1998 Indy Lights season

The 1998 CART PPG/Dayton Indy Lights Championship consisted of 14 races. Future 2002 CART champion and Formula One driver Cristiano da Matta captured four wins on his way to the championship.

1998 Indy Lights season
PPG/Dayton Indy Lights Championship
Season
Races	14
Start date	March 15
End date	October 31
Awards
Drivers' champion	Cristiano da Matta
← 1997 1999 →

The scoring system was 20-16-14-12-10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 points awarded to the first 12 (twelve) finishers, with 1 (one) extra point given to the driver who took pole-position, and another extra point given to the driver who led most laps in the race.

Team and driver chart

The following drivers and teams competed in the series:

Team	No.	Drivers	Round(s)
Brian Stewart Racing	4	Sérgio Paese	14
	3		1–11
		Wim Eyckmans	12–14
	5	Mattias Andersson	1–3
		Luiz Garcia Jr.	4–14
Conquest Racing	11	Andy Boss	All
	21	Felipe Giaffone	All
Dorricott Racing	30	Bud Kaeding	4–5, 10, 14
	31	Philipp Peter	All
	32	Oriol Servià	All
Genoa Racing	61	Eric Jensen	2
		Cory Witherill	7, 12–14
Indy Regency Racing	16	Shigeaki Hattori	All
	28	Rodolfo Lavín	1–7, 9–10, 12–13
Irish Motorsports / Bordin Racing	56	Tim Moser	2
Johansson Motorsports	6	Guy Smith	All
	7	Luiz Garcia Jr.	1–2
Lucas Place Motorsports	14	Geoff Boss	All
	15	Brian Cunningham	All
Mattco Raceworks	77	Tony Renna	1–11, 13–14
		Mark Hotchkis	12
	78		3–6
		Chris Simmons	1–2, 7–14
	79	Mark Hotchkis	14
Mears Racing Team	8	Clint Mears	1, 3–6, 8, 10, 13–14
	9	Casey Mears	1–6, 8, 10, 13–14
PacWest Lights	17	Paul Morris	1–12
		Paul Jasper	14
	18	Didier André	All
Quaker State Team Go Herdez Competition Team	87	Jorge Goeters	1–11, 14
		Mario Domínguez	12–13
	88	Derek Higgins	All
Tasman Motorsports	1	Airton Daré	All
	2	Cristiano da Matta	All
Team KOOL Green	26	Mark Hotchkis	11
	27	Naoki Hattori	All
Team Rahal	41	Mike Borkowski	All

Schedule

Rd.	Date	Track	Location
1	March 15	O  Homestead-Miami Speedway	Homestead, Florida
2	April 5	R  Long Beach Street Circuit	Long Beach, California
3	April 27	O  Nazareth Speedway	Nazareth, Pennsylvania
4	May 23	O  Gateway International Raceway	Madison, Illinois
5	May 31	O  Milwaukee Mile	West Allis, Wisconsin
6	June 7	R  The Raceway at Belle Isle Park	Detroit, Michigan
7	June 21	R  Portland International Raceway	Portland, Oregon
8	July 12	R  Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport	Cleveland, Ohio
9	July 19	R  Exhibition Place	Toronto, Ontario
10	July 25	O  Michigan International Speedway	Brooklyn, Michigan
11	August 2	R  Circuit Trois-Rivières	Trois-Rivières, Quebec
12	September 6	R  Streets of Vancouver	Vancouver, British Columbia
13	September 13	R  Laguna Seca Raceway	Monterey, California
14	October 31	O  California Speedway	Fontana, California

Race results

Round	Circuit	Pole position	Fastest lap	Most laps led	Race Winner
					Driver	Team
1	Homestead-Miami Speedway	Sérgio Paese	Shigeaki Hattori	Shigeaki Hattori	Shigeaki Hattori	Indy Regency Racing
2	Long Beach Street Circuit	Didier André	Cristiano da Matta	Cristiano da Matta	Cristiano da Matta	Tasman Motorsports
3	Nazareth Speedway	Cristiano da Matta	Cristiano da Matta	Cristiano da Matta	Cristiano da Matta	Tasman Motorsports
4	Gateway International Raceway	Jorge Goeters[a]	Shigeaki Hattori	Shigeaki Hattori	Shigeaki Hattori	Indy Regency Racing
5	Milwaukee Mile	Sérgio Paese	Derek Higgins	Derek Higgins	Derek Higgins	Herdez Competition Team
6	The Raceway at Belle Isle Park	Airton Daré	Airton Daré	Airton Daré	Airton Daré	Tasman Motorsports
7	Portland International Raceway	Guy Smith	Didier André	Guy Smith	Guy Smith	Johansson Motorsports
8	Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport	Luiz Garcia Jr.	Sérgio Paese	Luiz Garcia Jr.	Luiz Garcia Jr.	Brian Stewart Racing
9	Exhibition Place	Guy Smith	Luiz Garcia Jr.	Guy Smith	Guy Smith	Johansson Motorsports
10	Michigan International Speedway	Tony Renna	Sérgio Paese	Tony Renna	Tony Renna	Mattco Raceworks
11	Circuit Trois-Rivières	Cristiano da Matta	Cristiano da Matta	Cristiano da Matta	Cristiano da Matta	Tasman Motorsports
12	Streets of Vancouver	Cristiano da Matta	Cristiano da Matta	Cristiano da Matta	Cristiano da Matta	Tasman Motorsports
13	Laguna Seca Raceway	Didier André	Chris Simmons	Didier André	Didier André	PacWest Lights
14	California Speedway	Tony Renna	Airton Daré	Tony Renna	Mark Hotchkis	Mattco Raceworks

