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| 1998 Indy Lights season | |
|---|---|
| PPG/Dayton Indy Lights Championship | |
| Season | |
| Races | 14 |
| Start date | March 15 |
| End date | October 31 |
| Awards | |
| Drivers' champion |  Cristiano da Matta |
| ← 19971999 → | |
The 1998 CART PPG/Dayton Indy Lights Championship consisted of 14 races. Future 2002 CART champion and Formula One driver Cristiano da Matta captured four wins on his way to the championship.
Team and driver chart
The following drivers and teams competed in the series:
Schedule
| Rd. | Date | Track | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 15 | O Homestead-Miami Speedway | Homestead, Florida |
| 2 | April 5 | R Long Beach Street Circuit | Long Beach, California |
| 3 | April 27 | O Nazareth Speedway | Nazareth, Pennsylvania |
| 4 | May 23 | O Gateway International Raceway | Madison, Illinois |
| 5 | May 31 | O Milwaukee Mile | West Allis, Wisconsin |
| 6 | June 7 | R The Raceway at Belle Isle Park | Detroit, Michigan |
| 7 | June 21 | R Portland International Raceway | Portland, Oregon |
| 8 | July 12 | R Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport | Cleveland, Ohio |
| 9 | July 19 | R Exhibition Place | Toronto, Ontario |
| 10 | July 25 | O Michigan International Speedway | Brooklyn, Michigan |
| 11 | August 2 | R Circuit Trois-Rivières | Trois-Rivières, Quebec |
| 12 | September 6 | R Streets of Vancouver | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| 13 | September 13 | R Laguna Seca Raceway | Monterey, California |
| 14 | October 31 | O California Speedway | Fontana, California |
Race results
Race summaries
Homestead race
- March 15, 1998
- Homestead-Miami Speedway, Miami, Florida
- Pole position: Sérgio Paese, 0:30.098, 179.653 mph (289.123 km/h)
| Top Five Finishers | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fin. Pos |
St. Pos |
Car No. |
Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Laps Led |
Points |
| 1 | 2 | 16 |  Shigeaki Hattori
|
Indy Regency Racing | 67 | 52:35.077 | 64 | 21 |
| 2 | 4 | 2 | Cristiano da Matta
|
Tasman Motorsports | 67 | +0.468 | 0 | 16 |
| 3 | 7 | 6 |  Guy Smith
|
Johansson Motorsports | 67 | +1.420 | 0 | 14 |
| 4 | 6 | 32 |  Oriol Servià
|
Dorricott Racing | 67 | +5.534 | 0 | 12 |
| 5 | 9 | 78 |  Chris Simmons
|
Mattco Raceworks | 67 | +6.853 | 0 | 10 |
| Race average speed: 114.825 mph (184.793 km/h) | ||||||||
| Lead changes: 1 between 2 drivers | ||||||||
| Cautions: 3 for 21 laps | ||||||||
Long Beach race
- April 5, 1998
- Long Beach Grand Prix, Long Beach, California
- Pole position: Didier André, 0:57.108, 99.223 mph (159.684 km/h)
| Top Five Finishers | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fin. Pos |
St. Pos |
Car No. |
Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Laps Led |
Points |
| 1 | 2 | 2 | Cristiano da Matta
|
Tasman Motorsports | 47 | 49:20.748 | 47 | 21 |
| 2 | 4 | 14 | Geoff Boss
|
Lucas Place Motorsports | 47 | +0.459 | 0 | 16 |
| 3 | 6 | 27 | Naoki Hattori
|
Team KOOL Green | 47 | +1.083 | 0 | 14 |
| 4 | 5 | 31 |  Philipp Peter
|
Dorricott Racing | 47 | +3.378 | 0 | 12 |
| 5 | 1 | 18 |  Didier André
|
PacWest Lights | 47 | +7.317 | 0 | 11 |
| Race average speed: 89.951 mph (144.762 km/h) | ||||||||
| Lead changes: none | ||||||||
| Cautions: 2 for 6 laps | ||||||||
Nazareth race
- April 27, 1998
- Nazareth Speedway, Nazareth, Pennsylvania
- Pole position: Cristiano da Matta, 0:22.408, 151.981 mph (244.590 km/h)
| Top Five Finishers | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fin. Pos |
St. Pos |
Car No. |
Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Laps Led |
Points |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | Cristiano da Matta
|
Tasman Motorsports | 100 | 55:56.268 | 100 | 22 |
| 2 | 9 | 18 | Didier André
|
PacWest Lights | 100 | +14.174 | 0 | 16 |
| 3 | 8 | 9 | Casey Mears
|
Mears Racing Team | 100 | +14.745 | 0 | 14 |
| 4 | 5 | 15 | Brian Cunningham
|
Lucas Place Motorsports | 100 | +17.914 | 0 | 12 |
| 5 | 11 | 1 | Airton Daré
|
Tasman Motorsports | 100 | +18.725 | 0 | 10 |
| Race average speed: 101.470 mph (163.300 km/h) | ||||||||
| Lead changes: none | ||||||||
| Cautions: 2 for 30 laps | ||||||||
Gateway race
Held May 23 at Gateway International Raceway. Jorge Goeters won the pole. No qualifying held due to rain. The line up was based on combined practice times.
Top Five Results
Milwaukee race
Held May 31 at The Milwaukee Mile. Sérgio Paese won the pole.
Top Five Results
Detroit race
Held June 7 at Belle Isle Raceway. Airton Daré won the pole.
Top Five Results
Portland race
Held June 21 at Portland International Raceway. Guy Smith won the pole.
Top Five Results
Cleveland race
Held July 12 at Burke Lakefront Airport. Luiz Garcia Jr. won the pole.
Top Five Results
Toronto race
Held July 19 at Exhibition Place. Guy Smith won the pole.
Top Five Results
Michigan race
Held July 25 at Michigan International Speedway. Tony Renna won the pole.
Top Five Results
Trois-Rivières race
Held August 2 at the Trois-Rivières, Quebec Street Circuit. Cristiano da Matta won the pole.
Top Five Results
Vancouver race
Held September 6 at Pacific Place. Cristiano da Matta won the pole.
Top Five Results
Laguna Seca race
Held September 13 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Didier André won the pole.
Top Five Results
Fontana race
Held October 31 at The California Speedway. Tony Renna won the pole.
Top Five Results
Championship standings
Drivers' championship
- Scoring system
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 20 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
- The driver who qualifies on pole is awarded one additional point.
- An additional point is awarded to the driver who leads the most laps in a race.
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- Ties in points broken by number of wins, or best finishes.
Footnotes
- Qualifying was cancelled due to rain. The grid was set by practice times, and no bonus point was awarded.
| Indy NXT seasons | |
|---|---|
| USAC Mini-Indy Series | |
| CART American Racing Series | |
| CART Firestone/Dayton Indy Lights | |
| IRL Infiniti/Indy Pro Series | |
| Firestone Indy Lights Series | |
| Indy Lights Series presented by Cooper Tire | |
| Firestone Indy NXT Series | |