1998 Piston Cup Season

The 1998 Piston Cup Season was a season of great remembrance to fans. Ten years after Irving Payne got his fifth and final title in 1988, Joe Rodrun Jr won his only Piston Cup and the sixth and final for AXELE. It was Klint Shiftright's, Billy Ford's and Andrew Axler's final season. 1998 was the last season to have two cars for one team, as Trunk Fresh, and Tach-O-Mint had to downsize after 1998, making Dirkson D'Agostino and Greg Candyman the primary drivers, and Buck Vincent and Hanz Guenther the backups, though Vincent had a good career, finishing third in the standings in 1995.

## Racers

1. Tow Cap 4 - Rusty Cornfuel
2. Dale Earnhardt 8 - Dale Earnhardt Jr (part-time)
3. Nitroade 28 - Andrew Axler
4. Mood Springs 33 - Chuck Armstrong
5. Trunk Fresh 34 - Buck Vincent
6. Tank Coat 36 - Eugene Carbureski
7. Trunk Fresh 37 - Dirkson D'Agostino
8. Dinoco 43 - The King
9. Brake Dock 50 - Travis Driftshaft
10. Easy Idle 51 - Ruby Oaks
11. Leak Less 52 - Claude Scruggs
12. Faux Wheel Drive 54 - Johnny Blamer
13. Fiber Fuel 56 - Brush Curber
14. Octane Gain 58 - Bernie Simpson
15. Vitoline 61 - James Cleanair
16. RPM 64 - Winford Bradford Rutherford
17. N20 Cola 68 - Ron Pitcar
18. Gasprin 70 - Edgar Filterroot
19. Rev N Go 73 - Misti Motorkrass
20. Retread 79 - Haul Inngas
21. Gask-Its 80 - Billy Ford
22. Shiny Wax 82 - Mark Landis
23. Bumper Save 90 - James Robson
24. Sputter Stop 92 - Murray Clutchburn
25. Spare Mint 93 - Ernie Gearson
26. Tach O Mint 101 - Greg Candyman
27. Tach O Mint 109 - Hanz Guenther
28. AXELE 115 - Joe Rodrun Jr
29. Clutch Aid 121 - Klint Shiftright
30. No Stall 123 - Larry Smith

## Race Winners

1. Nightdona 500 - Ruby Oaks
2. Pizza Planet 400 at Las Vegas - Klint Shiftright
3. Texas 350 - Murray Clutchburn
4. Shiny Wax 500 - Ernie Gearson
5. BnL 500 - Winford Bradford Rutherford
6. Ben's Hot Sauce 400 - Joe Rodrun Jr
7. Vitoline 350 - Chick Hicks
8. Tank Coat 400 - Greg Candyman
9. Tach O Mint 500 - Joe Rodrun Jr
10. New York 300 - Buck Vincent
11. Palm Mile 300 - Edgar Filterroot
12. htB 400 - Murray Clutchburn
13. Rev N Go 350 - Joe Rodrun Jr
14. N20 Cola 400 - Mark Landis
15. Brickyard 400 - The King
16. Clutch Aid/Coszen 400 - The King
17. No Stall 350 - Travis Driftshaft
18. Retread 500 - Joe Rodrun Jr
19. Gasprin 400 - Dirkson D'Agostino
20. Nashville 400 - Chuck Armstrong
21. Homestead 350 - The King
22. Faux Wheel Drive 400 - Travis Driftshaft
23. Shifty Drug 350 - Larry Smith
24. Piston Cup Dash 600 - Joe Rodrun Jr
25. Sidewall Shine 400 - Brush Curber
26. Spare Mint 400 - Ron Pitcar
27. Fiber Fuel 400 - Eugene Carbureski
28. RPM 350 - Claude Scruggs
29. Brake Dock 400 - Dirkson D'Agostino
30. Sputter Stop 400 - Joe Rodrun Jr
31. Leak Less 400 - Greg Candyman
32. Octane Gain 400 - Murray Clutchburn
33. Mood Springs 350 - Murray Clutchburn
34. Trunk Fresh 650 - The King
35. Dinoco 400 - Joe Rodrun Jr

## Championship Standings

1. Joe Rodrun Jr
2. Murray Clutchburn
3. Greg Candyman
4. The King
5. Chuck Armstrong
6. Chick Hicks
7. Brush Curber
8. Dirkson D'Agostino
9. James Cleanair
10. Ruby Oaks
11. Buck Vincent
12. Haul Inngas
13. Winford Bradford Rutherford
14. Rusty Cornfuel
15. Travis Driftshaft
16. Eugene Carbureski
17. Claude Scruggs
18. Billy Ford
19. Misti Motorkrass
20. Klint Shiftright
21. Mark Landis
22. Ron Pitcar
23. James Robson
24. Edgar Filterroot
25. Ernie Gearson
26. Andrew Axler
27. Hanz Guenther
28. Larry Smith
29. Bernie Simpson
30. Johnny Blamer

## Trivia

* Buck Vincent was replaced for finishing lower in the standings than his teammate, Dirkson D'Agostino. Same thing with Hanz Guenther and Greg Candyman.
* Klint Shiftright said he retired because he "fell off a cliff" in 1998. He won the 1993, 1995, and 1996 titles but finished 20th this season.
* Other than Johnny Blamer, Mark Landis was the lowest placed racer in the standings of his generation that was not on a 2-car team (21st), despite scoring his only win this season.
* Billy Ford said his 1998 season was his favorite.

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