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1998 CART FedEx Championship Series

Sports season


Sports season

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.

This was the final season with Bobby Rahal 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 RacingReynard 98iHonda HRK1Italy Alex ZanardiAllTarget
12United States Jimmy VasserAll
United States Marlboro Team PenskePenske PC-27Mercedes IC108E2US Al Unser Jr.AllMarlboro
3Brazil André RibeiroAll
United States Walker RacingReynard 98iHonda HRK5Brazil Gil de FerranAllValvoline
United States Newman-Haas RacingSwift 009.cFord XB6US Michael AndrettiAllTexaco-Havoline
11Brazil Christian Fittipaldi1–6, 8–19Kmart
Brazil Roberto Moreno7
United States Team RahalReynard 98iFord XB7US Bobby RahalAllMiller Lite
8US Bryan HertaAllShell
United States Hogan RacingReynard 98iMercedes IC108E9Finland JJ LehtoAllHogan Motor Leasing
United States Della Penna MotorsportsSwift 009.cFord XB10US Richie HearnAllBudweiser
43Japan Hideshi Matsuda2BMB Mini-Juke
United States Project CARTReynard 98iMercedes IC108E15Brazil Roberto Moreno1–2Hawaiian Tropic
nowrapItaly Domenico Schiattarella3
United States Bettenhausen RacingReynard 98iMercedes IC108E16Brazil Hélio CastronevesAllAlumax
United States PacWest Racing GroupReynard 98iMercedes IC108E17Brazil Maurício GugelminAllHollywood Cigarettes
18UK Mark BlundellAllMotorola
US Payton/Coyne RacingReynard 98iFord XB19Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr.AllHerdez
34US Dennis Vitolonowrap1, 4, 6–10, 12, 15–19SmithKline Beecham 15
Payton/Coyne Racing 3
Banco Cacique 1
Brazil Gualter Salles2–3, 5, 11, 13–14
United States Patrick RacingReynard 98iFord XB20US Scott PruettAllVisteon
40Mexico Adrián FernándezAllTecate Beer
nowrapUnited States Tasman Motorsports GroupReynard 98iHonda HRK21Brazil Tony KanaanAllLCI
United States Arciero-Wells RacingReynard 98iToyota RV8C24Japan Hiro Matsushita1–3, 5Panasonic
US Robby Gordon4, 6–19
25Italy Max PapisAllMCI Worldcom
United States Team KOOL GreenReynard 98iHonda HRK26Canada Paul TracyAllKOOL
27UK Dario FranchittiAll
United States Forsythe RacingReynard 98iMercedes IC108E33Canada Patrick CarpentierAllPlayer's
99Canada Greg MooreAll
United States All American RacingReynardToyota RV8C98US P. J. Jones1–15Castrol
36US Alex Barron1–12
Eagle 98713–19
98Italy Vincenzo Sospiri16–19
United States Davis RacingLola T98/00Ford XB77Germany Arnd MeierAllnowrapBAAN Business Software 8
Hasseröder 11

Schedule

IconLegend
Oval/Speedway
Road course
Street circuit
RndDateRace NameCircuitLocation12345678910111213141516171819
March 15USA Marlboro Grand Prix of MiamiHomestead-Miami SpeedwayHomestead, Florida
March 28Japan Budweiser 500KTwin Ring MotegiMotegi, Japan
April 5USA Toyota Grand Prix of Long BeachStreets of Long BeachLong Beach, California
April 27*USA Bosch Spark Plug Grand PrixNazareth SpeedwayNazareth, Pennsylvania
May 10BRA Rio 400KAutódromo de JacarepaguáRio de Janeiro, Brazil
May 23USA Motorola 300Gateway International RacewayMadison, Illinois
May 31USA Miller Lite 200Milwaukee MileWest Allis, Wisconsin
June 7USA ITT Automotive Detroit Grand PrixThe Raceway on Belle Isle ParkDetroit, Michigan
June 21USA Budweiser/G. I. Joe's 200Portland International RacewayPortland, Oregon
July 12USA Medic Drug Grand Prix of ClevelandCleveland Burke Lakefront AirportCleveland, Ohio
July 19Canada Molson Indy TorontoExhibition PlaceToronto, Ontario
July 26USA U.S. 500Michigan SpeedwayBrooklyn, Michigan
August 9USA Miller Lite 200Mid-Ohio Sports Car CourseLexington, Ohio
August 16USA Texaco/Havoline 200Road AmericaElkhart Lake, Wisconsin
September 6Canada Molson Indy VancouverStreets of VancouverVancouver, British Columbia
September 13USA Honda Grand Prix of MontereyLaguna Seca RacewayMonterey, California
October 4USA Texaco Grand Prix of HoustonGeorge R. Brown Convention CenterHouston, Texas
October 18AUS Honda Indy 300Surfers Paradise Street CircuitSurfers Paradise, Australia
November 1US Marlboro 500California SpeedwayFontana, 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 TimeReportDriverTeamChassisEngine12345678910111213141516171819
United States HomesteadCanada Greg MooreCanada Greg MooreUnited States Michael AndrettiNewman-Haas RacingSwiftFord1:33:39[Report](1998-marlboro-grand-prix-of-miami)
Japan MotegiUnited States Jimmy VasserUnited States Jimmy VasserMexico Adrián FernándezPatrick RacingReynardFord1:57:12[Report](1998-budweiser-500k)
United States Long BeachUnited States Bryan HertaUnited States Bobby RahalItaly Alex ZanardiChip Ganassi RacingReynardHonda1:51:29[Report](1998-toyota-grand-prix-of-long-beach)
United States NazarethCanada Patrick CarpentierCanada Greg MooreUnited States Jimmy VasserChip Ganassi RacingReynardHonda1:57:20[Report](1998-bosch-spark-plug-grand-prix)
Brazil RioUK Dario FranchittiItaly Alex ZanardiCanada Greg MooreForsythe RacingReynardMercedes1:52:14[Report](1998-rio-400)
United States GatewayCanada Greg MooreUnited States Jimmy VasserItaly Alex ZanardiChip Ganassi RacingReynardHonda2:23:02[Report](1998-motorola-300)
United States MilwaukeeCanada Patrick CarpentierUnited States Scott PruettUnited States Jimmy VasserChip Ganassi RacingReynardHonda1:34:17[Report](1998-miller-200)
United States Belle IsleCanada Greg MooreItaly Alex ZanardiItaly Alex ZanardiChip Ganassi RacingReynardHonda1:41:17[Report](1998-itt-automotive-detroit-grand-prix)
United States PortlandUnited States Bryan HertaCanada Patrick CarpentierItaly Alex ZanardiChip Ganassi RacingReynardHonda1:54:06[Report](1998-budweiser-g-i-joe-s-200)
US ClevelandUnited States Jimmy VasserUnited States Bryan HertaItaly Alex ZanardiChip Ganassi RacingReynardHonda1:52:22[Report](1998-medic-drug-grand-prix-of-cleveland)
Canada TorontoUK Dario FranchittiBrazil Christian FittipaldiItaly Alex ZanardiChip Ganassi RacingReynardHonda1:52:24[Report](1998-molson-indy-toronto)
US MichiganMexico Adrián FernándezCanada Patrick CarpentierCanada Greg MooreForsythe RacingReynardMercedes3:00:48[Report](1998-u-s-500-presented-by-toyota)
US Mid-OhioUK Dario FranchittiCanada Greg MooreMexico Adrián FernándezPatrick RacingReynardFord1:53:39[Report](1998-miller-lite-200)
US Road AmericaUnited States Michael AndrettiItaly Alex ZanardiUK Dario FranchittiTeam KOOL GreenReynardHonda1:35:30[Report](1998-texaco-havoline-200)
Canada VancouverUK Dario FranchittiBrazil Hélio CastronevesUK Dario FranchittiTeam KOOL GreenReynardHonda2:00:37[Report](1998-molson-indy-vancouver)
US Laguna SecaUnited States Bryan HertaBrazil Tony KanaanUnited States Bryan HertaTeam RahalReynardFord1:55:13[Report](1998-honda-grand-prix-of-monterey)
US HoustonCanada Greg MooreItaly Alex ZanardiUK Dario FranchittiTeam KOOL GreenReynardHonda1:36:30[Report](1998-texaco-grand-prix-of-houston)
Australia Surfers ParadiseUK Dario FranchittiItaly Alex ZanardiItaly Alex ZanardiChip Ganassi RacingReynardHonda2:01:51[Report](1998-honda-indy-300)
US FontanaUnited States Scott PruettCanada Greg MooreUnited States Jimmy VasserChip Ganassi RacingReynardHonda3:17:54[Report](1998-marlboro-500-presented-by-toyota)

