Race No. 18

Honda Indy
Surfer's Paradise
Gold Coast, Australia
October 16-18, 1998

1996 Pole Winner: Jimmy Vasser 1997 Pole Winner: Alex Zanardi 1996 Race Winner: Jimmy Vasser 1997 Race Winner: Scott Pruett 1996 SpeedCenter Report 1997 SpeedCenter Report

Can Dario Win Again?

First things first - here's the schedule of events converted to US Eastern Time Zone hours - note that Friday morning eventsin Australia happen Thursday night in the US. The US hours are especially important for those fans who want to follow thelive timing or the live audiocast of the race online, instead of waiting for the time delayed broadcast of the raceon Sunday.

(Thursday) Friday, October 16
8:30 P.M. - 10:00 P.M.		CHAMP CAR PRACTICE
12:30 A.M. - 2:00 A.M.		CHAMP CAR QUALIFYING - Group 1
2:15 A.M. - 2:45 A.M.		CHAMP CAR QUALIFYING - Group 2
(Friday) Saturday, October 17
7:00 P.M. - 8:15 P.M.		CHAMP CAR PRACTICE
10:45 P.M. - 11:15 P.M.		CHAMP CAR QUALIFYING - Group 1
11:30 P.M. - 12:00 A.M.		CHAMP CAR QUALIFYING - Group 2
(Saturday) Sunday, October 18
8:00 P.M. - 8:30 P.M.		CHAMP CAR WARM UP
12:00 A.M.		START OF THE HONDA INDY GP OF AUSTRALIA 65 LAPS

Except for the race win, there isn't much at stake anymore this season with only 2 races to go. The second place inthe championship is possibly the biggest goal some of the drivers will be facing when they take the green flagin Australia.

based on recent history, the list of favorites at this temporary street course must include Jimmy Vasser (pole and win in '96), Alex Zanardi (pole in 97 and contender for win until he hand an encounter with Paul Tracy), Scott Pruett (winner in '97), Dario Franchitti (winner of the last 2 street course races this season) and his teammate Paul Tracy (Fast here in '97, fast in Houston).

Dario Franchitti goes into the event with all the confidence of a winner, and he still has a chance to get to the second position in the championship. He moved up to third in the overall standings after his win at Houston andis doing everything he can to add another win to his points total:

"I left for Australia the next day after winning the Houston race. Iabsolutely love it down here. It's my reward for winning I guess - a fewdays of rest and recreation. I'll be totally relaxed and it seems to work forme because I did the same thing before wins at Road America andVancouver. What can I say? Team KOOL Green is on a serious rollright now. We've won three of the last four races - two of them on streetcircuits - so the team has a lot of confidence heading to Surfers Paradise.My focus now is finishing second in the championship. If the whole teamjust stays focused on our jobs, the points - and maybe another win - willfollow."

Sounds like he has it all wrapped up already - but Australia is not a rainy Houston or a no-passing Vancouver. The race down under has had a different winner each year, indicating thatthings are not always decided based on who is on top of the game.

And will Nigel Mansell's track record finally be broken? We'll know that about midnight on Friday whenthe grid for the race will be decided. Note that SpeedCenter will update all results, including the race result asthe data becomes available. If you want to watch the race on TV on Sunday without already knowing the results, make sureyou don't click on our race result icon on Sunday morning.