| Race Name: | 82nd Indianapolis 500 |
| Race Logo: | Indy500winningcar1998.JPG |
| Sanction: | Indy Racing League |
| Season: | 1998 IRL season |
| Team: | Team Cheever |
| Date: | May 24, 1998 |
| Winner: |  Eddie Cheever |
| Mph: | 145.155mph |
| Pole: | Billy Boat |
| Pole Speed: | 223.503mph |
| Fast Time: | Billy Boat |
| Rookie: | Steve Knapp |
| Leader: | Eddie Cheever (76) |
| Anthem: | Elizabeth Burch |
| Back Home: | Jim Nabors |
| Start Engines: | Mari Hulman George |
| Pace Car: | Chevrolet Corvette |
| Pace Driver: | Parnelli Jones |
| Starter: | Bryan Howard |
| Honorary Start: | Mark Page (Pep Boys) |
| Attendance: | 250,000 |
| Network: | ABC |
| Announcers: | Paul Page, Tom Sneva |
| Rating: | 6.0 |
| Share: | 19 |
| Previous: | 1997 |
| Next: | 1999 |
The 82nd Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 24, 1998. This was the third Indianapolis 500 run as part of the Indy Racing League, but the first fully-sanctioned by the IRL after they relied on USAC to sanction the 1996–1997 races. The race was part of the 1998 Pep Boys Indy Racing League season.
Eddie Cheever, a former Formula One driver that had competed in Indy car racing since 1990, highlighted his racing career with this lone Indianapolis win. Cheever finished three seconds ahead of second place Buddy Lazier, the 1996 winner. Cheever became the first owner/driver to win the "500" since A. J. Foyt in 1977. The 1998 race ushered in a compacted, two-week schedule for the Indy 500, omitting an entire week of practice, and trimming qualifying from four days down to two.
During time trials, Billy Boat secured the first pole position at Indy for the Foyt team since 1975.
This was the first Indianapolis victory for the Dallara chassis. In the second year utilizing the 4.0 L, normally aspirated, 32-valve production-based engines (Aurora L47 and Infiniti VH), qualifying speeds climbed, topping out nearly six miles per hour faster than 1997.
|
BackgroundContinuing split from CARTThe ongoing IRL/CART split continued into its third year. The two series began moving further apart, and for the second time, no major teams from the CART ranks entered at Indianapolis. CART teams raced on Saturday at the Motorola 300. Rule changes
Entry listThe first entry list was published on April 14. The 34 cars that had run in any of the first two rounds of 1998 were entered, including the #27 Blueprint Racing entry, initially unassigned after Robbie Groff failed to complete a racing lap. The car was initially scheduled to be run by Cary Faas at the Rookie Orientation Program, but the test never happened. RSM Marko also failed to undertake his scheduled Rookie Orientation Program test with driver Dave Steele, and the team would not appear afterwards, while Team Coulson Racing never appointed a driver for the #41 car. Earlier in the month, D. B. Mann Motorsports had named Dan Drinan in the #24 car driven by Billy Roe at Orlando. Two cars had driver changes before the start of practice due to budgetary issues: Chitwood Motorsports signed Andy Michner in the #17 car the day before ROP in place of Brian Tyler, both passing their tests with the team, and PDM Racing replaced John Paul Jr. on May 5 with rookie Jack Hewitt, who had passed all but one of his rookie test phases in Jack Miller's Sinden Racing entry on April. Finally, Blueprint announced during Opening Day that the #27 seat would go to second-year driver Claude Bourbonnais. Before the start of practice, eight further car/driver combinations were registered, pushing the total to 40 competitors. Team Scandia announced the signing of Billy Roe for a second car in late March, both Robby Unser and Steve Knapp were announced for additional entries by Team Cheever and ISM Racing on April 9, and Donnie Beechler was confirmed a day later for a new team, Cahill Auto Racing. At the release of the entry list, Lyn St. James confirmed her programme as a driver/owner, while LP Racing entered a second car for Scott Harrington. In the final week leading to practice, Joe Gosek was signed by new outfit Liberty Racing, and veteran Danny Ongais received a call-up before Opening Day to drive for yet another new team, Pelfrey, which had been denied a request to field Shawn Bayliff due to a lack of experience.
