1998 Atlanta 500 Classic
The 1998 Atlanta 500 Classic was the ninth round of the 1998 Indy Racing League season. The race was held on August 29, 1998 at the 1.54 mi (2.48 km) Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. Sophomore Kenny Bräck took his third consecutive win after surging into the lead during the final sections of the 208-lap race ahead of Davey Hamilton, whose second place would be his best result of the season. Both Bräck and Hamilton jumped ahead of Scott Sharp in the points standings into first and second place, respectively, after Sharp suffered a gearbox malfunction and finished 18th. Polesitter Billy Boat, despite setting the fastest lap of the race, was taken out in a crash involving Marco Greco and Steve Knapp on Lap 167.
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| 9th round of the 1998 Indy Racing League season | |
 | |
| Date | August 29, 1998 |
| Official name | Atlanta 500 Classic |
| Location | Atlanta Motor Speedway |
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.54 mi / 2.48 km |
| Distance | 208 laps 320.32 mi / 515.505 km |
| Pole position | |
| Driver | Billy Boat (A. J. Foyt Enterprises) |
| Time | 24.734 |
| Fastest lap | |
| Driver | Billy Boat (A. J. Foyt Enterprises) |
| Time | 24.732 (on lap 109 of 208) |
| Podium | |
| First | Kenny Bräck (A. J. Foyt Enterprises) |
| Second | Davey Hamilton (Nienhouse Motorsports) |
| Third | Eddie Cheever (Team Cheever) |
Report
| Key | Meaning |
|---|---|
| R | Rookie |
| W | Past winner |
Qualifying
Two laps qualifying. The worst lap from some of the drivers are unknown.
| Pos | No. | Name | Lap 1 | Lap 2 | Best (in mph) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 |  Billy Boat |
24.738 | 24.734 | 224.145 | |
| 2 | 35 | Jeff Ward |
24.771 | 24.753 | 223.973 | |
| 3 | 8 | Scott Sharp |
24.807 | 24.768 | 223.837 | |
| 4 | 4 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Scott Goodyear |
24.794 | 24.778 | 223.747 | |
| 5 | 28 | Mark Dismore |
24.843 | 24.847 | 223.161 | |
| 6 | 14 |  Kenny Bräck |
24.886 | 24.848 | 223.117 | |
| 7 | 16 |  Marco Greco |
24.992 | 24.969 | 222.035 | |
| 8 | 77 |  Stéphan Grégoire |
25.050 | unknown | 221.317 | |
| 9 | 5 |  Arie Luyendyk |
25.063 | 25.081 | 221.203 | |
| 10 | 6 | Davey Hamilton |
25.135 | 25.097 | 220.903 | |
| 11 | 51 | Eddie Cheever |
25.211 | 25.230 | 219.904 | |
| 12 | 12 | Buzz Calkins |
25.274 | 25.245 | 219.608 | |
| 13 | 52 | Robby Unser R |
25.338 | unknown | 218.802 | |
| 14 | 15 | Andy Michner R |
25.359 | unknown | 218.621 | |
| 15 | 30 | Raul Boesel |
25.383 | 25.414 | 218.414 | |
| 16 | 97 | Greg Ray |
25.464 | 25.482 | 217.719 | |
| 17 | 10 | John Paul Jr. |
25.553 | 25.495 | 217.454 | |
| 18 | 91 | Buddy Lazier |
25.503 | unknown | 217.386 | |
| 19 | 18 | Steve Knapp R |
25.588 | 25.555 | 216.944 | |
| 20 | 19 | Stan Wattles |
25.701 | 25.655 | 216.098 | |
| 21 | 3 | Robbie Buhl |
25.685 | unknown | 215.846 | |
| 22 | 99 | Sam Schmidt |
25.777 | 25.740 | 215.385 | |
| 23 | 81 | Brian Tyler R |
25.853 | 25.846 | 214.501 | |
| 24 | 98 | Donnie Beechler R |
25.909 | unknown | 213.980 | |
| 25 | 1 | Tony Stewart |
25.961 | unknown | 213.543 | |
| 26 | 44 | J. J. Yeley R |
26.077 | 26.102 | 212.601 | |
| 27 | 40 | Jack Miller1 |
Didn't qualify | No speed | ||
| 28 | 23 |  Roberto Guerrero1 |
Didn't qualify | No speed | ||
| Source[1] | ||||||
- ^ Didn't qualify, but were allowed to start the race at the back of the field.
