Following 400 miles of high speed racing at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Jeff Gordon stood tall in victory lane as the first repeat winner of the Brickyard 400. Plus, Gordon’s win gave him a one-million-dollar bonus thanks to the new Winston No Bull 5 program where drivers are rewarded for winning in NASCAR’s most storied events. For the fifth year, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series invaded the famous track and put on a show for the fans at IMS. While the track might be known for open wheel racing, 43 stock car drivers showed in today’s event that fenders can compete on the 2.5-mile speedway. Ernie Irvan started the race out front, but after pit stops following the first caution, Jeff Gordon found himself in the lead. From there, the race turned into a battle of surviving for the top drivers in the field. Jeremy Mayfield crashed due to a blown tire while running second on lap 35. Mayfield’s teammate, Rusty Wallace, had a right front tire issue on lap 62 while running eighth, which cost him a lap and all his track position. Dale Jarrett, who had taken the lead on lap 54 from Gordon, ran out of gas on lap 81 on the backstretch and ended up losing four laps trying to coast his car to pit road. On lap 116, Kenny Irwin Jr., who was running in sixth, broke loose in turn 1 and slammed the outside wall, which ended his promising day at his home track. Steve Park, who had been running near the Top 10 for most of the afternoon in his return to the car after injuries earlier this year, crashed hard on lap 150 and ended a very promising day. Despite all the incidents for competitive drivers throughout the day, one constant contender remained: Jeff Gordon. Gordon managed to hold off Mark Martin on three restarts just after halfway and when Dale Earnhardt took two tires after the sixth caution on lap 117 to grab the lead, he couldn’t hold off the 1995 and 1997 NWCS champion for long as Gordon took the lead on lap 127. Yet, after leading 87 of the first 150 laps, Gordon’s chance for a win would come down to two final restarts with Martin right on his bumper. The penultimate restart went smoothly and Gordon held the lead, but the green flag run lasted only two laps before the caution waved again. On the final restart, Gordon made it to turn 1 when a huge crash resulted in a caution. The field raced back to the line and Gordon maintained the lead. The caution came too late in the race for a restart and he crossed the finish line for the dominant victory and the one million dollar Winston No Bull 5 bonus. The race was filled with battles for position, bad luck for the top contenders in the field, hard crashes, and an intense fight for the win. As these five stages of analysis show, stock cars put on a thrilling show when they race around the legend known as the Brickyard.
Stage 1:
Driver of the Day: Gordon Proves Unbeatable in Dominating Performance at the Brickyard
Since his win in the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994, Jeff Gordon has been the most dominant driver in the NWCS. He won the NWCS championship in both 1995 and 1997, he won the Daytona 500 in 1997, and he has visited victory lane a total of 32 times coming into today’s event. Yet, with all his success in recent years, Gordon still has a desire to win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which he considers his home track after growing up in Pittsboro, Indiana. Coming into today’s race, with five wins on the 1998 season already, Gordon looked to be in position to win again at the Brickyard. Just like he did in 1994, he started the race in third and on the start, he shot past Dale Jarrett to take second with Ernie Irvan right ahead of him. Gordon couldn’t pass the polesitter in the first run of the race, but pit stops following the first caution gave his crew a chance to put him out front. They changed two tires and added fuel to his car quickly, which allowed him to win the race off pit road and take the lead. On the restart, Gordon held onto the lead and began to run away from the field as other contenders began to move into the Top 5. When the caution waved on lap 35 for Jeremy Mayfield’s crash from second place, more stops came and a strategy call by Irvan’s team allowed him to take the lead. Gordon fell to fifth place for the restart, but he quickly fought his way past the four drivers who took two tires to grab the lead on lap 46. While it looked like he would return to his dominance from the run following the first caution, Dale Jarrett quickly took the lead on lap 54. However, Gordon remained in second for the rest of the run with a very capable Chevrolet Monte Carlo. He began the first round of green flag pit stops of the race on lap 80 and took the lead after the cycle of stops because of Jarrett’s fuel strategy mistake. Following the stops, the third caution waved on lap 86 and Gordon found himself in front for the restart. Over the next three restarts, he held off Mark Martin and maintained his control of the lead. When the sixth caution waved on lap 117, strategy shifted the leaderboard and Gordon came out of the pits in fourth with fresh tires. On the subsequent restart, he passed by the drivers with old tires in front of him and by lap 127, he was back in the lead. The race stayed green with Gordon out front until the seventh caution waved on lap 150. All the battles and strategy culminated in a seven-lap battle for the victory. On the penultimate restart, Gordon held off Martin for the lead before a quick caution waved on lap 155, which meant the two-time champion would have to outlast a final restart. When the race did restart for the final time, a crash occurred as the leaders entered turn 1 and Gordon beat the field back to the line. The race was unable to restart and Gordon took the checkered flag to grab his second Brickyard 400 title. Plus, thanks to his win in the Coca-Cola 600 earlier this year, Gordon qualified for the Winston No Bull 5 one-million-dollar bonus for winning today’s race and he took home the huge prize. In the end, Gordon led 97 of 160 laps and took home the victory along with a one-million-dollar payday for his impressive run.
