1998 New England 200


The 1998 New England 200 was the fifth round of the 1998 Indy Racing League. The race was held on June 28, 1998 at the New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. It would be the last Indy car race held at this track until the 2011 MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225.

Report

Qualifying

Two laps qualifying. The worst lap from any of the drivers were not published, and therefore are unknown.
PosNo.NameLapBest
111 Billy Boat23.490162.146
235 Jeff Ward23.644161.089
391 Buddy Lazier23.874159.538
48 Scott Sharp W23.926159.191
54 Scott Goodyear23.953159.011
61 Tony Stewart23.970158.899
75 Arie Luyendyk23.997158.720
814 Kenny Bräck24.116157.937
930 Raul Boesel24.140157.780
1010 John Paul, Jr.24.165157.616
1151 Eddie Cheever24.185157.486
123 Robbie Buhl W24.255157.032
1328 Mark Dismore24.332156.535
1416 Marco Greco24.429155.913
1598 Donnie Beechler R24.715154.109
1677 Stéphan Grégoire24.862153.198
1715 Eliseo Salazar24.968152.547
1852 Robby Unser R25.343150.290
1940 Jack Miller25.528149.201
2018 Jack Hewitt R25.605148.752
2144 J. J. Yeley R25.666148.399
226 Davey Hamilton25.722148.076
2312 Buzz Calkins25.860147.285
2499 Sam Schmidt26.410144.218
2581 Brian Tyler R26.711142.593
2619 Stan WattlesDidn't qualifyNo speed

  1. Crashed during his qualifying attempt, but was allowed to start the race at the back of the field using a provisional.

    Failed to qualify or withdrew

A NASCAR Modified race preceding the IRL race left a very slippery type of marbles in the surface. After Jeff Ward had jumped polesitter Billy Boat on the start, Kenny Bräck spun in turn 3 on the first lap and collected John Paul, Jr. Bräck was able to continue after repairs, but Paul was out. Immediately after that incident, Jack Hewitt lost the back end exiting turn 4 and backed into the front stretch wall. Scott Sharp jumped Ward on the restart until he chose to pit under caution on lap 27, handing the lead back to Ward.
This series of closely spaced yellows continued when Boat, who had been falling back, spun into the infield in turn 2. After the green on lap 32, Ward continued to lead until he was black flagged with fire coming out from under the car on lap 55. Scott Goodyear inherited the lead and looked very strong, pursued by Buddy Lazier and Davey Hamilton, who had set the fast lap of the race, but his chances were hurt when he was penalised for speeding in the pits during a caution on lap 77. Pit stops jumbled the running order and left Tony Stewart, Sharp, Arie Luyendyk and Eliseo Salazar pursuing Goodyear.
On lap 92, Stewart caught and passed Goodyear, just before a big crash in turn 2 on lap 95. Yeley, just returned to the track after extensive repairs, spun and contacted Donnie Beechler, who had been moving up through the field. Boat spun to avoid the wreck, but his car spun unexpectedly towards the inside, and he was hit by Raul Boesel. All four were out and Boat suffered a broken thigh, an injury that would force him to miss some races and end his championship hopes.
There were no further cautions in the second half of the race, which was dominated by Stewart. His biggest threats suffered misfortune: Sharp's engine stalled durin a pit stop on lap 147, while Goodyear suffered a gearbox failure and was forced to run in fourth gear. Despite concern about the engine blowing, it held through the end of the race, and even the Canadian was able to reel in Stewart in traffic, but could not follow him in clear runs. Stewart led the final 36 laps to win over Goodyear, Sharp, Hamilton, and Luyendyk. Salazar's sixth-place finish was the best to date for the Riley & Scott chassis. Poor attendance at the event for the fifth year in a row led to the contract not being renewed for 1999.
PosNo.DriverTeamLapsTime/RetiredGridLaps LedPoints
11 Tony StewartTeam Menard2001:51:30.26269352
24 Scott GoodyearPanther Racing200+ 1.788 sec54440
38 Scott Sharp WKelley Racing200Running4935
46 Davey HamiltonNienhouse Motorsports200Running22332
55 Arie LuyendykTreadway Racing199+ 1 lap7030
615 Eliseo SalazarRiley & Scott Cars199+ 1 lap17028
791 Buddy LazierHemelgarn Racing199+ 1 lap3027
828 Mark DismoreKelley Racing199+ 1 lap13024
951 Eddie CheeverTeam Cheever198+ 2 laps11022
103 Robbie Buhl WTeam Menard198+ 2 laps12520
1152 Robby Unser RTeam Cheever198+ 2 laps18019
1299 Sam SchmidtLP Racing196+ 4 laps24018
1316 Marco GrecoPhoenix Racing191+ 9 laps14017
1481 Brian Tyler RTeam Pelfrey190+ 10 laps25016
1512 Buzz CalkinsBradley Motorsports183+ 17 laps23015
1640 Jack MillerSinden Racing168+ 32 laps19014
1719 Stan WattlesMetro Racing Systems127Handling26013
1814 Kenny BräckA. J. Foyt Enterprises98Handling8012
1930 Raul BoeselMcCormack Motorsports94Accident9011
2098 Donnie Beechler R Cahill Auto Racing93Accident15010
2111 Billy BoatA. J. Foyt Enterprises91Accident1012
2235 Jeff WardISM Racing56Engine24610
2344 J. J. Yeley RSinden Racing38Accident2107
2477 Stéphan GrégoireChastain Motorsports22Engine1606
2518 Jack Hewitt RPDM Racing11Accident2005
2610 John Paul, Jr.Byrd-Cunningham Racing2Accident1004

Race Statistics

;Drivers' Championship standings
PosDriverPoints
1 Tony Stewart167
2 Scott Sharp150
3 Davey Hamilton129
4 Billy Boat122
5 Scott Goodyear119