IROC at Indy FAST FACTS
24 July 1998
IROC at Indy FAST FACTS WHAT: TRUE VALUE FIREBIRD INTERNATIONAL RACE OF CHAMPIONS Fourth and final round of 1998 series Inaugural IROC race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway WHERE: Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2.5-mile paved oval superspeedway WHEN: 1:30 p.m. (CDT) Friday, July 31, 1998 DISTANCE: 100 miles/40 laps (Yellow-flag caution laps do not count) SERIES PURSE: $760,000, including $225,000 to series season champion CARS: Identically prepared IROC Pontiac Firebird Trans Ams Goodyear Eagle Superspeedway radial tires FIELD: 12 of the world's best race drivers representing the top series in the world NASCAR Winston Cup: Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Terry Labonte, Mark Martin NASCAR Busch Series, Grand National Division: Randy LaJoie Pep Boys Indy Racing League: Arie Luyendyk, Tony Stewart FedEx Championship Series: Al Unser Jr., Jimmy Vasser Road racing: Tom Kendall 1997 IROC CHAMPION: Mark Martin POINTS LEADER: Mark Martin TV: (Race) ABC, 4:30 p.m. (EDT) Aug. 1 Announcers: Paul Page, Benny Parsons Pit reporter: Jack Arute SCHEDULE (all times local): (July 29) 7 a.m.: Garage opens 10-11:45 a.m.: IROC practice 5:05-5:45 p.m.: IROC practice (July 30) 7 a.m.: Garage opens 8:30-9:25 a.m.: IROC practice 12:05-1 p.m.: IROC practice 4:50-5:30 p.m.: IROC practice (July 31) 7 a.m.: Garage opens 1:30 p.m.: IROC race (100 miles/40 laps) THE TRACK: 2.5-mile paved oval, with 36-inch strip of the original bricks at start-finish line Front and back straightaways: 5/8-mile each Short straightaways (between Turns 1-2 & 3-4): 1/8-mile each Four turns: 1/4-mile each Width of straightaways: 50 feet Width of turns: 60 feet Banking: 9 degrees, 12 minutes in all four turns Facility opened in 1909. The Speedway is the largest sports seating facility, with more than 250,000 permanent seats. The track is the site of the annual Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400. THE RACE: This is the inaugural IROC event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. IROC cars opened the stock-car era at the track with a test session in 1992. RACE NOTES: NASCAR Winston Cup star Mark Martin will try to win this fourth IROC championship in the last five years. Martin leads fellow NASCAR driver Jeff Burton, 62-54, after three of four rounds this season. Martin won IROC titles in 1994, 1996 and 1997. If two or more drivers are tied in points at the end of this race, the driver with the highest finishing position in the final race will earn the higher spot in the final standings. The 12 drivers in this event have seven combined victories at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Arie Luyendyk and Al Unser Jr. each have won the Indianapolis 500 twice, while Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon and Dale Jarrett each have one Brickyard 400 victory. Jimmy Vasser is starting from the pole for this event. Al Unser Jr. was the last pole sitter to win an IROC race, taking the checkered flag in 1995 at Michigan Speedway from the top spot. The starting field is determined by inverting the point standings, so points leader Mark Martin will start last. Al Unser Jr. will try to add to his series-leading victory total at this event. Unser has won 11 career IROC races. Dale Earnhardt and Mark Martin are second on the all-time list with seven wins each. SERIES NOTES: IROC winners this season have been Jeff Gordon on Feb. 13 at Daytona International Speedway, Mark Martin on May 2 at California Speedway and Jeff Burton on June 13 at Michigan Speedway. The late Mark Donohue won the inaugural IROC championship in 1974. Six Indianapolis 500 winners also have captured the IROC championship: Mark Donohue, Bobby Unser, A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Mario Andretti and Al Unser Jr. Dale Earnhardt and Ricky Rudd are past Brickyard 400 winners who also have captured an IROC championship. STATISTICS: 1998 IROC IROC points point standings system 1. Mark Martin 62 1. 21 2. Jeff Burton 54 2. 17 3. Jeff Gordon 45 3. 14 4. Dale Earnhardt 29 4. 12 5. 10 5. Terry Labonte 29 6. 9 6. Al Unser Jr. 29 7. 8 7. Tony Stewart 28 8. 7 8. Tom Kendall 23 9. 6 9. Arie Luyendyk 22 10. 5 10. Dale Jarrett 21 11. 4 11. Randy LaJoie 19 12. 3 12. Jimmy Vasser 15