1998 Indy Racing League

1998 Indy Racing League season
Pep Boys Indy Racing League
1998 Indy Racing League
Season
Races	11
Start date	January 24
End date	October 11
Awards
Drivers' champion	Kenny Bräck
Indianapolis 500 winner	Eddie Cheever
← 1996–97 1999 →

Kenny Bräck (left) won his first and only Drivers' Championship while Davey Hamilton (right) finished second in the championship again.

The 1998 Pep Boys Indy Racing League was one of relative stability compared to the previous two seasons. For the first time the season consisted of a single and complete spring, summer, and fall like all other forms of motorsport. 15 drivers completed the entire 11 race schedule, twice as many as the previous season. It was also the first complete season for the new Riley & Scott chassis, though it proved unpopular due to its late introduction. A. J. Foyt Enterprises drivers captured 4 wins, the Indy 500 pole, and the championship, arguably the most successful year in the team's history.

Teams and drivers[]

Team	Chassis	Engine	Tires	No.	Driver(s)	Round(s)
A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Dallara IR8	Oldsmobile	G	11	Billy Boat[N 1]	1–5, 8–11
					Greg Ray	6–7
				14	Kenny Bräck	All
Beck Motorsports	Dallara IR8	Infiniti	F	54	Hideshi Matsuda	3
Blueprint Racing	Dallara IR8	Oldsmobile	F	27	Robbie Groff	1–2
					Claude Bourbonnais	3
					Billy Roe	4
Bradley Motorsports	G-Force GF01B Dallara IR8[N 2]	Oldsmobile	G	12	Buzz Calkins	1–6, 8–11
Byrd-Cunningham Racing	G-Force GF01B	Oldsmobile	F	10	Mike Groff[N 3][N 4]	1–3
					John Paul Jr.	4–11
Cahill Auto Racing	G-Force GF01B Dallara IR8[N 5]	Oldsmobile	F	98	Donnie Beechler  R	3–5, 7–11
CBR Cobb Racing	G-Force GF01B	Oldsmobile	[N 6]'G'F	23	Paul Durant	2–4
					Jim Guthrie[N 7]	6–7
		Infiniti			Roberto Guerrero	8–11
Chastain Motorsports	G-Force GF01B Dallara IR8[N 8]	Oldsmobile	G	77	Stéphan Grégoire	All
Chitwood Motorsports	Dallara IR8	Oldsmobile	G	17	Brian Tyler  R	1–2
					Andy Michner  R	3
D. B. Mann Motorsports	Dallara IR8	Oldsmobile	G	24	Billy Roe	1
					Dan Drinan  R	3
Hemelgarn Racing	Dallara IR8	Oldsmobile	G	9	Johnny Unser	3
				91	Buddy Lazier	All
Immke Racing	Dallara IR8	Oldsmobile	G	20	Tyce Carlson	1–3
ISM Racing	G-Force GF01B	Oldsmobile	G	35	Jeff Ward	All
				53	Jim Guthrie	1–3
				55	Steve Knapp  R	3
Kelley Racing	Dallara IR8	Oldsmobile	G	8	Scott Sharp	All
				28	Mark Dismore	All
Knapp Motorsports	Dallara IR8	Oldsmobile	F	97	Greg Ray	1–4, 9–11
Liberty Racing	G-Force GF01B	Oldsmobile	F	29	Joe Gosek  R [N 9]	3–4
LP Racing	Dallara IR8	Oldsmobile	F	66	Scott Harrington  R [N 9]	3
				99	Sam Schmidt	All
Lyn St. James Racing	G-Force GF01B	Infiniti	G	90	Lyn St. James	3
McCormack Motorsports	G-Force GF01B	Oldsmobile	G	30	Raul Boesel	All
Metro Racing Systems	Riley & Scott Mk V	Oldsmobile	G	19	Stan Wattles[N 10]	1–5, 7–11
Nienhouse Motorsports	G-Force GF01B Dallara IR8[N 11]	Oldsmobile	G	6	Davey Hamilton	All
Pagan Racing	Dallara IR8	Oldsmobile	G	21	Roberto Guerrero	1–4
					Stevie Reeves  R	7
Panther Racing	G-Force GF01B	Oldsmobile	G	4	Scott Goodyear	All
				43	Dave Steele  R	10–11
PDM Racing	G-Force GF01B	Oldsmobile	G	18	John Paul Jr.	1–2
					Jack Hewitt  R	3–5
					Steve Knapp  R [N 12]	6, 8–11
					Tyce Carlson	7
Phoenix Racing	G-Force GF01B	Oldsmobile	F	16	Marco Greco	All
Riley & Scott Cars	Riley & Scott Mk V	Oldsmobile	G	15	Eliseo Salazar[N 13]	1–5
					Scott Harrington  R	6
					Andy Michner  R [N 14]	7–10
					Jim Guthrie	11
RSM Marko	Dallara IR8	Oldsmobile	F	22	Dave Steele  R	2
Sinden Racing Services	Dallara IR8	Infiniti Oldsmobile[N 15]	F	40	Dr. Jack Miller	All
				44	J. J. Yeley  R	2–5, 9
					Jimmy Kite	7
Team Cheever	Dallara IR8[N 16] G-Force GF01B	Oldsmobile	G	51	Eddie Cheever	All
				52	Robby Unser  R [N 12]	3–6, 8–11
Team Coulson Racing	G-Force GF01B	Oldsmobile	F	41	Affonso Giaffone	1
Team Menard	Dallara IR8 G-Force GF01B[N 17]	Oldsmobile	F	1	Tony Stewart	All
				3	Robbie Buhl	1–5, 8–11
Team Pelfrey	Dallara IR8	Oldsmobile	G	81	John Paul Jr.[N 18]	3
					Tyce Carlson	4
					Brian Tyler  R	5–11
Team Scandia	Dallara IR8	Oldsmobile	G	7	Jimmy Kite[N 10]	1–4
				33	Billy Roe	3
Treadway Racing	G-Force GF01B	Oldsmobile	F [N 19]G	5	Arie Luyendyk	All

