1998 TranSouth Financial 400

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

{{Infobox NASCAR race report|Type=NASWINSTON|Date=March 22|Most_laps=195|Pole_Driver=Mark Martin|Pole_Team=Roush Racing|First_Team=Robert Yates Racing|First_Driver=Dale Jarrett|Most_Team=Roush Racing|Most_Driver=Jeff Burton|Car=88|Network=ESPN|Announcers=Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons|Radio=Motor Racing Network|Season_No=33|Location=Darlington, South Carolina, Darlington Raceway|Race_No=5|Avg={{convert|127.962|mph|km/h}}|Official_name=42nd Annual TranSouth Financial 400|Race_Name=TranSouth Financial 400|Year=1998|Scheduled_laps=293|Distance_laps=293|Distance_km=644.12|Scheduled_km=644.12|Scheduled_mi=400.238|Course_km=2.198|Course_mi=1.366|Pole_Time=29.156|Distance_mi=400.238|Caption=The 1998 TranSouth Financial 400 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt.|Image=1998_TranSouth_Financial_400.jpg|Attendance=}}

The 1998 TranSouth Financial 400 was the fifth stock car race of the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 42nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 22, 1998, in Darlington, South Carolina, at Darlington Raceway, a {{Convert|1.366|mi|km}} permanent egg-shaped oval racetrack. The race took the scheduled 293 laps to complete. In the late stages of the race, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett would manage to defend Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon to take his 16th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.{{Cite web |last=Poole |first=David |date=March 22, 1998 |title=Jarrett holds off Gordon for victory at Darlington |url=http://www.thatsracin.com/98/0322/0323400lede.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010216072358/http://www.thatsracin.com/98/0322/0323400lede.htm |archive-date=February 16, 2001 |access-date=September 20, 2022 |website=That's Racin' |publisher=The Charlotte Observer}}{{Cite news |date=March 23, 1998 |title=Jarrett edges Gordon for win |pages=9 |work=The Brattleboro Reformer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109876507/jarrett-edges-gordon-for-win/ |access-date=September 20, 2022 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{Open access}} To fill out the top 3, Gordon and Penske-Kranefuss Racing driver Rusty Wallace would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

File:Darlington_raceway.svg, the venue where the race was held.]]

Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that is effective at both ends.

= Entry list =

(R) denotes rookie driver.

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

!Driver

!Team

!Make

!Sponsor

|Ron Hornaday Jr.

|Dale Earnhardt, Inc.

1998 TranSouth Financial 400

Background

= Entry list =

Practice

= First practice =

= Second practice =

= Final practice =

Qualifying

= Full qualifying results =

Race results

References