1998 Pontiac Excitement 400

{{Short description|13th race of the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series}}

{{Infobox NASCAR race report|Type=NASWINSTON|Race_No=13|Distance_mi=300|Year=1998|Pole_Time=21.504|Race_Name=Pontiac Excitement 400|Course_mi=0.75|Scheduled_km=482.803|Distance_km=482.803|Course_km=1.21|Distance_laps=400|Scheduled_laps=400|Scheduled_mi=300|Official_name=44th Annual Pontiac Excitement 400|Location=Richmond, Virginia, Richmond International Raceway|Avg={{convert|97.044|mph|km/h}}|Season_No=33|Date=June 6|Car=5|Radio=Motor Racing Network|Network=ESPN|Announcers=Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons, Ned Jarrett|Most_laps=108|First_Driver=Terry Labonte|First_Team=Hendrick Motorsports|Most_Driver=Dale Jarrett|Pole_Driver=Jeff Gordon|Pole_Team=Hendrick Motorsports|Most_Team=Robert Yates Racing|Caption=The 1998 Pontiac Excitement 400 program cover, with artwork by Sam Bass.|Image=1998_Pontiac_Excitement_400.jpg|Attendance=103,000}}

The 1998 Pontiac Excitement 400 was the 13th stock car race of the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 44th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, June 6, 1998, in Richmond, Virginia, at Richmond International Raceway, a 0.75 miles (1.21 km) D-shaped oval. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. With two laps to go, Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte would make a final pass in a battle with Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett. On the fourth turn of the penultimate lap, the caution would come out for Johnny Benson Jr. Labonte was able to defend Jarrett and complete the penultimate lap to take his 20th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.{{Cite web |last=Poole |first=David |date=June 6, 1998 |title=Terry Labonte earns first '98 victory in wild finish at Richmond |url=http://www.thatsracin.com/98/0607/0607400lede.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000818002234/http://www.thatsracin.com/98/0607/0607400lede.htm |archive-date=August 18, 2000 |access-date=September 6, 2022 |website=That's Racin' |publisher=The Charlotte Observer}}{{Cite news |last=Kurz Jr. |first=Hank |date=June 7, 1998 |title=Terry Labonte wins crash-filled Richmond |pages=12 |work=The South Bend Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109035399/terry-labonte-wins-crash-filled-richmond/ |access-date=September 6, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} To fill out the podium, Jarrett and Penske-Kranefuss Racing driver Rusty Wallace would finish second and third, respectively. The event was overshadowed when Rusty Wallace completely took out Jeff Gordon in turn 2 with 29 laps to go. Gordon in his interview when asked what happened, he replied "well, that's pretty obvious you tell me you know. You got on video. I think it's pretty simple you know I uh- I had the position on him. He just drove into the left rear. I don't know what happened."{{Cite web |title=A wild finish to Pontiac 400 |url=https://www.southcoasttoday.com/story/sports/1998/06/08/a-wild-finish-to-pontiac/50570213007/ }}

Background

File:Richmond_International_Speedway.png, the venue where the race was at.]]

Richmond International Raceway (RIR) is a 3/4-mile (1.2 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series. Known as "America's premier short track", it formerly hosted a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, an IndyCar Series race, and two USAC sprint car races.

= Entry list =

(R) denotes rookie driver.

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"

!Driver

!Team

!Make

!Sponsor

|Darrell Waltrip

|Dale Earnhardt, Inc.

1998 Pontiac Excitement 400

Background

= Entry list =

Practice

= First practice =

= Second practice =

= Final practice =

Qualifying

= Full qualifying results =

Race results

References