 | Engine | $153,303 |
| 27 | Stephan Gregoire | 59 | Coil fire | $147,103 |
| 28 | Johnny Parsons | 48 | Radiator | $161,203 |
| 29 | Johnny O'Connell | 47 | Fuel system | $145,553 |
| 30 | Michele Alboreto | 43 | Gear box | $144,953 |
| 31 | John Paul Jr. | 10 | Ignition | $144,203 |
| 32 | Paul Durant | 9 | Engine | $149,153 |
| 33 | Johnny Unser | 0 | Transmission | $143,953 |
No comments:
Post a Comment