Season summary[]

Schedule[]

All races running on Oval/Speedway.

The eight races that were held in calendar year 1997 returned in 1998, with the addition of three new races. As part of their effort to venture in traditional stock-car markets, the IRL held the second Indy-car race ever, the first since 1969, at Dover International Speedway, and also competed at the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway, which had been raced eight times by Indy-cars in its former shape between 1965 and 1983. A second race at Texas Motor Speedway in the fall completed the calendar.

Race results[]

Round	Race	Pole position	Fastest lap	Most laps led	Race Winner		Report
					Driver	Team
1	Walt Disney World	Tony Stewart	Kenny Bräck	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Team Menard	Report
2	Phoenix	Jeff Ward	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Scott Sharp	Kelley Racing	Report
3	Indianapolis	Billy Boat	Tony Stewart	Eddie Cheever	Eddie Cheever	Team Cheever	Report
4	Texas 1	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Billy Boat	Billy Boat	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Report
5	New Hampshire	Billy Boat	Davey Hamilton	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Team Menard	Report
6	Dover	Tony Stewart	Greg Ray	Scott Sharp	Scott Sharp	Kelley Racing	Report
7	Charlotte	Tony Stewart	Kenny Bräck	Kenny Bräck	Kenny Bräck	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Report
8	Pikes Peak	Billy Boat	Jeff Ward	Jeff Ward	Kenny Bräck	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Report
9	Atlanta	Billy Boat	Billy Boat	Scott Goodyear	Kenny Bräck	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Report
10	Texas 2	Billy Boat	Jeff Ward	Tony Stewart	John Paul Jr.	Byrd-Cunningham Racing	Report
11	Las Vegas	Billy Boat	Arie Luyendyk	Arie Luyendyk	Arie Luyendyk	Treadway Racing	Report

Race summaries[]

Indy 200[]

The Indy 200 was held on January 24 at Walt Disney World Speedway. Qualifying was rained out, so Tony Stewart won the pole position due to the race being lined up by 1996–97 entrant standings for the first 20 positions and the remaining eight came from the best practice speeds of the remaining cars.

Top 10 results

1. 1- Tony Stewart
2. 35- Jeff Ward
3. - Davey Hamilton
4. 77- Stéphan Grégoire
5. 28- Mark Dismore
6. 8- Scott Sharp
7. 10- Mike Groff
8. 5- Arie Luyendyk
9. - Sam Schmidt
10. 18- John Paul Jr.

