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Stewart Opens Defense of IRL Title With Victory at Indy 200

24 January 1998

Tony Stewart
Tony Stewart
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., - Defending series champion Tony Stewart passed a gambling Mark Dismore with five laps remaining Saturday to win the Indy 200 at Walt Disney World Speedway Presented by Aurora, the season opener for the Pep Boys Indy Racing League.

Stewart stalked Dismore for 26 laps before driving his Menard/Glidden G Force/Aurora under Dismore in Turn 1 of lap 196 on the 1-mile tri-oval. Dismore inherited the lead on lap 169 of the 200-lap event when leader Buddy Lazier and Stewart pitted for fuel and tires. Dismore gambled, hoping he could stretch his fuel mileage until the end of the race.

Jeff Ward
Jeff Ward
Polesitter Stewart pulled away from Dismore, who finished fifth after a late pit stop for fuel, and earned his second career IRL victory by 8.579 seconds over Jeff Ward. Davey Hamilton finished third. Stewart averaged 95.14 mph in a race slowed by 10 caution periods.

"Our car was really good in turn one and two, so I just worked on timing to try and get him," Stewart said. "I just kept looking for lapped cars and thinking this might be the one. I could write a book about all the close calls I had today."

Stewart, who earned $121,250, led five times for 132 laps. But it appeared that Lazier might have the superior car when he passed Stewart on lap 132. Lazier led by nearly a second on lap 165 when he crashed in turn one.

"I was just coming up on a lapped car, and it took the air off the wing," Lazier said. "I got halfway out, then I put the fuel back on, and I couldn't catch it."

Four cars were on the lead lap at the finish, and 15 of the 28 starters were running. Defending event champion Eddie Cheever Jr. finished 24th after an engine fire eliminated him after 48 laps. Cheever was unhurt.

The next Pep Boys Indy Racing League event is March 22 at Phoenix International Raceway.

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