Bombardier Learjet 550

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**Bombardier Learjet 550**

Venue	Texas Motor Speedway
Corporate sponsor	Bombardier
First race	1997
First IRL 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 in Justin, 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.

1 History
2 Champ Car race
3 Past winners
4 Previous Logos
5 References

[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.

From 1998-2004, a second IndyCar Series race was held at the track in the fall. Known commonly as "Texas II," the race was always held during the day. 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.

IndyCar Series races were originally 208 laps (312 mi/500 km) long. Beginning in 2001, the races were shortened to 200 laps (300 mi/483 km). In 2007, the IRL will lengthen the race to 228 laps (342 mi/550 km).

[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

Season	Date	Winning Driver	Chassis	Engine
IRL Indycar Series history
1997	June 7	Arie Luyendyk^[1]	G-Force	Oldsmobile
1998	June 6	Billy Boat	Dallara	Oldsmobile
1998	September 20	John Paul, Jr.	G-Force	Oldsmobile
1999	June 12	Scott Goodyear	G-Force	Oldsmobile
1999	October 17	Mark Dismore	Dallara	Oldsmobile
2000^[2]	June 11	Scott Sharp	Dallara	Oldsmobile
2000	October 15	Scott Goodyear	Dallara	Oldsmobile
2001	June 9	Scott Sharp	Dallara	Oldsmobile
2001^[3]	October 6	Sam Hornish, Jr.	Dallara	Oldsmobile
2002	June 8	Jeff Ward	G-Force	Chevrolet
2002	September 15	Sam Hornish, Jr.	Dallara	Chevrolet
2003	June 7	Al Unser, Jr.	Dallara	Toyota
2003^[4]	October 13	Gil de Ferran	Dallara	Toyota
2004	June 12	Tony Kanaan	Dallara	Honda
2004	October 17	Hélio Castroneves	Dallara	Toyota
2005	June 11	Tomas Scheckter	Dallara	Chevrolet
2006	June 10	Hélio Castroneves	Dallara	Honda

^ Billy Boat took checkered flag as the winner due to scoring error; Luyendyk declared official winner the following day
^ Postponed from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon due to rain
^ Postponed from September 16 due to 9/11
^ Race shortened from 200 laps to 195 laps due to crash involving Kenny Brack

[edit] CART Champ Car history

2001 - The pole for the Firestone Firehawk 600k was won by Kenny Brack in 2001, but the race was not held because of concerns over g-forces caused by the cars and their chassis.