1998 Daytona 500
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 33 in the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
Track map of Daytona International Speedway showing mainly the speedway.
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| Date | February 15, 1998 | ||
| Location |
Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. |
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| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.02336 km) |
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| Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) | ||
| Weather | Chilly 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 (13.0 million viewers) |
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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 memorable in that it marked Dale Earnhardt's only Daytona 500 victory after 19 previous attempts and many heartbreaking finishes. Not only was it Earnhardt's 20th 500 start, but also CBS's 20th consecutive live broadcast of the Daytona 500. Also, his long-awaited Daytona 500 win snapped a 59-race winless streak dating back to Atlanta Motor Speedway in March 1996.
The race was remarkably clean for a restrictor plate race. There were only three cautions - all of which were for minor incidents (as well, there were no accident-related retirements), and there was a pit stop incident involving Dale Jarrett, Jeff Burton and Derrike Cope but no caution was waved. 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.
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 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. 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.
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