New England 200
Summary: The third and possibly final IRL race at NHIS started under ideal weather but discontent on the track. Only twenty-six cars took the green flag, the least of the 1998 season, and due to the short field Stan Wattles was permitted to start last without completing a qualifying attempt, the first time in the 1998 season this had occurred. A NASCAR Modified race (won by prospective IRL driver Mike Stefanik) preceding the IRL race left "marbles" and an incompatible type of rubber on the track, resulting in very slippery conditions for the IRL cars. This took its toll immediately as, after Jeff Ward had jumped polesitter Billy Boat on the start, Kenny Brack spun in turn 3 on the first lap and collected John Paul Jr.; Brack was able to continue after repairs, but Paul was out. Immediately after that incident, Jack Hewitt lost the back end under power exiting turn 4 and backed into the front stretch wall. It was lap 20 before any sustained period of green flag racing began. Scott Sharp jumped Ward on the restart until he chose to pit under caution on lap 27 (for J. J. Yeley's crash), handing the lead back to Ward. Meanwhile, Stephan Gregoire and Marco Greco were in and out of the pits with engine problems; Greco made it to the finish but Gregoire did not. The series of closely-spaced yellows continued when Billy 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. The fire was never adequetely explained; Ward was unaware of it until told on the radio, but when he stopped it spread rapidly through the rear of the car, causing extensive damage and knocking the disappointed Ward from the race. 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. Hamilton's chances were hurt when he was black-flagged for speeding in the pits during a caution on lap 77. Pit stops jumbled the running order and left Tony Stewart, Shott 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 snap-spun unexpectedly towards the inside of the track, and he was hit broadside by Raul Boesel. All four were out and Boat suffered a broken thigh, an injury that would force him to miss some races and endhis championship hopes. The second half of the race was run with no further cautions and was dominated by Stewart. His biggest threats looked to be Sharp and Goodyear, but both suffered misfortune: Sharp's engine stalled durin a pit stop on lap 147, while Goodyear lost both fifth and sixth gears and was forced to run the remainder of the race in fourth gear. On Goodyear's in-car camera, the RPM limiter could be heard cutting out the engine two-thirds of the way down each straight; there was concern about the engine blowing, but remarkably it took this abuse and held through the end of the race. Goodyear was able to reel in Stewart in traffic, but could not maintain the pace in clear runs, and Stewart, not suffering from any mechanical problems for a change, led the final 36 laps to win over Goodyear, Sharp, Hamilton, and Luyendyk. Buzz Calkins struggled to a 15th-place finish, extending his running-at-finish streak to five races, and 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 (including two CART races prior to 1996) may have sealed the fate of Indycar racing at NHIS. (from IRL Underground)
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