|| *Comments on the 1998 Pepsi 400:* View the most recent comment <#55> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Jack Lewis posted: 08.17.2004 - 5:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Gordon wins the first race at Daytona held under the lights. This race was originally scheduled for the 4th of July, but the torrid Florida wildfires postponed the race. 2. Darrell posted: 10.08.2005 - 4:28 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) This race marked the only start for Dan Pardus thus far in his career. 3. Darrell posted: 10.26.2005 - 10:41 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Also, Billy 4. Darrell posted: 10.26.2005 - 10:41 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Sorry about that, I hit the enter key to early. What I meant was, this was Billy Standridge's final Cup start. 5. Frogger49 posted: 10.05.2006 - 2:04 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Chad Little took a nasty head-on shunt into the inside wall on the last lap. That was about all I saw of this race, since I had a school dance that night (I was in 9th grade at the time). 6. biffle16 posted: 12.28.2006 - 3:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dan Pardus is from Port Orange, Florida, home of ME!!! 7. BP4EVER posted: 02.05.2007 - 12:00 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kevin Lepage busted his shoulder in that first big 10 car crash. And I agree with Frogger49. Chad knocked the full blown hell out of that wall. 8. myself posted: 05.18.2007 - 4:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race marked the only time in Nascar history that Talladega & Daytona races were run back-to-back. 9. JPM2007ROTY42 posted: 05.23.2007 - 5:21 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was also the latest Gordon had won a race in his career at the time. After the race he said on his radio its October and we won. 10. RaceFanX posted: 01.10.2008 - 12:58 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Strike out... The #46 SABCO team was originally going to have a special job in this race but nixed it. When the race was going to be run in July, the #46 First Union Chevy and driver Jeff Green were going to run a paint job to promote the then brand new Tampa Bay Devil Rays MLB team. The fact that the race moved to October, probably combined with a sponsor change to The Money Store, left the D-Rays paint job in the bullpen for this one. 11. adamal82 posted: 01.21.2008 - 7:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The First Race that Andy Petree's #55 raced 12. 4320 posted: 03.19.2008 - 6:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bobby Labonte qualified on the pole for the third time here in '98, all three coming at Daytona (2) and Talladega (1). He narrowly missed sweeping the poles for all superspeedways by qualifying 2nd at the fall Talladega race. 13. Haywood posted: 03.29.2008 - 4:18 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) this race was so different than any other pepsi 400. not even just because of the fact that it was the first night race, but for the obvious reason that it was the first (and only) time they've raced in daytona this late in the season. i've always thought it would be cool to end the season at daytona instead of any other track, because the racing is so exciting under the lights. 14. ChazzyJoe posted: 06.03.2008 - 8:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Although Mark Martin was still mathematically in the run for the Cup, this race, along with the race at Talladega the previous weekend, virtually sealed the deal on Jeff Gordon's third championship 15. RLB posted: 06.11.2008 - 8:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The end of Jeff Gordon's incredible Modern Age record of 17 consecutive Top 5 finishes. 16. Kevin posted: 11.24.2008 - 4:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ricky Craven did a good job relieving Ernie Irvan to get Ernie a top 10. 17. Anonymous posted: 01.20.2009 - 1:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) An intersting fact is that CBS televised an editied version of the race on October 24. 18. Art D posted: 06.26.2009 - 11:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) J. Gordon achieves his 40th career win. 19. RaceFanX posted: 07.06.2009 - 4:05 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) This race was to be NASCAR's first ever prime-time network TV race but it was not meant to be. CBS would have broadcast the race when it was to be run in July but when it moved to October they no longer were able to run it live. Thus this race became the only time TNN Motorsports got to cover a Cup race at Daytona. 20. 18fan posted: 10.10.2009 - 6:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jarrett cut a tire with about three laps to go. He had one of the fastest cars in the field. 21. 18fan posted: 05.23.2010 - 9:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Geoff Bodine said in an interview after the race that he would've made it through the wreck with Lepage if Goodyear made a tire that didn't smoke. I lol when I heard that. 22. Josh C posted: 06.22.2010 - 1:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) labonte made one hell of a run on that last lap narrowly finishing second. another example of "if there was 1 more lap"... 