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1998 CART season
FedEx Championship Series
Season
Races19
Start dateMarch 15
End dateNovember 1
Awards
Drivers' champion Italy Alex Zanardi
Constructors' Cup United Kingdom Reynard
Manufacturers' Cup Japan Honda
Nations' Cup United States United States
Rookie of the Year Brazil Tony Kanaan
←  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. [1]

This was the final season with Bobby Rahal 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.

Team Chassis Engine Tires No Drivers Rounds Primary Sponsors
United States Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard 98i Honda HRK F 1 Italy Alex Zanardi All Target
12 United States Jimmy Vasser All
United States Marlboro Team Penske Penske PC-27 Mercedes IC108E G 2 United States Al Unser Jr. All Marlboro
3 Brazil André Ribeiro All
United States Walker Racing Reynard 98i Honda HRK G 5 Brazil Gil de Ferran All Valvoline
United States Newman-Haas Racing Swift 009.c Ford XB G 6 United States 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 F 7 United States Bobby Rahal All Miller Lite
8 United States Bryan Herta All Shell
United States Hogan Racing Reynard 98i Mercedes IC108E F 9 Finland JJ Lehto All Hogan Motor Leasing
United States Della Penna Motorsports Swift 009.c Ford XB F 10 United States Richie Hearn All Budweiser
43 Japan Hideshi Matsuda 2 BMB Mini-Juke
United States Project CART Reynard 98i Mercedes IC108E G 15 Brazil Roberto Moreno 1–2 Hawaiian Tropic
Italy Domenico Schiattarella 3
United States Bettenhausen Racing Reynard 98i Mercedes IC108E G 16 Brazil Hélio Castroneves All Alumax
United States PacWest Racing Group Reynard 98i Mercedes IC108E F 17 Brazil Maurício Gugelmin All Hollywood Cigarettes
18 United Kingdom Mark Blundell All Motorola
United States Payton/Coyne Racing Reynard 98i Ford XB F 19 Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr. All Herdez
34 United States Dennis Vitolo 1, 4, 6–10, 12, 15–19 SmithKline Beecham 15
Payton/Coyne Racing 3
Banco Cacique 1
Brazil Gualter Salles 2–3, 5, 11, 13–14
United States Patrick Racing Reynard 98i Ford XB F 20 United States Scott Pruett All Visteon
40 Mexico Adrián Fernández All Tecate Beer
United States Tasman Motorsports Group Reynard 98i Honda HRK F 21 Brazil Tony Kanaan All LCI
United States Arciero-Wells Racing Reynard 98i Toyota RV8C F 24 Japan Hiro Matsushita 1–3, 5 Panasonic
United States Robby Gordon 4, 6–19
25 Italy Max Papis All MCI
United States Team KOOL Green Reynard 98i Honda HRK F 26 Canada Paul Tracy All KOOL
27 United Kingdom Dario Franchitti All
United States Forsythe Racing Reynard 98i Mercedes IC108E F 33 Canada Patrick Carpentier All Player's
99 Canada Greg Moore All
United States All American Racing Reynard Toyota RV8C G 98 United States P. J. Jones 1–15 Castrol
36 United States Alex Barron 1–12
Eagle 987 13–19
98 Italy Vincenzo Sospiri 16–19
United States Davis Racing Lola T98/00 Ford XB G 77 Germany Arnd Meier All BAAN Business Software 8
Hasseröder 11

Season Summary

Schedule

Rnd Date Race Name Circuit Location
1 March 15 United States Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami Presented by Toyota  O  Homestead Motorsports Complex Homestead, Florida
2 March 28 Japan Budweiser 500K  O  Twin Ring Motegi Motegi, Japan
3 April 5 United States Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach  R  Streets of Long Beach Long Beach, California
4 April 27* United States Bosch Spark Plug Grand Prix Presented by Toyota  O  Nazareth Speedway Nazareth, Pennsylvania
5 May 10 Brazil Rio 400K  O  Autódromo de Jacarepaguá Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
6 May 23 United States Motorola 300  O  Gateway International Raceway Madison, Illinois
7 May 31 United States Miller Lite 200  O  Milwaukee Mile West Allis, Wisconsin
8 June 7 United States ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix  R  The Raceway on Belle Isle Park Detroit, Michigan
9 June 21 United States Texaco/Havoline Presents the Budweiser/G. I. Joe's 200  R  Portland International Raceway Portland, Oregon
10 July 12 United States Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland Presented by Star Bank  R  Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport Cleveland, Ohio
11 July 19 Canada Molson Indy Toronto  R  Exhibition Place Toronto, Ontario
12 July 26 United States U.S. 500 Presented by Toyota  O  Michigan Speedway Brooklyn, Michigan
13 August 9 United States Miller Lite 200  R  Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Lexington, Ohio
14 August 16 United States The Chicago Tribune Presents the Texaco/Havoline 200  R  Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
15 September 6 Canada Molson Indy Vancouver  R  Streets of Vancouver Vancouver, British Columbia
16 September 13 United States Honda Grand Prix of Monterey Featuring the Texaco/Havoline 300  R  Laguna Seca Raceway Monterey, California
17 October 4 United States Texaco Grand Prix of Houston  R  George R. Brown Convention Center Houston, Texas
18 October 18 Australia Honda Indy 300  R  Surfers Paradise Street Circuit Surfers Paradise, Australia
19 November 1 United States Marlboro 500 Presented by Toyota  O  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.
 O  Oval/Speedway
 R  Road/Street course

