1998 CART FedEx Championship Series

American motorsport season February 2025 1998 CART FedEx Championship Series CART vertical logo (1997-2002).svg 19 March 15 November 1 Italy Alex Zanardi United Kingdom Reynard Japan Honda Brazil Tony Kanaan United States United States 1997 1999 The 1998 FedEx Championship Series season was the twentieth in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) era of American open-wheel car racing. It consisted of 19 races, beginning in Homestead, Florida on March 15 and concluding in Fontana, California on November 1. The FedEx Championship Series Drivers' Champion was Alex Zanardi, his second consecutive championship, while the series' Rookie of the Year was Tony Kanaan. This was the first of five years of sponsorship by FDX Corporation, who became FedEx Corporation in 2000. The season was marred by a deadly crash on lap 175 of the U.S. 500. Adrián Fernández slammed into the outside wall in the fourth turn of Michigan International Speedway. 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. Fernández was uninjured.Glick Shav Three spectators die at U.S. 500 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jul-27-sp-7580-story.html Los Angeles Times July 27, 1998 https://web.archive.org/web/20120120132220/http://articles.latimes.com/1998/jul/27/sports/sp-7580 January 20, 2012 live This was the final season with Bobby Rahal, Hiro Matsushita and André Ribeiro on the CART grid. Other notable events of the 1998 season include first wins for Bryan Herta and future Indycar Series and Indianapolis 500 champion Dario Franchitti. Mexican driver Adrián Fernández got his second career win at Twin Ring Motegi, the first race run there by Champ Cars. Drivers and constructors The following teams and drivers competed in the 1998 CART Championship Series season. TeamChassisEngineTiresNoDriversRoundsPrimary Sponsors United States Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard 98i Honda HRK Firestone 1 Italy Alex Zanardi All Target 12 United States Jimmy Vasser All United States Marlboro Team Penske Penske PC-27 Mercedes IC108E Goodyear 2 US Al Unser Jr. All Marlboro 3 Brazil André Ribeiro All United States Walker Racing Reynard 98i Honda HRK Goodyear 5 Brazil Gil de Ferran All Valvoline United States Newman-Haas Racing Swift 009.c Ford XB Goodyear 6 US Michael Andretti All Texaco-Havoline 11 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi 1–6, 8–19 Kmart Brazil Roberto Moreno 7 United States Team Rahal Reynard 98i Ford XB Firestone 7 US Bobby Rahal All Miller Lite 8 US Bryan Herta All Shell United States Hogan Racing Reynard 98i Mercedes IC108E Firestone 9 Finland JJ Lehto All Hogan Motor Leasing United States Della Penna Motorsports Swift 009.c Ford XB Firestone 10 US Richie Hearn All Budweiser43Japan Hideshi Matsuda2BMB Mini-JukeUnited States Project CARTReynard 98iMercedes IC108E Goodyear15Brazil Roberto Moreno1–2Hawaiian Tropic Italy Domenico Schiattarella3 United States Bettenhausen Racing Reynard 98i Mercedes IC108E Goodyear 16 Brazil Hélio Castroneves All Alumax United States PacWest Racing Group Reynard 97i Mercedes IC108E Firestone 17 Brazil Maurício Gugelmin 1–3 Hollywood Cigarettes 3–19Reynard 98i18UK Mark Blundell1–3Motorola3–19 US Payton/Coyne Racing Reynard 98i Ford XB Firestone 19 Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr. All Herdez 34 US Dennis Vitolo 1, 4, 6–10, 12, 15–19 SmithKline Beecham 15 1, 4, 6–10, 12–19Payton/Coyne Racing 3 2–3, 5Banco Cacique 1 11 Brazil Gualter Salles 2–3, 5, 11, 13–14 United States Patrick Racing Reynard 98i Ford XB Firestone 20 US Scott Pruett All Visteon 40 Mexico Adrián Fernández All