1998 Daytona 500

Auto race run in Florida in 1998 February 2025 NASWINSTON 1998 1 33 1998_Daytona_500_logo.png 1998 Daytona 500 logo 1998 2 15 2.5 4.02336 200 500 804.672 Overcast with temperatures up to 70 F C; wind speeds up to 14 mph km/h 172.712 mi/h Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing 46.776 seconds Sterling Marlin SABCO Racing Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing 107 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing CBS Mike Joy, Buddy Baker, and Ned Jarrett 8.6/23 (13.04 million viewers) MRN Allen Bestwick and Barney Hall 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. 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 thumb|left|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.http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/ Race Tracks Turner Sports NASCAR November 23, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20110628180503/http://www.nascar.com/races/tracks/ June 28, 2011 dead The standard track at Daytona is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 mi km out long. The track also features two other layouts that utilize portions of the primary high speed tri-oval, such as a 3.56 mi km on sports car course and a 2.95 mi km on motorcycle course.http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/Track-Info/Track-Facts.aspx Track facts Daytona International Speedway DaytonaInternationalSpeedway.com November 23, 2015 September 23, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150923215156/http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/Track-Info/Track-Facts.aspx dead The track's 180 acre on infield includes the 29 acre on 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 and Road Course and opened with the first Daytona 500 in 1959.The History of ISC http://www.internationalspeedwaycorporation.com/The-Team/History.aspx International Speedway Corporation June 14, 2015 InternationalSpeedwayCorporation.com November 23, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20171201032949/http://www.internationalspeedwaycorporation.com/The-Team/History.aspx December 1, 2017 dead The speedway has been renovated three times, with the infield renovated in 2004,Daytona Announces Facility Renovation Plans, No Track Alterations http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/daytona-announces-facility-renovation-plans-no-track-alterations/ Roadracing World Lake Elsinore, California Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. March 24, 2004 November 23, 2015 and the track repaved in 1978 and 2010.Daytona International Speedway set to repave following the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/Articles/2010/04/Daytona-International-Speedway-RP-announcement.aspx DaytonaInternationalSpeedway.com Daytona International Speedway November 24, 2015 Daytona Beach, Florida April 24, 2010 September 23, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150923213559/http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/Articles/2010/04/Daytona-International-Speedway-RP-announcement.aspx dead The Daytona 500 is regarded as the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar.What Makes Daytona Special https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UfLk32NBl4 https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/1UfLk32NBl4 2021-12-21 live Daytona International Speedway YouTube May 10, 2012 2:51 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.World’s most watched TV sports events: 2006 Rank & Trends report Initiative January 19, 2007 http://initiative.com/static/prDec2006.html November 24, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20070208200248/http://initiative.com/static/prDec2006.html February 8, 2007 dead 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 May 2023 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 and 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 thumb|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 Pos Grid Car Driver Team Make Laps Number of laps completed Laps led Number of laps led Status 1 4 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 107 Running 2 1 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 200 22 Running 3 13 12 Jeremy Mayfield Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 200 0 Running 4 31 33 Ken Schrader Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 200 0 Running 5 12 2 Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 200 4 Running 6 10 36 Ernie Irvan (W) MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 200 0 Running 7 21 97 Chad Little Roush Racing Ford 200 0 Running 8 8 31 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 1 Running 9 6 21 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford 200 0 Running 10 19 94 Bill Elliott (W) Elliott-Marino Racing Ford 200 0 Running 11 39 44 Kyle Petty PE2 Motorsports Pontiac 200 0 Running 12 22 4 Bobby Hamilton Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 200 0 Running 13 2 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 2 Running 14 32 50 Ricky Craven Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 0 Running 15 7 23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Motorsports Ford 200 0 Running 16 29 24 Jeff Gordon (W) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 56 Running 17 16 9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 200 0 Running 18 17 43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Pontiac 200 0 Running 19 38 28 Kenny Irwin Jr. (R) Robert Yates Racing Ford 199 0 Flagged 20 37 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 199 0 Flagged 21 26 13 Jerry Nadeau (R) Elliott-Marino Racing Ford 199 0 Flagged 22 3 40 Sterling Marlin (W) SABCO Racing Chevrolet 199 2 Flagged 23 23 73 Mike Wallace Barkdoll Racing Chevrolet 199 0 Flagged 24 42 11 Brett Bodine Scandia-Bodine Racing Ford 199 0 Flagged 25 9 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 199 0 Flagged 26 28 42 Joe Nemechek SABCO Racing Chevrolet 199 6 Flagged 27 34 90 Dick Trickle Donlavey Racing Ford 198 0 Flagged 28 41 41 Steve Grissom Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 198 0 Flagged 29 18 95 Andy Hillenburg (R) Sadler Brothers Racing Chevrolet 198 0 Flagged 30 27 75 Rick Mast Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 197 0 Flagged 31 25 7 Geoff Bodine (W) Mattei Bodine Racing Ford 197 0 Flagged 32 30 77 Robert Pressley Jasper Motorsports Ford 197 0 Flagged 33 43 17 Darrell Waltrip (W) Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet 196 0 Flagged 34 5 88 Dale Jarrett (W) Robert Yates Racing Ford 196 0 Flagged 35 36 47 Billy Standridge (R) Standridge Auto Racing Ford 196 0 Flagged 36 35 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 193 0 Flagged 37 11 30 Derrike Cope (W) Bahari Racing Pontiac 191 0 Flagged 38 15 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 187 0 Flagged 39 24 98 Greg Sacks Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 173 0 Flagged 40 14 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 160 0 Engine 41 33 1 Steve Park (R) Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 158 0 Ignition 42 40 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 117 0 Ignition 43 20 91 Kevin Lepage (R) LJ Racing Chevrolet 78 0 EngineFailed 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 WD 85 Randy Renfrow (R) Mansion Motorsports Ford Source:1998 Daytona 500 - Racing-Reference.info http://www.racing-reference.info/race/1998_Daytona_500/W https://archive.today/20120909031338/http://www.racing-reference.info/race/1996_Daytona_500/W 2012-09-09 live 2013-06-09 See also 1998 in NASCAR References External links Nextel Cup Results msn Complete weather information( https://web.archive.org/web/20160303232532/http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/FL/Daytona%20Beach/1998-02-15 2016-03-03 2013-06-20) 1997 NAPA 500 1998 GM Goodwrench Service Plus 400 NASCAR Winston Cup Series 1998 Daytona 500 Daytona 500 Category:Dale Earnhardt Category:NASCAR races at Daytona International Speedway