23. Ryan posted: 07.02.2010 - 1:39 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) If Dale Earnhardt wouldn't have ran over a tire on pit road he would have won this race. I don't know how he managed to finish 10th 24. Andre posted: 09.21.2010 - 2:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) It was said above that Kevin Lepage broke his shoulder in a pileup on the backstretch... almost. After being collected in the multi-car wreck, Lepage flopped out of the 16 car and onto the ground, which is actually what broke his shoulder. TNN showed the first part of Chad Little wrecking on the final lap, cut to Jeff Gordon crossing the line first, then cut back to Little, with lots of damage. The actual impact was never shown live, and will probably never be seen (kinda like Sadler at Pocono in 2010), nor did they show any replays... pretty brutal coverage! 25. 00andJoe posted: 10.03.2010 - 12:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The following teams ran Ford Thunderbirds in the race: #23 Jimmy Spencer #47 Billy Standridge #97 Chad Little #98 Rich Bickle #90 Dick Trickle DNQ'd in a T-Bird, as well. 26. Andre posted: 01.16.2011 - 6:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I stand corrected about my earlier statement about no replays being shown of Chad Little's hard impact at the checkered flag! I'm about to post a review clip of the race on YouTube, and my tape reveals that, yes indeed, there was a replay shown... very hard hit! 27. JG24FanForever posted: 06.22.2011 - 3:37 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Jeff Gordon beats Dale Earnhardt in a race for a record 17th consecutive time. 28. RaceFanX posted: 03.11.2012 - 8:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsors: #18 Bobby Labonte- Interstate Batteries / Small Soldiers #43 John Andretti- STP / Smokey the Bear #42 Joe Nemechek- BellSouth / Americast #9 Jerry Nadeau- Cartoon Network / Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island #98 Rich Bickle- Thorn Apple Valley 'Gone Grill Crazy' Fittingly given the circumstances John Andretti's special look for this race was a salute to firefighters. Ken Schrader ran his Bud Shootout/Daytona 500 scheme with the black front again in this race while Sterling Marlin again had an early version of the all-silver paint Coors Light scheme that would become his normal look in 2001. 29. CBASS posted: 05.14.2012 - 10:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Some sponsor corrections using CIA Stock Photography's photos #75 Stren Fishing Lines/ Remington Arms #40 Coors Light Silver Bullet 30. Gabriel Nunes posted: 02.13.2014 - 7:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First and Only time there have been back to back Superspeedway races. 31. Aaron posted: 07.25.2014 - 10:33 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Admin, there should be a 49th entry added in the DNQ/WD list. Randal Ritter's No. 68 H.G. Hills Food Stores Chevy withdrew the night of qualifying, but was on the entry list and drew for a qualifying position. 32. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 09.30.2014 - 11:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Owner of the #68 was Randal Ritter 33. RaceFanX posted: 06.25.2015 - 11:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Perhaps this crash wasn't the end of Little's potent T-Bird he used in the 1998 plate races after all. Jack Roush has a Ford Thunderbird in Little's John Deere colors in his person car collection. I wonder if it's a different Thunderbird painted in Chad's colors or if the crew repaired it for preservation after his big wreck here. http://gtcarlot.com/news/photo.php?id=35163294 (Weirdly he's also got one of Chad's 1997 Pontiacs in the Brickyard 400 anniversary scheme when Jack didn't actually own the #97 at that time) 34. The Real Thomas posted: 12.08.2015 - 6:12 am Rate this comment: (1) (1) I wonder if the T-Bird Chad wrecked at Daytona wasn't the only one they had. Maybe they had a different T-Bird for Talladega? Perhaps not, and it is just refurbished, since the 1997 Pontiac with the special Brickyard scheme was also wrecked, that time on the second lap of the race. Also, TNN won a Sports Emmy for their coverage of this race. 35. Big Mac Fan posted: 01.08.2016 - 1:49 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) When your worst finish in the past 17 races is 5th, you're doing something right. 