PracticeSunday May 10Opening day saw Mike Groff take the honor of "first car on the track." Crashes during the day were suffered by Jack Hewitt and Jimmy Kite, neither were serious. Robbie Buhl was the fastest car of the day, at 219.325 mph. Monday May 11Tony Stewart led the speed chart, with a lap of 223.703 mph. It was the fastest lap since the normally aspirated engine formula was adopted in 1997. Eight drivers in total broke the 200 mph barrier. Danny Ongais suffered the most serious crash thus far for the month, and was sidelined with a concussion. Arie Luyendyk, Mike Groff, Raul Boesel and Tony Stewart all suffered mechanical problems, and required tows back to the garage area. Off the track, Eddie Cheever announced a sponsorship deal with Rachel's Gourmet Potato Chips. Tuesday May 12Tony Stewart nearly matched his speed from a day before, with a fast lap of 223.691 mph. Second best Kenny Bräck was a full 2 mph slower at 221.593 mph. Sunny skies, with temperatures in the 70s greeted the Speedway for the third day in a row. Wednesday May 13Moisture from an overnight shower delayed the start of practice for about a half-hour. Billy Boat took the honors for fastest of the day at 221.691 mph, while Tony Stewart sat out the day. Temperatures topped out at 80 degrees late in the day. Thursday May 14Jimmy Kite suffered his second wall contact of the week, backing the car into the wall in turn 4. Another warm, 83 degree afternoon saw Tony Stewart once again on top of the speed chart (223.430 mph). "Fast" Friday May 15The final day of practice before pole day was warm, with a high of 81 degrees. Tony Stewart topped the speed chart with the fastest lap of the month (223.797 mph). Kenny Bräck and Billy Boat were also over 221 mph. Boat, however, wrecked his primary car in turn 3 shortly after the 11 a.m. start. Also spinning in a separate incident (but not making contact) was Jack Hewitt. At the close of practice, Tony Stewart entered time trials as the favorite for the pole position. Stewart led the speed chart on four of the six days of practice (sitting out one day). Foyt drivers Kenny Bräck and Billy Boat were also front row favorites, however, Boat's crash on Friday seemed to dim his chances. Time trialsPole Day – Saturday May 16Pole day dawned sunny and clear, with temperatures in the high 70s. Qualifying started on-time promptly at 11 a.m., but saw two early wave-offs. The first two notable runs were put in by Robbie Buhl (220.236 mph) and Tony Stewart (220.386 mph), but the speeds were down from their expectations. At noon, Kenny Bräck took over the provisional pole with a run of 220.982 mph. Minutes later, Jimmy Kite crashed for the third time of the week. At 12:45 p.m., Billy Boat took to the track for his run. His first lap was a remarkable 224.573 mph, the fastest lap of the month. The three other laps dropped off, but his four-lap average of 223.503 mph was fast enough to secure the pole position. Sixteen cars completed runs before the mid-afternoon down time. Around 4:15 p.m., qualifying resumed, with drivers Scott Sharp and Eddie Cheever among those making the field. At 5:15 p.m., Greg Ray squeezed onto the front row, as the second-fastest qualifier (221.125 mph). At the end of the day, the field was filled to 26 cars, after a record 42 qualifying attempts. Among the notables not yet in the field were Arie Luyendyk, Lyn St. James, and Jeff Ward. Luyendyk suffered through engine trouble most of the day. Billy Boat's unexpected speed in qualifying drew the attention of competitors, given that it occurred in the heat of the day, and it was miles per hour faster than he had run all week. Team Menard threatened to protest, and accused Foyt Racing of cheating by illegally using nitrous.