1998 Farm Aid on CMT 300
The 1998 Farm Aid on CMT 300 was the 23rd stock car race of the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the second iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, August 30, 1998, in Loudon, New Hampshire, at New Hampshire International Speedway, a permanent, oval-shaped, low-banked racetrack. The race took the scheduled 300 laps to complete. At race's end, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would manage to dominate the final laps of the race to take his 38th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his eighth victory of the season. To fill out the podium, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin and Petty Enterprises driver John Andretti would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
New Hampshire International Speedway is a 1.058-mile oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since the early 1990s, as well as an IndyCar weekend and the oldest motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic. Nicknamed "The Magic Mile", the speedway is often converted into a 1.6-mile road course, which includes much of the oval. The track was originally the site of Bryar Motorsports Park before being purchased and redeveloped by Bob Bahre. The track is currently one of eight major NASCAR tracks owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports.Entry list
' denotes rookie driver.Practice
First practice
The first practice session was held on Friday, August 28, at 2:00 PM EST. The session would last for one hour. Jeremy Mayfield, driving for Penske-Kranefuss Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.815 and an average speed of.Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, August 28, at 4:00 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 25 drivers in the round would be guaranteed a starting spot in the race. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run, held on Saturday, August 29, at 11:00 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. On January 24, 1998, NASCAR would announce that the amount of provisionals given would be increased from last season. Positions 26-36 would be decided on time, while positions 37-43 would be based on provisionals. Six spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The seventh is awarded to a past champion who has not otherwise qualified for the race. If no past champion needs the provisional, the next team in the owner points will be awarded a provisional.Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 29.518 and an average speed of.
Three drivers would fail to qualify: Derrike Cope, Buckshot Jones, and Dan Pardus.