Failed to qualify or withdrew
- Stevie Reeves R for Pagan Racing - the team withdrew the entry on Thursday, before the start of practice sessions.[2]
Race
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Laps Led | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | Kenny Bräck |
A. J. Foyt Enterprises | 208 | 2:17:05.289 | 6 | 17 | 50 |
| 2 | 6 | Davey Hamilton |
Nienhouse Motorsports | 208 | +0.944 sec | 10 | 19 | 40 |
| 3 | 51 | Eddie Cheever |
Team Cheever | 208 | Running | 11 | 35 | |
| 4 | 4 | Scott Goodyear |
Panther Racing | 208 | Running | 4 | 93 | 34 |
| 5 | 1 | Tony Stewart |
Team Menard | 208 | Running | 25 | 12 | 30 |
| 6 | 35 | Jeff Ward |
ISM Racing | 208 | Running | 2 | 64 | 30 |
| 7 | 28 | Mark Dismore |
Kelley Racing | 208 | Running | 5 | 26 | |
| 8 | 5 | Arie Luyendyk |
Treadway Racing | 207 | +1 Lap | 9 | 24 | |
| 9 | 15 | Andy Michner R |
Riley & Scott | 206 | +2 Laps | 14 | 22 | |
| 10 | 30 | Raul Boesel |
McCormack Motorsports | 202 | +6 Laps | 15 | 20 | |
| 11 | 3 | Robbie Buhl |
Team Menard | 185 | Clutch | 21 | 19 | |
| 12 | 11 | Billy Boat |
A. J. Foyt Enterprises | 169 | Contact | 1 | 21 | |
| 13 | 16 | Marco Greco |
Phoenix Racing | 167 | Contact | 7 | 3 | 17 |
| 14 | 18 | Steve Knapp R |
PDM Racing | 167 | Contact | 19 | 16 | |
| 15 | 99 | Sam Schmidt |
LP Racing | 158 | Engine | 22 | 15 | |
| 16 | 52 | Robby Unser R |
Team Cheever | 143 | Contact | 13 | 14 | |
| 17 | 91 | Buddy Lazier |
Hemelgarn Racing | 136 | Engine | 18 | 13 | |
| 18 | 8 | Scott Sharp |
Kelley Racing | 135 | Gearbox | 3 | 13 | |
| 19 | 23 | Roberto Guerrero |
Cobb Racing | 133 | Clutch | 28 | 11 | |
| 20 | 77 | Stéphan Grégoire |
Chastain Motorsports | 131 | Contact | 8 | 10 | |
| 21 | 81 | Brian Tyler R |
Team Pelfrey | 123 | Engine | 23 | 9 | |
| 22 | 98 | Donnie Beechler R |
Cahill Racing | 110 | Engine | 24 | 8 | |
| 23 | 10 | John Paul Jr. |
Byrd-Cunningham Racing | 96 | Contact | 17 | 7 | |
| 24 | 97 | Greg Ray |
Knapp Motorsports | 94 | Contact | 16 | 6 | |
| 25 | 44 | J. J. Yeley R |
Sinden Racing Services | 58 | Engine | 26 | 5 | |
| 26 | 19 | Stan Wattles |
Metro Racing Systems | 29 | Engine | 19 | 4 | |
| 27 | 40 | Jack Miller |
Sinden Racing Services | 15 | Electrical | 27 | 3 | |
| 28 | 12 | Buzz Calkins |
Bradley Motorsports | 2 | Brakes | 12 | 2 | |
| Source[3] | ||||||||
Race Statistics
- Lead changes: 12 among 6 drivers
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Standings after the race
- Drivers' Championship standings
|
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for the standings.
References
- "Starting Grid, Atlanta (1998-08-29)". indyracingleague.com. Archived from the original on 2000-10-29. Retrieved September 19, 2017.
- "IRL: Atlanta Weekend Notes". Motorsport.com. August 31, 1998. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
- "1998 Atlanta 500 Classic". racing-reference.info. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
| Previous race: 1998 Radisson 200 |
Indy Racing League 1998 season |
Next race: 1998 Lone Star 500 |
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| Previous race: 1983 Kraco Dixie 200 (CART) |
Atlanta 500 Classic | Next race: 1999 Kobalt Mechanics Tools 500 |
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