1998 Michigan 500

Last updated
Flag of the United States.svg 1998 Michigan 500
Race details
Race 12 of 19 in the 1998 CART season
Michigan International Speedway track map.png
Michigan International Speedway
DateJuly 26, 1998
Official name 1998 U.S. 500 Presented by Toyota
Location Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, Michigan, United States
CoursePermanent racing facility
2.000 mi / 3.219 km
Distance250 laps
500.000 mi / 804.672 km
WeatherDry
Pole position
Driver Adrián Fernández  (Patrick Racing)
Time31.370
Fastest lap
Driver Patrick Carpentier  (Forsythe Racing)
Time31.508 (on lap 131 of 250)
Podium
First Greg Moore  (Forsythe Racing)
Second Jimmy Vasser  (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Third Alex Zanardi  (Chip Ganassi Racing)

The 1998 Michigan 500 was the twelfth round of the 1998 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on July 26, 1998, at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. For sponsorship reasons, and in light of the continuing split in Championship Car racing, the race was branded as the 1998 U.S. 500 Presented by Toyota. The race saw a record 63 lead changes due to the draft of the new Hanford Device, and was won by Greg Moore after a thrilling battle in the last five laps with Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi and Scott Pruett.

Contents

The race was marred by a crash on lap 175. Adrián Fernández slammed into the outside wall in the fourth turn. His right front wheel was torn off and hurled over the fence into the stands, killing three spectators (Kenneth Fox, Sheryl Laster, and Michael Tautkus) and injuring six others. [1] A subsequent incident in the IndyCar Series' VisionAire 500K the following year resulted in both open-wheel sanctioning bodies (and NASCAR, initially for its Modified Tour series) [2] requiring tethers be installed in wheel hubs, as well as changes to catch fencing on oval tracks, to prevent such re-occurrence.

Classification

Race

PosNoDriverTeamLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
199 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Greg Moore Forsythe Racing 2503:00:48.7851420
212 Flag of the United States.svg Jimmy Vasser Chip Ganassi Racing 250+0.259216
31 Flag of Italy.svg Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing 250+0.267714+1
420 Flag of the United States.svg Scott Pruett Patrick Racing 250+0.518612
510 Flag of the United States.svg Richie Hearn Della Penna Motorsports 250+1.356310
66 Flag of the United States.svg Michael Andretti Newman-Haas Racing 250+1.56788
77 Flag of the United States.svg Bobby Rahal Team Rahal 250+2.649126
833 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Patrick Carpentier Forsythe Racing 250+3.428215
926 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Paul Tracy Team Green 250+4.318154
108 Flag of the United States.svg Bryan Herta Team Rahal 250+26.27053
1121 Flag of Brazil.svg Tony Kanaan Tasman Motorsports Group 249+1 Lap202
1216 Flag of Brazil.svg Hélio Castro-Neves Bettenhausen Racing 248+2 Laps241
1317 Flag of Brazil.svg Maurício Gugelmin PacWest Racing Group 248+2 Laps17
1477 Flag of Germany.svg Arnd Meier Davis Racing 247+3 Laps18
1536 Flag of the United States.svg Alex Barron All American Racing 242+8 Laps28
165 Flag of Brazil.svg Gil de Ferran Walker Racing 240Engine10
1718 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mark Blundell PacWest Racing Group 240+10 laps19
1819 Flag of Mexico.svg Michel Jourdain Jr. Payton/Coyne Racing 238+12 Laps26
1925 Flag of Italy.svg Max Papis Arciero-Wells Racing 237Electrical22
209 Flag of Finland.svg JJ Lehto Hogan Racing 223Contact13
2127 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dario Franchitti Team Green 213Engine16
222 Flag of the United States.svg Al Unser Jr. Team Penske 194Oil leak4
2340 Flag of Mexico.svg Adrián Fernández Patrick Racing 174Contact11
2498 Flag of the United States.svg P. J. Jones All American Racing 111Engine27
2511 Flag of Brazil.svg Christian Fittipaldi Newman-Haas Racing 87Overheating9
2634 Flag of the United States.svg Dennis Vitolo Payton/Coyne Racing 85Contact25
2724 Flag of the United States.svg Robby Gordon Arciero-Wells Racing 76Contact23
283 Flag of Brazil.svg André Ribeiro Team Penske 75Oil leak11

Caution flags

LapsCause
81-87 Gordon (24) contact
92-100 Vitolo (34) contact
117-123 Jones (98) engine blow-up
176-184 Fernández (40) contact
185-188 Franchitti (27) spin
216-222 Franchitti (27) engine blow-up
227-234 Lehto (9) contact
242-245 de Ferran (5) engine blow-up

Lap Leaders

LapsLeader
1-2 Al Unser Jr.
3-5 Jimmy Vasser
6-11 Michael Andretti
12-13 Jimmy Vasser
14 Michael Andretti
15-17 Jimmy Vasser
18-30 Michael Andretti
31-34 Gil de Ferran
35-37 Richie Hearn
38-65 Michael Andretti
66-68 Gil de Ferran
69 Adrián Fernández
70 Gil de Ferran
71 Greg Moore
72-75 Richie Hearn
76-83 Michael Andretti
84-89 Greg Moore
90-91 Richie Hearn
92-101 Greg Moore
102 Richie Hearn
103 Greg Moore
104 Richie Hearn
105-118 Greg Moore
119-125 Paul Tracy
126-128 Gil de Ferran
129 Paul Tracy
130-132 Gil de Ferran
133 Paul Tracy
134 Michael Andretti
135-136 Paul Tracy
137-138 Michael Andretti
139-140 Gil de Ferran
141 Michael Andretti
142-145 Gil de Ferran
146 Adrián Fernández
147-150 Gil de Ferran
151-157 Adrián Fernández
158-159 Greg Moore
160-165 Paul Tracy
166-168 Alex Zanardi
169-170 Paul Tracy
171-176 Alex Zanardi
177-178 Michael Andretti
179-190 Alex Zanardi
191 Paul Tracy
192-193 Alex Zanardi
194 Al Unser Jr.
195-196 Alex Zanardi
197 Paul Tracy
198-199 Alex Zanardi
200 Paul Tracy
201-202 Gil de Ferran
203-224 Alex Zanardi
225 Jimmy Vasser
226-237 Alex Zanardi
238 Jimmy Vasser
239 Alex Zanardi
240-245 Jimmy Vasser
246 Alex Zanardi
247 Jimmy Vasser
248 Greg Moore
249 Jimmy Vasser
250 Greg Moore
 
DriverLaps led
Alex Zanardi 63
Michael Andretti 62
Greg Moore 36
Gil de Ferran 26
Paul Tracy 22
Jimmy Vasser 18
Richie Hearn 11
Adrián Fernández 9
Al Unser Jr. 3

Point standings after race

PosDriverPoints
1 Flag of Italy.svg Alex Zanardi 190
2 Flag of the United States.svg Jimmy Vasser 122
3 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Greg Moore 119
4 Flag of the United States.svg Michael Andretti 92
5 Flag of Mexico.svg Adrián Fernández 90

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References

  1. Glick, Shav (July 27, 1998). "Three spectators die at U.S. 500". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on January 20, 2012.
  2. Jewett, Larry: "Innovations in Safety", Stock Car Racing ( ISSN   0734-7340), Vol. 35, No. 5 (May 2000), pp. 62–63.