1998 Winston Cup Series

1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Jeff Gordon won his third Winston Cup championship.
Duration	February 15, 1998 through November 8, 1998
TV	CBS/TNN/TBS; ESPN/ABC
Season statistics
No. of races	33
First race	1998 Daytona 500
Last race	1998 NAPA 500
Drivers' champion	Jeff Gordon
Manufacturers' champion
Rookie of the Year	Kenny Irwin, Jr
Most popular driver	Bill Elliott
Previous	1997
Next	1999

The 1998 Winston Cup Series was the 50th season of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. The season began with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 15 and ended with the NAPA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on November 8.

Jeff Gordon won his third championship and at age 27, became the youngest driver in Cup History to win three championships. He had a career high 13 wins in the season, and he effectively dominated the last 20 races of the season, with an average finish of 1.9 and average of 175.3 points per race. Gordon became the only driver in the modern era to win 10 or more races in three consecutive years (1996, 1997 & 1998).

It was Hendrick Motorsports fourth consecutive championship, marking the first time that an owner has won four consecutive championships.

NASCAR celebrated their 50^th anniversary in a year-long celebration. Every car in the Cup Series had the 50^th anniversary logo on their A pillar throughout the season.

The season was notable for two historic races at Daytona. Dale Earnhardt won his first and only Daytona 500 in his twentieth attempt, and ended a winless streak dating to Atlanta in March 1996. In the fall, the first night race at a superspeedway took place at Daytona, making the track the largest oval track to feature permanent lighting.

Winston replaced their Winston Million program with a new program called the No Bull 5. Five drivers would have a chance to race for a $1 million bonus during the four crown jewel races plus the Brickyard 400. Jeff Gordon won the bonus twice and Dale Jarrett once during the season.

NASCAR 50th Anniversary logo as used throughout 1998.

Ford replaced the Thunderbird model with the Taurus model in 1998. The new Taurus won 15 races during the year and finished second to Chevrolet in the Manufacturer’s Championship.