• Failed to qualify: 24-Billy Roe, 27-John Hollansworth Jr. , 41-Affonso Giaffone and 53-Jim Guthrie

Dura-Lube 200[]

The Dura-Lube 200 was held on March 22 at Phoenix International Raceway. Jeff Ward qualified on the pole position.

Top 10 results

1. 8- Scott Sharp
2. 1- Tony Stewart
3. 11- Billy Boat
4. 77- Stéphan Grégoire
5. 35- Jeff Ward
6. 4- Scott Goodyear
7. - Sam Schmidt
8. 30- Raul Boesel
9. 12- Buzz Calkins
10. 51- Eddie Cheever

• Failed to qualify: 19-Stan Wattles, 27-Robbie Groff, 40-Jack Miller and 53-Jim Guthrie

Indianapolis 500[]

The Indianapolis 500 was held on May 24 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Billy Boat qualified on the pole position.

Top ten results

1. 51- Eddie Cheever
2. 91- Buddy Lazier
3. 55- Steve Knapp
4. - Davey Hamilton
5. 52- Robby Unser
6. 14- Kenny Bräck
7. 81- John Paul Jr.
8. 17- Andy Michner
9. - J. J. Yeley
10. 12- Buzz Calkins

• Failed to qualify: 10-Brian Tyler, 10, 20, 29-Joe Gosek, 15, 19-Eliseo Salazar, 20-Tyce Carlson, 23-Paul Durant, 24-Dan Drinan, 27-Claude Bourbonnais, 54-Hideshi Matsuda, 66-Scott Harrington, 68-Jaques Lazier, 81-Danny Ongais and 90-Lyn St. James
• Cheever became the first owner/driver to win the Indianapolis 500 since A. J. Foyt in 1977.
• Cheever, whose team was unsponsored prior to this race, planned to shut down his team after the race. However, he and teammate Robby Unser received sponsorship from . This, combined with Cheever's victory, kept the team open the rest of the season.
• Because St. James failed to qualify, the starting lineup consisted of only men for the first time since 1991.
• On the first lap, Yeley spun out and collected Cheever. Both recovered to finish in the top 10.
• Bräck ran out of fuel while leading. As a result, owner Foyt threw the laptop computer that said that Bräck had enough fuel in anger.

True Value 500[]

The True Value 500 was held June 6 at Texas Motor Speedway. Tony Stewart qualified on the pole position.

Top 10 results

1. 11- Billy Boat
2. - Greg Ray
3. 14- Kenny Bräck
4. 4- Scott Goodyear
5. 8- Scott Sharp
6. 3- Robbie Buhl
7. - Davey Hamilton
8. 16- Marco Greco
9. 52- Robby Unser
10. 19- Stan Wattles

• Failed to qualify: 7-Jimmy Kite, 10-Mike Groff, 18-Jack Hewitt, 20-Tyce Carlson, 23-Paul Durant and 29-Joe Gosek
• Boat's only IndyCar win. He had been declared the winner at Texas the previous year, but a scoring error was discovered that resulted in Arie Luyendyk getting the win.
• John Paul Jr. replaced Groff at Byrd-Cunningham Racing for the remainder of the season.

New England 200[]

The New England 200 was held on June 28 at New Hampshire International Speedway. Billy Boat qualified on the pole position.

Top ten results

1. 1- Tony Stewart
2. 4- Scott Goodyear
3. 8- Scott Sharp
4. - Davey Hamilton
5. 5- Arie Luyendyk
6. 15- Eliseo Salazar
7. 91- Buddy Lazier
8. 28- Mark Dismore
9. 51- Eddie Cheever
10. 3- Robbie Buhl

• Stewart's final IndyCar win.
• Boat was involved in a large crash lap 95 and missed the next two races.
• Team owner John Menard Jr. believed that A. J. Foyt Enterprises was cheating and withdrew his car driven by Robbie Buhl from the next two races. His other car, driven by Stewart, was not withdrawn as it was leading the point standings.

Pep Boys 400K[]

The Pep Boys 400K was held on July 19 at Dover Downs International Speedway. Tony Stewart qualified on the pole position.

