1998 Daytona 500

Background

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. The standard track at Daytona is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 mi long. The track also features two other layouts that utilize portions of the primary high speed tri-oval, such as a 3.56 mi sports car course and a 2.95 mi motorcycle course. The track's 180 acre infield includes the 29 acre 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. The speedway has been renovated three times, with the infield renovated in 2004, and the track repaved in 1978 and 2010.

The Daytona 500 is regarded as the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar. 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.

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 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

References

References

1. "Race Tracks". Turner Sports.
2. "Track facts". Daytona International Speedway.
3. (June 14, 2015). "The History of ISC". International Speedway Corporation.
4. (March 24, 2004). "Daytona Announces Facility Renovation Plans, No Track Alterations". Roadracing World Publishing, Inc..
5. (April 24, 2010). "Daytona International Speedway set to repave following the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola". Daytona International Speedway.
6. (May 10, 2012). "What Makes Daytona Special".
7. (January 19, 2007). "World’s most watched TV sports events: 2006 Rank & Trends report". Initiative.
8. "1998 Daytona 500 - Racing-Reference.info".