|| *Comments on the 1998 The Winston:* View the most recent comment <#23> | Post a comment <#post> 1. Steve.M. posted: 05.07.2007 - 8:58 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon had it in the bag but ran outta gas i believe (may be wrong on that) going into 1 on the last lap and Martin gets his first of 2 allstar wins 2. 3fan4eva posted: 05.08.2007 - 4:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) No your right.....he ran outta gas on the last lap...the only thing that went wrong for him that year 3. biffle16 posted: 05.24.2007 - 3:38 pm Rate this comment: (2) (2) Best final lap of an all-star race ever. Bar none. 4. biffle16 posted: 05.24.2007 - 3:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Also, Rich Bickle's only all-star start. 5. stricklinfan82 posted: 04.28.2008 - 10:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Eligibility Requirements for the 1998 All-Star Race: - all active 1997 and 1998 race winning drivers: 1.) Jeff Gordon - 2/97 Daytona 2.) Rusty Wallace - 3/97 Richmond 3.) Dale Jarrett - 3/97 Atlanta 4.) Jeff Burton - 4/97 Texas 5.) Mark Martin - 5/97 Sears Point 6.) Ricky Rudd - 6/97 Dover 7.) Ernie Irvan - 6/97 Michigan 8.) John Andretti - 7/97 Daytona 9.) Terry Labonte - 10/97 Talladega 10.) Bobby Hamilton - 10/97 Rockingham 11.) Bobby Labonte - 11/97 Atlanta 12.) Dale Earnhardt - 2/98 Daytona - all active 1997 and 1998 race winning car owners: 13.) # 28 Ford - 6/97 Michigan (new driver Kenny Irwin Jr.) 14.) # 98 Ford - 7/97 Daytona (new driver Rich Bickle) - all All-Star Race winning drivers from the last 5 years: 15.) Michael Waltrip - '96 All-Star race winner 16.) Geoff Bodine - '94 All-Star race winner - all active former Winston Cup Champions: 17.) Bill Elliott - 1988 Champion 18.) Darrell Waltrip - 3-time champion - Previous Years' Winning Drivers Until Field Reaches 19 drivers: 1996 Race Winners: 19.) Sterling Marlin - 1998 Winston Open winner: 20.) Jeremy Mayfield 6. rustyfan posted: 05.09.2008 - 10:10 am Rate this comment: (2) (1) That was at the height of the Jeff Gordon hating.The last lap win By Mark was sweet. 7. Anonymous posted: 05.28.2008 - 9:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bill Elliott Wins the pole despite having broken bones from two vicious crashes the previous two weeks. (Talladega and California) 8. jp posted: 02.27.2009 - 6:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Ive used my way. I have applied it to the 500, and if they would have done it my way, Jeremy Mayfield & Jimmy Spencer would be on row 1 9. RaceFanX posted: 10.28.2009 - 11:26 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Dale Earnhardt again had his annual Winston special paint job. This time he went with, and wrecked, a gold and black Bass Pro Shops #3. The car became a somewhat popular diecast and even had a fishing lure made in its likeness (one of several in a line of NASCAR fishing lures). 10. RaceFanX posted: 11.06.2009 - 1:12 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mark Martin's car was actually sponsored by Eagle One in this race and not Valvoline. Eagle One is Valvoline's wash and wax line of products. As such he had sharp looking black #6 Ford with red, orange and yellow striping. Other than running an early version of his 1996 scheme at the 1995 Brickyard 400, this was the first time Mark Martin had a special paint scheme and the first time he with one. After taking the car out of victory lane, the #6 team almost immediately started preparing the car to be repainted (I heard they were peeling decals off during or just after post-race inspection). After a quick trip to the paint shop it was back at the track and ran in the Coke 600 the next week painted in Mark's standard red, white and blue Valvoline colors. 11. 18fan posted: 01.06.2010 - 9:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Your laps led column adds up to 74. I don't believe Ricky Rudd ever led. 12. webmaster posted: 01.07.2010 - 8:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @18fan: You are correct, and thanks for letting me know about that error. 13. 18fan posted: 01.07.2010 - 11:53 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Gordon didn't take fuel, only right side tires before the 10 lap dash. He then jumped the restart, similar to Earnhardt in 1993, and, just like in '93, they reset the field to go again, which caused Gordon to run out of gas as he took the white flag. 14. 18fan posted: 02.17.2010 - 12:08 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon ran a special DuPont ChromaLusion paint scheme, which changed colors depending on the angle you looked at the car. The TNN crew was fascinated with the scheme. 15. RaceFanX posted: 02.20.2012 - 11:20 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) The finish to this one was amazing. Jeff Gordon had checked out but Mark Martin was still racing Bobby Labonte for second over the last few laps. Martin cleared Labonte through the tri-oval just before they took the white flag, the TNN crew joking he had no hope of winning but at least could get more money, only to suddenly find himself out front when Gordon ran out of gas before they got to Turn 1 to the shock of everyone watching. Martin held off Labonte, who was unable to mount a challenge, on the final lap to win. In a huge bit of ironic Gordon somewhat brought the finish on himself. On the final restart he jumped the gun and they had stop the race and redo it. Minus this one mistake Gordon may have had enough fuel to make it to the end and win the Winston for what would have been the second time in a row. What if... As a HUGE Mark Martin fan at the time I loved the ending of this race. 16. RaceFanX posted: 02.20.2012 - 11:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsors: (By 1998 the special Winston paint jobs had really caught on) #24 Jeff Gordon- DuPont Automotive Finishes / NASCAR 50th Anniversary #3 Dale Earnhardt- GM Goodwrench / Bass Pro Shops Dale Earnhardt's special paint scheme for this Winston was a gold-and-black