Jeff Gordon Wins

NAPA 500 (November 8, 1998)
QUALIFYING: Kenny Irwin won his first career Bud Pole with a speed of 193.461mph and a time of 00:28.657sec. Rusty Wallace started 18th with a speed of 190.013mph and a time of 00:29.177sec. Top Ten Qualifiers: 1st-Kenny Irwin, 2nd-Ward Burton, 3rd-Dale Jarrett, 4th-Mark Martin, 5th-Mike Skinner, 6th-Derrike Cope, 7th-Bobby Labonte, 8th-Dick Trickle, 9th-Jeremy Mayfield, 10th-Geoff Bodine. Notables in field: 13th-Ken Schrader, 18th-Rusty Wallace, 21st-Jeff Gordon, 28th-Michael Waltrip, 35th-Jeff Burton, 37th-Dale Earnhardt, 38th-Terry Labonte, 39th-Ricky Craven. Starting Grid

RACE: Jeff Gordon overcame everything the weather and his competitors could throw at him during Sunday's season-ending NAPA 500. After dominating nearly the entire season, the 27-year-old Gordon closed out 1998 at Atlanta with his 13th victory, matching the modern-era NASCAR record for season wins set by Richard Petty in 1975. Gordon had to come from behind to win the event that was scheduled to begin at 12:40 p.m. ET and wound up taking the checkered flag at 11:07 p.m. Rain delayed the start by 30min, then causing 2 red flags totaling more than 6 hours. With more rain on the way, NASCAR cut the race short by 104 laps. Gordon was dominant throughout the race, taking the lead for the first time on lap 87 and leading 113 laps. He fell from first to eighth when NASCAR put out a caution flag on lap 190 to allow everyone to make a final stop. They also notified the teams that there would be just 25 laps after the green flag waved on lap 197. Seven of his competitors, led by Mike Skinner, chose to take on only two tires during the final stop and beat Gordon onto the track. Gordon was 8th. Lap 198, as Gordon attempted to pass Morgan Shepherd for 6th, the cars bumped, sending Shepherd into the outside wall and bringing out the last of five cautions. Gordon moved toward the front in a hurry, but suddenly saw Dale Jarrett zoom past on lap 206. They quickly moved to the front, working their way to first and second on lap 211. Gordon then stalked Jarrett, driving his Chevy past the Ford on lap 215 and pulled away to win by about 10 car-lengths. **The victory gave Chevrolet the NASCAR Manufacturers' Championship in its tight season-long battle with Ford.** Top Ten Finishers: 1st-Jeff Gordon, 2nd-Dale Jarrett, 3rd-Mark Martin, 4th-Jeff Burton, 5th-Todd Bodine, 6th-Bobby Hamilton, 7th-Ken Schrader, 8th-Terry Labonte, 9th-Mike Skinner, 10th-Geoff Bodine. Notables in the field: 13th-Dale Earnhardt, 15th-Jeremy Mayfield, 20th-Rusty Wallace, 22nd-Michael Waltrip, 25th-Ricky Craven, 43rd-Bobby Labonte. Race Results


�2 - Rusty Wallace
�������Started: 18th ��������������Highest: 5th����������������Laps Led: 0
�������Finished: 20th�������������Lowest: 28th

�6 - Mark Martin
�������Started: 4th� �����������Highest: 3rd����������������Laps Led: 0
�������Finished: 3rd��������������Lowest: 6th

24 - Jeff Gordon
�������Started: 21st ���������������Highest: 1st���������������Laps Led: 113
� �����Finished: 1st������������Lowest: 21st

33 - Ken Schrader
�������Started: 13th ������������Highest: 7th�������������Laps Led: 0
������ Finished: 7th������������Lowest: 14th

88 - Dale Jarrett
�������Started: 3rd �������������Highest: 1st���������������Laps Led: 62
��� ���Finished: 2nd������������Lowest: 5th

99 - Jeff Burton
�������Started: 35th �������������Highest: 2nd��������������Laps Led: 0
� �����Finished: 4th��������������Lowest: 35th



RACE RECAP:
After 325 Laps
Leaders: 8
Lead Changes: 12
5 Cautions for 68 Laps
Cars Out of Race: 5
Average Speed: 114.915mph
Winner: Jeff Gordon
Margin of Victory: 0.739
Time of Race: 2:57:42 *not including 2 red flags totaling 6:39*
 �������������NEWS



This page was created on November 5, 1998. It was last updated on November 9, 1998.
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