# 1998 Las Vegas 400

The 1998 Las Vegas 400 was the inaugural running of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Mark Martin, driver of the Valvoline Ford, won the race, and also led the most laps with 82. Dale Jarrett of the Quality Care Service/Ford Credit Ford won the pole position, but finished 40th due to an engine problem. A total of 120,000 people attended the race, with the profits from all three NASCAR races totaling $40 million for the local economy.

## Race

The command to start the engines was given by boxing announcer Michael Buffer. Jimmy Howell was the Chief Starter per MRN's Allen Bestwick. As of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, none of the top 16 finishers are currently racing full-time; Jeff Gordon, the lone current full-time driver, finished 17th.
This race has been self-acclaimed by Mark Martin as being his "biggest victory in the Winston Cup Series." Martin's 5 foot 5 inch stature made him shorter than the Vegas showgirls that posed with him after the race. He would collect six more career wins after this race; making him a strong contender for the championship with an all-new NASCAR team. The Ford Taurus would win more than 100 races after this event before it was retired and replaced with a new Ford model, the Fusion.
Jeff Burton had to fight back from a pit road penalty in order to finish the race with a decent position.

## Race results

Source:

### Results

| Pos | Grid | Car | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status |
| 1 | 7 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 267 | 82 | Running |
| 2 | 15 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 267 | 37 | Running |
| 3 | 10 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 267 | 40 | Running |
| 4 | 16 | 26 | Johnny Benson Jr. | Roush Racing | Ford | 267 | 9 | Running |
| 5 | 32 | 12 | Jeremy Mayfield | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 267 | 0 | Running |
| 6 | 23 | 16 | Ted Musgrave | Roush Racing | Ford | 267 | 0 | Running |
| 7 | 29 | 23 | Jimmy Spencer | Travis Carter Enterprises | Ford | 267 | 28 | Running |
| 8 | 26 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 267 | 1 | Running |
| 9 | 4 | 94 | Bill Elliott | Elliott-Marino Racing | Ford | 267 | 0 | Running |
| 10 | 17 | 97 | Chad Little | Roush Racing | Ford | 267 | 0 | Running |
| 11 | 6 | 75 | Rick Mast | Butch Mock Motorsports | Ford | 266 | 0 | Flagged |
| 12 | 19 | 10 | Ricky Rudd | Rudd Performance Motorsports | Ford | 266 | 0 | Flagged |
| 13 | 2 | 7 | Geoff Bodine | Bodine-Mattei Motorsports | Ford | 266 | 14 | Flagged |
| 14 | 36 | 21 | Michael Waltrip | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 266 | 0 | Flagged |
| 15 | 28 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 266 | 2 | Flagged |
| 16 | 12 | 90 | Dick Trickle | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 266 | 0 | Flagged |
| 17 | 5 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 266 | 0 | Flagged |
| 18 | 3 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 266 | 5 | Flagged |
| 19 | 11 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 266 | 0 | Flagged |
| 20 | 41 | 4 | Bobby Hamilton | Morgan-McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 265 | 0 | Flagged |
| 21 | 37 | 33 | Ken Schrader | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 265 | 0 | Flagged |
| 22 | 14 | 44 | Kyle Petty | PE2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 265 | 0 | Flagged |
| 23 | 20 | 77 | Robert Pressley | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 265 | 0 | Flagged |
| 24 | 21 | 40 | Sterling Marlin | SABCO Racing | Chevrolet | 265 | 0 | Flagged |
| 25 | 22 | 98 | Greg Sacks | Cale Yarborough Motorsports | Ford | 265 | 0 | Flagged |
| 26 | 24 | 11 | Brett Bodine | Scandia Bodine Motorsports | Ford | 265 | 0 | Flagged |
| 27 | 39 | 50 | Ricky Craven | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 265 | 0 | Flagged |
| 28 | 35 | 91 | Kevin Lepage (R) | LJ Racing | Chevrolet | 264 | 0 | Flagged |
| 29 | 34 | 31 | Mike Skinner | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 264 | 0 | Flagged |
| 30 | 18 | 36 | Ernie Irvan | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 264 | 0 | Flagged |
| 31 | 9 | 30 | Derrike Cope | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 264 | 0 | Flagged |
| 32 | 43 | 9 | Lake Speed | Melling Racing | Ford | 264 | 0 | Flagged |
| 33 | 31 | 29 | Jeff Green | Diamond Ridge Motorsports | Chevrolet | 264 | 0 | Flagged |
| 34 | 33 | 96 | David Green | American Equipment Racing | Chevrolet | 264 | 0 | Flagged |
| 35 | 27 | 17 | Darrell Waltrip | Darrell Waltrip Motorsports | Chevrolet | 264 | 0 | Flagged |
| 36 | 38 | 28 | Kenny Irwin Jr. (R) | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 263 | 0 | Flagged |
| 37 | 8 | 42 | Joe Nemechek | SABCO Racing | Chevrolet | 263 | 0 | Flagged |
| 38 | 25 | 46 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. | SABCO Racing | Chevrolet | 262 | 0 | Flagged |
| 39 | 40 | 41 | Steve Grissom | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 258 | 0 | Flagged |
| 40 | 1 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 219 | 40 | Engine |
| 41 | 30 | 43 | John Andretti | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 196 | 0 | Piston |
| 42 | 13 | 81 | Kenny Wallace | FILMAR Racing | Ford | 179 | 0 | Engine |
| 43 | 42 | 8 | Hut Stricklin | Stavola Brothers Racing | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Electrical |
| Failed to Qualify |||||||||
| | | 19 | Tony Raines | Roehig Motorsports | Ford | | | |
| | | 78 | Gary Bradberry | TRIAD Motorsports | Ford | | | |
| | | 13 | Jerry Nadeau (R) | Elliott-Marino Racing | Ford | | | |
| | | 35 | Todd Bodine | ISM Racing | Pontiac | | | |
| | | 1 | Steve Park (R) | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | | | |
| | | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | | | |
| | | 37 | Larry Gunselman | Gunselman Motorsports | Ford | | | |
| | | 38 | Butch Gilliland | Hilton Racing | Ford | | | |

## Media
### Television

The race was aired live on ABC in the United States. Bob Jenkins and 1973 Cup Series champion Benny Parsons called the race from the broadcast booth. Jerry Punch, Bill Weber and Jack Arute handled pit road for the television side.
ABC :
| Booth announcers | Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap | Color-commentators | Pit reporters |
| Bob Jenkins | Benny Parsons | Jerry Punch Bill Weber Jack Arute |

## Standings after the race

| Pos | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Rusty Wallace | 505 |
| 2 | Dale Earnhardt | 449 |
| 3 | Jeremy Mayfield | 446 |
| 4 | Jimmy Spencer | 429 |
| 5 | Bill Elliott | 427 |
| 6 | Jeff Gordon | 412 |
| 7 | Mark Martin | 409 |
| 8 | Terry Labonte | 394 |
| 9 | Chad Little | 380 |
| 10 | Bobby Hamilton | 373 |