Stage 2:
Move of the Race: Earnhardt Uses Pit Stop Strategy to Take Fifth Place Finish
1998 has been a rather interesting year for Dale Earnhardt and his team. In this year’s Daytona 500, Earnhardt won NASCAR’s most famous race for the first time after trying unsuccessfully for nineteen consecutive times. After the historic victory for the seven-time NWCS champion, the team has struggled to find consistency and speed in both qualifying and the race. Yet, coming into today’s event, the team was filled with optimism for another chance to win at IMS after Earnhardt’s triumph at the track in 1995. However, the day started off deep in the pack as Earnhardt rolled off in the 28th starting spot. In the first run of the race, the Intimidator made a few moves towards the front and when the first caution waved on lap 17, he came to pit road with the rest of the field and took two tires. In the next run of the event, he moved all the way up to thirteenth place when the second caution came out on lap 35. When the lead lap drivers came to pit road after the caution, though, Earnhardt and his team made a crucial move to gain even more track position. While most of the field took four tires, Earnhardt took on only two tires and he exited pit road in the seventh place, which turned into sixth after John Andretti came back to pit road with damage. The move put him in the Top 10 for the first time all day and it looked like the team was setting up for a strategy move to grab an excellent finish. On the next restart, he began to lose a couple of positions, but he maintained his spot in the Top 10 all the way until green flag pit stops around lap 80. When the third caution waved on lap 86, Earnhardt was on the same strategy as the rest of the field with four tires, but he still held his track position in the Top 10. Through the next three restarts and short runs, Earnhardt continued to hold onto his solid position in the Top 10 and he was sitting in an excellent spot when the sixth caution waved on lap 117. Yet, both the driver and his team wanted to be running closer to the front. To accomplish that, Earnhardt’s crew chief, Kevin Hamlin, called for a two-tire stop and the move propelled his driver to first place. The move was bold with so many laps left in the event, but the seven-time NWCS champion had gained the lead and a ton of track position. On the restart, he managed to hold the lead for several laps, but Jeff Gordon’s fresh tires propelled him to the lead on lap 127. Yet, Earnhardt managed to keep control of his racecar and he only fell to sixth when the seventh caution waved on lap 150. The move appeared to have been an excellent one and on the next restart, Earnhardt gained a spot and was sitting in fifth when the caution waved again on lap 155. On the final restart of the race, Earnhardt couldn’t gain another position and as he crossed the line on lap 158, he was in the final spot in the Top 5. He took the checkered flag in that position and grabbed an impressive Top 5 for his team. Thanks to bold two-tire strategy calls, Dale Earnhardt moved from his 28th starting position all the way to fifth for an impressive finish at the Brickyard.
