1. About.com
  2. Sports
  3. NASCAR Racing

Dale Earnhardt Celebrates Winning the 1998 Daytona 500

Restrictor Plate Racing in the 90s Causes the Inevitable "Big One"

Three years after winning Dale Earnhardt's untimely death in 2001 would trigger some of the greatest safety enhancements that the sport has ever seen.
Dale Earnhardt Celebrates Winning the 1998 Daytona 500

Dale Earnhardt Celebrates Winning the 1998 Daytona 500

Photo Credit: Dale Earnhardt 1998 Daytona 500 / RacingOne Multimedia
Some features of a 1998 Daytona 500 race car:
  • Roof flaps mandatory to help keep cars from going airborne
  • Spoiler improves aerodynamics
  • Windshield tear offs improve vision for drivers
  • Very little unsponsored space remaining on the car
  • 1998 race winning average speed 172.712 MPH

©2012 About.com. All rights reserved. 

A part of The New York Times Company.