Final driver standings

PosDriverHOM USMOT JapanLBH USNAZ US[RIO](1998-rio-400) BrazilGTW USMIL USBEL USPOR USCLE US[TOR](1998-molson-indy-toronto) CanadaMIS USMOH USROA USVAN CanadaLAG USHOU US[SUR](1998-honda-indy-300) Australia[CAL](1998-marlboro-500-presented-by-toyota) USPts128521693160415451416121711289799210821172126713611456154916471736183619272025212522132313245254263272281290300310320330340PosDriverHOM USMOT JapanLBH USNAZ US[RIO](1998-rio-400) BrazilGTW USMIL USBEL USPOR USCLE US[TOR](1998-molson-indy-toronto) CanadaMIS USMOH USROA USVAN CanadaLAG USHOU US[SUR](1998-honda-indy-300) Australia[CAL](1998-marlboro-500-presented-by-toyota) USPts
Italy Alex Zanardi32312*2**18*1**1*1*13*12*2*42*2**1**3
US Jimmy Vasser16***7***816*4*1*68**7**322792654241*
UK Dario Franchitti98221**19**2744213**20***21**26**1***1***41***2**22
Mexico Adrián Fernández61*426318922459**23**15157664
Canada Greg Moore***2***46*3*1**3**13**5**2725111*22*212021**26**8*2*
US Scott Pruett5211222185*10*92464220318114**20**
US Michael Andretti1*142118*52*26101722621**15**210282018
US Bryan Herta828**3**84231121**3***13*510252322**1***81015
Brazil Tony Kanaan29659272417841422118418*3*3719
US Bobby Rahal1917*17*6885116847382516232511
US Al Unser Jr.2222915161932451717226275672227
Brazil Gil de Ferran7320*426622320627169161319211417
Canada Paul Tracy275255252677281914956118202314
Brazil Christian Fittipaldi42526112111Wth172611*16*251331492737
Brazil Maurício Gugelmin10201017916211972012134*1962718125
US Richie Hearn13272310728623101875241316119188
2411923237212132710121726*24*23242110
UK Mark Blundell12107201110122222102617197122514116
Canada Patrick Carpentier111928**13**1715**25**15*9*925*8*728271722926
Finland JJ Lehto14291816109192625282420151882810521
Italy Max Papis26132414282216181112819141191251716
Brazil André Ribeiro17922DNQ22201816152223281025714171328
US Robby Gordon7132014232313271112231313169
Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr.28222712241715131926181828141024252612
Germany Arnd Meier21151524142123271216151418102815162724
US P. J. Jones203011191312142516211924202221
US Alex Barron182414DNQ1214DNQ201415281516241920121913
Brazil Gualter Salles121320212317
Italy Vincenzo Sospiri22151523
Japan Hiro Matsushita23161915
Brazil Roberto Moreno152624
Italy Domenico Schiattarella16
US Dennis Vitolo252525DNQ28182426172619DNQ25
Japan Hideshi Matsuda18
ColorResult
GoldWinner
Silver2nd place
Bronze3rd place
Green4th–6th place
Light Blue7th–12th place
Dark BlueFinished
(Outside Top 12)
PurpleDid not finish
RedDid not qualify
(DNQ)
BrownWithdrawn
(Wth)
BlackDisqualified
(DSQ)
WhiteDid not start
(DNS)
BlankDid not
participate
(DNP)
Not competing

