# 1998 NAPA 500

The 1998 NAPA 500 was the 33rd and final championship event of the 1998 season of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, held on November 8, 1998, at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. Won by series champion Jeff Gordon, the race was delayed both before its start and twice during the race due to rain showers, causing it to be shortened to 221 laps from its scheduled distance of 325 laps.
This was the last race without Tony Stewart on the grid until the 2013 Cheez-It 355 at The Glen.

## Background

Atlanta Motor Speedway is one of ten intermediate to hold NASCAR races; the others are Charlotte Motor Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Homestead Miami Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Texas Motor Speedway. The standard track at Atlanta Motor Speedway is a four-turn quad-oval track that is 1.54 miles (2.48 km) long. The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, and the back stretch are banked at five. The scheduled race distance was 325 laps, totalling 500.5 miles (805.5 km).
Going into the race, Jeff Gordon had clinched the 1998 Winston Cup Series championship the previous weekend at North Carolina Motor Speedway, winning the AC Delco 400 for his 12th win of the season. Rookie driver Harris DeVane, a regular on the ARCA Racing Series, attempted to make his Winston Cup Series debut at the event.
The support race for the event, run on Saturday afternoon, was a 102-lap event sanctioned by the ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series; Mike Swaim Jr. was the winner of the race.

## Qualifying

Series rookie Kenny Irwin Jr., driving the No. 28 Ford Taurus for Robert Yates Racing, led 48 drivers in qualifying on Friday, November 6, winning his first pole position in the Winston Cup Series. Irwin's qualifying time was 193.461 miles per hour (311.345 km/h). Ward Burton qualified second in the No. 22 Bill Davis Racing Pontiac; Dale Jarrett, Mark Martin, and Mike Skinner filled out the remainder of the top five positions in qualifying; the top 25 drivers in the session were locked into the field, with Ted Musgrave as the 25th and final driver guaranteed a starting spot at the end of the first day of time trials.
Second round qualifying, to set starting positions 26th through 36th on the grid, was held on Saturday, November 7. Gary Bradberry set the fastest time in the session at a speed of 189.922 miles per hour (305.650 km/h); he had crashed in the first round of qualifying, and was forced to use a backup car for the rest of the race weekend. The only other driver to make an attempt in second round qualifying and move into the top 36 positions, qualifying for the race, was Kevin Lepage, whose time placed him 31st overall.
Dale Earnhardt, Terry Labonte, Ricky Craven, Johnny Benson Jr., Kyle Petty, and Rusty Wallace were forced to take provisional starting positions to start the race. Darrell Waltrip received a provisional as a past series champion and started 43rd; it was the 20th provisional he had used over the course of the season, resulting in a change to eligibility rules for the 1999 series season. Failing to qualify for the race were Rick Mast, Rich Bickle, Steve Grissom, Andy Hillenburg, and Harris DeVane; DeVane was injured in a crash on his qualifying lap and had to be cut from his car, being taken to a hospital as a precautionary measure.

## Race

The start of the race, scheduled for 12:40PM, was delayed 49 minutes due to rain. During the race two additional red flags for rain caused delays of 6 hours and 39 minutes. The delays resulted in the race being the first night race held at the speedway. Due to the delays, during a yellow flag thrown on lap 190 to allow teams to pit under caution on the still-damp pit road, NASCAR announced that once the race resumed, there would be only 25 laps remaining from that point, citing a desire for fans to be able to return home at a safe hour; the race concluded at 11:07pm, a crowd of 50,000 having remained to watch the race to its conclusion.
From a starting position of 21st, Gordon led 113 of the race's 221 laps; he beat Dale Jarrett for the race win by 0.739 second. His victory, the 13th on the season, tied Richard Petty for the most wins by a driver in a single season. Including the rain delays, there were a total of five caution periods during the race, with 68 laps being run under the yellow flag. Gordon's average speed was 114.915 miles per hour (184.938 km/h), and he received $164,450 for the victory.
Gordon's career victory total stood at 42 after the race; at the time, he was the youngest driver to pass 40 career wins, and the youngest to win a third series title. Gordon topped Mark Martin for the series title by 364 points; Irwin was named the series' Rookie of the Year immediately following the race, beating Kevin Lepage by 14 rookie points.
While the race was the final points event of the season for the Winston Cup Series, an exhibition race at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan was held two weeks later, won by Mike Skinner over Gordon.

