The 1998 FedEx Championship Series season, the twentieth in the

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. It is different from the flatbed ...

era of U.S.

open-wheel racing Formula racing (known as open-wheel racing in North America) is any of several forms of open-wheeled single-seater motorsport. The origin of the term lies in the nomenclature that was adopted by the FIA for all of its post- World War II single ...

, consisted of 19 races, beginning in

Homestead, Florida Homestead is a city within Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida, between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. The population was 80,737 as of the 2020 census. Homestead is primarily a Miami s ...

on March 15 and concluding in

Fontana, California Fontana is a city in San Bernardino County, California. Founded by Azariel Blanchard Miller in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area. It is now a regiona ...

on November 1. The

FedEx FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...

Championship Series Drivers' Champion was

Alex Zanardi Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi (; born 23 October 1966) is an Italian professional racing driver and paracyclist. He won the CART championship in 1997 and 1998, and took 15 wins in the series. He also raced in Formula One from 1991 to 1994 and aga ...

, his second consecutive championship, while the series'

Rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

of the Year was

Tony Kanaan Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed TK, is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 6 Toyota Corolla E210 for Full Time Bassani an ...

. This was the first of five years of sponsorship by FDX Corporation, who became FedEx Corporation in 2000. The season was marred by a deadly crash on lap 175 of the

U.S. 500 The U.S. 500 was an automobile race sanctioned by CART, it was held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. The event was held from 1973 to 1986 and again in 1996 due to the event being known as the as an alternative to the 1996 ...

Adrián Fernández Adrián Fernández Mier (born April 20, 1963 in Mexico City, CDMX, Mexico) is a Mexican former professional race car driver and he was co-owner of the Fernandez Racing team. Racing career Early career Fernández began his career in Mexico by ...

slammed into the outside wall in the fourth turn of

Michigan International Speedway Michigan International Speedway (MIS) is a moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located off U.S. Highway 12 on more than approximately south of the village of Brooklyn, in the scenic Irish Hills area of southeastern Michigan. The track ...

. His right front wheel was torn off and hurled over the fence into the stands,

killing Killing, Killings, or The Killing may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Killing'' (film), a 2018 Japanese film * ''The Killing'' (film), a 1956 film noir directed by Stanley Kubrick Television * ''The Killing'' (Danish TV serie ...

three spectators (Kenneth Fox, Sheryl Laster, and Michael Tautkus) and injuring six others. Also this marks the final season with

Bobby Rahal Robert Woodward Rahal (born January 10, 1953) is an American former auto racing driver and team owner. As a driver he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500. He also won the 2004 a ...

on the CART grid. Other notable events of the 1998 season include first wins for popular driver

Bryan Herta Bryan John Herta (born May 23, 1970) is an American former race car driver. He currently runs his own team, Bryan Herta Autosport in the NTT IndyCar Series. His team won the 2011 Indianapolis 500 with driver Dan Wheldon and the 2016 Indianapolis ...

and future series and Indianapolis champion

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 Indian ...

. Mexican driver

got his second career win at

Twin Ring Motegi Mobility Resort Motegi (モビリティリゾートもてぎ) is a motorsport race track located at Motegi, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Originally named Twin Ring Motegi (ツインリンクもてぎ), the circuit's name came from the facility hav ...

, the first race run there by Champ Cars.

Drivers and constructors

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1998 CART Championship Series season.

Season Summary

Schedule

– The Nazareth race was scheduled for April 26, but postponed due to rain.
– The Houston race was scheduled for 153 miles, but was shortened due to poor visibility.
Oval/Speedway
Dedicated road course
Temporary street circuit

Race results

Final driver standings

Nation's Cup

* Top result per race counts towards Nation's Cup.

Chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpar ...
Constructor's Cup

Engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...
Manufacturer's Cup

Driver breakdown

References

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