Tecate Beer United States Tasman Motorsports Group Reynard 98i Honda HRK Firestone 21 Brazil Tony Kanaan All LCI United States Arciero-Wells Racing Reynard 98i Toyota RV8C Firestone 24 Japan Hiro Matsushita 1–3, 5 Panasonic US Robby Gordon 4, 6–19 25 Italy Max Papis All MCI Worldcom United States Team KOOL Green Reynard 98i Honda HRK Firestone 26 Canada Paul Tracy All KOOL 27 UK Dario Franchitti All United States Forsythe Racing Reynard 98i Mercedes IC108E Firestone 33 Canada Patrick Carpentier All Player's 99 Canada Greg Moore All United States All American Racing Reynard Toyota RV8C Goodyear 98 US P. J. Jones 1–15 Castrol 36 US Alex Barron 1–12 Eagle 987 13–19 98 Italy Vincenzo Sospiri 16–19 United States Davis Racing Lola T98/00 Ford XB Goodyear 77 Germany Arnd Meier All BAAN Business Software 8 1–8Hasseröder 11 9–19 Schedule Icon Legend white O silver Oval/Speedway lightblue R silver Road course peachpuff S silver Street circuit Rnd Date Race Name Circuit Location 1 March 15 USA Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami white O silver Homestead-Miami Speedway Homestead, Florida 2 March 28 Japan Budweiser 500K white O silver Twin Ring Motegi Motegi, Japan 3 April 5 USA Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach peachpuff S silver Streets of Long Beach Long Beach, California 4 April 27* USA Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix white O silver Nazareth Speedway Nazareth, Pennsylvania 5 May 10 BRA Rio 400K white O silver Autódromo de Jacarepaguá Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 6 May 23 USA Motorola 300 white O silver Gateway International Raceway Madison, Illinois 7 May 31 USA Miller Lite 200 white O silver Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wisconsin 8 June 7 USA ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix peachpuff S silver The Raceway on Belle Isle Park Detroit, Michigan 9 June 21 USA Budweiser/G. I. Joe's 200 lightblue R silver Portland International Raceway Portland, Oregon 10 July 12 USA Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland lightblue R silver Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport Cleveland, Ohio 11 July 19 Canada Molson Indy Toronto peachpuff S silver Exhibition Place Toronto, Ontario 12 July 26 USA U.S. 500 white O silver Michigan Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan 13 August 9 USA Miller Lite 200 lightblue R silver Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio 14 August 16 USA Texaco/Havoline 200 lightblue R silver Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin 15 September 6 Canada Molson Indy Vancouver peachpuff S silver Streets of Vancouver Vancouver, British Columbia 16 September 13 USA Honda Grand Prix of Monterey lightblue R silver Laguna Seca Raceway Monterey, California 17 October 4 USA Texaco Grand Prix of Houston peachpuff S silver George R. Brown Convention Center Houston, Texas 18 October 18 AUS Honda Indy 300 peachpuff S silver Surfers Paradise Street Circuit Surfers Paradise, Australia 19 November 1 US Marlboro 500 white O silver California Speedway Fontana, California * The Nazareth race was scheduled for April 26, but postponed due to rain. * The Houston race was scheduled for 153 miles, but was shortened due to poor visibility. Results RoundRacePole positionFastest lapRace WinnerRace TimeReportDriverTeamChassisEngine 1 United States Homestead Canada Greg Moore Canada Greg Moore United States Michael Andretti Newman-Haas Racing Swift Ford1:33:39 Report 2 Japan Motegi United States Jimmy Vasser United States Jimmy Vasser Mexico Adrián Fernández Patrick Racing Reynard Ford1:57:12 Report 3 United States