Race results

Round Race Pole position Fastest lap Race Winner Race Time Report
Driver Team Chassis Engine
1 United States Homestead Canada Greg Moore Canada Greg Moore United States Michael Andretti Newman-Haas Racing Swift Ford 1:33:39 Report
2 Japan Motegi United States Jimmy Vasser United States Jimmy Vasser Mexico Adrián Fernández Patrick Racing Reynard Ford 1:57:12 Report
3 United States Long Beach United States Bryan Herta United States Bobby Rahal Italy Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 1:51:29 Report
4 United States Nazareth Canada Patrick Carpentier Canada Greg Moore United States Jimmy Vasser Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 1:57:20 Report
5 Brazil Rio United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Italy Alex Zanardi Canada Greg Moore Forsythe Racing Reynard Mercedes 1:52:14 Report
6 United States Gateway Canada Greg Moore United States Jimmy Vasser Italy Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 2:23:02 Report
7 United States Milwaukee Canada Patrick Carpentier United States Scott Pruett United States Jimmy Vasser Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 1:34:17 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 Honda 1:54:06 Report
10 United States Cleveland United States Jimmy Vasser United States Bryan Herta Italy Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 1:52:22 Report
11 Canada Toronto United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Brazil Christian Fittipaldi Italy Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 1:52:24 Report
12 United States Michigan Mexico Adrián Fernández Canada Patrick Carpentier Canada Greg Moore Forsythe Racing Reynard Mercedes 3:00:48 Report
13 United States Mid-Ohio United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Canada Greg Moore Mexico Adrián Fernández Patrick Racing Reynard Ford 1:53:39 Report
14 United States Road America United States Michael Andretti Italy Alex Zanardi United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green Reynard Honda 1:35:30 Report
15 Canada Vancouver United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Brazil Hélio Castroneves United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green Reynard Honda 2:00:37 Report
16 United States Laguna Seca United States Bryan Herta Brazil Tony Kanaan United States Bryan Herta Team Rahal Reynard Ford 1:55:13 Report
17 United States Houston Canada Greg Moore Italy Alex Zanardi United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Team KOOL Green Reynard Honda 1:36:30 Report
18 Australia Surfers Paradise United Kingdom Dario Franchitti Italy Alex Zanardi Italy Alex Zanardi Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 2:01:51 Report
19 United States Fontana United States Scott Pruett Canada Greg Moore United States Jimmy Vasser Chip Ganassi Racing Reynard Honda 3:17:54 Report

Final driver standings

Pos Driver MIA United States MOT Japan LBH United States NAZ United States RIO Brazil GAT United States MIL United States DET United States POR United States CLE United States TOR Canada MIC United States MDO United States ROA United States VAN Canada LAG United States HOU United States SUR Australia FON United States 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 United States Jimmy Vasser 16 7 8 1 6 4 1* 6 8 7 3 2 27 9 26 5 4 24 1* 169
3 United Kingdom 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 United States Scott Pruett 5 21 12 22 18 5 10 9 2 4 6 4 2 20 3 18 11 4 20 121
7 United States Michael Andretti 1* 14 21 18* 5 2* 26 10 17 2 2 6 21 15 2 10 28 20 18 112
8 United States 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  RY  29 6 5 9 27 24 17 8 4 14 22 11 8 4 18 3 3 7 19 92
10 United States Bobby Rahal 19 17 17 6 8 8 5 11 6 8 4 7 3 8 25 16 23 25 11 82
11 United States 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 United States 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  R  24 11 9 23 23 7 2 12 13 27 10 12 17 26 24 23 24 21 10 36
18 United Kingdom 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  R  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 United States 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 United States P. J. Jones 20 30 11 19 13 12 14 25 16 21 19 24 20 22 21 3
27 United States Alex Barron  R  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  R  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 United States Dennis Vitolo 25 25 25 DNQ 28 18 24 26 17 26 19 DNQ 25 0
34 Japan Hideshi Matsuda 18 0
Pos Driver MIA United States MOT Japan LBH United States NAZ United States RIO Brazil GAT United States MIL United States DET United States POR United States CLE United States TOR Canada MIC United States MDO United States ROA United States VAN Canada LAG United States HOU United States SUR Australia FON United States 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 not
participate
(DNP)
Not competing
In-line notation
Bold Pole position
Italics Ran fastest race lap
* Led most race laps
 RY  Rookie of the Year
 R  Rookie

