1998 Indy Lights season

(Redirected from 1998 in Indy Lights)

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.

1998 Indy Lights season
PPG/Dayton Indy Lights Championship
Season
Races14
Start dateMarch 15
End dateOctober 31
Awards
Drivers' championBrazil Cristiano da Matta
← 1997
1999 →

Team and driver chart

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The following drivers and teams competed in the series:

Team No. Drivers Round(s)
Brian Stewart Racing 4   Sérgio Paese 14
3 1–11
  Wim Eyckmans 12–14
5   Mattias Andersson 1–3
  Luiz Garcia Jr. 4–14
Conquest Racing 11   Andy Boss All
21   Felipe Giaffone All
Dorricott Racing 30   Bud Kaeding 4–5, 10, 14
31   Philipp Peter All
32   Oriol Servià All
Genoa Racing 61   Eric Jensen 2
  Cory Witherill 7, 12–14
Indy Regency Racing 16   Shigeaki Hattori All
28   Rodolfo Lavín 1–7, 9–10, 12–13
Irish Motorsports / Bordin Racing 56   Tim Moser 2
Johansson Motorsports 6   Guy Smith All
7   Luiz Garcia Jr. 1–2
Lucas Place Motorsports 14   Geoff Boss All
15   Brian Cunningham All
Mattco Raceworks 77   Tony Renna 1–11, 13–14
  Mark Hotchkis 12
78 3–6
  Chris Simmons 1–2, 7–14
79   Mark Hotchkis 14
Mears Racing Team 8   Clint Mears 1, 3–6, 8, 10, 13–14
9   Casey Mears 1–6, 8, 10, 13–14
PacWest Lights 17   Paul Morris 1–12
  Paul Jasper 14
18   Didier André All
Quaker State Team Go

Herdez Competition Team

87   Jorge Goeters 1–11, 14
  Mario Domínguez 12–13
88   Derek Higgins All
Tasman Motorsports 1   Airton Daré All
2   Cristiano da Matta All
Team KOOL Green 26   Mark Hotchkis 11
27   Naoki Hattori All
Team Rahal 41   Mike Borkowski All

Schedule

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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

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Round Circuit Pole position Fastest lap Most laps led Race Winner
Driver Team
1   Homestead-Miami Speedway   Sérgio Paese   Shigeaki Hattori   Shigeaki Hattori   Shigeaki Hattori Indy Regency Racing
2   Long Beach Street Circuit   Didier André   Cristiano da Matta   Cristiano da Matta   Cristiano da Matta Tasman Motorsports
3   Nazareth Speedway   Cristiano da Matta   Cristiano da Matta   Cristiano da Matta   Cristiano da Matta Tasman Motorsports
4   Gateway International Raceway   Jorge Goeters[a]   Shigeaki Hattori   Shigeaki Hattori   Shigeaki Hattori Indy Regency Racing
5   Milwaukee Mile   Sérgio Paese   Derek Higgins   Derek Higgins   Derek Higgins Herdez Competition Team
6   The Raceway at Belle Isle Park   Airton Daré   Airton Daré   Airton Daré   Airton Daré Tasman Motorsports
7   Portland International Raceway   Guy Smith   Didier André   Guy Smith   Guy Smith Johansson Motorsports
8   Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport   Luiz Garcia Jr.   Sérgio Paese   Luiz Garcia Jr.   Luiz Garcia Jr. Brian Stewart Racing
9   Exhibition Place   Guy Smith   Luiz Garcia Jr.   Guy Smith   Guy Smith Johansson Motorsports
10   Michigan International Speedway   Tony Renna   Sérgio Paese   Tony Renna   Tony Renna Mattco Raceworks
11   Circuit Trois-Rivières   Cristiano da Matta   Cristiano da Matta   Cristiano da Matta   Cristiano da Matta Tasman Motorsports
12   Streets of Vancouver   Cristiano da Matta   Cristiano da Matta   Cristiano da Matta   Cristiano da Matta Tasman Motorsports
13   Laguna Seca Raceway   Didier André   Chris Simmons   Didier André   Didier André PacWest Lights
14   California Speedway   Tony Renna   Airton Daré   Tony Renna   Mark Hotchkis Mattco Raceworks

Race summaries

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Homestead race

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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

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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

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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

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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

  1. Shigeaki Hattori
  2. Philipp Peter
  3. Cristiano da Matta
  4. Felipe Giaffone
  5. Jorge Goeters

Milwaukee race

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Held May 31 at The Milwaukee Mile. Sérgio Paese won the pole.

Top Five Results

  1. Derek Higgins
  2. Felipe Giaffone
  3. Sérgio Paese
  4. Geoff Boss
  5. Tony Renna

Detroit race

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Held June 7 at Belle Isle Raceway. Airton Daré won the pole.

Top Five Results

  1. Airton Daré
  2. Cristiano da Matta
  3. Geoff Boss
  4. Mark Hotchkis
  5. Didier André

Portland race

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Held June 21 at Portland International Raceway. Guy Smith won the pole.

Top Five Results

  1. Guy Smith
  2. Felipe Giaffone
  3. Luiz Garcia Jr.
  4. Airton Daré
  5. Brian Cunningham

Cleveland race

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Held July 12 at Burke Lakefront Airport. Luiz Garcia Jr. won the pole.