Long Beach United States Bryan Herta United States Bobby Rahal Italy Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda1:51:29 Report 4 United States Nazareth Canada Patrick Carpentier Canada Greg Moore United States Jimmy Vasser Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda1:57:20 Report 5 Brazil Rio UK Dario Franchitti Italy Alex Zanardi Canada Greg Moore Forsythe Racing Reynard Mercedes1:52:14 Report 6 United States Gateway Canada Greg Moore United States Jimmy Vasser Italy Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda2:23:02 Report 7 United States Milwaukee Canada Patrick Carpentier United States Scott Pruett United States Jimmy Vasser Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda1:34:17 Report 8 United States Belle Isle Canada Greg Moore Italy Alex Zanardi Italy Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 1:41:17 Report 9 United States Portland United States Bryan Herta Canada Patrick Carpentier Italy Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda1:54:06 Report 10 US Cleveland United States Jimmy Vasser United States Bryan Herta Italy Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda1:52:22 Report 11 Canada Toronto UK Dario Franchitti Brazil Christian Fittipaldi Italy Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda1:52:24 Report 12 US Michigan Mexico Adrián Fernández Canada Patrick Carpentier Canada Greg Moore Forsythe Racing Reynard Mercedes3:00:48 Report 13 US Mid-Ohio UK Dario Franchitti Canada Greg Moore Mexico Adrián Fernández Patrick Racing Reynard Ford1:53:39 Report 14 US Road America United States Michael Andretti Italy Alex Zanardi UK Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green Reynard Honda1:35:30 Report 15 Canada Vancouver UK Dario Franchitti Brazil Hélio Castroneves UK Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green Reynard Honda2:00:37 Report 16 US Laguna Seca United States Bryan Herta Brazil Tony Kanaan United States Bryan Herta Team Rahal Reynard Ford1:55:13 Report 17 US Houston Canada Greg Moore Italy Alex Zanardi UK Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green Reynard Honda1:36:30 Report 18 Australia Surfers Paradise UK Dario Franchitti Italy Alex Zanardi Italy Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda2:01:51 Report 19 US Fontana United States Scott Pruett Canada Greg Moore United States Jimmy Vasser Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda3:17:54 Report Final driver standings List of American Championship car racing point scoring systems Pos Driver HOM US MOT Japan LBH US NAZ US RIO Brazil GTW US MIL US BEL US POR US CLE US TOR Canada MIS US MOH US ROA US VAN Canada LAG US HOU US SUR Australia CAL US Pts 1 Italy Alex Zanardi 3 23 1 2 2* 1 8 1* 1* 1* 1 3* 12 2 4 2 2 1* 3 285 2 US Jimmy Vasser 16 7 8 1 6 4 1* 6 8 7 3 2 27 9 26 5 4 24 1* 169 3 UK Dario Franchitti 9 8 2 21 19 27 4 4 21 3 20* 21 26 1* 1* 4 1* 2 22 160 4 Mexico Adrián Fernández 6 1* 4 26 3 18 9 2 24 5 9 23 1 5 15 7 6 6 4 154 5 Canada Greg Moore 2 4 6 3 1 3 13 5 27 25 11 1 22 21 20 21 26 8 2 141 6 US Scott Pruett 5 21 12 22 18 5 10 9 2 4 6 4 2 20 3 18 11 4 20 121 7 US Michael Andretti 1* 14 21 18* 5 2* 26 10 17 2 2 6 21 15 2 10 28 20 18 112 8 US Bryan Herta 8 28 3 8 4 23 11 21 3 13 5 10 25 23 22 1* 8 10 15 97 9 Brazil Tony Kanaan yellow RY silver 29 6 5 9 27 24 17 8 4 14 22 11 8 4 18 3 3 7 19 92 10 US Bobby Rahal 19 17 17 6 8 8 5 11 6 8 4 7 3 8 25 16 23 25 11 82 11 US Al Unser Jr. 22 2 29 15 16 19 3 24 5 17 17 22 6 27 5 6 7 22 27 72 12 Brazil Gil de Ferran 7 3 20* 4 26 6 22 3 20 6 27 16 9 16 13 19 21 14 17 67 13 Canada Paul Tracy 27 5 25 5 25 26 7 7 28 19 14 9 5 6 11 8 20 23 14 61 14 