Top 10 results

1. 8- Scott Sharp
2. 91- Buddy Lazier
3. 16- Marco Greco
4. - Davey Hamilton
5. 77- Stephan Gregoire
6. 4- Scott Goodyear
7. 23- Jim Guthrie
8. 1- Tony Stewart
9. 5- Arie Luyendyk
10. 14- Kenny Bräck

• Failed to qualify: 15-Eliseo Salazar
• Greg Ray replaced the injured Billy Boat. He started 7th, but crashed with Eddie Cheever on lap 104 and finished 15th.
• Only 10 of the 22 starters were running at the finish.

VisionAire 500K[]

The VisionAire 500K was held on July 25 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Tony Stewart qualified on the pole position.

Top 10 results

1. 14- Kenny Bräck
2. 35- Jeff Ward
3. 4- Scott Goodyear
4. 5- Arie Luyendyk
5. 16- Marco Greco
6. 10- John Paul Jr.
7. - Davey Hamilton
8. 77- Stéphan Grégoire
9. - Jack Miller
10. 21- Stevie Reeves

• Bräck's first IndyCar win.

Radisson 200[]

The Radisson 200 was held August 16 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Billy Boat qualified on the pole position.

Top 10 results

1. 14- Kenny Bräck
2. 3- Robbie Buhl
3. 1- Tony Stewart
4. 77- Stéphan Grégoire
5. - Davey Hamilton
6. 16- Marco Greco
7. 91- Buddy Lazier
8. 51- Eddie Cheever
9. 11- Billy Boat
10. 98- Donnie Beechler

• Boat returned in this race. He qualified on the pole position and finished 9th, one lap down.
• Buhl also returned in this race, finishing 2nd after starting 6th.

Atlanta 500 Classic[]

The Atlanta 500 Classic was held on August 29 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Billy Boat qualified on the pole position.

Top 10 results

1. 14- Kenny Bräck
2. - Davey Hamilton
3. 51- Eddie Cheever
4. 4- Scott Goodyear
5. 1- Tony Stewart
6. 35- Jeff Ward
7. 28- Mark Dismore
8. 5- Arie Luyendyk
9. 15- Andy Michner
10. 30- Raul Boesel

Lone Star 500[]

The Lone Star 500 was held on September 20 at Texas Motor Speedway. Billy Boat qualified on the pole position.

Top 10 results

1. 10- John Paul Jr.
2. 52- Robby Unser
3. 35- Jeff Ward
4. 23- Roberto Guerrero
5. 14- Kenny Bräck
6. 91- Buddy Lazier
7. 3- Robbie Buhl
8. 19- Stan Wattles
9. - Davey Hamilton
10. 28- Mark Dismore

• Paul's second and final IndyCar win. 16 years earlier, he won the 1983 Michigan 500 at Michigan International Speedway.
• Entering the season finale, Bräck led Hamilton by 31 points and Tony Stewart by 41 points.

Las Vegas 500K[]

The Las Vegas 500K was held on October 11 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Billy Boat qualified on the pole position.

Top 10 results

1. 5- Arie Luyendyk
2. - Sam Schmidt
3. 91- Buddy Lazier
4. 10- John Paul Jr.
5. 51- Eddie Cheever
6. 81- Brian Tyler
7. 3- Robbie Buhl
8. 16- Marco Greco
9. 18- Steve Knapp
10. 14- Kenny Bräck

• Luyendyk's final IndyCar win. It would also be his final season as a full-time driver, as he would choose to go into semi-retirement in 1999.
• Of the championship contenders, Tony Stewart started 2nd, but spun on lap seven and finished 14th (30 laps down), Davey Hamilton was involved in a crash with Roberto Guerrero on lap 130, finishing 19th. Bräck cruised the rest of the way to finish 10th, six laps down, enough to win the championship.

Driver standings[]

