1996 U.S. 500

1996 U.S. 500

Race details
Race 6 of 16 in the 1996 CART season
1996 U.S. 500 program cover
Date	May 26, 1996
Official name	The Inaugural U.S. 500
Location	Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan, United States
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.000 mi / 3.219 km
Distance	250 laps 500.000 mi / 804.672 km
Weather	Temperatures reaching up to 63 °F (17 °C); wind speeds up to 9.9 miles per hour (15.9 km/h)[1]
Pole position
Driver	Jimmy Vasser (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Time	31.031 (232.025 mph)
Fastest lap
Driver	Alex Zanardi (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Time	30.836 (233.493 mph) (on lap 18 of 250)
Podium
First	Jimmy Vasser (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Second	Maurício Gugelmin (PacWest Racing)
Third	Roberto Moreno (Payton/Coyne Racing)

The 1996 U.S. 500 was a CART series race held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan on Sunday May 26, 1996. It was the sixth round of the 1996 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season, and was run on the same day as the 1996 Indianapolis 500. Jimmy Vasser of Chip Ganassi Racing won the race from the pole position. It marked the first and only time that two 500-mile Indy car races were held at Michigan in the same season, alongside the traditional Michigan 500, which was held two months later on July 28.

The race was born out of a protest of the formation of the rival IRL and specifically the reservation of starting spots in the 1996 Indianapolis 500 to IRL-based entries.^[2][3] Traditionally, the Indianapolis 500 has had a field of 33 cars. In 1994, Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony George announced he was going to start a new series, the Indy Racing League (IRL), with the Indianapolis 500 as its centerpiece.^{[4][5][6][7][8]} CART had been sanctioning the sport of Indy car racing since 1979, with the exception of the Indianapolis 500 itself, which was sanctioned singly by USAC. Throughout much of 1995, the CART-based teams were unhappy with the formation of the IRL, and mostly uninterested in participating in its events.^[9][10][11] However, for the time being, they were still tentatively preparing to compete at the Indianapolis 500 (in a one-off) pending a reconciliation.^[12] On July 3, 1995, the IRL announced that the top 25 drivers in IRL points would be guaranteed starting positions in the 1996 Indy 500, leaving only eight at-large spots; a rule that became known as the 25/8 rule.^[13][14] On December 18, 1995 CART teams, convinced they were being deliberately locked out from the 1996 Indy 500, and the victims of a "power grab" by Tony George, announced their intentions to boycott that event. The owners, along with CART president and CEO Andrew Craig, jointly announced plans for a new race, the Inaugural U.S. 500, to be held at Michigan International Speedway the same day.^[15][16]

A field of 28 cars qualified for the race. All of the CART-based teams participated, including such major teams as Penske, Ganassi, Newman/Haas, Galles, Tasman, Forsyth, and Team Green - each considered among the top teams in the sport. The race attracted a crowd of 110,879 spectators,^[17][18] and posted a $1 million purse for first place. The historic Vanderbilt Cup trophy was revived and would be presented to the winner. But the race was marred by a huge pileup on the pace lap, which turned the race into a debacle.^[17][18] Approaching the green flag in turn four, Adrián Fernández, in the middle of the front row, clipped wheels with polesitter Jimmy Vasser. Both cars crashed collecting Bryan Herta on the outside of the front row. Several other cars were collected in the incident. Many cars crashed, spun, or veered to the infield grass to avoid the melee. The race was red-flagged, with no less than 12 cars involved in the crash. About an hour later, the race was restarted with numerous drivers switching to back-up cars.

CART rookie Alex Zanardi started in row two and avoided the pace lap crash. He led 134 laps (of 250) but dropped out with a blown engine on lap 175. With nine laps to go, race leader André Ribeiro's car ran out of fuel, and he was forced to duck into the pits for a splash-and-go. Ribeiro's car - one of the backup cars rolled out - did not have proper working fuel telemetry, leaving the crew unsure of their fuel situation. Jimmy Vasser led the final 9 laps to victory. It was Vasser's fourth win of the season, and he would go on to win the 1996 CART championship.