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 Key Meaning R Rookie W Past winner

Qualifying

Grid limited to 28 cars. Positions 1-26 determined by qualifying speed. Positions 27-28 reserved for provisionals (based on entrant points).

Pos No. Name Lap 1 Lap 2 Best (in mph) Entrant points 1 35 Jeff Ward 20.839 21.242 172.753 2 11 Billy Boat 21.053 20.867 172.521 3 1 Tony Stewart 21.058 20.869 172.505 4 7 Jimmy Kite 20.872 20.896 172.480 5 14 Kenny Bräck 21.404 21.003 171.404 6 15 Eliseo Salazar 21.116 21.023 171.241 7 6 Davey Hamilton 21.198 21.083 170.754 8 8 Scott Sharp 21.112 21.110 170.535 9 91 Buddy Lazier 21.161 21.476 170.124 10 44 J. J. Yeley R 21.258 21.163 170.108 11 21 Roberto Guerrero W 21.225 21.176 170.004 12 3 Robbie Buhl 21.257 21.185 169.932 13 30 Raul Boesel 21.249 21.235 169.531 14 4 Scott Goodyear 21.267 21.340 169.276 15 28 Mark Dismore 21.530 21.274 169.221 16 16 Marco Greco 21.565 21.312 168.919 17 12 Buzz Calkins 21.423 21.320 168.856 18 97 Greg Ray 22.003 21.441 167.903 19 5 Arie Luyendyk W 21.656 21.520 167.286 20 51 Eddie Cheever 21.550 21.560 167.053 21 18 John Paul Jr. 21.626 21.624 166.482 22 77 Stéphan Grégoire 21.779 21.676 166.082 23 22 Dave Steele R 22.190 21.809 165.069 24 10 Mike Groff 22.185 21.838 164.850 25 99 Sam Schmidt 22.220 21.861 164.677 26 23 Paul Durant 21.974 21.865 164.647 27 20 Tyce Carlson 23.244 23.660 154.879 19 28 17 Brian Tyler R 23.129 23.158 155.649 11Didn't qualify 29 40 Jack Miller 22.398 21.880 164.534 7 30 53 Jim Guthrie W 22.418 21.898 164.399 0 31 27 Robbie Groff 21.957 22.062 163.957 2 32 19 Stan Wattles 22.364 21.997 163.659 8

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 (with Robbie Groff) 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.

Pos No. Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Laps Led Points 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 Lead changes: 6 among 5 drivers

Lap Leaders Laps Leader1–25 Jeff Ward26–48 Tony Stewart49–54 Billy Boat55–60 Eddie Cheever61–66 Billy Boat67–170 Tony Stewart171–200 Scott Sharp

Cautions: 10 for 80 laps Laps Reason10–17Buddy Lazier crash19–22John Paul Jr. stopped on track32–37Mark Dismore crash46–55Davey Hamilton and J. J. Yeley crash59–69Luyendyk, Steele, Salazar and Schmidt crash105–114Paul Durant's engine leaks oil on track118–121Debris132–140John Paul Jr. crash168–173Sam Schmidt spin186–197Kenny Bräck and Mike Groff crash

Standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Tony Stewart 95 2 Jeff Ward 73 3 Scott Sharp 71 4 Stéphan Grégoire 64 5 Sam Schmidt 48 Note: Only the top five positions are included for the standings.

References

External links IndyCar official website