|- |

**In-line notation**
**Bold**
*Italics*
*

|} |}

Nations' Cup

  • Top result per race counts towards Nations' Cup.
PosCountryHOM USMOT JapanLBH USNAZ US[RIO](1998-rio-400) BrazilGTW USMIL USBEL USPOR USCLE US[TOR](1998-molson-indy-toronto) CanadaMIS USMOH USROA USVAN CanadaLAG USHOU US[SUR](1998-honda-indy-300) Australia[CAL](1998-marlboro-500-presented-by-toyota) USPts1303228532034182516861587258490PosCountryHOM USMOT JapanLBH USNAZ US[RIO](1998-rio-400) BrazilGTW USMIL USBEL USPOR USCLE US[TOR](1998-molson-indy-toronto) CanadaMIS USMOH USROA USVAN CanadaLAG USHOU US[SUR](1998-honda-indy-300) Australia[CAL](1998-marlboro-500-presented-by-toyota) USPts
US United States1231421622222821441
Italy Italy313122181111312242213
Brazil Brazil435496234610114363335
Canada Canada2463137599111561182082
United Kingdom United Kingdom98220111044213201719114126
Mexico Mexico614123179219591815107664
Finland Finland14291816109192625282420151882810521
Germany Germany21151524142123271216151418102815162724
Japan Japan23161915

[[Chassis]] Constructors' Cup

PosChassisPtsWins140918216713720440510PosChassisPtsWins
GBR Reynard 98I
USA Swift 009.c
USA Penske PC-27
GBR Lola T98/00
USA Eagle 987

[[Engine]] Manufacturers' Cup

PosEnginePtsWins13651322934322624410PosEnginePtsWins
Japan Honda
USA Ford XB
GER Mercedes
Japan Toyota

Driver breakdown

PosDriverTeamEntriesWinsPodiumsTop 5sTop 10sPolesPoints12345678910111213141516171719202022222425262728292929292929
Italy ZanardiUS Chip Ganassi Racing1971516170**285**
US VasserUS Chip Ganassi Racing19358152**169**
UK FranchittiUS Team KOOL Green19369115**160**
Mexico FernandezUS Patrick Racing19248141**154**
Canada MooreUS Forsythe Racing19268104**141**
US PruettUS Patrick Racing19038111**121**
US AndrettiUS Newman-Haas Racing1915691**112**
US HertaUS Team Rahal19135103**97**
Brazil KanaanUS Tasman Racing19025100**92**
US RahalUS Team Rahal19013100**82**
US Unser Jr.US Marlboro Team Penske1902470**72**
Brazil de FerranUS Walker Racing1902370**67**
Canada TracyUS Team KOOL Green1900380**61**
Brazil FittipaldiUS Newman-Haas Racing1802350**56**
Brazil GugelminUS PacWest Racing1900270**49**
US HearnUS Della Penna Motorsports1900180**47**
Brazil CastronevesUS Bettenhausen Racing1901150**36**
UK BlundellUS PacWest Racing1900060**36**
Canada CarpentierUS Forsythe Racing1900052**27**
Finland LehtoUS Hogan Racing1900150**25**
Italy PapisUS Arciero-Wells Racing1900130**25**
Brazil RibeiroUS Marlboro Team Penske1800030**13**
US GordonUS Arciero-Wells Racing1500020**13**
Mexico Jourdain Jr.US Dale Coyne Racing1900010**5**
Germany MeierUS Davis Racing1900010**4**
US JonesUS All American Racing1500000**3**
US BarronUS All American Racing1700000**2**
Brazil SallesUS Dale Coyne Racing600000**1**
US VitoloUS Dale Coyne Racing1100000**0**
Italy SospiriUS All American Racing400000**0**
Japan MatsushitaUS Arciero-Wells Racing400000**0**
Brazil MorenoUS Newman-Haas Racing
US Project CART300000**0**
Italy SchiattarellaUS Project CART100000**0**
Japan MatsudaUS Beck Motorsports100000**0**

References

References

  1. Glick, Shav. (July 27, 1998). "Three spectators die at U.S. 500". [[Los Angeles Times]].
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