Brazil Christian Fittipaldi 4 25 26 11 21 11 Wth 17 26 11 16 25 13 3 14 9 27 3 7 56 15 Brazil Maurício Gugelmin 10 20 10 17 9 16 21 19 7 20 12 13 4* 19 6 27 18 12 5 49 16 US Richie Hearn 13 27 23 10 7 28 6 23 10 18 7 5 24 13 16 11 9 18 8 47 17 Brazil Hélio Castroneves orange R silver 24 11 9 23 23 7 2 12 13 27 10 12 17 26 24 23 24 21 10 36 18 UK Mark Blundell 12 10 7 20 11 10 12 22 22 10 26 17 19 7 12 25 14 11 6 36 19 Canada Patrick Carpentier 11 19 28 13 17 15 25 15 9 9 25 8 7 28 27 17 22 9 26 27 20 Finland JJ Lehto orange R silver 14 29 18 16 10 9 19 26 25 28 24 20 15 18 8 28 10 5 21 25 21 Italy Max Papis 26 13 24 14 28 22 16 18 11 12 8 19 14 11 9 12 5 17 16 25 22 Brazil André Ribeiro 17 9 22 DNQ 22 20 18 16 15 22 23 28 10 25 7 14 17 13 28 13 23 US Robby Gordon 7 13 20 14 23 23 13 27 11 12 23 13 13 16 9 13 24 Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr. 28 22 27 12 24 17 15 13 19 26 18 18 28 14 10 24 25 26 12 5 25 Germany Arnd Meier 21 15 15 24 14 21 23 27 12 16 15 14 18 10 28 15 16 27 24 4 26 US P. J. Jones 20 30 11 19 13 12 14 25 16 21 19 24 20 22 21 3 27 US Alex Barron orange R silver 18 24 14 DNQ 12 14 DNQ 20 14 15 28 15 16 24 19 20 12 19 13 2 28 Brazil Gualter Salles 12 13 20 21 23 17 1 29 Italy Vincenzo Sospiri orange R silver 22 15 15 23 0 30 Japan Hiro Matsushita 23 16 19 15 0 31 Brazil Roberto Moreno 15 26 24 0 32 Italy Domenico Schiattarella 16 0 33 US Dennis Vitolo 25 25 25 DNQ 28 18 24 26 17 26 19 DNQ 25 0 34 Japan Hideshi Matsuda 18 0 Pos Driver HOM US MOT Japan LBH US NAZ US RIO Brazil GTW US MIL US BEL US POR US CLE US TOR Canada MIS US MOH US ROA US VAN Canada LAG US HOU US SUR Australia CAL US Pts Color Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green 4th–6th place Light Blue 7th–12th place Dark Blue Finished(Outside Top 12) Purple Did not finish Red Did not qualify(DNQ) Brown Withdrawn(Wth) Black Disqualified(DSQ) White Did not start(DNS) Blank Did notparticipate(DNP) Not competingIn-line notationBoldPole positionItalicsRan fastest race lap*Led most race lapsyellow RY silver Rookie of the Yearorange R silver Rookie Nations' Cup Top result per race counts towards Nations' Cup. Pos Country HOM US MOT Japan LBH US NAZ US RIO Brazil GTW US MIL US BEL US POR US CLE US TOR Canada MIS US MOH US ROA US VAN Canada LAG US HOU US SUR Australia CAL US Pts 1 US United States 1 2 3 1 4 2 1 6 2 2 2 2 2 8 2 1 4 4 1 303 2 Italy Italy 3 13 1 2 2 1 8 1 1 1 1 3 12 2 4 2 2 1 3 285 3 Brazil Brazil 4 3 5 4 9 6 2 3 4 6 10 11 4 3 6 3 3 3 5 203 4 Canada Canada 2 4 6 3 1 3 7 5 9 9 11 1 5 6 11 8 20 8 2 182 5 United Kingdom United Kingdom 9 8 2 20 1110 4 4 21 3 201719 1 1 4 1 26168 6 Mexico Mexico 6 1 4 12 3 17 9 2 19 5 9 18 1 5 10 7 6 6 4 1587 Finland Finland 14 29 18 16 10 9 19 26 25 28 24 20 15 18 8 28 10 5 21 258 Germany Germany 21 15 15 24 14 21 23 27 12 16 15 14 18 10 28 15 16 27 24 49 Japan Japan 23 16 19 15 0 Pos Country HOM US MOT Japan LBH US NAZ US RIO Brazil GTW US MIL US BEL US POR US CLE US TOR Canada MIS US MOH US ROA US VAN Canada LAG US HOU US SUR Australia CAL US Pts Chassis Constructors' Cup Pos Chassis Pts Wins 1 GBR Reynard 98I 409 18 2 USA Swift 009.c 167 1 3 USA Penske PC-27 72 0 4 GBR Lola T98/00 4 0 5 USA Eagle 987 1 0 Pos Chassis Pts Wins Engine Manufacturers' Cup Pos Engine Pts Wins 1 Japan Honda 365 13 2 USA Ford XB 293 4 3 GER Mercedes 226 2 4 Japan Toyota 41 0 Pos Engine Pts Wins Driver breakdown Pos Driver Team Entries Wins Podiums Top 5s Top 10s Poles Points 1 Italy Zanardi US Chip Ganassi Racing 19 7 15 16 17 0 285 2 US Vasser US Chip Ganassi Racing 19 3 5 8 15 2 169 3 UK Franchitti US Team KOOL Green 19 3 6 9 11 5 160 4 Mexico Fernandez US Patrick