Coca-Cola 500 (Motegi)

Last updated
1998 Coca-Cola 500
Race details
Exhibition race in the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Twin Ring Motegi oval map.svg
Date November 22, 1998 (1998-11-22)
Location Twin Ring Motegi, Motegi, Japan
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.5 km)
Distance 201 laps, 311.3 mi (500.9 km)
Weather Temperatures ranging between 5 °C (41 °F) and 10 °C (50 °F) [1]
Average speed 112.558 mph (181.145 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
 Penske Racing South
Time 35.116 seconds
Most laps led
Driver Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing
Laps 94
Winner
No. 31Mike SkinnerRichard Childress Racing
Television in the United States
Network TBS
Announcers Ken Squier, Buddy Baker, Dick Berggren

The Coca-Cola 500 was an exhibition NASCAR stock car race held on November 22, 1998, during the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. The race took place on the Twin Ring Motegi oval course in the town of Motegi on the main Japanese island of Honshu. It was the third straight year that NASCAR held an exhibition race in Japan, previously hosting races on the Suzuka Circuit in 1996 and 1997. Teams from the Winston Cup Series, Busch Series, Craftsman Truck Series and Winston West Series made the trip to Japan to compete in the race. Four Japanese drivers entered the event, as well. The race was also the first in which Dale Earnhardt and his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr. competed against one another in a NASCAR race, driving Nos. 3 and 1 Chevrolets, respectively. [2] The pole position was won by Jeremy Mayfield of Penske Racing South, while Mike Skinner of Richard Childress Racing won the race. Hendrick Motorsports' Jeff Gordon finished second, while Mayfield finished third.

Contents

Background

Located 60 miles (97 km) northeast of Tokyo, [3] Twin Ring Motegi opened on August 1, 1997. [4] In early 1998, plans to continue hosting the NASCAR Thunder 100 at Suzuka Circuit were cancelled, [5] and as a result, the NASCAR race in Japan was moved to the 1.5 mi (2.4 km) Motegi oval. [6] 28 cars traveled to Japan for the race, [5] and a total of 31 drivers competed in the race, 13 from the Winston Cup Series, 11 from the Winston West Series, 2 from the Busch Series, 1 from the Craftsman Truck Series and 4 from Japan. [7]

Qualifying

Qualifying took place on November 21. Jeremy Mayfield won the pole position for the race with a lap time of 35.116 seconds, and a speed of 158.799 miles per hour (255.562 km/h), his second pole of 1998. Three-time and reigning Cup champion Jeff Gordon [8] qualified second with 35.122 seconds and 158.772 mph (255.519 km/h), followed by Mike Skinner with 35.162 seconds and 158.592 mph (255.229 km/h). [9] Elliott Sadler and Darrell Waltrip, filling in for the injured Dale Jarrett, rounded out the top five, while Jeff Burton, Bill Elliott, Rusty Wallace, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Lance Norick closed out the top ten. [10]

Race

Although Jeremy Mayfield led the first lap, Jeff Gordon claimed the lead on the ensuing lap and led until lap 21, relinquishing first to Jeff Burton. From laps 28 to 49, the lead would be exchanged by Mike Skinner and Rusty Wallace, with Sterling Marlin, Burton and Mayfield also gaining the lead afterwards. Skinner, Wallace, Burton and Mayfield would all lead laps until lap 90, when Gordon took the lead, holding it for 49 laps. On lap 139, Dale Earnhardt took the lead, [11] but Skinner passed him and Gordon on the following lap, and led for the remainder of the race, [7] defeating Gordon by 0.153 seconds. [8] Gordon, Mayfield, Burton and Wallace comprised the remainder of the top five, while Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bill Elliott, Dale Earnhardt, Sterling Marlin and Michael Waltrip finished in the top ten. [11] Scott Gaylord was the highest-finishing Winston West driver, finishing 13th. [12]

Aftermath

In the post-race press conference, NASCAR president Mike Helton stated that since the three-year Cup Series contract to run in Japan expired after the 1998 race, [6] the Winston West Series would hold the event as the series' season-ending race in 1999; [13] Kevin Richards won the race. [14] However, due to high costs for transport to the event and poor attendance, the series did not return after the 1999 race. [5] Later in the conference, Helton was asked whether Japanese manufacturer Honda would join NASCAR, but stated that it did not "have a motor that meets specifications for NASCAR racing." [6] National rivals Toyota would eventually join the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2004 and eventually the Cup Series in 2007.

The international exhibition race was later speculated to be moved to EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Germany. [5] As of 2013, NASCAR has not expressed any interest in having its national series run an international exhibition race; senior vice president Steve O'Donnell stated, "We've had 20 groups approach us from China. But most of them are one-offs. We keep pushing back and saying we're going to do this but in a smart way. If you can show us how we build stock-car racing, that's something we want to pursue." [15]

