1998 Daytona 500

Last updated
1998 Daytona 500
Race details
Race 1 of 33 in the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1998 Daytona 500 logo.png
1998 Daytona 500 logo
Date February 15, 1998 (1998-02-15)
Location Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.02336 km)
Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Weather Overcast with temperatures up to 70 °F (21 °C); wind speeds up to 14 miles per hour (23 km/h)
Average speed 172.712 miles per hour (277.953 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Joe Gibbs Racing
Time 46.776 seconds
Qualifying race winners
Duel 1 Winner Sterling Marlin SABCO Racing
Duel 2 Winner Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Most laps led
Driver Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Laps 107
Winner
No. 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing
Television in the United States
Network CBS
Announcers Mike Joy, Buddy Baker, and Ned Jarrett
Nielsen Ratings 8.6/23
(13.04 million viewers)
Radio in the United States
Radio MRN
Booth Announcers Allen Bestwick and Barney Hall
Turn Announcers Joe Moore (1 & 2), Mike Bagley (Backstretch), Fred Armstrong (3 & 4)

The 1998 Daytona 500, the 40th running of the event, was held on February 15 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida as the first race of the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup season. It was Dale Earnhardt's only Daytona 500 victory after 19 previous attempts. It was Earnhardt's 20th 500 start and CBS's 20th consecutive live broadcast of the Daytona 500. Also, his Daytona 500 win ended a 59-race winless streak dating back to Atlanta Motor Speedway in March 1996.

Contents

The race had three cautions - all of which were for minor incidents, and there were no accident-related retirements. The race was run under the green flag for the first 125 laps. This resulted in it being the second-fastest Daytona 500 ever, behind the 1980 Daytona 500 won by Buddy Baker, and the fastest of the restrictor plate era.

Background

Daytona International Speedway, the track where the race was held. Daytona International Speedway on the day of the Daytona 500.JPG
Daytona International Speedway, the track where the race was held.

Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida that is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the others being Michigan International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway. [1] The standard track at Daytona is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The track also features two other layouts that utilize portions of the primary high speed tri-oval, such as a 3.56-mile (5.73 km) sports car course and a 2.95-mile (4.75 km) motorcycle course. [2] The track's 180-acre (73 ha) infield includes the 29-acre (12 ha) Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.

The track was built by NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. to host racing that was being held at the former Daytona Beach Road Course and opened with the first Daytona 500 in 1959. [3] The speedway has been renovated three times, with the infield renovated in 2004, [4] and the track repaved in 1978 and 2010. [5]

The Daytona 500 is regarded as the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar. [6] It is also the series' first race of the year; this phenomenon is virtually unique in sports, which tend to have championships or other major events at the end of the season rather than the start. Since 1995, U.S. television ratings for the Daytona 500 have been the highest for any auto race of the year, surpassing the traditional leader, the Indianapolis 500 which in turn greatly surpasses the Daytona 500 in in-track attendance and international viewing. The 2006 Daytona 500 attracted the sixth largest average live global TV audience of any sporting event that year with 20 million viewers. [7]

Qualifying

Bobby Labonte won the pole position for the Daytona 500 with a time of 46.776 seconds, and his brother Terry qualified on the outside pole position next to him. Sterling Marlin qualified third winning the first Gatorade Twin 125 and Dale Earnhardt qualified fourth winning the second Twin 125.

Race summary

Pre-race buildup

The race began with an emphasis on NASCAR's 50th Anniversary Celebration. The pre-race show on CBS featured some of the greatest Daytona 500 finishes in recent memory. It also detailed the famous Daytona Beach Road Course and it featured Russ Truelove, Buck Baker, Tim Flock, Red Farmer and Junior Johnson on the Daytona Beach with one of Tim Flock's old "Full Jeweled" #300 Chryslers.

The Rev. Hal Marchman gave the traditional invocation, and country/bluegrass music singer Kathy Mattea sang the US National Anthem, but neither was aired on CBS. Kansas Governor Bill Graves and the fans in the stands all gave the command for drivers to start their engines and Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino waved the green flag to start the race.

Caution #1

In the mid-stage of the event, green flag pit stops were still in progress with Jeff Gordon leading and were on pace of breaking the average speed of 198. Ward Burton cut down a tire, leaving debris on the track. This would bring out the first caution.

Caution #2

Late in the race with a possibility of a second round of green-flag stops, John Andretti and Robert Pressley made contact in turn 2 and both spun out, which brought out the second caution. During pit spots, Dale Earnhardt came out first, Michael Waltrip had a penalty after running over a hose while pitting, thus held back at the rear of the pack.