Teams Competing

Car No.	Driver	Sponsor	Make	Crew Chief	Team
1	Steve Park # (18) Darrell Waltrip (13) Phil Parsons (1) Ron Hornaday, Jr. (1)	Pennzoil		Phillipe Lopez	Dale Earnhardt Inc.
2	Rusty Wallace	Miller Lite		Robin Pemberton	Penske Racing South
3	Dale Earnhardt	GM Goodwrench		Larry McReynolds (13) Kevin Hamlin (20)	Richard Childress Racing
4	Bobby Hamilton	Kodak		Charley Pressley	Morgan-McClure Motorsports
5	Terry Labonte	Kellogg's		Andy Graves	Hendrick Motorsports
6	Mark Martin	Valvoline		Jimmy Fennig	Roush Racing
7	Geoffrey Bodine	Philips		Pete Peterson	Mattei Motorsports
8	Hut Stricklin (11) Buckshot Jones (2) Morgan Shepherd (2)	Circuit City		Ross Freisinger (4) Jim Long (11)	Stavola Brothers Racing
9	Lake Speed (16) Jerry Nadeau # (16)	Cartoon Network		Jeff Buice	Melling Racing
10	Ricky Rudd	Tide		Bill Ingle	Rudd Performance Motorsports
11	Brett Bodine	Paychex		Gere Kennon	Brett Bodine Racing
12	Jeremy Mayfield	Mobil 1		Paul Andrews	Penske-Kranefuss Racing
13	Jerry Nadeau # (16) Dennis Setzer (7) Ted Musgrave (7) Wally Dallenbach, Jr. (2) Tom Hubert (1)	First Plus		Jerry Pitts	Elliott-Marino Racing
16	Ted Musgrave (20) Kevin Lepage # (13)	Primestar		James Ince	Roush Racing
18	Bobby Labonte	Interstate Batteries		Jimmy Makar	Joe Gibbs Racing
21	Michael Waltrip	Citgo		Glen Wood	Wood Brothers Racing
22	Ward Burton	MBNA		Tommy Baldwin, Jr.	Bill Davis Racing
23	Jimmy Spencer	Winston		Donnie Wingo	Travis Carter Enterprises
24	Jeff Gordon	Dupont		Ray Evernham	Hendrick Motorsports
26	Johnny Benson, Jr.	Cheerios		Ben Leslie	Roush Racing
28	Kenny Irwin, Jr. #	Texaco Havoline		Marc Reno	Robert Yates Racing
30	Derrike Cope	Gumout		Doug Hewitt	Bahari Racing
31	Mike Skinner	Lowe's		Kevin Hamlin (13) Larry McReynolds (20)	Richard Childress Racing
33	Ken Schrader	Skoal		Andy Petree	Andy Petree Racing
35	Todd Bodine (15) Wally Dallenbach, Jr. (1) Gary Bradberry (1) Jimmy Horton (1) Darrell Waltrip (15)	Tabasco		Pat Tryson (18) Phil Hammer (15)	ISM Racing Tyler Jet Motorsports
36	Ernie Irvan (30) Ricky Craven (3)	Skittles		Ryan Pemberton	MB2 Motorsports
40	Sterling Marlin	Coors Light		Corrie Stott	Team SABCO
41	Steve Grissom (26) David Green (5) Rick Wilson (2)	Kodiak		Tim Brewer	Larry Hedrick Motorsports
42	Joe Nemechek	BellSouth		Scott Eggleston	Team SABCO
43	John Andretti	STP		Robbie Loomis	Petty Enterprises
44	Kyle Petty	Hot Wheels		Bobby Kennedy	PE2
46	Wally Dallenbach, Jr (8) Morgan Shepherd (4) Jeff Green (20) Tommy Kendall (1)	First Union The Money Store		Gary Grossenbacher	Team SABCO
50	Ricky Craven (8) Randy LaJoie (9) Wally Dallenbach, Jr. (16)	Budweiser		Tony Furr	Hendrick Motorsports
71	Dave Marcis	Realtree		Bob Marcis	Marcis Auto Racing
75	Rick Mast	Remington Arms		Dave Charpentier	Butch Mock Motorsports
77	Robert Pressley (31) Hut Stricklin (1) Ted Musgrave (1)	Jasper Engines		Newt Moore	Jasper Motorsports
78	Gary Bradberry	Pilot Travel Centers		Dennis Adcock	Triad Motorsports
81	Kenny Wallace	Square D		David Ifft	FILMAR Racing
88	Dale Jarrett	Quality Care/Ford Credit		Todd Parrott	Robert Yates Racing
90	Dick Trickle	Heilig Meyers		Junie Donlavey	Donlavey Racing
91	Kevin Lepage # (15) Morgan Shepherd (7) Todd Bodine (7) Andy Hillenburg (3) Tommy Kendall (1)			Doug Richert	LJ Racing
94	Bill Elliott	McDonalds		Joe Garone	Elliott-Marino Racing
96	David Green (12) Hut Stricklin (8) Steve Grissom (5) Mike Bliss (2) Ron Fellows (2) Ted Musgrave (1) Kevin Lepage (1) Robby Gordon (1) Morgan Shepherd (1)	Caterpillar		Sammy Johns	American Equipment Racing
97	Chad Little	John Deere		Jeff Hammond	Roush Racing
98	Greg Sacks (7) Rich Bickle (26)	Thorn Apple Valley		Michael McSwain	Cale Yarborough Motorsports
99	Jeff Burton	Exide Batteries		Frank Stoddard	Roush Racing

Schedule

Round	Date	Race Name	Track	TV
	February 8, 1998	Bud Shootout	Daytona International Speedway	CBS
	February 12, 1998	Gatorade 125s	Daytona International Speedway	CBS
1	February 15, 1998	Daytona 500 #	Daytona International Speedway	CBS
2	February 22, 1998	GM Goodwrench Service Plus 400	North Carolina Speedway	TNN
3	March 1, 1998	Las Vegas 400	Las Vegas Motor Speedway	ABC
4	March 9, 1998	Primestar 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	ESPN
5	March 22, 1998	TranSouth Financial 400	Darlington Raceway	ESPN
6	March 29, 1998	Food City 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	ESPN
7	April 5, 1998	Texas 500	Texas Motor Speedway	CBS
8	April 20, 1998	Goody's Headache Powder 500	Martinsville Speedway	ESPN
9	April 26, 1998	DieHard 500	Talladega Superspeedway	ABC
10	May 3, 1998	California 500 Presented by NAPA	California Speedway	ESPN
	May 16, 1998	The Winston	Charlotte Motor Speedway	TNN
11	May 24, 1998	Coca-Cola 600 #	Charlotte Motor Speedway	TBS
12	May 31, 1998	MBNA Platinum 400	Dover Downs International Speedway	TNN
13	June 6, 1998	Pontiac Excitement 400	Richmond International Raceway	ESPN
14	June 14, 1998	Miller Lite 400	Michigan Speedway	CBS
15	June 21, 1998	Pocono 500	Pocono Raceway	TNN
16	June 28, 1998	Save Mart Supermarkets 300	Sears Point Raceway	ESPN
17	July 12, 1998	Jiffy Lube 300	New Hampshire International Speedway	TNN
18	July 26, 1998	Pennsylvania 500	Pocono Raceway	TBS
19	August 1, 1998	Brickyard 400 #	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	ABC
20	August 9, 1998	The Bud At The Glen	Watkins Glen International	ESPN
21	August 16, 1998	Pepsi 400 presented by DeVilbiss	Michigan Speedway	ESPN
22	August 22, 1998	Goody's Headache Powder 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	ESPN
23	August 30, 1998	Farm Aid on CMT 300	New Hampshire International Speedway	TNN
24	September 6, 1998	Pepsi Southern 500 #	Darlington Raceway	ESPN
25	September 12, 1998	Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400	Richmond International Raceway	ESPN
26	September 20, 1998	MBNA Gold 400	Dover Downs International Speedway	TNN
27	September 27, 1998	NAPA Autocare 500	Martinsville Speedway	ESPN
28	October 4, 1998	UAW-GM Quality 500	Lowe's Motor Speedway	TBS
29	October 11, 1998	Winston 500 #	Talladega Superspeedway	ESPN
30	October 17, 1998*	Pepsi 400	Daytona International Speedway	TNN
31	October 25, 1998	Dura Lube / Kmart 500	Phoenix International Raceway	TNN
32	November 1, 1998	AC Delco 400	North Carolina Speedway	TNN
33	November 8, 1998	NAPA 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	ESPN

