Charlotte Revisited
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10/11/98
JARRETT WINS TALLADEGA + Winston No Bull Five $1,000,000!
The Charlotte statistics are in the books for another season. There was lots of hype about the track this fall. Mark Martin says it's "Moody." The way a lot of the teams acted, you would think that it was their first time there. Sometimes it boggles my mind, how these teams can race there twice a year, and not have any idea what the car needs for the set-up. I think they use the hype about the track to cover up what they don't want to admit they forgot. They claim the track changes during the race. All tracks change during the race, depending on the weather, and lots of other factors.
The big conversation piece in the WC garages was Jeff Gordon's dismal attempt at qualifying. It turns out that they didn't bring a previously raced "Charlotte car," they brought a car that had been successful at Michigan and Atlanta, etc.. A super speedway car, to try something different. Well, it was different all right.
Statistics were also on the minds of the competitors last week. It seems that the close race for the championship brought out the fact that Jeff Gordon has never won a WC race in the months of October and November. This is good news for the Roush camp. Fact is, If Martin wins the rest of the races, and Gordon finishes fifth or better, Gordon will still win the big one. That's not good news for the Roush camp. It's unlikely that Martin will win the rest of the races this season, and I'm not going to speculate on whether Jeff Gordon can finish the rest of the races in the top five. That would be like trying to predict the weather.
There are five points races left in this season. Talledega, Daytona, Phoenix, Rockingham, and Atlanta, in that order, unless there is a rain out and a scheduling problem.
| Driver | Winnings |
| 1. Mark Martin | $151,950 |
| 2. Ward Burton | $96,700 |
| 3. Jeff Burton | $76,250 |
| 4. Bobby Hamilton | $83,300 |
| 5. Jeff Gordon | $79,450 |
| 6. Kevin Lepage | $54,700 |
| 7. Joe Nemechek | $46,400 |
| 8. Chad Little | $36,500 |
| 9. Geoff Bodine | $45,000 |
| 10. Jimmy Spencer | $50,600 |
The Busch race Saturday was somewhat of a surprise. For once, a WC driver didn't dominate the race, and didn't win the race either. The race was won by a fuel mileage gamble that paid off for Mike McLaughlin. Little E still holds the points lead over Kenseth, by a mere 97 points.
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