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Written by:
Tom Jensen
04/23/2008 - 09:09 AM
Harrisburg, N.C.
NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon had a rare ‘low’ moment back in 1998 when Mark Martin passed the reigning series champion on the last lap of the Winston, what we now call the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race. Watch this year’s NASCAR Sprint All- » More Photos
Jeff Gordon entered the 1998 running of the Sprint All-Star Race on a huge roll. Gordon, the defending race winner, was also the reigning series champion and well on his way to a second consecutive title and third in four seasons.
Before the season was over, Gordon would win 13 Sprint Cup races, the most in a single season since Richard Petty in 1975. So Gordon and his all-conquering Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet came to Lowe’s Motor Speedway as the prohibitive race favorite to capture the event for the third time in four years.
That said, the 14th running of NASCAR’s annual All-Star event featured a plethora of rule changes designed to mix up the action: Caution-flag laps no longer would be counted towards the 70-lap race distance; the field would be inverted randomly between segments with three to 12 positions possibly being moved; if drivers pitted between the second and third segments they would lose track position; and last but not least, qualifying was changed so that two 25-lap qualifying races determined the odd- and even-numbered
Just as he had a year earlier, Bill Elliott won the pole, but from the outset, it appeared that the race would belong to Gordon, the sport’s rising superspeedway. The California native won the first 30-lap segment, easily dominating the 20-car field.
A random draw saw the top four finishers from the first segment inverted, which opened the door for Mark Martin to step up in his Roush Racing Ford. Martin, who finished third, just 29 points behind Gordon in the 1997 championship race, passed Sterling Marlin on the first lap of the second segment and stayed there for the next 30 laps.
When all of the drivers pitted before the final 10-lap dash, Gordon took just two tires and emerged ahead of the rest of the field, who all took four. Martin restarted the race in sixth, seemingly out of contention for the victory. But the Batesville, Ark., native quickly worked his way up to the runner-up spot, prepared for any eventuality.
And then, the unthinkable happened.
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