Top Five Results

  1. Luiz Garcia Jr.
  2. Derek Higgins
  3. Didier André
  4. Guy Smith
  5. Tony Renna

Toronto race

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Held July 19 at Exhibition Place. Guy Smith won the pole.

Top Five Results

  1. Guy Smith
  2. Naoki Hattori
  3. Chris Simmons
  4. Philipp Peter
  5. Didier André

Michigan race

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Held July 25 at Michigan International Speedway. Tony Renna won the pole.

Top Five Results

  1. Tony Renna
  2. Cristiano da Matta
  3. Sérgio Paese
  4. Andy Boss
  5. Oriol Servià

Trois-Rivières race

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Held August 2 at the Trois-Rivières, Quebec Street Circuit. Cristiano da Matta won the pole.

Top Five Results

  1. Cristiano da Matta
  2. Oriol Servià
  3. Naoki Hattori
  4. Guy Smith
  5. Didier André

Vancouver race

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Held September 6 at Pacific Place. Cristiano da Matta won the pole.

Top Five Results

  1. Cristiano da Matta
  2. Derek Higgins
  3. Airton Daré
  4. Mike Borkowski
  5. Felipe Giaffone

Laguna Seca race

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Held September 13 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Didier André won the pole.

Top Five Results

  1. Didier André
  2. Oriol Servià
  3. Derek Higgins
  4. Geoff Boss
  5. Naoki Hattori

Fontana race

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Held October 31 at The California Speedway. Tony Renna won the pole.

Top Five Results

  1. Mark Hotchkis
  2. Felipe Giaffone
  3. Tony Renna
  4. Cory Witherill
  5. Didier André


Championship standings

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Drivers' championship

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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.
Pos Driver HMS
 
LBH
 
NAZ
 
GAT
 
MIL
 
DET
 
POR
 
CLE
 
TOR
 
MIC
 
TRO
 
VAN
 
LAG
 
FON
 
Points
1   Cristiano da Matta 2 1* 1* 3 10 2 20 22 15 2 1* 1* 22 11 154
2   Didier André 14 5 2 12 15 5 8 3 5 7 5 6 1* 5 123
3   Guy Smith 3 8 21 11 22 8 1* 4 1* 6 4 8 15 10 110
4   Felipe Giaffone 19 24 8 4 2 9 2 8 6 9 6 5 18 2 104
5   Derek Higgins 7 21 15 6 1* 12 10 2 17 13 10 2 3 7 94
6   Airton Daré 17 9 5 9 8 1* 4 13 8 19 21 3 11 15 78
7   Oriol Servià 4 19 13 16 14 6 21 6 10 5 2 19 2 25 73
8   Tony Renna DNS 12 10 22 5 15 12 5 21 1* 20 8 3* 68
9   Geoff Boss 9 2 12 15 4 3 11 20 19 14 19 7 4 18 67
10   Naoki Hattori 18 3 7 8 12 23 16 17 2 16 3 17 5 17 66
11   Philipp Peter 11 4 19 2 9 10 22 7 4 23 11 9 16 12 62
12   Luiz Garcia Jr. 22 10 20 11 21 3 1* 11 15 12 16 6 6 60
13   Sérgio Paese 21 6 20 10 3 22 6 18 9 3 13 26 53
14   Shigeaki Hattori 1* 11 14 1* 21 20 18 21 16 20 16 13 9 9 52
15   Mark Hotchkis 9 21 7 4 7 11 1 50
16   Jorge Goeters 16 15 11 51 6 16 9 9 7 21 15 20 34
17   Casey Mears 10 13 3 7 16 19 10 11 21 8 33
18   Brian Cunningham 12 22 4 23 20 7 5 12 14 22 18 10 20 24 33
19   Chris Simmons 5 23 14 15 3 10 8 18 13 14 32
20   Andy Boss 13 16 6 13 17 14 19 11 13 4 14 22 14 13 22
21   Paul Morris 6 20 22 18 24 13 7 19 20 Wth 9 20 18
22   Mike Borkowski 20 25 16 19 18 11 15 14 12 18 17 4 17 23 15
23   Cory Witherill 13 15 12 4 13
24   Clint Mears DNS 18 17 19 17 16 8 10 22 8
25   Mattias Andersson 15 7 17 6
26   Mario Domínguez 14 7 6
27   Rodolfo Lavín 8 18 DNS 24 13 18 17 18 17 21 23 5
28   Bud Kaeding 14 23 12 16 1
29   Wim Eyckmans 12 19 19 1
30   Tim Moser 14 0
31   Eric Jensen 17 0
32   Paul Jasper 21 0
Pos Driver HMS
 
LBH
 
NAZ
 
GAT
 
MIL
 
DET
 
POR
 
CLE
 
TOR
 
MIC
 
TRO
 
VAN
 
LAG
 
FON
 
Points
Color Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green 4th & 5th place
Light Blue 6th–10th place
Dark Blue Finished
(Outside Top 10)
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
(1 point)
Italics Ran fastest race lap
* Led most race laps
(2 points)
1 Qualifying cancelled
no bonus point awarded
  • Ties in points broken by number of wins, or best finishes.

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Qualifying was cancelled due to rain. The grid was set by practice times, and no bonus point was awarded.