| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 4 of 33 in the1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1998 Primestar 500 program cover, featuringTed Musgrave. Artwork by NASCAR artistSam Bass. | |||
| Date | March 9, 1998 | ||
| Official name | 39th Annual Primestar 500 | ||
| Location | Hampton, Georgia,Atlanta Motor Speedway | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.54 miles (2.48 km) | ||
| Distance | 325 laps, 500.5 mi (805.476 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 325 laps, 500.5 mi (805.476 km) | ||
| Average speed | 139.501 miles per hour (224.505 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Petty Enterprises | ||
| Time | 28.732 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kenny Irwin Jr. | Robert Yates Racing | |
| Laps | 113 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins,Ned Jarrett,Benny Parsons | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Performance Racing Network | ||
The1998 Primestar 500 was the fourthstock car race of the1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 39th iteration of theevent. The race was originally scheduled to be held on Sunday, March 8, 1998, but was postponed to Monday, March 9 due to rain.[1] The race was held inHampton, Georgia atAtlanta Motor Speedway, a 1.54 miles (2.48 km) permanent asphalt quad-oval intermediate speedway. The race took the scheduled 325 laps to complete. In the late stages of the race,Joe Gibbs Racing driverBobby Labonte would manage to pass for the lead with 47 to go and take his sixth careerNASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[2][3] To fill out the podium,Robert Yates Racing driverDale Jarrett andPenske-Kranefuss Racing driverJeremy Mayfield would finish second and third, respectively.
Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerlyAtlanta International Raceway) is a 1.54-mile race track inHampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south ofAtlanta. It has annually hostedNASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car races since its inauguration in 1960.
The venue was bought bySpeedway Motorsports in 1990. In 1994, 46condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two intermediate ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval, with a new official length of 1.54-mile (2.48 km) where before it was 1.522-mile (2.449 km). The project made the track one of the fastest on theNASCAR circuit.
*Was replaced byPhil Parsons after injuring himself in first practice.[4]
Originally, two practice sessions were scheduled to be held, with one on Friday, March 6, and one on Saturday, March 7, However, due to rain on Saturday, the Saturday practice session was cancelled.[5]
The only practice session was held on Friday, March 6.Robert Pressley, driving forJasper Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.359 and an average speed of 188.834 mph (303.899 km/h).[6]
During the session,Dale Earnhardt, Inc. rookie driverSteve Park would blow a tire heading into turn 4, causing him to slam the outside wall. The car, which had lost brakes by this point, would then proceed to ricochet again into front stretch outside wall two times. After proceeding the second front stretch hit, the car would proceed to head onto pit road, where Park slammed the pit road wall, with the car eventually stopping. Park would suffer fractures of the right thighbone, the left shoulder blade and collarbone and two broken front teeth. In replacement,Phil Parsons would attempt to qualify the car.[4] Park was out for five months before eventually returning in the1998 Brickyard 400.[7]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 77 | Robert Pressley | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 28.882 | 191.953 |
| 2 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 28.913 | 191.748 |
| 3 | 42 | Joe Nemechek | Team SABCO | Chevrolet | 28.914 | 191.741 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Qualifying was originally meant to be split into two rounds, with the first round ran on Friday, March 6, and the second round on Saturday, March 7. However, due to rain, second-round qualifying was instead condensed into one round ran on Friday.[5]
Qualifying was held on Friday, March 6, at 12:00 PMEST. Each driver would have one lap to set at time.[8] On January 24, 1998,NASCAR would announce that the amount of provisionals given would be increased from last season. Positions 37-43 would be based on provisionals. Six spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The seventh is awarded to a past champion who has not otherwise qualified for the race. If no past champion needs the provisional, the next team in the owner points will be awarded a provisional.[9]
John Andretti, driving forPetty Enterprises, would win the pole, setting a time of 28.732 and an average speed of 192.956 miles per hour (310.533 km/h).[10]
Seven drivers would fail to qualify:Chad Little,Sterling Marlin,Morgan Shepherd,Andy Hillenburg,Dave Marcis,Phil Parsons, andJeff Green.
| Previous race: 1998 Las Vegas 400 | NASCAR Winston Cup Series 1998 season | Next race: 1998 TranSouth Financial 400 |