special for Bass Pro Shops. While the car became iconic amongst Earnhardt's rare different looks it didn't last long as Earnhardt wrecked it in the opening laps in a two-car accident with John Andretti. Despite its short on-track life there have been two tributes to Earnhardt's gold-and-black car since by Bass Pro Shops, his son Kerry attempted to run the colors as part of a Father's Day promotion at MIS in 2004 but DNWed and Jamie McMurray ran them in 2010 during the fall race at Talladega to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Big E's final win. That ChromaLusion paint Gordon debuted here became a recurring theme in NASCAR Cup special paint jobs for a few years. Gordon ran another ChromaLusion scheme, then Superman themed, in the 1999 Winston and the special paint was reused for a few special schemes used by Hendrick and a few other teams in the next few years. Rusty Wallace was Humpy's annual pick to win the whole thing. It was a good pick, he finished 5th, but a win wasn't in the cards this year. Rusty's teammate Jeremy Mayfield had an interesting night, Mayfield came into this race as the Cup points leader but had never won a Cup race and still had to come through the Winston Open making him the first points leader ever to have to do so. He won that and made the big show but right from the get-go had troubles in it as the #12 Mobil 1 Fordthad issues with its starter before tje race. While it got going its motor soon blew up and put Jeremy on the sidelines. The Petty team took the "Use a disposable car" approach for this race, John Andretti's Pontiac was a car they hadn't used since 1996 when Bobby Hamilton won the pole at Michigan with it. It was demolished on lap 9 in the crash with Earnhardt. 17. saltsburgtrojanfan posted: 03.08.2018 - 12:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Green flag: Lap 1-2 Caution 1: Lap 3: #36 accident turn 2 (caution laps do not count in The Winston) Green flag: Lap 3-5 Caution 2: Lap 6: #3 spun turn 4 (caution laps do not count in The Winston) Green flag: Lap 6-9 Caution 3: Lap 10: #3,43 accident turn 1 (caution laps do not count in The Winston) Green flag: Lap 10-30 Caution 4: Lap 31: end of segment 1 (caution laps do not count in The Winston) Green flag: Lap 31 Caution 5: Lap 32: #2,5,10,28 accident backstretch (caution laps do not count in The Winston) Green flag: Lap 32-60 Caution 6: Lap 61: end of segment 2 (caution laps do not count in The Winston) Caution 7: Lap 61: #24 jumped restart (caution laps do not count in The Winston) Green flag: Lap 61-70 18. saltsburgtrojanfan posted: 03.12.2018 - 7:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Lap Leaders Bill Elliott: Lap 1 Terry Labonte: Lap 2 Jeff Gordon: Lap 3 Terry Labonte: Lap 4 Jeff Gordon: Lap 5-30 Mark Martin: Lap 31-60 Jeff Gordon: Lap 61-69 Mark Martin: Lap 70 19. M posted: 05.21.2018 - 11:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) A win that was completely gift-wrapped with a bow on top for Mark Martin. Jeff Gordon dominated the race while changing colors like a chameleon under the lights every split second. He got a little too anxious on the restart, and they didn't have enough fuel in the car to last for a second restart and then the rest of the race. He was on cruise control with Martin way behind in his rearview mirror, until he ran out of gas, opening the doors for Martin to win. Wasn't too bad. The next week in the Coca-Cola 600, he took Martin, Wallace, Jarrett, and Earnhardt to school, winning his 3rd Coca-Cola 600 in 5 years. He also went on to dominate the rest of the 1998 season. He had both of the 1998 exhibition races won, but had problems: 1998 Bud Shootout - Jeff dominated that race too, but Rusty Wallace jumped the restart (amazing how they didn't stop the race and have a do-over when HE jumped the restart), and Jeff broke the transmission trying to get up in gear. 1998 The Winston - Best car all night, runs out of gas on the last lap. Basically the only 2 blemishes in his 1998 season, the best season in NASCAR history save for Richard Petty's 1967 season in which he won 27 races. Jeff season is the best of the modern era. 20. RaceFanX posted: 08.15.2018 - 1:36 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon's race car for this race was "Blacker," his personal favorite Monte Carlo with which he had run 10 races. This one of the car's last outings before it was set aside for preservation in the Hendrick museum; the car is displayed at the museum in its unique ChromaLusion scheme from this race. 21. RaceFanX posted: 08.17.2018 - 1:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) *won 12 races, not run 10 22. Jimnsimforever posted: 04.04.2020 - 12:12 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Talk about adding injury to insult. Earnhardt was driving on the outside of Andretti and directly in front of Andretti was DW driving the Earnhardt owned car. Dale saw that the car he owned blew up and an instant later Andretti got in the oil from it and crashed, taking Earnhardt out with him. The wreck literally injured Dale Earnhardt too as he had to be helped to the ambulance and after going to the infield car center they took him on to the hospital with suspected broken ribs or torn cartilage. 23. RaceFanX posted: 07.15.2020 - 5:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Earnhardt was looking to possibly run a modified version of his usual black #3 Goodwrench Chevrolet in this race that would have included the logo of country music superstars Brooks & Dunn on the hood as his traditional tie-in special paint scheme, Big E having been friends with the duo. The look got as far as mocking up a couple diecasts to test it, one of which surfaced online in 2020, but it fell apart in favor of the iconic golden Bass Pro Shops #3 because RCR and Bass Pro Shops were working to make a special car as part of a much larger sponsorship package that was going to be growing more in the years to come (and ultimately did). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: