1998 Molson Indy Toronto
The 1998 Molson Indy Toronto was the eleventh round of the 1998 CART FedEx Champ Car World Series season, held on July 19, 1998, on the streets of Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Alex Zanardi passed Michael Andretti with three laps to go to win the race, after Andretti had inherited the lead when pole-sitter Dario Franchitti retired due to a brake failure.
| Race details | |
|---|---|
| Race 11 of 19 in the 1998 CART season | |
 Exhibition Place track layout | |
| Date | July 19, 1998 |
| Official name | 1998 Molson Indy Toronto |
| Location | Exhibition Place Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Course | Temporary street course 1.755 mi / 2.824 km |
| Distance | 95 laps 166.725 mi / 268.28 km |
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 25 °C (77 °F); wind speeds up to 14 kilometres per hour (8.7 mph)[1] |
| Pole position | |
| Driver | Dario Franchitti (Team KOOL Green) |
| Time | 58.694 |
| Fastest lap | |
| Driver | Christian Fittipaldi (Newman/Haas Racing) |
| Time | 59.924 (on lap 75 of 95) |
| Podium | |
| First | Alex Zanardi (Chip Ganassi Racing) |
| Second | Michael Andretti (Newman/Haas Racing) |
| Third | Jimmy Vasser (Chip Ganassi Racing) |
Starting grid
- Dario Franchitti (second straight pole in Toronto)
- Alex Zanardi
- Michael Andretti
- Gil de Ferran
- Christian Fittipaldi
- Jimmy Vasser
- Tony Kanaan (R)
- Scott Pruett
- Bobby Rahal
- Paul Tracy
- André Ribeiro
- Greg Moore
- Richie Hearn
- Al Unser Jr.
- Mark Blundell
- Adrian Fernandez
- Bryan Herta
- Patrick Carpentier
- Maurício Gugelmin
- Max Papis
- Hélio Castroneves (R)
- Robby Gordon
- P. J. Jones
- Michel Jourdain Jr.
- Arnd Meier
- JJ Lehto (R)
- Alex Barron (R)
- Gualter Salles
Race
Lap 17
Richie Hearn locked up the right front tire and spun on turn 1. Top 6 was composed by: Dario Franchitti, Alex Zanardi, Michael Andretti, Gil de Ferran, Jimmy Vasser and Paul Tracy.
Lap 26
First full course caution. Michel Jourdain Jr. and Alex Barron collided at the hairpin. Arnd Meier stalled the car metres in front and started a jampack. Meanwhile, Gil de Ferran retired after an incident in the pits. Christian Fittipaldi had problems, also, but did not retired.
Lap 27
Top 6: Dario Franchitti, Michael Andretti, Jimmy Vasser, Paul Tracy, Alex Zanardi and Tony Kanaan.
Lap 30
Before going green, Patrick Carpentier collided with Mark Blundell on turn 9.
Lap 32
Second full course caution, as Blundell's car stalled on turn 9, following the collision with Carpentier. On lap 36, green flag came out.
Lap 38
JJ Lehto had a big crash. Third full course caution. Green flag came out some laps later.
Lap 52
Top 6: Dario Franchitti, Michael Andretti, Jimmy Vasser, Alex Zanardi, Tony Kanaan and Paul Tracy.
Lap 61
Tony Kanaan had a pit fire. Meanwhile, in the hairpin, Alex Zanardi had a collision with his teammate Jimmy Vasser.
Lap 68
Gualter Salles had a collision at the hairpin with Al Unser Jr. and went airborne.
16 laps to go
Dario Franchitti spun and stalled, ending his day. Paul Tracy slightly t-boned him. Fourth full course caution was out. Green flag came out with 11 laps to go.
8 laps to go
Top 6: Michael Andretti, Alex Zanardi, Jimmy Vasser, Bobby Rahal, Bryan Herta and Scott Pruett.
5 laps to go
Paul Tracy and Adrian Fernandez collided on turn 1 while they were battling for 9th place.
3 laps to go
Alex Zanardi overtakes Michael Andretti at the hairpin.
Classification
Race
Caution flags
| Laps | Cause |
|---|---|
| 25-29 | Multi-car contact at hairpin |
| 33-34 | Blundell (18) stopped on track |
| 40-43 | Lehto (9) contact |
| 79-83 | Franchitti (27) contact, Tracy (26) stall |
Lap leaders
|
|
Point standings after race
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Alex Zanardi |
175 |
| 2 |  Jimmy Vasser |
106 |
| 3 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Greg Moore |
99 |
| 4 |  Adrián Fernández |
89 |
| 5 | Michael Andretti |
84 |
References
- "1998 Molson Indy Toronto weather information". Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2013-07-13.