Caution #3 (Lap 198) and finish

Dale Earnhardt's 1998 Daytona 500-winning No. 3 GM Goodwrench Plus Chevrolet Monte Carlo Richard Childress Racing Museum October 2022 24 (Dale Earnhardt's 1998 Daytona 500-winning No. 3 GM Goodwrench Plus Chevrolet Monte Carlo).jpg
Dale Earnhardt's 1998 Daytona 500-winning No. 3 GM Goodwrench Plus Chevrolet Monte Carlo

Dale Earnhardt led Bobby Labonte and Jeremy Mayfield heading into turn 2. Lake Speed and John Andretti got together and both cars spun, setting up a scenario where Earnhardt, Labonte, and Mayfield were all in contention for the win. While racing back to the caution flag, the three came up on the lapped car of Rick Mast. Earnhardt easily passed Mast on the outside. Labonte lost Earnhardt's draft while Mayfield sped to the inside of Mast. Earnhardt led Labonte and Mayfield, who were side by side. Earnhardt took the white and yellow flags in first while Labonte edged Mayfield for second by a fender. The race would end under the caution flag. Earnhardt dedicated his win to his late colleague, Neil Bonnett, who died 4 years earlier whilst practicing for the 1994 race.

Results

PosGridCarDriverTeamMakeLapsLaps ledStatus
143 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200107Running
2118 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 20022Running
31312 Jeremy Mayfield Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 2000Running
43133 Ken Schrader Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 2000Running
5122 Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 2004Running
61036 Ernie Irvan (W) MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 2000Running
72197 Chad Little Roush Racing Ford 2000Running
8831 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 2001Running
9621 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford 2000Running
101994 Bill Elliott (W) Elliott-Marino Racing Ford 2000Running
113944 Kyle Petty PE2 Motorsports Pontiac 2000Running
12224 Bobby Hamilton Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 2000Running
1325 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 2002Running
143250 Ricky Craven Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 2000Running
15723 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Motorsports Ford 2000Running
162924 Jeff Gordon (W) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 20056Running
17169 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 2000Running
181743 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Pontiac 2000Running
193828 Kenny Irwin Jr. (R) Robert Yates Racing Ford 1990Flagged
203716 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 1990Flagged
212613 Jerry Nadeau (R) Elliott-Marino Racing Ford 1990Flagged
22340 Sterling Marlin (W) SABCO Racing Chevrolet 1992Flagged
232373 Mike Wallace Barkdoll Racing Chevrolet 1990Flagged
244211 Brett Bodine Scandia-Bodine Racing Ford 1990Flagged
25922 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 1990Flagged
262842 Joe Nemechek SABCO Racing Chevrolet 1996Flagged
273490 Dick Trickle Donlavey Racing Ford 1980Flagged
284141 Steve Grissom Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1980Flagged
291895 Andy Hillenburg (R) Sadler Brothers Racing Chevrolet 1980Flagged
302775 Rick Mast Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 1970Flagged
31257 Geoff Bodine (W) Mattei Bodine Racing Ford 1970Flagged
323077 Robert Pressley Jasper Motorsports Ford 1970Flagged
334317 Darrell Waltrip (W) Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 1960Flagged
34588 Dale Jarrett (W) Robert Yates Racing Ford 1960Flagged
353647 Billy Standridge (R) Standridge Auto Racing Ford 1960Flagged
363571 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 1930Flagged
371130 Derrike Cope (W) Bahari Racing Pontiac 1910Flagged
38156 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 1870Flagged
392498 Greg Sacks Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 1730Flagged
401499 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 1600Engine
41331 Steve Park (R) Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 1580Ignition
424010 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 1170Ignition
432091 Kevin Lepage (R) LJ Racing Chevrolet 780Engine
Failed to Qualify
46 Wally Dallenbach Jr. SABCO Racing Chevrolet
81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford
96 David Green (R) American Equipment Racing Chevrolet
78 Gary Bradberry (R) Triad Motorsports Ford
29 Jeff Green (R) Diamond Ridge Motorsports Chevrolet
79 Norm Benning (R) T.R.I.X. Racing Chevrolet
8 Hut Stricklin Stavola Brothers Racing Chevrolet
14 Loy Allen Jr. Precision Products Racing Pontiac
80 Mike Ciochetti (R) Hover Motorsports Ford
59 Mark Gibson (R) CSG Motorsports Ford
26 Johnny Benson Roush Racing Ford
35 Todd Bodine ISM Racing Pontiac
07 Dan Pardus (R) Midwest Transit Racing Chevrolet
85 Randy Renfrow (R) Mansion Motorsports Ford
Source: [8]

See also

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References

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