In 1998, Jeff Gordon was in the form of his life and well on his way to a third NASCAR Cup Series title. That 1998 season was one of the most dominant campaigns in his career. However, at the All-Star race, he lost out to another driver who was having a terrific season, Mark Martin.

During the All-Star race, the Hendrick Motorsports #24 team opted to run an older car for the non-points race. Suffice to say, that car was unbelievably quick. With a couple of laps to go, Jeff Gordon was leading comfortably. Unfortunately, his car decided to give up the ghost on the final lap, and it slowed to a crawl; Martin did not need a second invitation to sweep past and win.

Jeff Gordon would have been devastated to lose

Although this is a non point-scoring race, there was still $1 million up for grabs. Sadly, he could only sit and rue what could have been. Meanwhile, Martin gleefully took his maiden All-Star win and collected the $1 million cash prize. In the end, this race was classified as one of Gordon’s worst defeats in his Cup Series career.

At least he would redeem himself by winning his third Cup Series championship. Along the way, he stormed to an astounding 13 wins during the course of the season. This also included winning four races in a row. That hot streak came at Pocono and continued through Indianapolis, Watkins Glen, and Michigan.

Other Victory Lane visits came at North Carolina, Bristol, Charlotte, Sonoma, New Hampshire, and Darlington. He also managed to triumph at Daytona, Atlanta and at North Carolina on his second visit that year. Meanwhile, Martin could only muster 2nd in the championship, with eight wins to his name.

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