|| *Comments on the 1998 MBNA Gold 400:* View the most recent comment <#32> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. budcrew08 posted: 06.25.2005 - 4:49 pm Rate this comment: (5) (0) Matt Kenseth's first race 2. CanucksAndNASCAR Fan posted: 05.31.2006 - 1:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kenseth had to fill in for Bill Elliott that day, because Elliott's father, George Elliott, passed away the day before the race. And Kenseth got a 6th place finish. Not bad for your first Winston/Nextel Cup race. 3. Rusty posted: 10.01.2006 - 6:32 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Kenseth's run was the best run for a driver making his first start since Rusty Wallace finished 2nd in his debut at Atlanta in 1980. 4. JPM2007ROTY42 posted: 05.23.2007 - 5:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Did Kenseth qualify or was it Elliott? 5. Destiny posted: 07.01.2007 - 3:47 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bill Elliott lost his father and Kenseth is qualifying 16th and finished 6th. 6. Anonymous posted: 08.19.2007 - 9:10 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Mark Martin had lapped 31 cars by lap 80. That's dominance. 7. BurtonRuddFan posted: 12.07.2007 - 10:22 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) What an awfully dominant perfromance for Martin!!!!! Great debut for Kenseth. No wonder why Kenseth is a champion and Dale jr. isn't. Great run for then-rookie Steve Park. 8. Clayton posted: 08.31.2008 - 10:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I remember watching this race and being a Bill Elliott fan, I was so upset his father died. Being young, I had no idea who this Matt Kenseth kid was. He really impressed me and Jack Roush this afternoon. I was so happy for Matt and Awesome Bill! 9. Mamorese posted: 05.16.2010 - 8:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) What exactly was the "NASCAR" caution for at lap 244? Was it for tire wear or maybe rain perhaps? 10. BMB5150 posted: 05.17.2010 - 5:57 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) It was to get Kenny Irwin in an ambulance out of the track since Dover didn't have a tunnel so they had to go on track during a caution to do that. 11. 18fan posted: 08.26.2010 - 10:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 600th start for both Terry Labonte and Dale Earnhardt. 12. OldSchoolNascarDude1 posted: 10.11.2010 - 11:52 pm Rate this comment: (2) (1) Martin dominated. It's that simple. I love the "debris caution" on lap 13. Jeremy Mayfield had a great comeback. He was lapped earlier, but raced his way back on the lead lap and came up through the field for 3rd. A strange occurrance happened at around halfway. Nascar black flagged Gordon because his fender appeared to be leaning in. How impressive was Kenseth for his 1st race in a Cup car? At one point he looked like Martin's biggest threat. 13. b4il3y posted: 01.17.2011 - 7:54 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) The NASCAR caution was to take Kenny Irwin to the hospital. They didn't have a tunnel then, and had to throw the caution to open the gates. He cracked the wall on the drivers side pretty hard.. I just got a copy of the race the other day. 14. Chris posted: 02.16.2011 - 8:31 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Watch this race on Youtube; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-Tqxfy-Dh4&feature=related There is 17 clips, and NO commercials! The Kenny Irwin crash is on Part 7, and the caution for the ambulance to cross the track is on Part 9. 15. RaceFanX posted: 08.28.2011 - 7:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hut Stricklin makes his only start in the Jasper #77 Ford, filling in for Robert Pressley who I assume was out with an injury from his wreck at Richmond the race before. 16. RaceFanX posted: 08.29.2011 - 5:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Kenseth's sponsor was 'McDonald's Get Back with Big Mac' 17. RaceFanX posted: 03.21.2012 - 9:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsors: #9 Jerry Nadeau- Cartoon Network / Scooby Doo on Zombie Island (also his sponsor for the previous race at Richmond and the following race at Martinsville) #22 Ward Burton- MBNA Gold 18. CBASS posted: 05.14.2012 - 10:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Some sponsor corrections using CIA Stock Photography's photos #22 MBNA Gold 19. Terry Maynard posted: 03.29.2013 - 11:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) RaceFanX your comment # 15 above is correct - Robert Pressley broke his right shoulder blade in that accident. 20. Gabriel Nunes posted: 03.14.2014 - 8:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Matt Kenseth was placed as the Interim driver of the 94 for this race only. The reason was because Bill Elliot had to go to his father's funeral, who passed away the day before the race. From 1983-2003, It was Bill Elliot's First and Only race he missed while running a full time schedule. 21. Austin24fan posted: 06.24.2014 - 5:53 pm Rate this comment: (3) (0) @21 Bill Elliott missed a bunch of races in 1996 after his injuries suffered at Talladega. 22. joey2448 posted: 04.16.2015 - 7:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As dominant a win this was for Mark Martin, it also had to be frustrating since his main rival for the championship, Jeff Gordon, finished second. So Mark gained only 10 points on Gordon. 23. Will posted: 03.10.2016 - 4:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Pretty much everything I wanted to mention has already been said in the above comments. I'll just add that Jerry Nadeau had a great run spoiled by a late crash not of his making. 24. nascarman posted: 11.13.2017 - 9:47 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) When Bill Elliott's father died Thursday night, team manager Mike Beam hired Kenseth on Friday morning. That afternoon, he quickly was fast in practice. In the race, Kenseth ran as high as second behind Mark Martin. One of the best Cup debuts anyone has had in the past 40 years. Read the full story: http://www.keepit35.com/matt-kenseths-winston-cup-debut/ 25. JSPorts posted: 11.13.2017 - 10:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Crazy to think that Kenseth's career is winding down. I've never been a big fan of his, but I'm happy that he got one more win before he steps away. Yet another driver who has been there since I began following NASCAR that will leave the sport. He's definitely had a hall-of-fame worthy career, though. 26. CJ posted: 04.18.2018 - 7:41 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Matt Kenseth gets his first top 10 in his debut. Jerry Nadeau had easily his best race of the season running in the top 10 all day before a late crash eliminated him. Steve Park matches his best finish of the season. Hut Stricklin makes his only start in the 77 filling in for an injured Robert Pressley. 27. Shawn posted: 11.26.2019 - 4:50 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Got the pole, led the most laps (379 of 400?!) and won the race? That my friends is called Domination & Mark Martin had it in this race. 28. WindowsME posted: 04.19.2020 - 12:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Hut Stricklin's lone start in the Jasper Motorsports #77. 29. Jimnsimforever posted: 04.27.2020 - 5:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Kenseth's 6th place run in his Cup debut also matched the best run Bill Elliott and the #94 team had all year in 1998, as Bill Elliott ran 6th 2 times in the first half of season. What a weekend for Matt Kenseth, as he also won his 3rd career Busch Series race the day before this race. 30. guac_is_extra_ posted: 05.24.2020 - 7:51 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Matt Kenseth's last Cup race with this main sponsor until May 2020 31. Rich posted: 12.29.2020 - 10:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Eli Gold, Buddy Baker and Dr. Dick Berggren were the commentators. Glenn Jarrett, Steve Byrnes and Matt Yocum were the pit road reporters. 32. GregSacksIsYourGod posted: 01.11.2021 - 12:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'd always heard that Kenseth's debut was an impressive run, but I don't think it's possible to overstate how incredible he was in this race. He ran 2nd to Martin for a good portion of the race, and looked right at home fighting the likes of Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, and Jeff Gordon, in what was probably the strongest race the 94 had in 1998. I don't think you would've surprised anyone by saying he'd win a title in 5 years after this race. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: