1998 Texaco Grand Prix of Houston

Last updated

Flag of the United States.svg 1998 Houston
Race details
Race 17 of 19 in the 1998 CART season
Houston CART circuit transparent.png
Original track layout of the Houston Grand Prix.
DateOctober 4, 1998
Official name 1998 Texaco Grand Prix of Houston
Location George R. Brown Convention Center
Houston, Texas, United States
CourseTemporary street course
1.527 mi / 2.457 km
Distance70 laps
106.89 mi / 171.99 km
WeatherHeavy rain
Pole position
Driver Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Greg Moore  (Forsythe Racing)
Time59.508
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of Italy.svg Alex Zanardi  (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Time1:02.797 (on lap 59 of 70)
Podium
First Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dario Franchitti  (Team KOOL Green)
Second Flag of Italy.svg Alex Zanardi  (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Third Flag of Brazil.svg Tony Kanaan  (Tasman Motorsports Group)

The 1998 Texaco Grand Prix of Houston was the seventeenth round of the 1998 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on October 4, 1998, at a street adjacent to the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. The race was a rain-interrupted race, with the start being delayed 30 minutes due to heavy rain. [1] Another heavy rainshower after 70 laps out of the scheduled 100 forced the race to be stopped, with the win handed to Dario Franchitti, who was leading at the time.

Contents

The race was the scene of an infamous Lap 48 collision between winner Franchitti and his Team KOOL Green teammate, Paul Tracy. While running second, Tracy attempted to pass Franchitti on the inside going into the left-handed Turn 6; however, Franchitti was already making the turn, leading to the teammates touching, and Tracy spinning, brushing the inside wall enough to bend his left front suspension, ending his race. [2] This led to a terse conversation over the radio between Tracy and team owner Barry Green. [3] When Tracy returned to pit road, he and Green nearly came to blows in plain view of television cameras and the crowd on the start-finish straight. [3] Ironically, within days of their near fistfight, Tracy and Green agreed to a four-year contract extension. [4]

Classification

Race

PosNoDriverTeamLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
127 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dario Franchitti Team Green 701:36:30.979220+1
21 Flag of Italy.svg Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing 70+0.646816
321 Flag of Brazil.svg Tony Kanaan Tasman Motorsports Group 70+5.7921114
412 Flag of the United States.svg Jimmy Vasser Chip Ganassi Racing 70+8.342312
525 Flag of Italy.svg Max Papis Arciero-Wells Racing 70+11.1701410
640 Flag of Mexico.svg Adrián Fernández Patrick Racing 70+13.425128
72 Flag of the United States.svg Al Unser Jr. Team Penske 70+17.725166
88 Flag of the United States.svg Bryan Herta Team Rahal 70+26.90665
910 Flag of the United States.svg Richie Hearn Della Penna Motorsports 70+27.812184
109 Flag of Finland.svg JJ Lehto Hogan Racing 70+35.089213
1120 Flag of the United States.svg Scott Pruett Patrick Racing 69+1 Lap192
1236 Flag of the United States.svg Alex Barron All American Racing 69+1 Lap201
1324 Flag of the United States.svg Robby Gordon Arciero-Wells Racing 69+1 Lap24
1418 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mark Blundell PacWest Racing Group 68+2 Laps22
1598 Flag of Italy.svg Vincenzo Sospiri All American Racing 68+2 Laps28
1677 Flag of Germany.svg Arnd Meier Davis Racing 68+2 Laps26
173 Flag of Brazil.svg André Ribeiro Team Penske 66+4 Laps10
1817 Flag of Brazil.svg Maurício Gugelmin PacWest Racing Group 52Electrical16
1934 Flag of the United States.svg Dennis Vitolo Payton/Coyne Racing 49Electrical27
2026 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Paul Tracy Team Green 48Contact4
215 Flag of Brazil.svg Gil de Ferran Walker Racing 38Spun off7
2233 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Patrick Carpentier Forsythe Racing 36Contact25
237 Flag of the United States.svg Bobby Rahal Team Rahal 35Suspension9
2416 Flag of Brazil.svg Hélio Castro-Neves Bettenhausen Racing 35Suspension17
2519 Flag of Mexico.svg Michel Jourdain Jr. Payton/Coyne Racing 13Contact23
2699 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Greg Moore Forsythe Racing 3Contact11
2711 Flag of Brazil.svg Christian Fittipaldi Newman-Haas Racing 3Contact5
286 Flag of the United States.svg Michael Andretti Newman-Haas Racing 2Steering13

Caution flags

LapsCause
1-3Multiple cars spinning due to rain
5-9 Moore (99), Fittipaldi (11) contact
14-16 Jourdain Jr. (19), Gordon (24) contact, road block. Later red-flagged.
39-43 Carpentier (33) contact
46 Vitolo (34) contact
68-70Heavy rain

Lap Leaders

LapsLeader
1-70 Dario Franchitti
 
DriverLaps led
Dario Franchitti 70

Point standings after race

PosDriverPoints
1 Flag of Italy.svg Alex Zanardi 250
2 Flag of the United States.svg Jimmy Vasser 148
3 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dario Franchitti 143
4 Flag of Mexico.svg Adrián Fernández 134
5 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Greg Moore 120

References

  1. "CHAMPCAR/CART: Max Papis Claim Toyota's First Top Five". Archived from the original on August 10, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
  2. 1998 Texaco Grand Prix of Houston Part 8 (Collision occurs at 4:02 mark)
  3. 1 2 1998 Thrills And Spills (Part 2 - Featuring CART and USAC) (Audio of conversation at 2:49 mark)
  4. "Tracy, Green shake hands, come out smiling". Houston Chronicle. October 7, 1998. Retrieved October 25, 2012.