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1998 Miller Lite 400

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1998 Miller Lite 400
Race details
Race 14 of 33 in the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1998 Miller Lite 400 program cover, featuring Rusty Wallace.
The 1998 Miller Lite 400 program cover, featuring Rusty Wallace.
Date June 14, 1998
Official name 30th Annual Miller Lite 400
Location Brooklyn, Michigan, Michigan International Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
2 mi (3.2 km)
Distance 200 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km)
Scheduled Distance 200 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km)
Average speed 158.695 miles per hour (255.395 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Bill Davis Racing
Time 39.656
Most laps led
Driver Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports
Laps 132
Winner
No. 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing
Television in the United States
Network CBS
Announcers Ken Squier, Dick Berggren, Buddy Baker
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

The 1998 Miller Lite 400 was the 14th stock car race of the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 30th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, June 14, 1998, in Brooklyn, Michigan, at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. In the late stages of the race, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin was able to dominate to take his 26th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his fourth of the season.[1][2] To fill out the podium, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett and Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

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The layout of Michigan International Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

The race was held at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located in Brooklyn, Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is known as a "sister track" to Texas World Speedway as MIS's oval design was a direct basis of TWS, with moderate modifications to the banking in the corners, and was used as the basis of Auto Club Speedway. The track is owned by International Speedway Corporation. Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking (by open-wheel standards; the 18-degree banking is modest by stock car standards).

Entry list

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
1 Darrell Waltrip Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet Pennzoil
2 Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford Miller Lite
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench Service Plus
4 Bobby Hamilton Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet Kodak
5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kellogg's Blasted Froot Loops
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Valvoline
7 Geoff Bodine Mattei Motorsports Ford Philips
8 Morgan Shepherd Stavola Brothers Racing Chevrolet Circuit City
9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford Cartoon Network "Happy Birthday NASCAR!"
10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford Tide
11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford Paychex
12 Jeremy Mayfield Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford Mobil 1
13 Jerry Nadeau (R) Elliott-Marino Racing Ford FirstPlus Financial Group
16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford PrimeStar
18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac Interstate Batteries
19 Tony Raines Roehrig Motorsports Ford Yellow Transportation
21 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac MBNA
23 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford Winston No Bull
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet DuPont
26 Johnny Benson Jr. Roush Racing Ford Cheerios, Pop Secret
28 Kenny Irwin Jr. (R) Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
30 Derrike Cope Bahari Racing Pontiac Gumout
31 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Lowe's
33 Ken Schrader Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet Skoal
35 Todd Bodine ISM Racing Pontiac Tabasco
36 Ernie Irvan MB2 Motorsports Pontiac Skittles
40 Sterling Marlin Team SABCO Chevrolet Coors Light
41 Steve Grissom Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kodiak
42 Joe Nemechek Team SABCO Chevrolet BellSouth
43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac Hot Wheels
46 Jeff Green Team SABCO Chevrolet First Union
50 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Budweiser
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Team Realtree Camouflage
75 Rick Mast Butch Mock Motorsports Ford Remington Arms
77 Robert Pressley Jasper Motorsports Ford Jasper Engines & Transmissions
78 Gary Bradberry Triad Motorsports Ford Pilot Travel Centers
81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford Square D
88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford Quality Care Service, Ford Credit
90 Dick Trickle Donlavey Racing Ford Heilig-Meyers
91 Kevin Lepage (R) LJ Racing Chevrolet LJ Racing
94 Bill Elliott Elliott-Marino Racing Ford McDonald's
96 Hut Stricklin American Equipment Racing Chevrolet Caterpillar
97 Chad Little Roush Racing Ford John Deere
98 Rich Bickle Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford Thorn Apple Valley
99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford Exide Batteries

Practice

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First practice

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The first practice session was held on the afternoon of Friday, June 12. Ward Burton, driving for Bill Davis Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 39.678 and an average speed of 181.461 mph (292.033 km/h).[3]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 39.678 181.461
2 98 Rich Bickle Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 39.736 181.196
3 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 39.741 181.173
Full first practice results