[2] [3] The Indy Racing League took no action, and Boat was not penalized. Bump Day – Sunday May 17With seven positions remaining in the field, the second and final day of time trials saw heavy activity. In the first hour, veterans Raul Boesel, Arie Luyendyk and Jeff Ward were among the early qualifiers. Scott Harrington, however, blew an engine and wrecked on his second lap, which put a halt to qualifying for nearly 45 minutes. In the heat of the day (1:52 p.m.), Eliseo Salazar completed a run at 216.259 mph, the second-slowest in the field. His run was followed by a long down-time, as teams waited for optimum conditions. At 4:30 p.m., qualifying resumed, and several cars took to the track. During the next hour, 13 attempts were made, but only 5 were run to completion. After three wrecks for the week, Jimmy Kite found the needed speed, and managed to fill the field to 33 cars at 4:55 p.m. With Billy Roe (215.781 mph) the first driver on the bubble, Mike Groff bumped him out at 5:23 p.m. That put Eliseo Salazar (216.259 mph) on the bubble. Minutes later, Roe went back out and bumped his way back into the field. The move placed Johnny Unser (216.316 mph) now on the bubble. Claude Bourbonnais, Dan Drinan, and Lyn St. James all fell short of Johnny Unser's speed, and failed to bump him out. With four minutes remaining, Eliseo Salazar scrambled into Stan Wattles' back-up car, but managed only 211 mph on the first two laps. The car began smoking, and he was waved off. The 6 o'clock gun fired with Hideshi Matsuda waiting in line. With Lyn St. James having failed to qualify, the 500 had an all-male field for the first time since 1991. Carb Day - Thursday May 21The final practice session saw the Foyt entries of Kenny Bräck and Billy Boat top the speed chart. Bräck (220.994 mph) was the only driver over 220 mph. No incidents were reported, but Stan Wattles twice stalled on the track with mechanical problems. Panther Racing with driver Scott Goodyear won the Coors Indy Pit Stop Challenge. Starting grid
Alternates
Failed to qualify
Race recapPre raceRain fell during the morning of the race, delaying the start of the race by about 35 minutes. During track drying efforts, a dog sneaked out onto the track in turn four, and ran down the pit lane while eluding officials, all the way to turn two before being caught. Mari Hulman George finally gave the command to start engines at 11:32 a.m. EST. Before the final pace lap, Raul Boesel went into the pits with a fuel pump problem and missed the start of the race. Boesel would only complete three racing laps before being towed to the garage on Lap 8, going on to lose 35 laps until he was back on track. StartAt the start, Eddie Cheever got loose in turn one, and pinched J. J. Yeley down to the inside, which resulted in a half-spin for both of them, and an early caution for three laps. Despite a slight contact, Cheever continued unharmed. Yeley managed to stop the car and not hit the wall, but his engine stalled, and lost a lap before being restarted by safety crews. At the front of the field, Billy Boat led the first dozen laps, while Kenny Bräck dropped on the restart from third to tenth after missing a shift. On lap 13, Greg Ray took over the lead, and Tony Stewart charged in third after exchanging passes with teammate Robbie Buhl. On Lap 16, Buddy Lazier pitted out of sequence from tenth place, as part of an alternative strategy. By Lap 19, Bräck had regained third place, passing Buhl and Boat in the same lap. On Lap 21, Ray was slowed by traffic, and Stewart dove into the lead down the main stretch. Just one lap later, Stewart's engine blew as he approached the finish line, coasting to a stop in the outside of turn 1. A dejected Stewart threw his steering wheel and gloves into his empty cockpit, as misfortune had struck him again for the third straight "500". First halfUnder caution, the first round of pit stops featured an incident between Jeff Ward and Stéphan Grégoire. After being serviced, Ward damaged his front wing when he collided with the left rear tyre of Grégoire, who was entering his pit box. Billy Boat fell to the bottom of the top 10 after stalling his car, and Arie Luyendyk stalled three times before getting back on the track, due to a clutch issue that prevented him from downshifting into first or second gear. Just before the restart, Scott Goodyear relinquished his fourth place because of clutch issues, losing 35 laps for repairs. Greg Ray led the race order on Lap 27 ahead of Kenny Bräck and Davey Hamilton, but restarted the race behind Luyendyk and Lazier, both still on the lead lap. Eddie Cheever had not stopped in the previous caution and was already up to 10th place, having passed several cars