Stage 3:
Comeback of the Race: Jarrett Comes from Four Laps Down to Sixteenth Place Finish
There were several impressive comebacks for drivers in today’s Brickyard 400. John Andretti took two tires on his pit stop after the second caution and came out third, but contact with Ricky Craven while leaving his box led to another stop for Andretti and a complete loss of all his track position. However, he rebounded to finish seventh at the end of the day. Rusty Wallace had a right front tire go flat while he was running eighth on lap 62, which cost him a lap to the leader. However, he gained his lap back thanks to green flag pit stops on lap 80 and he ended up finishing the race in eighth. Ken Schrader had a right rear tire go flat on lap 24 and he lost a lap making his unscheduled pit stop, but he gained his lap back and brought his Chevrolet home in eleventh. While those comebacks where impressive for all three drivers, they don’t compare to the amazing adversity Dale Jarrett was able to overcome today to finish in 16th. Jarrett began today’s event in the second position, but he quickly fell to third on the opening lap. From there, his position stabilized in the Top 5 and following the second caution on lap 35, he was sitting in fifth with fresh tires compared to most of the drivers around him. On the next restart, he moved towards the front with Jeff Gordon right in front of him. On lap 46, the two drivers drove past Ernie Irvan to take the top two spots. Yet, Jarrett wasn’t satisfied with second as he took the lead from Gordon on lap 54 in turn 3. He proceeded to run away from the field as green flag pit stops began to approach. Jarrett led lap 80 to take the halfway bonus money as the rest of the field began to head towards pit road for scheduled stops. As he drove around the track on lap 81, he began to slow down significantly on the backstretch. His Robert Yates Racing Ford Taurus was out of fuel because the team had run an extra lap to earn the halfway money. Jarrett coasted around the access roads in turns 3 and 4, hoping to make it to pit road without losing too much time. As he made it to pit road, his car came to a stop over 200 yards away from his pit stall. His crew ran all the way to his stopped car at the end of pit road and pushed it to the team’s box so they could add fuel and change tires. Jarrett was able to refire his car after several tries and when the service was finished, he returned to the track. But, despite the effort from the team and driver, Jarrett lost four laps on track and his shot at a great finish seemed to be over. Yet, the team’s motto to “Never Give Up” began to come true. Over the next three restarts, Jarrett managed to get in front of the leader, Jeff Gordon, to make up three laps very quickly. When the race was ready to restart after the sixth caution on lap 117, Jarrett was only a lap down with his goal to finish the race on the lead lap. On the restart, Dale Earnhardt battled him hard to keep him a lap down, but Jarrett managed to pass him and find himself on the tail end of the lead lap. When the race only had fifteen laps to go, though, the caution still hadn’t waved and it looked like Jarrett would finish outside the Top 30. Yet, the seventh caution on lap 150 allowed him to catch up to the back of the field and attempt to gain some more positions. He pitted under the caution for four tires and he lined up around 28th for the restart. When the race went back green, he quickly gained positions and managed to avoid Jimmy Spencer’s crash on lap 155. When the caution flag waved, he was sitting just inside the Top 20 with an incredible comeback in the making. When the race restarted for the final time, Jarrett gained a couple more spots as the caution waved. He raced back to the line and was sitting in 16th place after the yellow. He took the checkered flag in 16th after an adversity filled race. A Top 20 finish is a disappointing finish for a championship caliber team like Jarrett’s, but after making up four laps and missing a late wreck, the team proved that they can make a comeback from any problem.
