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
Manufacturers' Cup	Oldsmobile
Rookie of the Year	Robby Unser
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 motorsports. 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.

Confirmed entries

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

Schedule

Rnd	Date	Race Name	Track	Location
1	January 24	Indy 200 at Walt Disney World	Walt Disney World Speedway	Bay Lake, Florida
2	March 22	Dura Lube 200	Phoenix International Raceway	Avondale, Arizona
3	May 24	82nd Indianapolis 500	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana
4	June 6	True Value 500	Texas Motor Speedway	Fort Worth, Texas
5	June 28	New England 200	New Hampshire International Speedway	Loudon, New Hampshire
6	July 19	Pep Boys 400K	Dover International Speedway	Dover, Delaware
7	July 25	VisionAire 500K	Charlotte Motor Speedway	Concord, North Carolina
8	August 16	Radisson 200	Pikes Peak International Raceway	Fountain, Colorado
9	August 29	Atlanta 500 Classic	Atlanta Motor Speedway	Hampton, Georgia
10	September 20	Lone Star 500	Texas Motor Speedway	Fort Worth, Texas
11	October 11	Las Vegas 500K	Las Vegas Motor Speedway	Las Vegas, Nevada
Source: [1]

All races were run on oval speedways.

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.

Results

Rd.	Race	Pole position	Fastest lap	Most laps led	Race Winner				Report
					Driver	Team	Chassis	Engine
1	Walt Disney World	Tony Stewart	Kenny Bräck	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Team Menard	G-Force	Oldsmobile	Report
2	Phoenix	Jeff Ward	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Scott Sharp	Kelley Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	Report
3	Indianapolis	Billy Boat	Tony Stewart	Eddie Cheever	Eddie Cheever	Team Cheever	Dallara	Oldsmobile	Report
4	Texas 1	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Billy Boat	Billy Boat	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Dallara	Oldsmobile	Report
5	New Hampshire	Billy Boat	Davey Hamilton	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Team Menard	Dallara	Oldsmobile	Report
6	Dover	Tony Stewart	Greg Ray	Scott Sharp	Scott Sharp	Kelley Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	Report
7	Charlotte	Tony Stewart	Kenny Bräck	Kenny Bräck	Kenny Bräck	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Dallara	Oldsmobile	Report
8	Pikes Peak	Billy Boat	Jeff Ward	Jeff Ward	Kenny Bräck	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Dallara	Oldsmobile	Report
9	Atlanta	Billy Boat	Billy Boat	Scott Goodyear	Kenny Bräck	A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Dallara	Oldsmobile	Report
10	Texas 2	Billy Boat	Jeff Ward	Tony Stewart	John Paul Jr.	Byrd-Cunningham Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	Report
11	Las Vegas	Billy Boat	Arie Luyendyk	Arie Luyendyk	Arie Luyendyk	Treadway Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	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. 6- Davey Hamilton
4. 77- Stéphan Grégoire
5. 28- Mark Dismore
6. 8- Scott Sharp
7. 10- Mike Groff
8. 5- Arie Luyendyk
9. 99- 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. 99- 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. 6- Davey Hamilton
5. 52- Robby Unser
6. 14- Kenny Bräck
7. 81- John Paul Jr.
8. 17- Andy Michner
9. 44- 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 Rachel's Gourmet Potato Chips. 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. 97- Greg Ray
3. 14- Kenny Bräck
4. 4- Scott Goodyear
5. 8- Scott Sharp
6. 3- Robbie Buhl
7. 6- 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. 6- 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 (248 laps)
2. 91- Buddy Lazier (248 laps)
3. 16- Marco Greco (246 laps)
4. 6- Davey Hamilton (246 laps)
5. 77- Stephan Gregoire (244 laps)
6. 4- Scott Goodyear (242 laps)
7. 23- Jim Guthrie (229 laps)
8. 1- Tony Stewart (220 laps)
9. 5- Arie Luyendyk (203 laps, DNF - Crash)
10. 14- Kenny Bräck (197 laps)

• 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 (1st through 8th, 10th, and 12th) 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 (208 laps)
2. 35- Jeff Ward (208 laps)
3. 4- Scott Goodyear (208 laps)
4. 5- Arie Luyendyk (206 laps)
5. 16- Marco Greco (205 laps)
6. 10- John Paul Jr. (203 laps)
7. 6- Davey Hamilton (202 laps)
8. 77- Stéphan Grégoire (201 laps)
9. 40- Jack Miller (194 laps)
10. 21- Stevie Reeves (184 laps, DNF - CV Joint)

• 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. 6- 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. 6- 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

• Only the top 10 finishers finished the race.

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. 6- 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. 99- 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.

Points standings

Further information: List of American Championship car racing point scoring systems

Pos Driver WDW PHX INDY TXS NHS DOV CHA PPIR ATL TXS LVS 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 CHA PPIR ATL TXS LVS 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 Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine (p. 140–141)

Footnotes

1. Injured at New Hampshire.
2. Used from Atlanta onwards.
3. Initially replaced by Brian Tyler on Bump Day for the Indy 500, before Tyler relinquished the seat after practising.
4. Joe Gosek passed his Indianapolis rookie test in the car.
5. Used from Charlotte onwards.
6. Used at Phoenix, Indianapolis and Pikes Peak.
7. Signed after being injured at the Indy 500 while driving for ISM Racing.
8. Used at New Hampshire, Charlotte, Atlanta and Texas 2.
9. Not considered rookie for the Indy 500.
10. Considered rookie only for the Indy 500.
11. Used at Charlotte, and from Atlanta onwards.
12. Injured at Dover.
13. Injured in a practice crash at Dover.
14. Injured in a NASCAR Busch Series test at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
15. Used by J. J. Yeley at Phoenix and Indianapolis.
16. Used by Eddie Cheever. Robby Unser used it at Indianapolis and New Hampshire.
17. Used at Walt Disney World. Tony Stewart used it at Phoenix and Dover.
18. He replaced Danny Ongais, who got injured in a practice crash.
19. Used at Las Vegas.

References

1. "NTT IndyCar Series Calendar 1998". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved November 17, 2023.