1998 Indy Racing League

American auto racing season February 2025 Indy Racing League 1998 Pep Boys Indy Racing League logo.png 1998 Indy Racing League 135px Pep Boys Indy Racing League 11 January 24 October 11 SWE Kenny Bräck USA Oldsmobile USA Robby Unser USA Eddie Cheever 1996–97 1999 right horizontal 300 Kenny Bräck at the 2011 Goodwood Festival.jpg DaveyHamilton.jpg 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 TeamChassisEngineTiresNo. Car numberDriver(s)Round(s)USA A. J. Foyt EnterprisesDallaraOldsmobileGoodyear11USA Billy BoatBoat N Injured at New Hampshire.1–5, 8–11USA Greg Ray6–714Sweden Kenny BräckAllUSA Beck Motorsports Dallara InfinitiFirestone54Japan Hideshi Matsuda3USA Blueprint RacingDallaraOldsmobileFirestone27USA Robbie Groff1–2Canada Claude Bourbonnais3USA Billy Roe4USA Bradley MotorsportsG-ForceDallaraCalkins N Used from Atlanta onwards.OldsmobileGoodyear12USA Buzz Calkins1–6, 8–11USA Byrd-Cunningham RacingG-ForceOldsmobileFirestone10USA Mike GroffTyleryrd N Initially replaced by Brian Tyler on Bump Day for the Indy 500, before Tyler relinquished the seat after practising.GSKP N Joe Gosek passed his Indianapolis rookie test in the car.1–3USA John Paul Jr.4–11USA Cahill Auto RacingG-ForceDallaraBeechler N Used from Charlotte onwards.OldsmobileFirestone98USA Donnie Beechler orange R silver3–5, 7–11USA CBR Cobb RacingG-ForceOldsmobileGoodyearCobb N Used at Phoenix, Indianapolis and Pikes Peak.Firestone23USA Paul Durant2–4USA Jim GuthrieGuthrie N Signed after being injured at the Indy 500 while driving for ISM Racing.6–7 InfinitiColombia Roberto Guerrero8–11USA Chastain MotorsportsG-ForceDallaraGregoire N Used at New Hampshire, Charlotte, Atlanta and Texas 2.OldsmobileGoodyear77France Stéphan GrégoireAllUSA Chitwood MotorsportsDallaraOldsmobileGoodyear17USA Brian Tyler orange R silver1–2USA Andy Michner orange R silver3USA D. B. Mann MotorsportsDallaraOldsmobileGoodyear24USA Billy Roe1USA Dan Drinan orange R silver3USA Hemelgarn RacingDallaraOldsmobileGoodyear9USA Johnny Unser391USA Buddy LazierAllUSA Immke RacingDallaraOldsmobileGoodyear20USA Tyce Carlson1–3USA ISM RacingG-ForceOldsmobileGoodyear35USA Jeff WardAll53USA Jim Guthrie1–355USA Steve Knapp orange R silver3USA Kelley RacingDallaraOldsmobileGoodyear8USA Scott SharpAll28USA Mark DismoreAllUSA Knapp MotorsportsDallaraOldsmobileFirestone97USA Greg Ray1–4, 9–11USA Liberty RacingG-ForceOldsmobileFirestone29USA Joe Gosek orange R silverIndyRookie N Not considered rookie for the Indy 500.3–4USA LP RacingDallaraOldsmobileFirestone66USA Scott Harrington orange R silverIndyRookie N399USA Sam SchmidtAllUSA Lyn St. James RacingG-ForceInfinitiGoodyear90USA Lyn St. James3USA McCormack MotorsportsG-ForceOldsmobileGoodyear30Brazil Raul BoeselAllUSA Metro Racing SystemsRiley & ScottOldsmobileGoodyear19USA Stan WattlesIndyNotRookie N Considered rookie only for the Indy 500.1–5, 7–11USA Nienhouse MotorsportsG-ForceDallaraNienhouse N Used at Charlotte, and from Atlanta onwards.OldsmobileGoodyear6USA Davey HamiltonAllUSA Pagan