Stage 4:
Terrible Luck: Mayfield Continues Recent Woes with Unfortunate Tire Failure at Indianapolis
Jeremy Mayfield has seen success in the NWCS in his couple of years in the series, but 1998 has been a breakout year for the driver from Owensboro, Kentucky. Mayfield grabbed the points lead after a second-place finish at California Speedway in May and just a few weeks later, he grabbed his first career Cup win at Pocono Raceway. Since his win, though, Mayfield has not finished better than 18th and he came into today’s race sitting fourth in the points standings. However, the entire team came to IMS today with the goal of returning to victory lane and the top of the points chase. Mayfield started the day in 12th position and in the 16 laps before the first caution, he gained several spots. Following the caution, he came down pit road with the rest of the field and came out in the fourth position after taking two tires. When the race restarted, Mayfield made his charge toward the lead as he slid into second place with his sights set on Jeff Gordon. While it was still early in the event, Mayfield’s luck looked to be turning around at the Brickyard. However, his promising start quickly began to unravel. As he exited turn 1 on lap 35 just behind Gordon, his right front tire immediately exploded and sent him hard into the outside wall. After slamming the wall, he slid back down the track before shooting back up the banking. He piled into the wall again with his front end, which destroyed the front of his Ford Taurus. He was able to straighten out his damaged racecar and drive back to pit road, but he immediately drove to the garage for his team to repair his vehicle. The team worked diligently to fix his extensive damage and after cutting off pieces of sheetmetal and replacing several parts, Mayfield returned to the track driving a car that resembled the modifieds running in the NASCAR Winston Modified Tour. He ran a good many laps near the end of the event on the apron, but he quickly returned to the garage due to handling issues with his damaged car. When the checkered flag waved, Mayfield found himself in the 42nd spot in the race and he had lost another spot in the championship battle. After showing speed in the first part of the race and battling for the lead, Jeremy Mayfield’s recent bad luck struck again and his right front tire failure cost him a chance to regain momentum.
Stage 5:
Underdog of the Race: Waltrip Takes His New Ride to a Top 15 Finish
Darrell Waltrip and Team Tobasco, which was owned by Bob Hancher, have both found themselves in tough situations throughout 1998, but the team and driver crossed paths for today’s Brickyard 400. For Waltrip, he ran the first five races of the 1998 NWCS season for his own team and he funded the operation out of his own pocket because his sponsor, Speedblock, wasn’t paying its obligation to the team. After selling his organization following Darlington to Tim Beverley, Waltrip hopped into Dale Earnhardt’s Pennzoil Chevrolet to replace the injured Steve Park, who crashed hard at Atlanta Motor Speedway in a test. Waltrip grabbed two Top 10’s while running for DEI, but his last race for the team was last weekend’s event at Pocono. That meant Waltrip would be without a ride for the first time in over two decades. Yet, Waltrip would be presented with another opportunity. Beverley, who had purchased Waltrip’s team earlier in the year, purchased Team Tobasco from Bob Hancher after the team missed nine races to start the year and used several drivers to attempt races. In addition to the purchase of Team Tobasco, Beverley used the time Waltrip drove with DEI to prepare Chevrolet Monte Carlos for racing in the last fourteen events of the year. To finish it off, the purchase of Team Tobasco allowed the Beverley owned team to have sponsorship from Tobasco for the rest of the year. Thanks to all those events, Darrell Waltrip was able to enter the Brickyard 400 in the #35 Tobasco Chevrolet, but making the field was another challenge. The car was rather slow and Waltrip was forced to use his past champion’s provisional to make the field. The provisional placed him 43rd on the start, but he didn’t stay there long. The three-time NWCS champion began to move towards the front and throughout the early runs of the race, Waltrip was keeping his nose clean and progressing to the Top 20. The team’s pit stops were clean as well and it appeared the brand-new tandem of Beverley and Waltrip would be successful in its first attempt. Following the final pit stops of the race after the sixth caution on lap 117, Waltrip and his team were sitting in the sixteenth position with 40 laps to go. In the next run, he climbed into the Top 15 and was just in front of Steve Park when the driver he filled in for crashed hard in turn 3 on lap 150. Through the next two restarts, Waltrip maintained his position in 13th and when the final caution waved on lap 158 to end the event, he found himself with an impressive Top 15. Waltrip took the checkered flag under caution in the 13th position, which is the second-best finish for the Tobasco #35 this year after Todd Bodine finished tenth at Atlanta. While 1998 has been tumultuous for Darrell Waltrip and his current organization, his ability to drive from the back to the Top 15 today proves that the Kentucky driver and his new opportunity can run with the best in the NWCS.
