QUALIFYING: Jeff Gordon won the Bud Pole with a speed of 129.033mph and a time of 00:29.518sec his seventh of the year. Rusty Wallace started 14th with a speed of 127.091mph and a time of 00:29.969sec. Top Ten Qualifiers: 1st-Jeff Gordon, 2nd-Bobby Labonte, 3rd-Ken Schrader, 4th-Kenny Wallace, 5th-Mark Martin, 6th-Jeremy Mayfield, 7th-Dale Jarrett, 8th-Rick Mast, 9th-John Andretti, 10th-Bobby Hamilton. Notables in field: 14th-Rusty Wallace, 18th-Dale Earnhardt, 19th-Ernie Irvan, 25th-Jeff Burton, 29th-Michael Waltrip. Starting Grid
RACE: Although the leaderboard said he was running fifth, Jeff Gordon had no reason to believe he could do any better. The idea of beating Mark Martin never entered his mind. Then came a badly needed caution, and Gordon had a notion of what to expect next. He was going to be asked by crew chief Ray Evernham to be better on two new tires than the other leaders were on four. And he was, for an astounding 133 laps. And the CMT 300 was added to the other near-miracles of 1998. The victory was reminiscent of the way Gordon won three years ago at NHIS. It wasn't easy, however. On the 81st lap, Gordon was caught on the outside and lost 15 positions to fall all the way to 17th. But Martin, who led 193 of the 300 laps, made a crucial mistake with 67 remaining. He got sideways while attempting to pass a lapped car, made contact and sent Rich Bickle into the fourth-turn wall. That brought out a caution, and while Martin and Dale Jarrett took four tires each, Gordon got just two and moved from fifth to first. The victory made Gordon the first three-time winner in the six years of racing at NHIS. It was Gordon's 38th career victory and series-leading ninth this year. Top Ten Finishers: 1st-Jeff Gordon, 2nd-Mark Martin, 3rd-John Andretti, 4th-Dale Jarrett, 5th-Jeff Burton, 6th-Kenny Wallace, 7th-Bobby Labonte, 8th-Rusty Wallace, 9th-Dale Earnhardt, 10th-Ricky Rudd. Notables in the field: 20th-Jeremy Mayfield, 27th-Michael Waltrip, 42nd-Ken Schrader. Race Results
RACE RECAP:
After 300 Laps
Leaders: 9
Lead Changes:11
4 Cautions for 25 Laps
Cars Out of Race: 1
Average Speed: 112.978mph
Winner: Jeff Gordon
Margin of Victory: 0.664
Time of Race: 2:49:55
Get your own Free Home Page