36. TeamDCR fan posted: 10.03.2016 - 10:23 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) Ritter was forced to WD after his car was massively illegal. Frame was wrong, body had issues. Basically every thing on his 68 was a no no in NASCAR 37. jensenators posted: 03.02.2017 - 12:37 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) This was the final attempt Rick Wilson made for a cup race. 38. SK posted: 03.08.2017 - 7:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Relief driver: #36 - Ricky Craven (who put forth one of the best drives by a relief driver in Cup in recent memory) 39. M posted: 08.26.2017 - 7:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Earnhardt would have never beaten Gordon in this race. And if Gordon didn't have his problems in the 500 that year he most likely would have won that one too. 40. Chap904 posted: 02.14.2018 - 2:07 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Bobby Labonte at Daytona in 1998 500: Pole, finished 2nd 400: Pole, finished 2nd 41. Evan posted: 02.14.2018 - 7:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Don't forget that Bobby Labonte won Talladega that season in that VERY car. That was a very fast 18 Interestate Batteries Superspeedway car, he also ran it Daytona in 1999. I don't know what exactly happened to that thing, but that was Bobby's best plate car. That car he used at the 2001 EA Sports 500 was pretty fast, too until he flipped it on the last lap. 42. CJ posted: 04.18.2018 - 7:40 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Final Cup Series start for Billy Standridge. Only Cup start for Dan Pardus. Only start for Hut Stricklin in the 55. Final attempt for Rick Wilson. Mike Skinner equals his season best finish. 43. Darrell posted: 11.19.2018 - 6:11 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Driver Change: Ricky Craven qualified Ernie Irvan's No. 36 Skittles Pontiac and relieved him early in the race. 44. JSPorts posted: 11.19.2018 - 6:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Was Ernie sick? Or injured? 45. Gray Gaulding's Distant Cousin posted: 11.19.2018 - 6:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Injured, this was the week after his wreck at Dega where he got drilled by Trickle in a big wreck. 46. Darrell posted: 11.19.2018 - 8:35 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yes, Irvan had actually suffered a herniated disk in his neck earlier than the season. The Talladega crash ended up aggrivating the pain to the point where he didn't feel comfortable driving for the rest of the seeason. 47. Darrell posted: 08.13.2019 - 5:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Withdraw: Loy Allen had entered the July Race with the No. 35 Tabasco Pontiac when it was owned by Bob Hancher. But since it was run by Tim Beverly and Darrell Waltrip when it was rescheduled, he couldn't have attempted the race. 48. SweetRich posted: 02.20.2020 - 5:34 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The Commentators For The Race Were Eli Gold, Buddy Baker And Dick Berggren. The Pit Road Reporters Were Steve Byrnes, Mike Hogewood And Glenn Jarrett. 49. Jimnsimforever posted: 05.01.2020 - 7:51 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #47 Billy Standridge, #97 Chad Little, #23 Jimmy Spencer, and #98 Rich Bickle all drove Ford Thunderbirds in this race instead of the Ford Taurus. @28 RaceFanX and the webmaster have both been impacted by the Mandela Effect. #43 John Andretti should be STP/Smokey Bear. It's just Smokey Bear, it's never been Smokey "the" Bear. Look it up, it's true, I always thought it was Smokey the Bear as well. lol 50. Yeet posted: 05.04.2020 - 4:33 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Bobby Labonte suffered radio issues early on in this one with the radio making strange noises and cutting in an out. Turns out, Bobby's son Tyler picked up one of the team radios and began playing with it causing the noises! Once the crew found this out they had Tyler give it back, but it was all good fun in doing so. 51. Anonymous posted: 05.13.2020 - 6:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) the term was said three times in this race including twice by Eli Gold and as I mentioned last year it was only the week prior the term The Big One was born. And still mentioned to this day. 52. Anonymous posted: 05.17.2020 - 8:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) I do think Wally Dallenbach also was in the wreck you clearly see he scraped the wall, and had small damage. but was in it. the in car camera clearly showed it. 53. Anonymous posted: 05.24.2020 - 8:11 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Known for being the race where "somebody" (Hendrick Motorsports) rolled a tire out in front of Dale Earnhardt's car killing his aerodynamics and preventing from a Daytona sweep. He was by far the best car and a lock to win the race, until "somebody" (Hendrick Motorsports) rolled that tire out onto pit road. 54. kevshearer1997 posted: 05.27.2020 - 5:29 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) ^I'll disprove that theory right now, as the broadcast showed that the tire Earnhardt ran into was one from the #18 of Bobby Labonte. 55. Ryan posted: 05.27.2020 - 10:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) @39 dumb comment. Earnhardt had the field covered in 1998. The only question was would anything crazy happen to him in the last laps. Now, in the 1999 Daytona 500, Jeff Gordon better be glad that Earnhardt had to switch ignition boxes during the race that cost him RPM or else he would have made it back to back wins. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: