1998 MBNA Gold 400
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| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 26 of 33 in the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1998 MBNA Gold 400 program cover. | |||
| Date | September 20, 1998 | ||
| Official name | 30th Annual MBNA Gold 400 | ||
| Location | Dover, Delaware, Dover International Speedway | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.6 km (1 miles) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 400 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km) | ||
| Average speed | 113.834 miles per hour (183.198 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Roush Racing | ||
| Time | 23.082 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | |
| Laps | 379 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | TNN | ||
| Announcers | Ken Squier, Dick Berggren, Buddy Baker | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The 1998 MBNA Gold 400 was the 26th stock car race of the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 30th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, September 20, 1998, in Dover, Delaware at Dover International Speedway, a 1-mile (1.6 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. At race's end, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would dominate the race weekend to take his 28th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his sixth victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the podium, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon and Penske-Kranefuss Racing driver Jeremy Mayfield would finish second and third, respectively.
The race would mark the first career NASCAR Winston Cup Series start for Matt Kenseth, who was substituting for Bill Elliott as Elliott had gone to his father's funeral.[3]
Entry list
Dover International Speedway is an oval race track in Dover, Delaware, United States that has held at least two NASCAR races since it opened in 1969. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC and the NTT IndyCar Series. The track features one layout, a 1-mile (1.6 km) concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is owned and operated by Dover Motorsports.
The track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc., with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years later in 2001, the track's capacity moved to 135,000 seats, making the track have the largest capacity of sports venue in the mid-Atlantic. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track. After the 2014 season, the track's capacity was reduced to 95,500 seats.
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Practice
First practice
The first practice session was held on Friday, September 19, at 10:15 AM EST. The session would last for one hour and 15 minutes.[4] Ricky Rudd, driving for Rudd Performance Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.056 and an average speed of 156.142 miles per hour (251.286 km/h).[5]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Ricky Rudd | Rudd Performance Motorsports | Ford | 23.056 | 156.142 |
| 2 | 90 | Dick Trickle | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 23.136 | 155.602 |
| 3 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 23.138 | 155.588 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second practice
The second practice session was held on Friday, September 19, at 12:45 PM EST. The session would last for one hour and 15 minutes.[4] Mark Martin, driving for Roush Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.008 and an average speed of 156.467 miles per hour (251.809 km/h).[6]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 23.008 | 156.467 |
| 2 | 90 | Dick Trickle | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 23.140 | 155.575 |
| 3 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 23.143 | 155.555 |
| Full second practice results | ||||||
Final practice
The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held Saturday, September 19 after the preliminary 1998 MBNA Gold 200. The session would last for one hour.[4] Rusty Wallace, driving for Penske-Kranefuss Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.781 and an average speed of 151.381 miles per hour (243.624 km/h).[7]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 23.781 | 151.381 |
| 2 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 23.791 | 151.318 |
| 3 | 44 | Kyle Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 23.851 | 150.937 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