RacingDallaraOldsmobileGoodyear21Colombia Roberto Guerrero1–4USA Stevie Reeves orange R silver7USA Panther RacingG-ForceOldsmobileGoodyear4Canada Scott GoodyearAll43USA Dave Steele orange R silver10–11USA PDM RacingG-ForceOldsmobileGoodyear18USA John Paul Jr.1–2USA Jack Hewitt orange R silver3–5USA Steve Knapp orange R silverDover N Injured at Dover.6, 8–11USA Tyce Carlson7USA Phoenix RacingG-ForceOldsmobileFirestone16Brazil Marco GrecoAllUSA Riley & Scott CarsRiley & ScottOldsmobileGoodyear15Chile Eliseo SalazarSalazar N Injured in a practice crash at Dover.1–5USA Scott Harrington orange R silver6USA Andy Michner orange R silverMichner N Injured in a NASCAR Busch Series test at Homestead-Miami Speedway.7–10USA Jim Guthrie11Austria RSM MarkoDallaraOldsmobileFirestone22USA Dave Steele orange R silver2USA Sinden Racing ServicesDallaraInfinitiOldsmobileYeley N Used by J. J. Yeley at Phoenix and Indianapolis.Firestone40USA Dr. Jack MillerAll44USA J. J. Yeley orange R silver2–5, 9USA Jimmy Kite7USA Team CheeverDallaraCheever N Used by Eddie Cheever. Robby Unser used it at Indianapolis and New Hampshire.G-ForceOldsmobileGoodyear51USA Eddie CheeverAll52USA Robby Unser orange R silverDover N3–6, 8–11USA Team Coulson RacingG-ForceOldsmobileFirestone41Brazil Affonso Giaffone1USA Team MenardDallaraG-ForceMenard N Used at Walt Disney World. Tony Stewart used it at Phoenix and Dover.OldsmobileFirestone1USA Tony StewartAll3USA Robbie Buhl1–5, 8–11USA Team PelfreyDallaraOldsmobileGoodyear81USA John Paul Jr.Ongais N He replaced Danny Ongais, who got injured in a practice crash.3USA Tyce Carlson4USA Brian Tyler orange R silver5–11USA Team ScandiaDallaraOldsmobileGoodyear7USA Jimmy KiteIndyNotRookie N1–433USA Billy Roe3USA Treadway RacingG-ForceOldsmobileFirestoneTreadway N Used at Las Vegas.Goodyear5Netherlands Arie LuyendykAll 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, NevadaSource:NTT IndyCar Series Calendar 1998 https://motorsportstats.com/series/ntt-indycar-series/calendar/1998 Motorsport Stats November 17, 2023 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.RacePole positionFastest lapMost laps ledRace WinnerReport Driver TeamChassisEngine 1 Walt Disney World USA Tony Stewart SWE Kenny Bräck USA Tony Stewart USA Tony Stewart Team MenardG-ForceOldsmobileReport 2 Phoenix USA Jeff Ward USA Tony Stewart USA Tony Stewart USA Scott Sharp Kelley RacingDallaraOldsmobileReport 3 Indianapolis USA Billy Boat USA Tony Stewart USA Eddie Cheever USA Eddie Cheever Team CheeverDallaraOldsmobileReport 4 Texas 1 USA Tony Stewart USA Tony Stewart USA Billy Boat USA Billy Boat A. J. Foyt EnterprisesDallaraOldsmobileReport 5 New Hampshire USA Billy Boat USA Davey Hamilton USA Tony Stewart USA Tony Stewart Team MenardDallaraOldsmobileReport 6 Dover USA Tony Stewart USA Greg Ray USA Scott Sharp USA Scott Sharp Kelley RacingDallaraOldsmobileReport 7 Charlotte USA Tony Stewart SWE Kenny Bräck SWE Kenny Bräck SWE Kenny Bräck A. J. Foyt EnterprisesDallaraOldsmobileReport 8 Pikes Peak USA Billy Boat USA Jeff Ward USA Jeff Ward SWE Kenny Bräck A. J. Foyt EnterprisesDallaraOldsmobileReport 9 Atlanta USA Billy Boat USA Billy Boat CAN Scott Goodyear SWE Kenny Bräck A. J. Foyt EnterprisesDallaraOldsmobileReport 10 Texas 2 USA Billy Boat USA Jeff Ward USA Tony Stewart USA John Paul Jr. Byrd-Cunningham RacingG-ForceOldsmobileReport 11 Las Vegas USA Billy Boat NLD Arie Luyendyk NLD Arie Luyendyk NLD Arie Luyendyk Treadway RacingG-ForceOldsmobileReport 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- Tony Stewart 35- Jeff Ward 6- Davey Hamilton 77- Stéphan Grégoire 28- Mark Dismore 8- Scott Sharp 10- Mike Groff 5- Arie Luyendyk 99- Sam Schmidt 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 8- Scott Sharp 1- Tony Stewart 11- Billy Boat 77- Stéphan Grégoire 35- Jeff Ward 4- Scott Goodyear 99- Sam Schmidt 30- Raul Boesel 12- Buzz Calkins 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 51- Eddie Cheever 91- Buddy Lazier 55- Steve Knapp 6- Davey Hamilton 52- Robby Unser 14- Kenny Bräck 81- John Paul Jr. 17- Andy Michner 44- J. J. Yeley 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 11- Billy Boat 97- Greg Ray 14- Kenny Bräck 4- Scott Goodyear 8- Scott Sharp 3- Robbie Buhl 6- Davey Hamilton 16- Marco Greco 52- Robby Unser 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- Tony Stewart 4- Scott Goodyear 8- Scott Sharp 6- Davey Hamilton 5- Arie Luyendyk 15- Eliseo Salazar 91- Buddy Lazier 28- Mark Dismore 51- Eddie Cheever 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 8- Scott Sharp (248 laps) 91- Buddy Lazier (248 laps) 16- Marco Greco (246 laps) 6- Davey Hamilton (246 laps) 77- Stephan Gregoire (244 laps) 4- Scott Goodyear (242 laps) 23- Jim Guthrie (229 laps) 1- Tony Stewart (220 laps) 5- Arie Luyendyk (203 laps, DNF - Crash) 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 14- Kenny Bräck (208 laps) 35- Jeff Ward (208 laps) 4- Scott Goodyear (208 laps) 5- Arie Luyendyk (206 laps) 16- Marco Greco (205 laps) 10- John Paul Jr. (203 laps) 6- Davey Hamilton (202 laps) 77- Stéphan Grégoire (201 laps) 40- Jack Miller (194 laps) 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 14- Kenny Bräck 3- Robbie Buhl 1- Tony Stewart 77- Stéphan Grégoire 6- Davey Hamilton 16- Marco Greco 91- Buddy Lazier 51- Eddie Cheever 11- Billy Boat 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 14- Kenny Bräck 6- Davey Hamilton 51- Eddie Cheever 4- Scott Goodyear 1- Tony Stewart 35- Jeff Ward 28- Mark Dismore 5- Arie Luyendyk 15- Andy Michner 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 10- John Paul Jr. 52- Robby Unser 35- Jeff Ward 23- Roberto Guerrero 14- Kenny Bräck 91- Buddy Lazier 3- Robbie Buhl 19- Stan Wattles 6- Davey Hamilton 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 5- Arie Luyendyk 99- Sam Schmidt 91- Buddy Lazier 10- John Paul Jr. 51- Eddie Cheever 81- Brian Tyler 3- Robbie Buhl 16- Marco Greco 18- Steve Knapp 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 List of American Championship car racing point scoring systems Pos Driver WDW PHX INDY