before. On Lap 32, race leader Ray slowed suddenly on the backstraight with a broken transmission. He made it to the pits, and rejoined the race 18 laps later. As other cars briefly slowed down, Robbie Buhl took advantage and passed Hamilton for second place behind new race leader Kenny Bräck. On Lap 34, Donnie Beechler broke an engine and brought out the third caution, which included Lazier's second pit stop and Boat making additional stops to correct handling issues in his car. At the end of the caution period, Robbie Buhl encountered water temperature problems in his engine. He lost places to Hamilton and Scott Sharp after the Lap 39 restart, and was already down in seventh place when he suffered yet another engine failure, ending Team Menard's race on Lap 45. Before the yellow, Cheever had continued his charge towards the front; having passed Roberto Guerrero and rookie Steve Knapp earlier, he also got past Sam Schmidt, Buhl and Sharp to claim third place, just missing on a pass for second over Hamilton when the caution came out. Buzz Calkins and Buddy Lazier, both out of sequence, led the restart as the green came out on Lap 49, while Billy Boat's gearbox finally seized as it got stuck in second gear. Several cars were running two-wide at the front of the field, when a major crash occurred in turn 3. Sam Schmidt, who tried an inside pass on Davey Hamilton for second place, got into the grass, lost control, and spun backwards into the turn three wall. Eddie Cheever was immediately behind after getting passed by Schmidt, but slipped underneath and escaped the incident. Stan Wattles ran into the back of Mark Dismore, and both cars collected Roberto Guerrero. As he approached the scene, Jim Guthrie tried to avoid the crash by shortcutting into the grass. Just as he rejoined the racetrack, he collected an errant wing from Schmidt's car that fell in front of his car, and his machine shot head-on into the outside wall. Guthrie was extricated by the medical team and transported to Methodist Hospital with a broken elbow, a broken leg and cracked ribs. Billy Roe avoided the incident at first, but spun the car on the deceleration lane between turns 3 and 4, and crashed into the inside wall. After a long yellow flag, and a series of pit stops, Kenny Bräck and Eddie Cheever were leading the race over Scott Sharp. Owing to good restarts and the high attrition, Arie Luyendyk was up to fourth place over the improving John Paul Jr. and Davey Hamilton, who had minor repairs during his pit stop. Buddy Lazier, on the other hand, stayed out in the lead until Lap 61 and was placed in tenth at the time, with 13 cars on the lead lap. The race went back to green on Lap 64, and Cheever took the lead for the first time on Lap 68. Paul Jr. progressed into second place by Lap 73, while Sharp lost places steadily. Green flag pit stops began on Lap 83, with Buddy Lazier pitting ten laps later. Arie Luyendyk had to be pushed out due to his clutch issues, and a miscalculation by Foyt's crew caused Kenny Bräck to run out of fuel, costing him two laps. The gaffe angered A. J. Foyt, who was caught on the TV broadcast scolding his engineers and smashing one of the team's laptops. Eddie Cheever left his pit box before his crew removed the fuel nozzle and lost some time, but he managed to retain the lead by 1.5 seconds over John Paul Jr., with Davey Hamilton another five seconds behind and Robby Unser holding Luyendyk for fourth. As more drivers were being lapped, Steve Knapp and Lazier were the last cars on the lead lap, half a minute behind. Just after the pit stop window, another yellow came out on Lap 96 when Jimmy Kite stopped along the track. Second halfWith just seven cars on the lead lap, Eddie Cheever and Steve Knapp took advantage of the yellow to top off on fuel, handing John Paul Jr. the lead of the race. The green came out at the halfway point, as Johnny Unser retired with a blown engine. Paul pulled a five second lead over Davey Hamilton before pitting on Lap 113, with Robby Unser, Hamilton and Arie Luyendyk following suit. After completing his pit stop, Jack Miller stopped on Turn 2 with a battery issue, with the new caution period affording Cheever, Buddy Lazier and Knapp the opportunity