Pep Boys IRL: VisionAire 500 Fast Facts
17 July 1998
Pep Boys IRL: VisionAire 500 Fast Facts
VisionAire 500 FAST FACTS
WHAT: Second annual VISIONAIRE 500
Seventh of 11 races in the 1998 Pep Boys
Indy Racing League
WHERE: Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, N.C.
1.5-mile tri-oval superspeedway
WHEN: 9 p.m. (EDT) Saturday, July 25, 1998
DISTANCE: 312 miles/208 laps
POSTED AWARDS: More than $1 million
CARS: Dallara, G Force and Riley & Scott
chassis; Oldsmobile Aurora V8 and Nissan
Infiniti Indy V8 engines; Firestone and
Goodyear tires
1997 RACE WINNER: Buddy Lazier
1996-97 IRL CHAMPION: Tony Stewart
POINTS LEADER: Tony Stewart
(not including Pep
Boys 400K, July 19)
TV:
(Race) The Nashville Network (live), 9 p.m.
(EDT) July 25
Announcers: Eli Gold, Tom Sneva
Pit reporters: Vince Welch, Bobby
Gerould
(Qualifying) SpeedVision (live), 8:30 p.m. (EDT) July
23
Announcers: Gary Lee, Derek Daly
Pit reporter: Calvin Fish
RADIO:
(Race) IMS Radio Network (live), 9 p.m. (EDT)
July 25 with a prerace show starting at
8:30 p.m. Local affiliates are WBT-AM,
1110, Charlotte, N.C., and WBT-FM, 99.3,
Charlotte, N.C.
Announcers: Bob Jenkins, Gary Lee
Pit reporters: Mark Jaynes, Dave Calabro
Turn reporters: Doug Rice, Mark Garrow
SCHEDULE (all times
local):
(July 23, Pep Boys 10 a.m.: Pep Boys IRL garage opens
Pole Night) 2:45-4:15 p.m.: Pep Boys IRL practice
(Two groups)
5:30-7 p.m.: Pep Boys IRL practice (Two
groups)
8-9:15 p.m.: Pep Boys IRL qualifications
(All positions, best of two laps)
9:30 p.m.: Pep Boys IRL autograph
session in garage area
(July 24) Noon: Pep Boys IRL garage opens
2:15-3:45 p.m.: Pep Boys IRL practice
(Two groups)
7:30-8 p.m.: Pep Boys IRL final practice
(July 25) Noon: Pep Boys IRL garage opens
8:15 p.m.: Pep Boys IRL driver
introductions
9 p.m.: VisionAire 500 (312 miles/208
laps)
TRACK RECORDS:
(Qualifying) Tony Stewart, 24.866 seconds, 217.164
mph, July 24, 1997
(Race) Buddy Lazier, 1 hour, 55 minutes, 29
seconds, July 26, 1997
Average speed: 162.096 mph
THE TRACK: 1.5-mile paved tri-oval
Front straightaway: 1,952.8 feet long
Back straightaway: 1,360 feet long
Banking in turns: 24 degrees
Banking on straightaways: 5 degrees
Charlotte Motor Speedway is the largest
sports stadium in the Southeast, with
144,000 permanent seats. Built by area
businessman O. Bruton Smith in 1960, the
speedway played host to its first event,
the World 600 NASCAR race, on June 19,
1960. The track now plays host to three
NASCAR Winston Cup races per year and
also is the site of many other events,
including the VisionAire 500 Pep Boys
IRL race. CMS is owned by Speedway
Motorsports, Inc., which lists IRL
racing venues Texas Motor Speedway and
Atlanta Motor Speedway among its
holdings. The 2,000-acre speedway
complex includes a 1.5-mile tri-oval
track, 52 condominiums, 102 VIP suites
and a seven-story office tower housing
the Speedway Club and the speedway
ticket office. CMS facilities also
include a $1.7 million track lighting
system.
THE RACE: This Pep Boys IRL event has taken place
annually at Charlotte Motor Speedway
since 1997. 1996 Indianapolis 500
champion Buddy Lazier won the inaugural
VisionAire 500 on July 26, 1997. Tony
Stewart won the pole.