TMS1 NHS DOV CHA PPR ATL TMS2 LVS Pts 1SWE Kenny Bräck 13 14 6 3 18 10 1* 1 1 5 10 332 2USA Davey Hamilton 3 26 4 7 4 4 7 5 2 9 19 292 3USA Tony Stewart 1* 2* 33 14 1* 8 21 3 5 20* 14 289 4USA Scott Sharp 6 1 16 5 3 1* 18 11 18 23 12 272 5USA Buddy Lazier 15 28 2 11 7 2 13 7 17 6 3 262 6USA Jeff Ward 2 5 13 17 22 19 2 20* 6 3 21 252 7CAN Scott Goodyear 17 6 24 4 2 6 3 18 4* 22 22 244 8NLD Arie Luyendyk 8 24 20 13 5 9 4 22 8 28 1* 227 9USA Eddie Cheever 24 10 1* 26 9 16 20 8 3 25 5 222 10BRA Marco Greco 27 20 14 8 13 3 5 6 13 16 8 219 11USA John Paul Jr. 10 19 7 16 26 21 6 15 23 1 4 216 12FRA Stéphan Grégoire 4 4 17 25 24 5 8 4 20 26 17 201 13USA Billy Boat 21 3 23 1* 21 9 12 14 26 194 14USA Sam Schmidt 9 7 26 18 12 17 14 13 15 27 2 186 15USA Mark Dismore 5 16 27 21 8 18 15 19 7 10 15 180 16USA Robby Unser yellow RY silver 5 9 11 11 12 16 2 16 176 17USA Robbie Buhl 20 12 31 6 10 2 11 7 7 174 18USA Brian Tyler orange R silver 19 17 DNQ 14 12 16 16 21 13 6 140 19USA Buzz Calkins 14 9 10 15 15 Wth 24 28 11 11 134 20BRA Raul Boesel 18 8 19 28 19 14 24 25 10 17 18 132 21USA Greg Ray 25 11 18 2 15 17 24 21 25 128 22USA Steve Knapp orange R silver 3 13 14 14 18 9 118 23USA Dr. Jack Miller 23 DNQ 21 22 16 20 9 23 27 12 28 100 24USA Andy Michner orange R silver 8 12 17 9 15 92 25USA Stan Wattles 22 DNQ 28 10 17 Wth 26 8 13 88 26COL Roberto Guerrero 26 27 22 24 21 19 4 20 83 27USA Tyce Carlson 11 13 DNQ 12 11 73 28USA Donnie Beechler orange R silver 32 27 20 19 10 22 19 23 71 29CHL Eliseo Salazar 12 23 DNQ 23 6 Wth 60 30USA Mike Groff 7 15 15 56 31USA Jimmy Kite 16 18 11 23 52 32USA J. J. Yeley orange R silver 25 9 19 23 25 50 33USA Jim Guthrie DNQ DNQ 29 7 22 24 41 34USA Jack Hewitt orange R silver 12 25 23 35USA Stevie Reeves orange R silver 10 20 36USA Dave Steele orange R silver 22 24 27 17 37USA Billy Roe DNQ 30 20 11 38USA Paul Durant 21 DNQ 9 39USA Scott Harrington orange R silver DNQ 22 8 40USA Johnny Unser 25 5 41USA Robbie Groff 28 DNQ 2 –BRA Affonso Giaffone DNQ 0 –CAN Claude Bourbonnais DNQ 0 –USA Dan Drinan orange R silver DNQ 0 –USA Joe Gosek orange R silver DNQ 0 –JPN Hideshi Matsuda DNQ 0 –USA Lyn St. James DNQ 0 –USA Danny Ongais Wth 0 Pos Driver WDW PHX INDY TMS1 NHS DOV CHA PPR ATL TMS2 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 notparticipate(DNP) Not competing In-line notationBoldPole position(2 points)ItalicsRan fastest race lap*Led most race laps(1 point)DNSAny driver who qualifiesbut does not start (DNS),earns all the pointshad they taken part.yellow RY silver Rookie of the Yearorange R silver 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 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053905/http://media.indycar.com/pdf/2011/IICS_2011_Historical_Record_Book_INT6.pdf 2016-03-04 (p. 140–141) Footnotes N Bibliography Johnson Paul Indy Review 1998, Volume 8: Complete Coverage of the 1998 Indy Racing League Season 1998 MBI Publishing Company St. Paul, MN en 978-0-7603-0593-5 References Indy Racing League Category:IndyCar Series seasons Indy Racing League