1998 Coca-Cola 600

The 1998 Coca-Cola 600, the 39th running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on May 24, 1998 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. Contested at 400 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) speedway, it was the 11th race of the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports won the race.

1998 Coca-Cola 600
Race details
Race 11 of 33 in the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
DateMay 24, 1998 (1998-05-24)
LocationCharlotte Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina
CoursePermanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.4 km)
Distance400 laps, 600 mi (965.606 km)
WeatherTemperatures averaging around 72.7 °F (22.6 °C); wind speeds up to 9.2 miles per hour (14.8 km/h)[1]
Average speed136.424 mph (219.553 km/h)
Pole position
DriverHendrick Motorsports
Most laps led
DriverMark MartinRoush Racing
Laps164
Winner
No. 24Jeff GordonHendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
NetworkTBS
AnnouncersEli Gold, Ken Squier, Buddy Baker, & Geoff Bodine

Elliott Sadler made his NASCAR Winston Cup Series debut in this event.[2]

Jeff Gordon managed to take over the championship lead from Jeremy Mayfield after the event was resolved.[2]

Background

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Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States. It is 13 miles away from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing such as the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend, The Winston, and the UAW-GM Quality 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI).

Top 10 results

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PosNo.DriverTeamManufacturer
124Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet
22Rusty WallacePenske Racing SouthFord
318Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingPontiac
46Mark MartinRoush RacingFord
588Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord
642Joe NemechekTeam SABCOChevrolet
743John AndrettiPetty EnterprisesPontiac
899Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFord
926Johnny Benson Jr.Roush RacingFord
1033Ken SchraderAndy Petree RacingChevrolet

Race statistics

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  • Time of race: 4:23:53
  • Average Speed: 136.424 miles per hour (219.553 km/h)
  • Pole Speed: 182.976
  • Cautions: 8 for 49 laps
  • Margin of Victory: 0.41 sec
  • Lead changes: 33
  • Percent of race run under caution: 12.2%
  • Average green flag run: 39 laps

[2]

References

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  1. ^ Weather information at The Old Farmers' Almanac
  2. ^ a b c Race information at Race Database