## Results
### Qualifying

| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed | Grid |
| 28 | Kenny Irwin Jr. # | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 28.657 | 193.461 | 1 |
| 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 28.666 | 193.400 | 2 |
| 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 28.713 | 193.083 | 3 |
| 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 28.858 | 192.113 | 4 |
| 31 | Mike Skinner | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.859 | 192.106 | 5 |
| 30 | Derrike Cope | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 28.886 | 191.927 | 6 |
| 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 28.936 | 191.595 | 7 |
| 90 | Dick Trickle | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 28.940 | 191.569 | 8 |
| 12 | Jeremy Mayfield | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 28.950 | 191.503 | 10 |
| 42 | Joe Nemechek | Team Sabco | Chevrolet | 28.999 | 191.179 | 11 |
| 46 | Jeff Green | Team Sabco | Chevrolet | 29.028 | 190.988 | 12 |
| 33 | Ken Schrader | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 29.041 | 190.903 | 13 |
| 4 | Bobby Hamilton | Morgan-McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.101 | 190.509 | 14 |
| 11 | Brett Bodine | Brett Bodine Racing | Ford | 29.112 | 190.437 | 15 |
| 41 | David Green | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.114 | 190.424 | 16 |
| 1 | Steve Park # | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 29.158 | 190.136 | 17 |
| 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Ford | 29.177 | 190.013 | 18 |
| 9 | Jerry Nadeau # | Melling Racing | Ford | 29.180 | 189.993 | 19 |
| 91 | Todd Bodine | LJ Racing | Chevrolet | 29.180 | 189.993 | 20 |
| 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.182 | 189.980 | 21 |
| 97 | Chad Little | Roush Racing | Ford | 29.220 | 189.733 | 22 |
| 23 | Jimmy Spencer | Travis Carter Enterprises | Ford | 29.230 | 189.668 | 23 |
| 40 | Sterling Marlin | Team Sabco | Chevrolet | 29.233 | 189.649 | 24 |
| 13 | Ted Musgrave | Elliott-Marino Racing | Ford | 29.250 | 189.538 | 25 |
| 78 | Gary Bradberry | Triad Motorsports | Ford | 29.191 | 189.922 | 26‡ |
| 94 | Bill Elliott | Bill Elliott Racing | Ford | 29.257 | 189.493 | 27 |
| 21 | Michael Waltrip | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 29.261 | 189.467 | 28 |
| 50 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.265 | 189.441 | 29 |
| 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 29.273 | 189.390 | 30 |
| 16 | Kevin Lepage # | Roush Racing | Ford | 29.284 | 189.318 | 31 |
| 8 | Morgan Shepherd | Stavola Brothers Racing | Chevrolet | 29.302 | 189.202 | 32 |
| 77 | Robert Pressley | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 29.311 | 189.144 | 33 |
| 10 | Ricky Rudd | Rudd Performance Motorsports | Ford | 29.314 | 189.125 | 34 |
| 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 29.322 | 189.073 | 35 |
| 43 | John Andretti | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 29.340 | 188.957 | 36 |
| 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | Provisional | Provisional | 37 |
| 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | Provisional | Provisional | 38 |
| 36 | Ricky Craven | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | Provisional | Provisional | 39 |
| 26 | Johnny Benson Jr. | Roush Racing | Ford | Provisional | Provisional | 40 |
| 44 | Kyle Petty | PE2 | Pontiac | Provisional | Provisional | 41 |
| 81 | Kenny Wallace | FILMAR Racing | Ford | Provisional | Provisional | 42 |
| 35 | Darrell Waltrip | Tyler Jet Motorsports | Pontiac | Past Champion | Past Champion | 43 |
| Failed to Qualify |||||||
| 75 | Rick Mast | RahMoc Enterprises | Ford | 29.356 | 188.854 | |
| 98 | Rich Bickle | Cale Yarborough Racing | T-Bird | 29.477 | 188.079 | |
| 96 | Steve Grissom | American Equipment Racing | Chevrolet | 29.935 | 185.201 | |
| 80 | Andy Hillenburg | Hover Motorsports | Ford | 30.298 | 182.982 | |
| 08 | Harris DeVane | Highland Timber Racing | Chevrolet | Crash | Crash | |
| # Rookie of the Year candidate / ‡ Fastest second round qualifier Source: |||||||