Final practice

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The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on the afternoon of Friday, June 13. Jeff Burton, driving for Roush Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 39.985 and an average speed of 180.068 mph (289.791 km/h).[4]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 39.985 180.068
2 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 40.089 179.600
3 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 40.133 179.403
Full Happy Hour practice results

Qualifying

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Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, June 12, at 3:30 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 25 drivers in the round would be guaranteed a starting spot in the race. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run, held on Saturday, June 13, at 11:15 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time.[5] On January 24, 1998, NASCAR would announce that the amount of provisionals given would be increased from last season. Positions 26-36 would be decided on time, while 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.[6]

Ward Burton, driving for Bill Davis Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 39.656 and an average speed of 181.561 miles per hour (292.194 km/h).[7]

Four drivers would fail to qualify: Derrike Cope, Tony Raines, Dave Marcis, and Todd Bodine.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 39.656 181.561
2 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 39.733 181.210
3 2 Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 39.761 181.082
4 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39.797 180.918
5 91 Kevin Lepage (R) LJ Racing Chevrolet 39.801 180.900
6 94 Bill Elliott Elliott-Marino Racing Ford 39.831 180.764
7 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 39.839 180.727
8 50 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39.849 180.682
9 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 39.872 180.578
10 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 39.879 180.546
11 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39.899 180.456
12 1 Darrell Waltrip Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 39.915 180.383
13 9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 39.935 180.293
14 28 Kenny Irwin Jr. (R) Robert Yates Racing Ford 39.955 180.203
15 12 Jeremy Mayfield Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 39.961 180.176
16 42 Joe Nemechek Team SABCO Chevrolet 39.998 180.009
17 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 40.004 179.982
18 98 Rich Bickle Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 40.048 179.784
19 4 Bobby Hamilton Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 40.056 179.748
20 7 Geoff Bodine Mattei Motorsports Ford 40.068 179.695
21 26 Johnny Benson Jr. Roush Racing Ford 40.094 179.578
22 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 40.094 179.578
23 81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford 40.118 179.471
24 21 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford 40.170 179.238
25 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 40.188 179.158
26 8 Morgan Shepherd Stavola Brothers Racing Chevrolet 39.360 182.927
27 13 Jerry Nadeau (R) Elliott-Marino Racing Ford 39.541 182.089
28 75 Rick Mast Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 39.753 181.118
29 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 39.768 181.050
30 23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 39.770 181.041
31 46 Jeff Green Team SABCO Chevrolet 39.790 180.950
32 36 Ernie Irvan MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 39.831 180.764
33 43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Pontiac 39.839 180.727
34 33 Ken Schrader Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 39.851 180.673
35 78 Gary Bradberry Triad Motorsports Ford 39.862 180.623
36 40 Sterling Marlin Team SABCO Chevrolet 39.866 180.605
Provisionals
37 97 Chad Little Roush Racing Ford -* -*
38 90 Dick Trickle Donlavey Racing Ford -* -*
39 41 Steve Grissom Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet -* -*
40 77 Robert Pressley Jasper Motorsports Ford -* -*
41 31 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet -* -*
42 44 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac -* -*
43 96 Hut Stricklin American Equipment Racing Chevrolet -* -*
Failed to qualify
44 30 Derrike Cope Bahari Racing Pontiac 39.958 180.189
45 19 Tony Raines Roehrig Motorsports Ford 40.031 179.861
46 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 40.169 179.243
47 35 Todd Bodine ISM Racing Pontiac 40.413 178.160
Official qualifying results

