The 1998 Texaco Grand Prix of Houston was the seventeenth round of the 1998 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on October 4, 1998, at a street adjacent to the

George R. Brown Convention Center The George R. Brown Convention Center (GRB), opened on September 26, 1987, is located on the east side of Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. The center was named for internationally recognized entrepreneur, engineer, civic leader, philan ...

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

. The race was a rain-interrupted race, with the start being delayed 30 minutes due to heavy rain. Another heavy rainshower after 70 laps out of the scheduled 100 forced the race to be stopped, with the win handed to

Dario Franchitti George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...

, who was leading at the time. The race was the scene of an infamous Lap 48 collision between winner Franchitti and his Team KOOL Green teammate, Paul Tracy. While running second, Tracy attempted to pass Franchitti on the inside going into the left-handed Turn 6; however, Franchitti was already making the turn, leading to the teammates touching, and Tracy spinning, brushing the inside wall enough to bend his left front suspension, ending his race. This led to a terse conversation over the radio between Tracy and team owner Barry Green.1998 Thrills And Spills (Part 2 - Featuring CART and USAC) (Audio of conversation at 2:49 mark)
/ref> When Tracy returned to pit road, he and Green nearly came to blows in plain view of television cameras and the crowd on the start-finish straight. Ironically, within days of their near fistfight, Tracy and Green agreed to a four-year contract extension.

Classification

Race

Caution flags

Lap Leaders

Point standings after race

References

{{reflist Texaco Grand Prix of Houston Texaco Grand Prix of Houston Texaco Grand Prix of Houston