Racing 19 2 4 8 14 1 154 5 Canada Moore US Forsythe Racing 19 2 6 8 10 4 141 6 US Pruett US Patrick Racing 19 0 3 8 11 1 121 7 US Andretti US Newman-Haas Racing 19 1 5 6 9 1 112 8 US Herta US Team Rahal 19 1 3 5 10 3 97 9 Brazil Kanaan US Tasman Racing 19 0 2 5 10 0 92 10 US Rahal US Team Rahal 19 0 1 3 10 0 82 11 US Unser Jr. US Marlboro Team Penske 19 0 2 4 7 0 72 12 Brazil de Ferran US Walker Racing 19 0 2 3 7 0 67 13 Canada Tracy US Team KOOL Green 19 0 0 3 8 0 61 14 Brazil Fittipaldi US Newman-Haas Racing 18 0 2 3 5 0 56 15 Brazil Gugelmin US PacWest Racing 19 0 0 2 7 0 49 16 US Hearn US Della Penna Motorsports 19 0 0 1 8 0 47 17 Brazil Castroneves US Bettenhausen Racing 19 0 1 1 5 0 36 17 UK Blundell US PacWest Racing 19 0 0 0 6 0 36 19 Canada Carpentier US Forsythe Racing 19 0 0 0 5 2 27 20 Finland Lehto US Hogan Racing 19 0 0 1 5 0 25 20 Italy Papis US Arciero-Wells Racing 19 0 0 1 3 0 25 22 Brazil Ribeiro US Marlboro Team Penske 18 0 0 0 3 0 13 22 US Gordon US Arciero-Wells Racing 15 0 0 0 2 0 13 24 Mexico Jourdain Jr. US Dale Coyne Racing 19 0 0 0 1 0 5 25 Germany Meier US Davis Racing 19 0 0 0 1 0 4 26 US Jones US All American Racing 15 0 0 0 0 0 3 27 US Barron US All American Racing 17 0 0 0 0 0 2 28 Brazil Salles US Dale Coyne Racing 6 0 0 0 0 0 1 29 US Vitolo US Dale Coyne Racing 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 29 Italy Sospiri US All American Racing 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 29 Japan Matsushita US Arciero-Wells Racing 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 29 Brazil Moreno US Newman-Haas RacingUS Project CART 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 29 Italy Schiattarella US Project CART 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 29 Japan Matsuda US Beck Motorsports 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 References http://www.driverdb.com/standings/5-1998/ CART FedEx Champ Car World Series 1998 Åberg, Andreas Driver Database 2009-05-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20090630152801/http://www.driverdb.com/standings/5-1998/ 2009-06-30 live http://www.champcarstats.com/year/1998.htm 1998 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series Champ Car Stats 2009-05-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20090430113854/http://www.champcarstats.com/year/1998.htm 2009-04-30 live http://fedex.com/us/about/news/pressreleases/archives/pressrelease553330.html Federal Express Signs Title Sponsorship Agreement with Championship Auto Racing Teams FDX Corporation 1997-12-09 2009-05-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20090629060605/http://fedex.com/us/about/news/pressreleases/archives/pressrelease553330.html 2009-06-29 dead http://fedex.com/us/about/news/pressreleases/archives/pressrelease213112161.html FedEx Renews Title Sponsorship Agreement with Championship Auto Racing Teams; FedEx Championship Series Roars into 2002 FedEx Corporation 2001-11-07 2009-05-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20090629055612/http://fedex.com/us/about/news/pressreleases/archives/pressrelease213112161.html 2009-06-29 dead http://www.champcar.ws/Results/Standings.asp?Year=1998 Standings after California Champ Car World Series 2009-05-19 https://web.archive.org/web/20090629195850/http://www.champcar.ws/Results/Standings.asp?Year=1998 2009-06-29 dead Bibliography Shaw Jeremy Autocourse Cart 1998-99: Official Champ Car Yearbook 1998 Hazleton Publishing Richmond, Surrey 978-1-874557-33-3 See also 1998 Toyota Atlantic Championship season 1998 Indianapolis 500 1998 Indy Racing League 1998 Indy Lights season Category:Champ Car seasons CART CART