Note: The Pepsi 400 at Daytona was delayed to October due to Florida wildfires.

# indicates a Winston No Bull 5 Race

Results

Round	Race	Pole Winner	Winner	Make	Cautions	Caution Laps	Average Speed	Number of Lead Changes
	1998 Bud Shootout	Mark Martin	Rusty Wallace		2	0	178.571	3
	1998 Gatorade 125 (Race #1)	Bobby Labonte	Sterling Marlin		3	10	139.925	6
	1998 Gatorade 125 (Race #2)	Terry Labonte	Dale Earnhardt		2	8	147.203	0
1	1998 Daytona 500	Bobby Labonte	Dale Earnhardt		3	9	172.712	13
2	1998 GM Goodwrench Service Plus 400	Rick Mast	Jeff Gordon		6	50	117.065	27
3	1998 Las Vegas 400	Dale Jarrett	Mark Martin		2	9	146.554	24
4	1998 Primestar 500	John Andretti	Bobby Labonte		7	52	139.501	29
5	1998 TranSouth Financial 400	Mark Martin	Dale Jarrett		5	31	127.962	18
6	1998 Food City 500	Rusty Wallace	Jeff Gordon		14	88	82.850	19
7	1998 Texas 500	Jeremy Mayfield	Mark Martin		7	43	136.771	24
8	1998 Goody's Headache Powder 500 (Martinsville)	Bobby Hamilton	Bobby Hamilton		14	96	70.709	15
9	1998 DieHard 500	Bobby Labonte	Bobby Labonte		3	16	142.428	19
10	1998 California 500 Presented by NAPA	Bill Elliott	Mark Martin		6	35	140.220	18
	1998 The Winston	Bill Elliott	Mark Martin		6	0	N/A	7
11	1998 Coca-Cola 600	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Gordon		8	49	136.424	33
12	1998 MBNA Platinum 400	Rusty Wallace	Dale Jarrett		5	35	119.522	15
13	1998 Pontiac Excitement 400 (WCS)	Jeff Gordon	Terry Labonte		7	47	97.044	17
14	1998 Miller Lite 400	Ward Burton	Mark Martin		2	11	158.695	15
15	1998 Pocono 500	Jeff Gordon	Jeremy Mayfield		9	48	117.809	19
16	1998 Save Mart Supermarkets 300	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Gordon		5	23	72.387	9
17	1998 Jiffy Lube 300	Ricky Craven	Jeff Burton		6	40	102.996	17
18	1998 Pennsylvania 500	Ward Burton	Jeff Gordon		5	25	134.660	10
19	1998 Brickyard 400	Ernie Irvan	Jeff Gordon		9	34	126.772	10
20	1998 The Bud at the Glen	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Gordon		4	9	94.466	8
21	1998 Pepsi 400 Presented by DeVilbiss	Ernie Irvan	Jeff Gordon		3	17	151.995	22
22	1998 Goody's Headache Powder 500 (Bristol)	Rusty Wallace	Mark Martin		13	86	86.949	12
23	1998 Farm Aid on CMT 300	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Gordon		4	25	112.078	11
24	1998 Pepsi Southern 500	Dale Jarrett	Jeff Gordon		2	16	139.031	12
25	1998 Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400	Rusty Wallace	Jeff Burton		8	66	91.985	24
26	1998 MBNA Gold 400	Mark Martin	Mark Martin		7	47	113.834	11
27	1998 NAPA Autocare 500	Ernie Irvan	Ricky Rudd		11	82	73.350	11
28	1998 UAW-GM Quality 500	Derrike Cope	Mark Martin		11	65	123.188	17
29	1998 Winston 500	Ken Schrader	Dale Jarrett		4	20	159.318	20
30	1998 Pepsi 400	Bobby Labonte	Jeff Gordon		6	26	144.549	16
31	1998 Dura Lube/Kmart 500	Ken Schrader	Rusty Wallace		4	25	108.211	8
32	1998 AC Delco 400	Mark Martin	Jeff Gordon		4	25	128.423	20
33	1998 NAPA 500	Kenny Irwin, Jr	Jeff Gordon		5	68	114.915	12