Race results

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Fin[8] St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 7 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 200 48 running 180 $92,375
2 2 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 200 1 running 175 $76,125
3 4 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 132 running 175 $84,375
4 10 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 200 2 running 165 $54,235
5 15 12 Jeremy Mayfield Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 200 0 running 155 $44,500
6 6 94 Bill Elliott Elliott-Marino Racing Ford 200 3 running 155 $50,075
7 17 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 200 0 running 146 $47,675
8 1 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 200 6 running 147 $44,675
9 16 42 Joe Nemechek Team SABCO Chevrolet 200 0 running 138 $37,525
10 8 50 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 4 running 139 $42,675
11 30 23 Jimmy Spencer Travis Carter Enterprises Ford 199 2 running 135 $41,225
12 12 1 Darrell Waltrip Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 199 2 running 132 $27,400
13 14 28 Kenny Irwin Jr. (R) Robert Yates Racing Ford 199 0 running 124 $39,150
14 32 36 Ernie Irvan MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 199 0 running 121 $33,900
15 25 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 199 0 running 118 $38,650
16 37 97 Chad Little Roush Racing Ford 199 0 running 115 $27,925
17 3 2 Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 199 0 running 112 $36,900
18 36 40 Sterling Marlin Team SABCO Chevrolet 199 0 running 109 $24,865
19 11 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 199 0 running 106 $36,950
20 33 43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Pontiac 198 0 running 103 $36,935
21 24 21 Michael Waltrip Wood Brothers Racing Ford 198 0 running 100 $33,215
22 21 26 Johnny Benson Jr. Roush Racing Ford 198 0 running 97 $30,900
23 20 7 Geoff Bodine Mattei Motorsports Ford 198 0 running 94 $31,265
24 38 90 Dick Trickle Donlavey Racing Ford 198 0 running 91 $30,755
25 13 9 Lake Speed Melling Racing Ford 198 0 running 88 $23,220
26 22 16 Ted Musgrave Roush Racing Ford 198 0 running 85 $29,960
27 18 98 Rich Bickle Cale Yarborough Motorsports Ford 197 0 running 82 $26,800
28 34 33 Ken Schrader Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 197 0 running 79 $29,740
29 41 31 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 197 0 running 76 $22,605
30 31 46 Jeff Green Team SABCO Chevrolet 197 0 running 73 $19,540
31 28 75 Rick Mast Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 197 0 running 70 $21,910
32 40 77 Robert Pressley Jasper Motorsports Ford 197 0 running 67 $19,340
33 29 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 197 0 running 64 $26,235
34 35 78 Gary Bradberry Triad Motorsports Ford 195 0 running 61 $19,165
35 27 13 Jerry Nadeau (R) Elliott-Marino Racing Ford 195 0 running 58 $19,095
36 42 44 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 195 0 running 55 $26,050
37 9 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 195 0 running 52 $35,390
38 19 4 Bobby Hamilton Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 194 0 running 49 $33,880
39 23 81 Kenny Wallace FILMAR Racing Ford 194 0 running 46 $18,880
40 5 91 Kevin Lepage (R) LJ Racing Chevrolet 192 0 running 43 $18,880
41 39 41 Steve Grissom Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 188 0 running 40 $25,880
42 43 96 Hut Stricklin American Equipment Racing Chevrolet 121 0 crash 37 $21,380
43 26 8 Morgan Shepherd Stavola Brothers Racing Chevrolet 66 0 electrical 34 $19,380
Failed to qualify
44 30 Derrike Cope Bahari Racing Pontiac
45 19 Tony Raines Roehrig Motorsports Ford
46 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet
47 35 Todd Bodine ISM Racing Pontiac
Official race results

References

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  1. ^ Utter, Jim (June 14, 1998). "Martin rides winner of a car to Victory Lane". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 18, 2000. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  2. ^ Harris, Mike (June 15, 1998). "Martin wins '400', outraces Jarrett". The Daily Advocate. p. 8. Retrieved September 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  3. ^ "Ward Burton fastest in practice". That's Racin'. June 12, 1998. Archived from the original on August 18, 2000. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  4. ^ "Happy Hour practice speeds". That's Racin'. June 13, 1998. Archived from the original on August 18, 2000. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  5. ^ "Facts about the Miller Lite 400". That's Racin'. June 9, 1998. Archived from the original on August 27, 2001. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  6. ^ "Additional Provisionals announced". Motorsport.com. January 24, 1998. Retrieved August 31, 2022.
  7. ^ Utter, Jim (June 12, 1998). "Ward Burton gets best of Michigan Speedway". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 18, 2000. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  8. ^ "1998 Miller Lite 400 - The Third Turn". The Third Turn. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
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1998 Pontiac Excitement 400
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1998 season
Next race:
1998 Pocono 500