Race summaries

Homestead race

• March 15, 1998
• Homestead-Miami Speedway, Miami, Florida
• Pole position: Sérgio Paese, 0:30.098, 179.653 mph (289.123 km/h)

Top Five Finishers
Fin. Pos	St. Pos	Car No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time	Laps Led	Points
1	2	16	Shigeaki Hattori	Indy Regency Racing	67	52:35.077	64	21
2	4	2	Cristiano da Matta	Tasman Motorsports	67	+0.468	0	16
3	7	6	Guy Smith	Johansson Motorsports	67	+1.420	0	14
4	6	32	Oriol Servià	Dorricott Racing	67	+5.534	0	12
5	9	78	Chris Simmons	Mattco Raceworks	67	+6.853	0	10
Race average speed: 114.825 mph (184.793 km/h)
Lead changes: 1 between 2 drivers
Cautions: 3 for 21 laps

Long Beach race

• April 5, 1998
• Long Beach Grand Prix, Long Beach, California
• Pole position: Didier André, 0:57.108, 99.223 mph (159.684 km/h)

Top Five Finishers
Fin. Pos	St. Pos	Car No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time	Laps Led	Points
1	2	2	Cristiano da Matta	Tasman Motorsports	47	49:20.748	47	21
2	4	14	Geoff Boss	Lucas Place Motorsports	47	+0.459	0	16
3	6	27	Naoki Hattori	Team KOOL Green	47	+1.083	0	14
4	5	31	Philipp Peter	Dorricott Racing	47	+3.378	0	12
5	1	18	Didier André	PacWest Lights	47	+7.317	0	11
Race average speed: 89.951 mph (144.762 km/h)
Lead changes: none
Cautions: 2 for 6 laps

Nazareth race

• April 27, 1998
• Nazareth Speedway, Nazareth, Pennsylvania
• Pole position: Cristiano da Matta, 0:22.408, 151.981 mph (244.590 km/h)

Top Five Finishers
Fin. Pos	St. Pos	Car No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time	Laps Led	Points
1	1	2	Cristiano da Matta	Tasman Motorsports	100	55:56.268	100	22
2	9	18	Didier André	PacWest Lights	100	+14.174	0	16
3	8	9	Casey Mears	Mears Racing Team	100	+14.745	0	14
4	5	15	Brian Cunningham	Lucas Place Motorsports	100	+17.914	0	12
5	11	1	Airton Daré	Tasman Motorsports	100	+18.725	0	10
Race average speed: 101.470 mph (163.300 km/h)
Lead changes: none
Cautions: 2 for 30 laps

Gateway race

Held May 23 at Gateway International Raceway. Jorge Goeters won the pole. No qualifying held due to rain. The line up was based on combined practice times.

Top Five Results

1. Shigeaki Hattori
2. Philipp Peter
3. Cristiano da Matta
4. Felipe Giaffone
5. Jorge Goeters

Milwaukee race

Held May 31 at The Milwaukee Mile. Sérgio Paese won the pole.

Top Five Results

1. Derek Higgins
2. Felipe Giaffone
3. Sérgio Paese
4. Geoff Boss
5. Tony Renna

Detroit race

Held June 7 at Belle Isle Raceway. Airton Daré won the pole.

Top Five Results

1. Airton Daré
2. Cristiano da Matta
3. Geoff Boss
4. Mark Hotchkis
5. Didier André

Portland race

Held June 21 at Portland International Raceway. Guy Smith won the pole.

Top Five Results

1. Guy Smith
2. Felipe Giaffone
3. Luiz Garcia Jr.
4. Airton Daré
5. Brian Cunningham

Cleveland race

Held July 12 at Burke Lakefront Airport. Luiz Garcia Jr. won the pole.

Top Five Results

1. Luiz Garcia Jr.
2. Derek Higgins
3. Didier André
4. Guy Smith
5. Tony Renna

Toronto race

Held July 19 at Exhibition Place. Guy Smith won the pole.

Top Five Results

1. Guy Smith
2. Naoki Hattori
3. Chris Simmons
4. Philipp Peter
5. Didier André

Michigan race

Held July 25 at Michigan International Speedway. Tony Renna won the pole.

