1998 Las Vegas 400

Last updated

1998 Las Vegas 400
Race details
Race 3 of 33 in the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1998 Las Vegas 400 logo.jpg
1998 Las Vegas 400 logo
Date March 1, 1998 (1998-03-01)
Location Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.41 km)
Distance 267 laps, 400.5 mi (644.54 km)
Weather Temperatures reaching up to 60.1 °F (15.6 °C); wind speeds up to 8.9 miles per hour (14.3 km/h) [1]
Average speed 146.554 miles per hour (235.856 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Robert Yates Racing
Time 168.224 miles per hour (270.730 km/h)
Most laps led
Driver Mark Martin Roush Racing
Laps 82
Winner
No. 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing
Television in the United States
Network ABC
Announcers Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons, Bill Weber, Jack Arute and Jerry Punch
Radio in the United States
Radio MRN
Booth Announcers Allen Bestwick and Barney Hall
Turn Announcers Joe Moore (1 & 2) and Fred Armstrong (3 & 4)

The 1998 Las Vegas 400 was the inaugural running of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mark Martin, driver of the Valvoline Ford, won the race, and also led the most laps with 82. Dale Jarrett of the Quality Care Service/Ford Credit Ford won the pole position, but finished 40th due to an engine problem. [2] A total of 120,000 people attended the race, with the profits from all three NASCAR races totaling $40 million for the local economy. [3]

Contents

Race

The command to start the engines was given by boxing announcer Michael Buffer. Jimmy Howell was the Chief Starter per MRN's Allen Bestwick. As of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, none of the top 16 finishers are currently racing full-time; Jeff Gordon, the lone current full-time driver, finished 17th. [4]

This race has been self-acclaimed by Mark Martin as being his "biggest victory in the Winston Cup Series." Martin's 5 foot 5 inch stature made him shorter than the Vegas showgirls that posed with him after the race. He would collect six more career wins after this race; making him a strong contender for the championship with an all-new NASCAR team. [5] The Ford Taurus would win more than 100 races after this event before it was retired and replaced with a new Ford model, the Fusion.

Jeff Burton had to fight back from a pit road penalty in order to finish the race with a decent position. [2]

Race results

Source: [2]

Results

PosGridCarDriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatus
176 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 26782Running
21599 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford26737Running
3102 Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford26740Running
41626 Johnny Benson Jr. Roush Racing Ford2679Running
53212 Jeremy Mayfield Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford2670Running
62316 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford2670Running
72923 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford26728Running
8263 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet2671Running
9494 Bill Elliott Elliott-Marino Racing Ford2670Running
101797 Chad Little Roush Racing Ford2670Running
11675 Rick Mast Butch Mock Motorsports Ford2660Flagged
121910 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford2660Flagged
1327 Geoff Bodine Bodine-Mattei Motorsports Ford26614Flagged
143621 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford2660Flagged
15285 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet2662Flagged
161290 Dick Trickle Donlavey Racing Ford2660Flagged
17524 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet2660Flagged
18322 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 2665Flagged
191118 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac2660Flagged
20414 Bobby Hamilton Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet2650Flagged
213733 Ken Schrader Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet2650Flagged
221444 Kyle Petty PE2 Motorsports Pontiac2650Flagged
232077 Robert Pressley Jasper Motorsports Ford2650Flagged
242140 Sterling Marlin SABCO Racing Chevrolet2650Flagged
252298 Greg Sacks Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford2650Flagged
262411 Brett Bodine Scandia Bodine Motorsports Ford2650Flagged
273950 Ricky Craven Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet2650Flagged
283591 Kevin Lepage (R) LJ Racing Chevrolet2640Flagged
293431 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet2640Flagged
301836 Ernie Irvan MB2 Motorsports Pontiac2640Flagged
31930 Derrike Cope Bahari Racing Pontiac2640Flagged
32439 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford2640Flagged
333129 Jeff Green Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet2640Flagged
343396 David Green American Equipment Racing Chevrolet2640Flagged
352717 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet2640Flagged
363828 Kenny Irwin Jr. (R) Robert Yates Racing Ford2630Flagged
37842 Joe Nemechek SABCO Racing Chevrolet2630Flagged
382546 Wally Dallenbach Jr. SABCO Racing Chevrolet2620Flagged
394041 Steve Grissom Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet2580Flagged
40188 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford21940Engine
413043 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Pontiac1960Piston
421381 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford1790Engine
43428 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Chevrolet1500Electrical
Failed to Qualify
19 Tony Raines Roehig MotorsportsFord
78 Gary Bradberry TRIAD Motorsports Ford
13 Jerry Nadeau (R) Elliott-Marino Racing Ford
35 Todd Bodine ISM Racing Pontiac
1 Steve Park (R) Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet
37 Larry Gunselman Gunselman Motorsports Ford
38 Butch Gilliland Hilton Racing Ford

Media

Television

The race was aired live on ABC in the United States. Bob Jenkins and 1973 Cup Series champion Benny Parsons called the race from the broadcast booth. Jerry Punch, Bill Weber and Jack Arute handled pit road for the television side.

ABC
Booth announcersPit reporters
Lap-by-lapColor-commentators
Bob Jenkins Benny Parsons Jerry Punch
Bill Weber
Jack Arute

Standings after the race

PosDriverPoints [2]
1 Rusty Wallace 505
2 Dale Earnhardt 449
3 Jeremy Mayfield 446
4 Jimmy Spencer 429
5 Bill Elliott 427
6 Jeff Gordon 412
7 Mark Martin 409
8 Terry Labonte 394
9 Chad Little 380
10 Bobby Hamilton 373

References

  1. "1998 Las Vegas weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "1998 Las Vegas 400". Racing Reference. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  3. Butterworth, Scott (March 3, 1998). "NASCAR expected to return". Las Vegas Review-Journal . Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  4. Jensen, Tom (March 5, 2015). "A NASCAR Throwback Thursday stat that will blow your mind". Foxsports.com . Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  5. "Mark Martin 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results". Racing Reference. Retrieved March 5, 2015.