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IRL: Vegas.com 500 Race Entry Notes

15 September 1999

LAS VEGAS - Quick facts and notes about the entry list for the Vegas.com 500 Pep Boys Indy Racing League event Sept. 26 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

QUICK FACTS:

Number of drivers entered: 26.

Rookies entered: Six (Scott Harrington, John Hollansworth Jr., Ronnie Johncox, Niclas Jonsson, Jaques Lazier, Robby McGehee).

By chassis: Dallara 18, G Force 8.

By engine: Aurora 25, Infiniti 1.

By tire: Firestone 13, Goodyear 13.

NOTES:

Niclas Jonsson will make his Pep Boys Indy Racing League debut at this event.

Jonsson, a Swedish native, formerly raced in Formula 3 and the Scandinavian Touring Car Championships. He will drive for Blueprint Racing Enterprises, Inc., a revived team that formerly competed in Indy Racing under the name Blueprint Racing.

Veteran Robbie Buhl will compete in the Pep Boys Indy Racing League for the first time since the Indianapolis 500 in May. He finished 20th, third and sixth, respectively, in the first three races of the season. He will drive for Tri Star Motorsports as a teammate to rookie Ronnie Johncox.

Veteran Johnny Unser returns to Indy Racing for the first time since the Kobalt Mechanics Tools 500 presented by MCI WorldCom in July at Atlanta. He again will drive for Hemelgarn Racing as teammate to 1996 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Lazier.

The math is simple for Pep Boys Indy Racing League points leader Greg Ray: He must lead by 56 points after this race to clinch his first league championship and the Pep Boys Million. Ray leads second-place Scott Goodyear by 44 points entering this event.

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