1998 Dura Lube 200


The 1998 Dura Lube 200 was the second round of the 1998 Indy Racing League. The race was held on March 22, 1998 at the Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona.

Report

Qualifying

Grid limited to 28 cars. Positions 1-26 determined by qualifying speed. Positions 27-28 reserved for provisionals.

Race

The difference between the fastest and slowest qualifier was the 2nd closest in Indycar history at Phoenix, which, combined with traction problems in turn 2 caused by a dip in the pavement, made for a rough race. Shockingly, neither the defending race champion, Jim Guthrie, nor his previous team Blueprint Racing qualified. Speeds were up from the previous year, and six cars broke the new-car track record led by surprise pole winner Jeff Ward, who jumped out to the early lead and held it until he encountered gearbox problems. He eventually lost fifth gear and was handicapped on restarts, although once up to speed he was still one of the fastest cars on the track. Eddie Cheever, from 20th starting position, moved into the top 10 by lap 11. Buddy Lazier dropped out early when he lost an engine and crashed in turn 3. On lap 19, John Paul, Jr. started a long sequence of incidents in turn 2 when he spun there.
After Ward's transmission malfunctioned, Tony Stewart took over the lead for almost 100 more laps. In between, Kenny Bräck, Billy Boat and Ward battled for position while Sharp moved up through the field. On lap 32, Sharp's teammate Mark Dismore wrecked in turn 2, and lost some laps before returning to the race, something that would be significant for the outcome of the race. Rookie J. J. Yeley surprised qualifying 10th in his first IRL start, but he spun in turn 2 on lap 46. Davey Hamilton tried to squeeze by on the outside but slid into the wall and then into Yeley. Another first-timer, Dave Steele, was involved in a frightening accident at the same spot on lap 59. Eliseo Salazar spun and collected Steele and Robbie Buhl. Trying to avoid him, Arie Luyendyk touched wheels with Salazar. Luyendyk's car went up and over, and slid through turn 2 upside down. The Dutch had significant damage to his helmet from the pavement but only had a hand burn caused by scraping the asphalt during the spin.
Cheever had moved into the lead prior to this yellow, but lost a lap when his crew got the left and right rear tires reversed on a pit stop, and he never managed to make up the lap. Then, Stéphan Grégoire moved into second place behind Stewart. Buzz Calkins was picking up his lap times, and after a caution for Paul Durant's blown engine on lap 106, he made up a lap and joined the lead pack, but he got hit by debris when Paul, Jr. wrecked on lap 133 and had to put for a new nose, losing again a lap. At this point, Stewart still led, with Bräck pursuing him but being unable to catch the leader. Pit strategy came into play on lap 169 when Sam Schmidt spun in turn 2. All cars on the lead lap cars pitted with the exception of Sharp, who decided to gamble on fuel.
After the green flag on lap 174, Sharp quickly opened up a 3-second lead in traffic but then had to slow to conserve fuel. On lap 186, Bräck got caught in a four wide pass in the back stretch dogleg and he touched wheels with Mike Groff. Both crashed hard and Groff had to be cut out of his car. Groff was taken to the hospital, examined, and released. The resulting long caution allowed Sharp to conserve fuel. The green waved with 2 laps to go. Between the leaders was Dismore, many laps down but running fast. Dismore bogged down at the start and held up Stewart and Boat. The race would end in that order: despite the controversy that erupted following the race, Dismore claimed to not have received any "team orders", but he was fined $5,000 for "unsportsmanlike conduct". Sharp was also fined $15,000 and docked 7 points for "failing to meet the fuel tank capacity requirement", as his car held more fuel than allowed. Grégoire's unsponsored car logged its second consecutive fourth-place finish, and Ward finished fifth. Schmidt, with an underfunded team, managed his best finish ever in the IRL with a 7th place despite two spins. Scott Sharp got his second IRL victory; his first in the new cars.
PosNo.DriverTeamLapsTime/RetiredGridLaps LedPoints
18 Scott SharpKelley Racing2002:02:18.73583043
21 Tony StewartTeam Menard200+ 2.366 sec312743
311 Billy BoatA. J. Foyt Enterprises200+ 3.280 sec21237
477 Stéphan GrégoireChastain Motorsports199+ 1 lap22032
535 Jeff WardISM Racing199+ 1 lap12533
64 Scott GoodyearPanther Racing199+ 1 lap14028
799 Sam SchmidtLP Racing198+ 2 laps25026
830 Raul BoeselMcCormack Motorsports197+ 3 laps13024
912 Buzz CalkinsBradley Motorsports197+ 3 laps17022
1051 Eddie CheeverTeam Cheever196+ 4 laps20620
1197 Greg RayKnapp Motorsports192+ 8 laps18019
123 Robbie BuhlTeam Menard187+ 13 laps12018
1320 Tyce CarlsonImmke Racing186+ 14 laps27017
1414 Kenny BräckA. J. Foyt Enterprises185Accident5016
1510 Mike GroffByrd-Cunningham Racing177Accident24015
1628 Mark DismoreKelley Racing175+ 25 laps15014
1717 Brian Tyler RTreadway Racing168+ 32 laps28013
187 Jimmy KiteTeam Scandia129+ 71 laps4012
1918 John Paul, Jr.PDM Racing126Accident21011
2016 Marco GrecoPhoenix Racing122+ 78 laps16010
2123 Paul DurantCBR Cobb Racing99Engine2609
2222 Dave Steele RRSM Marko59Engine2308
2315 Eliseo SalazarRiley & Scott Cars58Accident607
245 Arie Luyendyk WTreadway Racing58Accident1906
2544 J. J. Yeley RSinden Racing Services45Accident1005
266 Davey HamiltonNienhouse Motorsports45Accident704
2721 Roberto Guerrero W Pagan Racing44Transmission1103
2891 Buddy LazierHemelgarn Racing9Accident902

Race Statistics

;Drivers' Championship standings
PosDriverPoints
1 Tony Stewart95
2 Jeff Ward73
3 Scott Sharp71
4 Stéphan Grégoire64
5 Sam Schmidt48