Top Five Results

1. Tony Renna
2. Cristiano da Matta
3. Sérgio Paese
4. Andy Boss
5. Oriol Servià

Trois-Rivières race

Held August 2 at the Trois-Rivières, Quebec Street Circuit. Cristiano da Matta won the pole.

Top Five Results

1. Cristiano da Matta
2. Oriol Servià
3. Naoki Hattori
4. Guy Smith
5. Didier André

Vancouver race

Held September 6 at Pacific Place. Cristiano da Matta won the pole.

Top Five Results

1. Cristiano da Matta
2. Derek Higgins
3. Airton Daré
4. Mike Borkowski
5. Felipe Giaffone

Laguna Seca race

Held September 13 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Didier André won the pole.

Top Five Results

1. Didier André
2. Oriol Servià
3. Derek Higgins
4. Geoff Boss
5. Naoki Hattori

Fontana race

Held October 31 at The California Speedway. Tony Renna won the pole.

Top Five Results

1. Mark Hotchkis
2. Felipe Giaffone
3. Tony Renna
4. Cory Witherill
5. Didier André

Championship standings

Drivers' championship

Scoring system

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th
Points	20	16	14	12	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1

• The driver who qualifies on pole is awarded one additional point.
• An additional point is awarded to the driver who leads the most laps in a race.

Pos Driver HMS LBH NAZ GAT MIL DET POR CLE TOR MIC TRO VAN LAG FON Points 1 Cristiano da Matta 2 1* 1* 3 10 2 20 22 15 2 1* 1* 22 11 154 2 Didier André 14 5 2 12 15 5 8 3 5 7 5 6 1* 5 123 3 Guy Smith 3 8 21 11 22 8 1* 4 1* 6 4 8 15 10 110 4 Felipe Giaffone 19 24 8 4 2 9 2 8 6 9 6 5 18 2 104 5 Derek Higgins 7 21 15 6 1* 12 10 2 17 13 10 2 3 7 94 6 Airton Daré 17 9 5 9 8 1* 4 13 8 19 21 3 11 15 78 7 Oriol Servià 4 19 13 16 14 6 21 6 10 5 2 19 2 25 73 8 Tony Renna DNS 12 10 22 5 15 12 5 21 1* 20 8 3* 68 9 Geoff Boss 9 2 12 15 4 3 11 20 19 14 19 7 4 18 67 10 Naoki Hattori 18 3 7 8 12 23 16 17 2 16 3 17 5 17 66 11 Philipp Peter 11 4 19 2 9 10 22 7 4 23 11 9 16 12 62 12 Luiz Garcia Jr. 22 10 20 11 21 3 1* 11 15 12 16 6 6 60 13 Sérgio Paese 21 6 20 10 3 22 6 18 9 3 13 26 53 14 Shigeaki Hattori 1* 11 14 1* 21 20 18 21 16 20 16 13 9 9 52 15 Mark Hotchkis 9 21 7 4 7 11 1 50 16 Jorge Goeters 16 15 11 51 6 16 9 9 7 21 15 20 34 17 Casey Mears 10 13 3 7 16 19 10 11 21 8 33 18 Brian Cunningham 12 22 4 23 20 7 5 12 14 22 18 10 20 24 33 19 Chris Simmons 5 23 14 15 3 10 8 18 13 14 32 20 Andy Boss 13 16 6 13 17 14 19 11 13 4 14 22 14 13 22 21 Paul Morris 6 20 22 18 24 13 7 19 20 Wth 9 20 18 22 Mike Borkowski 20 25 16 19 18 11 15 14 12 18 17 4 17 23 15 23 Cory Witherill 13 15 12 4 13 24 Clint Mears DNS 18 17 19 17 16 8 10 22 8 25 Mattias Andersson 15 7 17 6 26 Mario Domínguez 14 7 6 27 Rodolfo Lavín 8 18 DNS 24 13 18 17 18 17 21 23 5 28 Bud Kaeding 14 23 12 16 1 29 Wim Eyckmans 12 19 19 1 30 Tim Moser 14 0 31 Eric Jensen 17 0 32 Paul Jasper 21 0 Pos Driver HMS LBH NAZ GAT MIL DET POR CLE TOR MIC TRO VAN LAG FON Points

Color Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green 4th & 5th place Light Blue 6th–10th place Dark Blue Finished (Outside Top 10) Purple Did not finish Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Brown Withdrawn (Wth) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Blank Did not participate (DNP) Not competing In-line notation Bold Pole position (1 point) Italics Ran fastest race lap * Led most race laps (2 points) 1 Qualifying cancelled no bonus point awarded

• Ties in points broken by number of wins, or best finishes.

Footnotes

1. Qualifying was cancelled due to rain. The grid was set by practice times, and no bonus point was awarded.