to pit again. After the Lap 128 restart, Luyendyk passed Hamilton for second, and Cheever followed suit into third. After his earlier gearbox troubles, Billy Boat finally dropped out for good on Lap 132, and Jeff Ward lost a rear wheel under caution; the wheel had been poorly attached in a previous green flag stop. The race restarted on Lap 136, with Paul Jr., Luyendyk and Cheever running close together. Paul Jr. picked up a big piece of plastic in his radiators and had a slow pit stop on Lap 147 to retrieve it, while Robby Unser overshoot his pit stall. Luyendyk's clutch problems finally took their toll on Lap 150 as he left the pits very slowly. He had to pull off between turns 3 and 4, and the race was slowed three laps later, which left Robby Unser out of the lead lap. Out of nine caution periods until that point, six of them had been caused by cars stopped on track with mechanical issues. Paul Jr. and Hamilton had managed to not lose a lap with Cheever and led the restart order on Lap 157, although Hamilton was quickly dealt with. Paul Jr. offered more resistance until Lap 163, as he lifted off briefly due to a malfunction in the yellow flag indicator of his steering wheel. This left Buddy Lazier and Steve Knapp as the only other drivers on the lead lap, four and seven seconds back respectively. Stéphan Grégoire brushed the wall heavily in Turn 4 with 24 laps to go, with the caution setting the stage for the end of the race. John Paul Jr.'s slim chances of winning vanished as he was unable to leave the pits, where he stayed for almost four minutes. His car stalled four times before being able to engage first gear, but he had lost three laps in the process. All three drivers in the lead lap were now in the same strategy, with Cheever and Lazier separated by the lapped cars of Robby Unser and Jeff Ward, and four other cars between Lazier and Steve Knapp. The restart on Lap 180 was short lived, as Jack Hewitt spun the car on the outside of Turn 1, although the veteran rookie managed to employ his dirt track skills and keep the car off the wall. In the following restart, Scott Sharp lost second gear and had to retire from fifth place. FinishWith 17 laps to go, Buddy Lazier passed the remaining lapped cars on the restart and went after Cheever, being able to keep up for a few laps. Cheever eventually stretched the lead to over 3 seconds, but yet another yellow was brought out on Lap 191 due to the smoking car of Marco Greco. With five laps to go in the final restart, Lazier was nose-to-tail with Cheever, who held off the challenge as he weaved from side to side in the front straight. Cheever set off on a blistering pace and almost brushed the wall a lap later at the exit of Turn 3, but stretched out to a 3.19-second margin to grab the victory. Cheever became the first driver to win the Indy 500 in his own car since A. J. Foyt in 1977, and the first winner since 1989 to have led the most laps. Having started 17th on the grid, his win had the lowest starting position for both Indy Car racing and the Indy 500 since Al Unser's fourth win in 1987 from 20th place. For the first time since 1982, and last as of 2024, all drivers in the top 5 hailed from the United States, with Bräck as the lone foreign driver within the top 13, and four rookies finished in the top 10 for the first time since 1965. Due to high attrition among the main favourites, none of the top 3 drivers had started in the first three rows, which also happened in the highly infamous 1973 and 1992 editions of the race. Steve Knapp, the only other driver to finish on the lead lap in third place, won rookie of the year honours in his first Indy car race, a feat last accomplished by Lyn St. James in 1992. Kenny Bräck salvaged a sixth place finish, and Andy Michner kept his nose clean while battling an electrical problem to cross the line eighth over J. J. Yeley. Both were scored three laps down, and neither would run the Indianapolis 500 again. Mike Groff suffered from engine misfires during the whole race in route to a 15th place finish, in what would be his final Indy car start. Box scoreFormer Indianapolis 500 winner Indianapolis 500 Rookie Race statistics
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