Final Point Standings

Pos.	Driver	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Points	Difference
1	Jeff Gordon	33	13	26	28	7	5328
2	Mark Martin	33	7	22	26	3	4964	-364
3	Dale Jarrett	33	3	19	22	2	4619	-709
4	Rusty Wallace	33	1	15	21	4	4501	-827
5	Jeff Burton	33	2	18	23	0	4415	-913
6	Bobby Labonte	33	2	11	18	3	4180	-1,148
7	Jeremy Mayfield	33	1	12	16	1	4157	-1,171
8	Dale Earnhardt	33	1	5	13	0	3928	-1,400
9	Terry Labonte	33	1	5	15	0	3901	-1,427
10	Bobby Hamilton	33	1	3	8	1	3786	-1,542
11	John Andretti	33	0	3	10	1	3682	-1,646
12	Ken Schrader	33	0	3	11	2	3675	-1,653
13	Sterling Marlin	32	0	0	6	0	3530	-1,798
14	Jimmy Spencer	31	0	3	8	0	3464	-1,864
15	Chad Little	32	0	1	7	0	3423	-1,905
16	Ward Burton	33	0	1	5	2	3352	-1,976
17	Michael Waltrip	32	0	0	5	0	3340	-1,988
18	Bill Elliott	32	0	0	5	0	3305	-2,023
19	Ernie Irvan	30	0	0	11	3	3262	-2,066
20	Johnny Benson, Jr.	32	0	3	10	0	3160	-2,168
21	Mike Skinner	30	0	4	9	0	3153	-2,175
22	Ricky Rudd	33	1	1	5	0	3131	-2,197
23	Ted Musgrave	32	0	2	5	0	3124	-2,204
24	Darrell Waltrip	33	0	1	2	0	2957	-2,371
25	Brett Bodine	33	0	0	0	0	2907	-2,421
26	Joe Nemechek	32	0	1	4	0	2897	-2,431
27	Geoffrey Bodine	32	0	1	5	0	2864	-2,464
28	Kenny Irwin, Jr.	32	0	1	4	1	2760	-2,568
29	Dick Trickle	32	0	0	1	0	2678	-2,650
30	Kyle Petty	33	0	0	2	0	2675	-2,653
31	Kenny Wallace	31	0	0	7	0	2615	-2,713
32	Robert Pressley	30	0	1	1	0	2388	-2,940
33	Rick Mast	30	0	0	1	1	2296	-3,032
34	Steve Grissom	27	0	0	2	0	2215	-3,113
35	Kevin Lepage	27	0	0	2	0	2196	-3,132
36	Jerry Nadeau	30	0	0	0	0	2121	-3,207
37	Derrike Cope	28	0	0	0	1	2065	-3,263
38	Wally Dallenbach, Jr.	23	0	0	3	0	1832	-3,496
39	Rich Bickle	21	0	1	1	0	1773	-3,555
40	Jeff Green	22	0	0	0	0	1687	-3,641
41	Steve Park	17	0	0	0	0	1322	-4,006
42	Todd Bodine	14	0	1	2	0	1322	-4,006
43	Lake Speed	16	0	0	0	0	1297	-4,031
44	David Green	15	0	0	0	0	1014	-4,314
45	Dave Marcis	13	0	0	0	0	949	-4,379
46	Ricky Craven	11	0	0	1	1	907	-4,421
47	Morgan Shepherd	12	0	0	0	0	843	-4,485
48	Gary Bradberry	13	0	0	0	0	787	-4,541
49	Randy LaJoie	9	0	1	3	0	768	-4,560
50	Hut Stricklin	13	0	0	0	0	700	-4,628

Complete statistics can be found at Racing-Reference.info.

Rookie of the Year

Kenny Irwin, Jr won the Rookie of the Year award for 1998.

Rookie of the Year Standings

Position	Driver	Points	Race Wins
1	Kenny Irwin, Jr	252	0
2	Kevin Lepage	239	0
3	Jerry Nadeau	228	0
4	Steve Park	203	0

Manufacturer's Championship

With 16 wins, Chevrolet won the 1998 Manufacturer's Championship.

Position	Make	Points	Race Wins
1		240	16
2		235	15
3		152	2