Pos Driver WDW PHX INDY TXS NHS DOV CLT PPIR ATL TXS LSV Pts 1 Kenny Bräck 13 14 6 3 18 10 1* 1 1 5 10 332 2 Davey Hamilton 3 26 4 7 4 4 7 5 2 9 19 292 3 Tony Stewart 1* 2* 33 14 1* 8 21 3 5 20* 14 289 4 Scott Sharp 6 1 16 5 3 1* 18 11 18 23 12 272 5 Buddy Lazier 15 28 2 11 7 2 13 7 17 6 3 262 6 Jeff Ward 2 5 13 17 22 19 2 20* 6 3 21 252 7 Scott Goodyear 17 6 24 4 2 6 3 18 4* 22 22 244 8 Arie Luyendyk 8 24 20 13 5 9 4 22 8 28 1* 227 9 Eddie Cheever 24 10 1* 26 9 16 20 8 3 25 5 222 10 Marco Greco 27 20 14 8 13 3 5 6 13 16 8 219 11 John Paul Jr. 10 19 7 16 26 21 6 15 23 1 4 216 12 Stéphan Grégoire 4 4 17 25 24 5 8 4 20 26 17 201 13 Billy Boat 21 3 23 1* 21 9 12 14 26 194 14 Sam Schmidt 9 7 26 18 12 17 14 13 15 27 2 186 15 Mark Dismore 5 16 27 21 8 18 15 19 7 10 15 180 16 Robby Unser  RY  5 9 11 11 12 16 2 16 176 17 Robbie Buhl 20 12 31 6 10 2 11 7 7 174 18 Brian Tyler  R  19 17 DNQ 14 12 16 16 21 13 6 140 19 Buzz Calkins 14 9 10 15 15 Wth 24 28 11 11 134 20 Raul Boesel 18 8 19 28 19 14 24 25 10 17 18 132 21 Greg Ray 25 11 18 2 15 17 24 21 25 128 22 Steve Knapp  R  3 13 14 14 18 9 118 23 Dr. Jack Miller 23 DNQ 21 22 16 20 9 23 27 12 28 100 24 Andy Michner  R  8 12 17 9 15 92 25 Stan Wattles 22 DNQ 28 10 17 Wth 26 8 13 88 26 Roberto Guerrero 26 27 22 24 21 19 4 20 83 27 Tyce Carlson 11 13 DNQ 12 11 73 28 Donnie Beechler  R  32 27 20 19 10 22 19 23 71 29 Eliseo Salazar 12 23 DNQ 23 6 Wth 60 30 Mike Groff 7 15 15 56 31 Jimmy Kite 16 18 11 23 52 32 J. J. Yeley  R  25 9 19 23 25 50 33 Jim Guthrie DNQ DNQ 29 7 22 24 41 34 Jack Hewitt  R  12 25 23 35 Stevie Reeves  R  10 20 36 Dave Steele  R  22 24 27 17 37 Billy Roe DNQ 30 20 11 38 Paul Durant 21 DNQ 9 39 Scott Harrington  R  DNQ 22 8 40 Johnny Unser 25 5 41 Robbie Groff 28 DNQ 2 – Affonso Giaffone DNQ 0 – Claude Bourbonnais DNQ 0 – Dan Drinan  R  DNQ 0 – Joe Gosek  R  DNQ 0 – Hideshi Matsuda DNQ 0 – Lyn St. James DNQ 0 – Danny Ongais Wth 0 Pos Driver WDW PHX INDY TXS NHS DOV CLT PPIR ATL TXS LSV Pts

Color Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green 4th & 5th place Light Blue 6th–10th place Dark Blue Finished (Outside Top 10) Purple Did not finish (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Brown Withdrawn (Wth) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Blank Did not participate (DNP) Not competing In-line notation Bold Pole position (2 points) Italics Ran fastest race lap * Led most race laps (1 point) DNS Any driver who qualifies but does not start (DNS), earns all the points had they taken part.  RY  Rookie of the Year  R  Rookie

• Ties in points broken by number of wins, followed by number of 2nds, 3rds, etc., and then by number of pole positions, followed by number of times qualified 2nd, etc.

Additional points were awarded to the pole winner (3 points), the second best qualifier (2 points), the third best qualifier (1 point) and to the driver leading the most laps (2 point).

Notes:
Orlando: No additional points for the qualifying were awarded due to rain, starting grid were determined by 1996–97 entrant points for the first 20 positions and the remaining eight went to top practice times from Thursday.
Phoenix: Scott Sharp had 7 points deduction, because his car failed the post-race fuel capacity inspection.
Pikes Peak: Tony Stewart and Robbie Buhl had 15 points deduction each, because the rear wings of both Team Menard cars were found to be in violation of technical specifications.

See also[]

• 1998 Indianapolis 500
• 1998 Indy Lights season
• 1998 CART season
• 1998 Toyota Atlantic Championship season
• http://champcarstats.com/year/1998i.htm
• http://media.indycar.com/pdf/2011/IICS_2011_Historical_Record_Book_INT6.pdf (p. 140–141)

Footnotes[]