Nations' Cup

  • Top result per race counts towards Nations' Cup.
Pos Country MIA United States MOT Japan LBH United States NAZ United States RIO Brazil GAT United States MIL United States DET United States POR United States CLE United States TOR Canada MIC United States MDO United States ROA United States VAN Canada LAG United States HOU United States SUR Australia FON United States Pts
1 United States 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 3 286
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 11 10 4 4 21 3 20 17 19 1 1 4 1 2 6 168
6 Mexico Mexico 6 1 4 12 3 17 9 2 19 5 9 18 1 5 10 7 6 6 4 158
7 Finland Finland 14 29 18 16 10 9 19 26 25 28 24 20 15 18 8 28 10 5 21 25
8 Germany Germany 21 15 15 24 14 21 23 27 12 16 15 14 18 10 28 15 16 27 24 4
9 Japan Japan 23 16 19 15 0
Pos Country MIA United States MOT Japan LBH United States NAZ United States RIO Brazil GAT United States MIL United States DET United States POR United States CLE United States TOR Canada MIC United States MDO United States ROA United States VAN Canada LAG United States HOU United States SUR Australia FON United States Pts

Chassis Constructors' Cup

Pos Chassis Pts Wins
1 United Kingdom Reynard 98I 409 18
2 United States Swift 009.c 167 1
3 United States Penske PC-27 72 0
4 United Kingdom Lola T98/00 4 0
5 United States Eagle 987 1 0
Pos Chassis Pts Wins

Engine Manufacturers' Cup

Pos Engine Pts Wins
1 Japan Honda 365 13
2 United States Ford XB 293 4
3 Germany 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 United States Chip Ganassi Racing 19 7 15 16 17 0 285
2 United States Vasser United States Chip Ganassi Racing 19 3 5 8 15 2 169
3 United Kingdom Franchitti United States Team KOOL Green 19 3 6 9 11 5 160
4 Mexico Fernandez United States Patrick Racing 19 2 4 8 14 1 154
5 Canada Moore United States Forsythe Racing 19 2 6 8 10 4 141
6 United States Pruett United States Patrick Racing 19 0 3 8 11 1 121
7 United States Andretti United States Newman-Haas Racing 19 1 5 6 9 1 112
8 United States Herta United States Team Rahal 19 1 3 5 10 3 97
9 Brazil Kanaan United States Tasman Racing 19 0 2 5 10 0 92
10 United States Rahal United States Team Rahal 19 0 1 3 10 0 82
11 United States Unser Jr. United States Marlboro Team Penske 19 0 2 4 7 0 72
12 Brazil de Ferran United States Walker Racing 19 0 2 3 7 0 67
13 Canada Tracy United States Team KOOL Green 19 0 0 3 8 0 61
14 Brazil Fittipaldi United States Newman-Haas Racing 18 0 2 3 5 0 56
15 Brazil Gugelmin United States PacWest Racing 19 0 0 2 7 0 49
16 United States Hearn United States Della Penna Motorsports 19 0 0 1 8 0 47
17 Brazil Castroneves United States Bettenhausen Racing 19 0 1 1 5 0 36
17 United Kingdom Blundell United States PacWest Racing 19 0 0 0 6 0 36
19 Canada Carpentier United States Forsythe Racing 19 0 0 0 5 2 27
20 Finland Lehto United States Hogan Racing 19 0 0 1 5 0 25
20 Italy Papis United States Arciero-Wells Racing 19 0 0 1 3 0 25
22 Brazil Ribeiro United States Marlboro Team Penske 18 0 0 0 3 0 13
22 United States Gordon United States Arciero-Wells Racing 15 0 0 0 2 0 13
24 Mexico Jourdain Jr. United States Dale Coyne Racing 19 0 0 0 1 0 5
25 Germany Meier United States Davis Racing 19 0 0 0 1 0 4
26 United States Jones United States All American Racing 15 0 0 0 0 0 3
27 United States Barron United States All American Racing 17 0 0 0 0 0 2
28 Brazil Salles United States Dale Coyne Racing 6 0 0 0 0 0 1
29 United States Vitolo United States Dale Coyne Racing 11 0 0 0 0 0 0
29 Italy Sospiri United States All American Racing 4 0 0 0 0 0 0
29 Japan Matsushita United States Arciero-Wells Racing 4 0 0 0 0 0 0
29 Brazil Moreno United States Newman-Haas Racing
United States Project CART
3 0 0 0 0 0 0
29 Italy Schiattarella United States Project CART 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
29 Japan Matsuda United States Beck Motorsports 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

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.

See also