- 1998 Indianapolis 500
The 1998 Indianapolis 500 was held at Indianapolis on Sunday,
May 24 ,1998 . This, the 82nd running, was the firstIndianapolis 500 fully sanctioned by theIndy Racing League after the IRL relied on theUnited States Auto Club to sanction the first two Indy 500's under the IRL banner.Recap
Eddie Cheever, Jr. , a formerFormula One competitor and Indy rookie in 1990, highlighted his racing career with this lone Indianapolis win. Cheever's race started with a turn one, lap one incident withJ.J. Yeley . Both drivers continued with no damage to their vehicles. Pre-race favoriteTony Stewart retired on lap 22 with an engine failure. Stewart's team mateRobbie Buhl then retired on lap 44 with a similar failure. DriverJim Guthrie was injured in a lap 48 accident that also involvedBilly Roe ,Stan Wattles ,Mark Dismore ,Roberto Guerrero , andSam Schmidt . Guthrie suffered a fractured right arm and contusions to his right leg. 1996Indy 500 winnerBuddy Lazier mounted a strong challenge, but could not keep pace with Cheever at the finish. He settled for second, 3.19 seconds behind Cheever.Steve Knapp was the only other driver to finish on the lead lap and would be named the 1998Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year .Results
(W) - former Indianapolis 500 winner; (R) - Denotes Rookie Candidate
*C
Chassis : D=Dallara , G=G-Force, R=Riley & Scott *E
Engine : I=Infiniti , O=Oldsmobile *T
Tire : F=Firestone, G=GoodyearFailed to qualify:
Eliseo Salazar (#15),Claude Bourbonnais (#27),Joe Gosek (#29),Hideshi Matsuda (#54),Scott Harrington (#66),Dan Drinan (#24),Paul Durant (#23T),Lyn St. James (#90)Indy 500 Walker
Previous_race = 1997
Previous_winner =Arie Luyendyk
This_race = 1998
This_winner =Eddie Cheever, Jr.
Next_race = 1999
Next_winner =Kenny Bräck
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