Las Vegas' Hamilton keeps IRL title hopes alive

And then there were three.

Eight drivers with their sights set on the 1998 Indy Racing League championship fell out of contention during Sunday's Lone Star 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Heading into the season-ending Las Vegas 500K Oct. 11 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, only three drivers -- Kenny Brack, Las Vegas resident Davey Hamilton and defending series champion Tony Stewart -- remain in the hunt for the title and $1 million bonus.

Brack, who took a 23-point lead over Hamilton into Sunday's race, finished fifth and increased his lead to 31 points. Stewart is 41 points behind Brack.

With a maximum of 55 points available to the winner of a race, Brack needs to finish seventh or better in Las Vegas to clinch the championship -- regardless of what Hamilton or Stewart do.

"I felt (Sunday) was a race of survival and that's not how I like to race," Brack said. "(But) it was good for the championship; we lengthened our lead, which helps to eliminate our risk."

Hamilton was in position to cut into Brack's point lead after starting sixth in the 28-car field Sunday and quickly moving into third place. On lap 20, however, Hamilton shredded a right rear tire and was forced to pit, dropping him a lap off the pace.

Hamilton suffered another right rear tire failure late in the race, causing him to spin and drop to 10th on lap 199. In the final nine laps, Hamilton managed to get his Reebok Dallara/Aurora back into sixth place.

"We had a quick car all day but we couldn't keep tires under the car," Hamilton said, referring to problems many drivers suffered with a new Goodyear tire produced especially for Texas Motor Speedway.

"Goodyear has a great tire and reputation but something happened today. We went through five (right rear) tires and the last one was critical by the end of the race."

Although he has his work cut out in his hunt for the series championship, Hamilton remained optimistic.

"We're still in it," he said. "We lost a little but so did a lot of the leaders. We lost ground to Kenny going into Las Vegas and that hurts, but we have got to stay focused and do our job.

"We'll see how things shake out in Vegas."

Even if Hamilton were to win the Las Vegas 500K, he will need help from Brack in order to win the championship. If Hamilton were to capture the pole, lead the most laps and win the race, Brack would have to finish eighth or worse for Hamilton to take the title.

If Hamilton doesn't win the pole (which is worth three bonus points) and lead the most laps (two bonus points) but wins the race, Brack would have to finish 11th or worse for Hamilton to claim the championship.

Stewart, who trailed Brack by 25 points going into Texas, also had his title hopes dashed Sunday when he blew an engine on lap 80 and finished 20th.

"We just gave away a million dollars," a visibly upset Stewart said, referring to the Pep Boys Million bonus for winning the championship.

Henderson resident Sam Schmidt started 23rd Sunday and had improved his position by several places before engine problems sidelined his Best Western Gold Crown Dallara/Aurora on the sixth lap.

"It looks like we dropped a valve," Schmidt said. "We had a great run ... we picked up four or five spots, so it's particularly hard to take."

The Las Vegas 500K will get under way on Friday, Oct. 9 with morning and afternoon practice sessions on the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Qualifying will begin at noon on Saturday, Oct. 10 and the race will start at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 11.

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