### Race results

| Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| 1 | 21 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 221 | 185$^2$ |
| 2 | 3 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 221 | 175$^1$ |
| 3 | 4 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 221 | 165 |
| 4 | 35 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 221 | 160 |
| 5 | 20 | 91 | Todd Bodine | LJ Racing | Chevrolet | 221 | 155 |
| 6 | 14 | 4 | Bobby Hamilton | Morgan-McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 221 | 150 |
| 7 | 13 | 33 | Ken Schrader | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 221 | 146 |
| 8 | 38 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 221 | 142 |
| 9 | 5 | 31 | Mike Skinner | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 221 | 143$^1$ |
| 10 | 10 | 7 | Geoff Bodine | Geoff Bodine Racing | Ford | 221 | 134 |
| 11 | 22 | 97 | Chad Little | Roush Racing | Ford | 221 | 130 |
| 12 | 8 | 90 | Dick Trickle | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 221 | 127 |
| 13 | 37 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 221 | 124 |
| 14 | 2 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 221 | 126$^1$ |
| 15 | 9 | 12 | Jeremy Mayfield | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 221 | 118 |
| 16 | 1 | 28 | Kenny Irwin Jr. # | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 221 | 120$^1$ |
| 17 | 17 | 1 | Steve Park # | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 221 | 112 |
| 18 | 31 | 16 | Kevin Lepage # | Roush Racing | Ford | 221 | 109 |
| 19 | 25 | 13 | Ted Musgrave | Elliott-Marino Racing | Ford | 221 | 106 |
| 20 | 18 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Ford | 221 | 103 |
| 21 | 23 | 23 | Jimmy Spencer | Travis Carter Enterprises | Ford | 221 | 100 |
| 22 | 28 | 21 | Michael Waltrip | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 221 | 97 |
| 23 | 40 | 26 | Johnny Benson Jr. | Roush Racing | Ford | 221 | 94 |
| 24 | 34 | 10 | Ricky Rudd | Rudd Performance Motorsports | Ford | 221 | 91 |
| 25 | 39 | 36 | Ricky Craven | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 221 | 88 |
| 26 | 27 | 94 | Bill Elliott | Bill Elliott Racing | Ford | 221 | 85 |
| 27 | 30 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 221 | 87$^1$ |
| 28 | 33 | 77 | Robert Pressley | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 221 | 79 |
| 29 | 41 | 44 | Kyle Petty | PE2 | Pontiac | 221 | 76 |
| 30 | 6 | 30 | Derrike Cope | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 221 | 73 |
| 31 | 15 | 11 | Brett Bodine | Brett Bodine Racing | Ford | 221 | 75$^1$ |
| 32 | 36 | 43 | John Andretti | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 221 | 72$^1$ |
| 33 | 26 | 78 | Gary Bradberry | Triad Motorsports | Ford | 219 | 64 |
| 34 | 42 | 81 | Kenny Wallace | FILMAR Racing | Ford | 218 | 61 |
| 35 | 29 | 50 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 218 | 58 |
| 36 | 12 | 46 | Jeff Green | Team Sabco | Chevrolet | 216 | 55 |
| 37 | 19 | 9 | Jerry Nadeau # | Melling Racing | Ford | 217 | 52 |
| 38 | 43 | 35 | Darrell Waltrip | Tyler Jet Motorsports | Pontiac | 213 | 49 |
| 39 | 32 | 8 | Morgan Shepherd | Stavola Brothers Racing | Chevrolet | 197 | 46 |
| 40 | 11 | 42 | Joe Nemechek | Team Sabco | Chevrolet | 179 | 43 |
| 41 | 16 | 41 | David Green | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 155 | 40 |
| 42 | 24 | 40 | Sterling Marlin | Team Sabco | Chevrolet | 139 | 37 |
| 43 | 7 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 134 | 34 |
| # Rookie of the Year candidate / Source: ||||||||
| $^1$ Includes five bonus points for leading a lap ||||||||
| $^2$ Includes ten bonus points for leading the most laps ||||||||