1998 CART FedEx Championship Series
sports season
The 1998 FedEx Championship Series season was the twentieth in the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) era of American open-wheel car racing. It consisted of 19 races, beginning in Homestead, Florida on March 15 and concluding in Fontana, California on November 1. The FedEx Championship Series Drivers' Champion was Alex Zanardi, his second consecutive championship, while the series' Rookie of the Year was Tony Kanaan. This was the first of five years of sponsorship by FDX Corporation, who became FedEx Corporation in 2000.
The season was marred by a deadly crash on lap 175 of the U.S. 500. Adrián Fernández slammed into the outside wall in the fourth turn of Michigan International Speedway. His right front wheel was torn off and hurled over the fence into the stands, killing three spectators (Kenneth Fox, Sheryl Laster, and Michael Tautkus) and injuring six others. Fernández was uninjured.
This was the final season with Bobby Rahal, Hiro Matsushita and André Ribeiro on the CART grid. Other notable events of the 1998 season include first wins for Bryan Herta and future Indycar Series and Indianapolis 500 champion Dario Franchitti.
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