Gordon essentially stunk up fans' hopes for a close points race for the title, assuming the points lead with his fourth win of the year on the newly-configured Sears Point Raceway—a lead he would never relinquish despite the strong efforts of Martin and Dale Jarrett.
By the time the tour hit up the high banks of Daytona for an October classic, the complexion of the sport was starting to change.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was tabbed to drive in five races in the Cup ranks, Darrell Waltrip was essentially racing into the twilight of his career, a new event at Homestead-Miami Speedway was announced, and some guy named Gordon was en-route to his third championship in his sixth season.
Still, with races at Phoenix, Rockingham, and Atlanta to be run, a mistake on Gordon's end would essentially breathe a bit of life into the title hunt.
Are you kidding? Coming off a runner-up finish in the Winston 500 at the hands of victor Jarrett, Gordon and the No. 24 DuPont Chevy team licked its chomps to win their sponsor's showcase.
Racing conservatively for the early going, "The Rainbow Warrior" hovered around the top five for the first half of the race as contenders Rusty Wallace, Jarrett, Earnhardt, and Bobby Labonte led the field.
Earnhardt would be eliminated from contention when he drove his No. 3 Chevy into a stray tire on pit road, damaging the front valence of his car and his hopes for a win.
Jarrett would contend until the near bitter end of the race, when his No. 88 Quality Care Ford Taurus cut down a tire which sent him from the lead lap to the lap behind pack.
With Wallace, Bobby Labonte, Terry Labonte, Jeremy Mayfield, and Mike Skinner left to play "prevent defense" against "The Wonderboy," their hopes to deny the 27-year-old from Victory Lane were unsuccessful.
Gordon led for 49 circuits, on laps 88-90, 100-107, and most importantly, the final 37 trips around DIS. Taking the lead from Kenny Irwin, Jr. on lap 123, the only thing standing in the No. 24's way was Mother Nature.
Even the brief rain showers could not deter the road to victory for the points leader, as Gordon held off Labonte, Skinner, Mayfield, and Wallace to the stripe for his 11th victory of 1998.
The win, which increased Gordon's point lead over Martin from 288 to 358, essentially ended any hopes for challengers Martin and Jarrett to dethrone "The Kid."
It was also the No. 24 team's 17th straight top-five finish, which played a pivotal role into the substantial points lead held for the remainder of the season.
Eleven years later, there have been some dramatic finishes and stories from this 400-miler, now known as the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola.
From Jarrett's fuel mileage win in 1999 to Kyle Busch's thriller last year, the action of this July classic is unlike any other race in the dog days of summer.
So fans, what's been your favorite night-time running of the 400?
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