Results

Qualifying

Jeremy Mayfield won the pole position. JeremyMayfieldWinner.jpg
Jeremy Mayfield won the pole position.
PosNo.DriverTeamManufacturerTimeSpeed
112 Jeremy Mayfield Penske Racing South Ford 35.116158.779
224 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 35.122158.772
331 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 35.162158.592
421 Elliott Sadler Wood Brothers Racing Ford 35.259158.155
588 Darrell Waltrip Robert Yates Racing Ford 35.371157.654
699 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 35.399157.530
794 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 35.499157.086
82 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 35.500157.082
91 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 35.524156.975
1060 Lance Norick L & R Motorsports Ford 35.840155.591
117 Michael Waltrip Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 35.883155.405
1240 Sterling Marlin Team SABCO Chevrolet 35.983154.973
134 Bobby Hamilton Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 35.987154.956
1455 Kenny Wallace Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 36.028154.780
153 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 36.053154.672
1658 Ricky Craven SBIII Motorsports Ford 36.225153.938
1767 Scott Gaylord SMS Motorsports Ford 36.480152.862
1816 Brendan Gaughan Bill McAnally Racing Chevrolet 36.664152.178
1911 Austin Cameron AC Motorsports Chevrolet 36.794151.557
2026 Ron Burns Advance Motorsports Ford 36.879151.208
2198 Hideo Fukuyama Davis Racing Enterprises Ford 37.045150.530
228 Jeff Davis Davis Racing Enterprises Ford 37.123150.214
2382 Randy Nelson Core Motorsports Ford 37.164150.048
2444 Kelly Tanner Tanner Racing Pontiac 37.172150.016
2508 Ron Hornaday Jr. Midgley Motorsports Chevrolet 37.295149.521
2610 Butch Gilliland Jenn West Motorsports Ford 37.388149.149
2795 Gary Smith Wade Racing Ford 37.629148.194
2809 Motohiro Nakaji Midgley Motorsports Pontiac 38.194146.002
2928 Kazuteru Wakida Collins Motorsports Chevrolet 38.677144.179
3000 Keiichi Tsuchiya Team DD Ford 38.711144.052
3186 Rich Woodland Jr. Woodland Racing Chevrolet N/A.000
Source: [16]

Race results

Mike Skinner (seen in 2011) won the race. Mike Skinner 2011.jpg
Mike Skinner (seen in 2011) won the race.
PosGridNo.DriverTeamManufacturerLapsLed
1331 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 20194
2224 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 20169
3112 Jeremy Mayfield Penske Racing South Ford 20110
4699 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 20114
582 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing South Ford 20111
691 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 2010
7794 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 2010
8153 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 2011
91240 Sterling Marlin Team SABCO Chevrolet 2012
10117 Michael Waltrip Geoff Bodine Racing Ford 1990
111455 Kenny Wallace Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 1990
121060 Lance Norick L & R Motorsports Ford 1990
131767 Scott Gaylord Scott Gaylord Ford 1990
14228 Jeff Davis Davis Racing Enterprises Ford 1980
152508 Ron Hornaday Jr. Midgley Motorsports Chevrolet 1970
162610 Butch Gilliland Jenn West Motorsports Ford 1950
172198 Hideo Fukuyama Davis Racing Enterprises Ford 1940
18134 Bobby Hamilton Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 1880
191816 Brendan Gaughan Bill McAnally Racing Chevrolet 1850
20421 Elliott Sadler Wood Brothers Racing Ford 1700
212026 Ron Burns Advance Motorsports Ford 1440
221658 Ricky Craven SBIII Motorsports Ford 1080
231911 Austin Cameron AC Motorsports Chevrolet 1050
24588 Darrell Waltrip Robert Yates Racing Ford 840
252795 Gary Smith Wade Racing Ford 540
263000 Keiichi Tsuchiya Team DD Ford 490
272982 Randy Nelson Core Motorsports Ford 440
282928 Kazuteru Wakida Collins Motorsports Chevrolet 400
292444 Kelly Tanner Tanner Racing Pontiac 270
302809 Motohiro Nakaji Midgley Motorsports Pontiac 230
313186 Rich Woodland Jr. Woodland Racing Chevrolet 30
Source: [11]

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References

  1. ↑ Weather information for the Coca-Cola 500 at Weather Underground
  2. ↑ "RACING WITH THE INTIMIDATOR". Dale Earnhardt Jr. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  3. ↑ Macur, Juliet (November 23, 1998). "Skinner Again Wins Exhibition In Japan". Orlando Sentinel . Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Twin Ring Motegi to Start Operation on August 1st, 1997". Honda . July 31, 1997. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "JAPAN TRACK/RACE NEWS/RUMORS". Jayski's Silly Season Site . Archived from the original on April 27, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 Borden, Brett (November 23, 1998). "Motegi Post Race Notes". Motorsport. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  7. 1 2 "Double victory". CNN Sports Illustrated . November 22, 1998. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  8. 1 2 "PLUS: AUTO RACING -- NASCAR THUNDER SPECIAL; Skinner Edges Gordon in Japan". The New York Times . November 23, 1998. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Battling with Gordon". CNN Sports Illustrated . November 21, 1998. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  10. ↑ Borden, Brett (November 21, 1998). "Motegi Qualifying Report". Motorsport. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  11. 1 2 3 "1998 NASCAR Thunder Special Motegi". Racing-Reference. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  12. ↑ "CALIFORNIA NATIVE MIKE SKINNER WINS MOTEGI". RacingWest. November 22, 1998. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Way west". CNN Sports Illustrated . November 17, 1999. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  14. ↑ "AUSTIN CAMERON - MOTEGI WAS THE WW RACE OF 1999". RacingWest. December 28, 1999. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  15. ↑ Ryan, Nate (November 21, 2013). "NASCAR has plan to build an international presence". USA Today . Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  16. ↑ "1998 NASCAR Thunder Special Motegi qualifying results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
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