RACE NOTES: Two-time USAC midget national champion
Stevie Reeves is scheduled to make his
Pep Boys IRL debut at this event with
Pagan Racing. Reeves, who lives in the
Charlotte area, joins the IRL after
competing since 1994 in the NASCAR Busch
Grand National Series. Reeves is one of
four Pep Boys IRL rookies entered in
this event. The others: two-time
defending USAC sprint national champion
Brian Tyler, USAC standout Donnie
Beechler and Robby Unser, son of three-
time Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby
Unser.
Greg Ray will drive in this race for the
injured Billy Boat in the Conseco
Dallara/Aurora/Goodyear owned by racing
legend A.J. Foyt. Boat suffered a broken
left leg and a broken pelvis in a crash
during the New England 200 on June 28 at
New Hampshire International Speedway.
Ray finished second to Boat in the True
Value 500 on June 6 at Texas Motor
Speedway, and he earned the No. 2
starting spot at this year's
Indianapolis 500.
Three Indianapolis 500 winners are
entered in this event: 1998 champion
Eddie Cheever Jr., 1990 and 1997
champion Arie Luyendyk and 1996 champion
Buddy Lazier.
This may be only the second Pep Boys IRL
event to take place at Charlotte Motor
Speedway, but open-wheel cars raced at
the defunct Charlotte Speedway from 1924-
27. Winners on the 1.25-mile, high-
banked wooden oval included Indianapolis
500 winners Tommy Milton and Peter
DePaolo.
SERIES NOTES: Defending Pep Boys IRL champion Tony
Stewart has won the PPG pole at three of
the four night races in series history,
including the VisionAire 500 last year
at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Stewart
still seeks his first IRL race victory
under the lights.
Arie Luyendyk and Buddy Lazier are the
first drivers to approach the $3 million
IRL career-earnings mark in league
history. Luyendyk had earned $2,876,853
during his IRL career before the Pep
Boys 400K on July 19 at Dover, Del.,
while Lazier had earned $2,790,404.
No Pep Boys IRL driver recorded a top-10
finish in each of the first five races
of the season.
Race teams will be allowed to tow their
cars to the garage from the pits for
service during the race under an IRL
rule instituted last October at the Las
Vegas 500K. Teams are allowed to repair
their cars in the garage and return to
the race. Teams can't change their
engines or chassis. Two IRL technicians
must approve any repairs before the car
returns to the track, with IRL Technical
Director Phil Casey overseeing the
process.
All teams are aiming for the Pep Boys
Million, a $1 million prize from Pep
Boys to be split between the
championship-winning driver and owner at
the end of this season.
STATISTICS: 1998 Pep Boys IRL 1998 MBNA
(not including Pep point standings lap leaders
Boys 400K, July 19) 1. Tony Stewart 167 1. Tony Stewart
2. Scott Sharp 150 410
3. Davey Hamilton 2. Billy Boat
129 132
4. Billy Boat 122 3. Eddie
5. Scott Goodyear Cheever Jr. 82
119 4. Jeff Ward 73
6. Jeff Ward 113 5. Scott
7. Kenny Brack 109 Goodyear 55
8. Eddie Cheever
Jr. 104 1998 Pep Boys IRL
9. Buddy Lazier 103 winners
10. Stephan Gregoire 1. Tony Stewart 2
88
Buzz Calkins 88 2. Billy Boat 1
12. Arie Luyendyk 87 Eddie Cheever Jr. 1
13. Sam Schmidt 82 Scott Sharp 1
14. Mark Dismore 80
15. Greg Ray 78
Robbie Buhl 78 1998 PPG Poles
1. Billy Boat 2
Tony Stewart 2
3. Jeff Ward 1
1998 Pep Boys IRL 1998 wins by
money leaders chassis
1. Eddie Cheever Jr. 1. Dallara 4
$1,538,300 2. G Force 1
2. Tony Stewart
$655,050 1998 wins by
3. Buddy Lazier engine
$640,000 1. Aurora 5
4. Billy Boat
$629
Jr. 104 1998 Pep Boys IRL
9. Buddy Lazier 103 winners