| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 33 in the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 1998 Daytona 500 logo | |||
| Date | February 15, 1998 | ||
| Location |
Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S. | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.02336 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) | ||
| Weather | Overcast with temperatures up to 70 °F (21 °C); wind speeds up to 14 miles per hour (23 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 172.712 miles per hour (277.953 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 46.776 seconds | ||
| Qualifying race winners | |||
| Duel 1 Winner | Sterling Marlin | SABCO Racing | |
| Duel 2 Winner | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Laps | 107 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | CBS | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Buddy Baker, and Ned Jarrett | ||
| Nielsen Ratings |
8.6/23 (13.04 million viewers) | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Allen Bestwick and Barney Hall | ||
| Turn Announcers | Joe Moore (1 & 2), Mike Bagley (Backstretch), Fred Armstrong (3 & 4) | ||
The 1998 Daytona 500, the 40th running of the event, was held on February 15 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida as the first race of the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup season. It was Dale Earnhardt's only Daytona 500 victory after 19 previous attempts. It was Earnhardt's 20th 500 start and CBS's 20th consecutive live broadcast of the Daytona 500. Also, his Daytona 500 win ended a 59-race winless streak dating back to Atlanta Motor Speedway in March 1996.
The race had three cautions - all of which were for minor incidents, and there were no accident-related retirements. The race was run under the green flag for the first 125 laps. This resulted in it being the second-fastest Daytona 500 ever, behind the 1980 Daytona 500 won by Buddy Baker, and the fastest of the restrictor plate era.