1998 TranSouth Financial 400 - NASCAR Race

Name of Race:	1998 TranSouth Financial 400
Name of Track:	Darlington Raceway
Date:	March 22nd

Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina.

Looks Like An Egg

It was the first superspeedway built with NASCAR racing in mind and 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 will be effective at both ends.

Largest Field of Racers

Darlington has an interesting history. When the 1.366 mile long track first opened over a half-century ago, it was not uncommon for there to be 80 or more entrants in a race; this was curtailed over the years as NASCAR adopted a more uniform set of guidelines with regard to the number of cars which could qualify for a race.

Flip-Flop

In recent years the track has been reconfigured; what was the front stretch is now the back stretch, and the turns have been renumbered accordingly. Seating has been increased to approximately 60,000; it has been limited by the proximity of a railroad track to the facility, a highway behind the back stretch, and the still-present pond.

Courtesy of Wikipedia.

1998 TranSouth Financial 400 NASCAR Race Results

Below are the race results for 1998 TranSouth Financial 400, in order of finishing place.

Fin	Driver	Num	Start	Money	Laps	Status	Sponsor
1	Dale Jarrett	88	3	$110,035	293	running	Quality Care / Ford Credit
2	Jeff Gordon	24	24	$75,075	293	running	DuPont Refinishes
3	Rusty Wallace	2	14	$52,240	293	running	Miller Lite
4	Jeremy Mayfield	12	37	$45,930	293	running	Mobil 1
5	Jeff Burton	99	2	$49,075	293	running	Exide Batteries
6	Terry Labonte	5	33	$48,600	293	running	Kellogg's Corn Flakes
7	Mark Martin	6	1	$47,995	293	running	Valvoline / Cummins
8	Johnny Benson, Jr.	26	21	$0	293	running	Cheerios
9	Kenny Wallace	81	26	$33,285	293	running	Square D
10	Ted Musgrave	16	20	$39,930	292	running	Primestar
11	Ward Burton	22	9	$33,500	292	running	MBNA America
12	Dale Earnhardt	3	27	$37,595	292	running	GM Goodwrench Service Plus
13	John Andretti	43	16	$37,990	292	running	STP
14	Sterling Marlin	40	8	$24,560	291	running	Coors Light
15	Bill Elliott	94	30	$32,430	291	running	McDonald's
16	Michael Waltrip	21	7	$32,435	291	running	Citgo
17	Chad Little	97	29	$23,690	291	running	John Deere
18	Ken Schrader	33	32	$32,820	291	running	Skoal Bandit
19	Steve Grissom	41	36	$29,740	291	running	Kodiak
20	Robert Pressley	77	17	$20,970	291	running	Jasper Engines
21	Jimmy Spencer	23	35	$31,405	290	running	Winston / No Bull
22	Brett Bodine	11	22	$28,840	290	running	Paychex
23	Bobby Labonte	18	6	$33,425	290	running	Interstate Batteries
24	Dick Trickle	90	4	$28,310	290	running	Heilig-Meyers
25	Lake Speed	9	34	$20,995	290	running	Cartoon Network
26	David Green	96	13	$20,685	290	running	Caterpillar
27	Todd Bodine	35	41	$17,300	290	running	Tabasco
28	Mike Skinner	31	19	$20,245	289	running	Lowe's
29	Kyle Petty	44	40	$26,940	288	running	Hot Wheels
30	Darrell Waltrip	17	43	$26,810	288	running	Tim Flock Special
31	Jerry Nadeau	13	25	$17,655	288	running	FirstPlus Financial
32	Jeff Green	29	42	$20,025	288	running	Team Monte Carlo
33	Ricky Rudd	10	18	$32,745	288	running	Tide
34	Kevin Lepage	91	10	$16,215	287	running	Little Joe's Auto
35	Bobby Hamilton	4	38	$23,085	286	running	Kodak MAX Film
36	Ernie Irvan	36	39	$22,955	285	running	Skittles
37	Joe Nemechek	42	28	$22,875	285	running	BellSouth
38	Randy LaJoie	50	23	$25,225	284	running	Budweiser
39	Kenny Irwin, Jr.	28	5	$0	270	running	Texaco Havoline
40	Derrike Cope	30	31	$22,475	231	engine	Gumout
41	Geoffrey Bodine	7	11	$22,350	144	crash	Philips Consumer Comm.
42	Greg Sacks	98	12	$22,225	142	crash	Thorn Apple Valley
43	Rick Mast	75	15	$15,116	26	engine	Remington Arms