Bombardier Learjet 550
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| Venue | Texas Motor Speedway |
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| Corporate sponsor | Bombardier |
| First race | 1997 |
| First IndyCar race | 1997 |
| Distance | 342 miles (≈550 km) |
| Number of laps | 228 |
| Previous names | Spring Race
True Value 500 (1997-1998) Longhorn 500 (1999) Casino Magic 500 (2000-2001) Boomtown 500 (2002) Bombardier 500 (2003-2004) Bombardier Learjet 500 (2005-2006) Fall Race Lone Star 500 (1998) Mall.com 500 (1999) Excite 500 (2000) Chevy 500 (2001-2004) Champ Car race Firestone Firehawk 600 Presented by Pioneer (2001) |
The Bombardier Learjet 550 is an Indy Racing League IndyCar Series race held at Texas Motor Speedway near Fort Worth, Texas. The race is held on a Saturday night in early June. From 1997-2005, it served as the first race after the Indianapolis 500. When it debuted in 1997, it was the first IndyCar race in the state of Texas since 1979.
Since its inception, the Bombardier Learjet 550 is widely considered the second-largest race on the IndyCar calendar (second only to the Indy 500) in terms of attendance, popularity, and prestige.
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[edit] History
The first Championship/Indy car races in the Dallas/Fort Worth area took place at Arlington Downs Raceway in nearby Arlington, Texas. AAA sanctioned five races from 1947-1950. USAC sanctioned ten Championship car events at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas. The race was discontinued when the track closed in 1980.
In 1997, the IndyCar Series debuted at the track on a Saturday night in early June. It marked the first-ever superspeedway night race for American open wheel racing. The race proved to be a spectacular event. During the race, one of the electronic scoring wires malfunctioned in the pit area, which caused unexpected scoring errors. Billy Boat was scored as the leader, and took the checkered flag as the winner. Arie Luyendyk, who felt he had been robbed of the win, stormed victory lane, where he was lunged at by Boat's owner, A.J. Foyt. Quickly the fight broke up. The next morning, it was determined that Luyendyk actually was the official winner. Foyt refused to return the trophy, and the race has since become a famous part of Texas Motor Speedway lore. Luyendyk received a replacement, and the "official" trophy years later, presented to him by track president Eddie Gossage.
The IndyCar Series races at Texas have widely been regarded by media, fans, and competitors, as the best racing in the series. Spectacular side-by-side racing has produced some of the closest two-car and three-car finishes in series history.[1][2]
[edit] Fall race
From 1998-2004, a second 500 km IndyCar Series race was held at the track in the fall. Known commonly as "Texas II," the race was always held during the day. It served as the IndyCar Series season finale for each of its runnings. The fall race was discontinued after 2004 when the Ferko lawsuit forced NASCAR to eliminate the Grand Slam and add a second Nextel Cup race to the circuit.
In 2003, Gil de Ferran was leading on lap 187 when Kenny Brack crashed on the backstrech. The massive accident seriously injured Brack, and he raced only limitedly afterwards. With the race winding down under caution, and with cleanup still ongoing, officals stopped the race after 195 laps when it was clear they would not have time to go back to green. de Ferran was declared the winner in what was his final race in IndyCar (he had announced his retirement during the season).
[edit] Race length
IndyCar Series races were originally 208 laps (312 mi/500 km) long. Beginning in 2001, the track was remeasured as 1.455 miles, and the races were changed to an even 200 laps (297 mi/481 km). Starting in 2007, the race was lengthend to ≈550 km (228 laps) in an effort to create a longer product for time value purposes, and in the spirit of the mantra "Everything is bigger in Texas". That left the Coca Cola 600 as the only top-level oval race with a longer advertised title. In addition, the start time was moved to 9:00 p.m. CDT (10:00 p.m. EDT) so the event would take place almost entirely under the lights, rather than in the mid-summer twilight.[3]
[edit] Champ Car race
The CART Champ Car series scheduled a race at the track for April 29, 2001. Following practice and qualifying, however, the race was cancelled "due to irresolvable concerns over the physical demands placed on the drivers at race speeds."[1] All but four drivers reported they had experienced vertigo-like symptoms due to lateral g-forces from driving in excess of 230 mph on the steep 24 degree banks.
[edit] Past winners
- 1997: Billy Boat took checkered flag as the winner due to scoring error; Luyendyk declared official winner the following day.
- 2000: Postponed from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon due to rain
- 2001: Postponed from September 16 due to 9/11
- 2003: Race shortened from 200 laps to 195 laps due to crash involving Kenny Bräck
[edit] AAA Championship car history (Arlington)
- 1947 Ted Horn
- 1948 Ted Horn
- 1949 Johnnie Parsons
- 1949 Mel Hansen
- 1950 Duane Carter
[edit] USAC Championship car history (College Station)
[edit] References
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ IndyCar.com Stats - Closest Finishes
- ^ At the finish line, IRL's Bombardier Learjet 550 is hardly ever a dud
- ^ IRL: Indy Racing League News and Notes 2006-12-12
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