After 400 action packed miles at auto racing’s most famous speedway, NASCAR’s finest drivers head to the Finger Lakes region of New York to run at the road course known as Watkins Glen International. For 31 races a year, the NWCS only turns left through the corners, but Watkins Glen is one of two tracks on the circuit where drivers will be faced with making intense right turns. Plus, the fast speeds and elevation changes around Watkins Glen make the track even more difficult for the drivers battling for the championship. Finally, road course experts will surround the Cup Series regulars and make taking the win a tough task. In addition to the storylines Watkins Glen creates, several drivers have stories following today’s race at IMS. Jeff Gordon grabbed his sixth win of the season today and he won last year’s trip to Watkins Glen, which could mean another win for the team and a bigger cushion in the points standings if he takes his second consecutive win at the 2.45-mile road course. Mark Martin tried hard to pass Gordon in the late portion of the event, but his failure today could turn into success next weekend as he looks to add a fourth win to his credit at Watkins Glen. Jeff Burton and Jeremy Mayfield were saddled with terrible finishes following today’s race, but they will be prepared to rebound next weekend. Finally, Dale Jarrett and his team fought back from an incredible four laps down to take a Top 20 in today’s race, which will give them a boost of confidence heading to the tough road course in New York. While many open wheel fans are still upset about stock cars invading the hallowed grounds of Indianapolis once a year, NASCAR did not disappoint in its fifth trip to IMS. Thrilling battles for position, unbelievable comebacks through the afternoon, a hometown winner, and high-speed racing made today’s event a race to remember in NASCAR’s 50th Anniversary season.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 17- Geoff Bodine broke loose exiting turn 1 and spun through the short chute between turns 1 and 2 before coming to a stop on the apron of the track without damage.
2nd Caution: Lap 35- Jeremy Mayfield had a right front tire go down exiting turn 1 and he slammed the outside wall hard. He slid down the track and then came back up the speedway, which caused him to slam the outside wall again with his front end.
3rd Caution: Lap 86- Ward Burton stalled on the access road in turn 3.
4th Caution: Lap 94- Buckshot Jones bumped Brett Bodine in turn 4, which sent Bodine into the outside wall. Both drivers then spun towards the inside wall and barely avoided the rest of the field.
5th Caution: Lap 103- Dave Marcis’s car began to smoke heavily on the backstretch, which left oil on the race track.
6th Caution: Lap 117- Kenny Irwin Jr. broke loose exiting turn 1 and slammed hard into the outside wall. He slid down the track towards the inside wall in turn 2 and came to a stop on the access road with heavy damage.
7th Caution: Lap 150- Steve Park broke loose in turn 3 and spun up the track, which caused him to slam the outside wall hard with his driver’s side door. At the same time, Ricky Rudd had a tire blow out on the backstretch, which scattered debris on the track.
8th Caution: Lap 155- Jeff Green bumped Jimmy Spencer in turn 1, which caused Spencer to spin up the track and slam the outside wall with his driver’s side door.
9th Caution: Lap 158- The field stacked up on the restart and Joe Nemechek slammed into Jeff Green’s bumper. Both drivers spun towards the inside of the track and slammed the inside wall as more drivers began to crash. Robert Pressley spun up the track and slammed into Ricky Rudd, which destroyed both of their cars. Chad Little, Steve Grissom, and Johnny Benson Jr. also received damage in the incident.
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Jeff Gordon
2nd: Mark Martin
3rd: Bobby Labonte
4th: Mike Skinner
5th: Dale Earnhardt
Notables Not in Top 5:
6th: Ernie Irvan
8th: Rusty Wallace
9th: Terry Labonte
12th: Bill Elliott
13th: Darrell Waltrip
14th: Kyle Petty
16th: Dale Jarrett
21st: Michael Waltrip
24th: Joe Nemechek
31st: Ricky Rudd
36th: Jeff Burton
38th: Kenny Irwin Jr.
42nd: Jeremy Mayfield
Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://racing-reference.info/race/1998_Brickyard_400/W
-Image:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/336925615846382364/
-Full Race:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1js9K6LeiU
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