Rover Jackson continued his impressive streak of winning the Daytona 500 in every Olympics/election year, narrowly thwarting Dale Earnhardt's efforts at winning his first ever by just 5/6th of a carlength. He gave the newly revised Pontiac Grand Prix body style a convincing debut victory, even while no other Pontiac driver cracked the top five at any point during the race.
Rover, who languished as far back as eighth in the early stages as he fought a loose condition, took the lead for the first time around the halfway point. Earnhardt, not used to his inability Sunday to pull off a massive lead, led for the first time on lap 154 and maintained that advantage through the final round of pit stops. But Rover, with some drafting help, would not be denied, slipping by Earnhardt on the backstretch with six laps remaining. Earnhardt could never make up the deficit.
Pole sitter Ernie Irvan led briefly, but an encounter with the turn 2 wall caused major front end damage and knocked him out on lap 126. Kenny Wallace, Bobby Labonte, and Jimmy Spencer all were eliminated in a turn four multi-car wreck shortly beforehand.
The final results for the 38th Daytona 500:
FIN.ST NO. DRIVER CAR LAPS 1. 3 #76 Rover Jackson Unocal 76 Pontiac 200* 2. 10 #3 Dale Earnhardt GM Goodwrench Service Chevrolet 200* 3. 9 #37 John Andretti K-Mart/Little Ceasar’s Ford 200* 4. 6 #24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Refinishes Chevrolet 200 5. 4 #4 Sterling Marlin Kodak Film Chevrolet 200 6. 24 #88 Dale Jarrett Quality Care Ford 200 7. 18 #42 Kyle Petty Coors Light Pontiac 200 8. 31 #99 Jeff Burton Exide Batteries Ford 200* 9. 8 #87 Joe Nemechek Burger King Chevrolet 200* 10. 35 #21 Michael Waltrip Citgo Ford 200 11. 15 #17 Darrell Waltrip Parts America Chevrolet 200 12. 34 #19 Loy Allen Jr. Healthsource Ford 200 13. 2 #98 Jeremy Mayfield RCA Ford 200* 14. 41 #27 Elton Sawyer Bailey Motorsports Ford 200 15. 13 #90 Mike Wallace Heilig-Meyers Ford 200* 16. 37 #71 Dave Marcis Prodigy Chevrolet 200 17. 12 #6 Mark Martin Valvoline/Cummins Ford 200 18. 14 #9 Lake Speed Spam/Melling Ford 200 19. 19 #33 Robert Pressley Skoal Bandit Chevrolet 200 20. 5 #11 Brett Bodine Lowe’s Ford 200 21. 36 #10 Ricky Rudd Tide Ford 199 22. 23 #25 Ken Schrader Budweiser Chevrolet 199 23. 17 #5 Terry Labonte Kellogg’s Corn Flakes Chevrolet 199 24. 40 #22 Ward Burton MBNA Pontiac 199 25. 38 #94 Bill Elliott McDonald’s Ford 199 26. 29 #1 Rick Mast Hooters Pontiac 199 27. 32 #77 Bobby Hillin Jr. Jasper Engines Ford 199 28. 1 #28 Ernie Irvan Texaco/Havoline Ford 126 29. 7 #23 Jimmy Spencer Camel Cigarettes Ford 120 30. 33 #18 Bobby Labonte Interstate Batteries Chevrolet 119 31. 42 #81 Kenny Wallace Square D/TIC Financial Ford 118 32. 30 #41 Ricky Craven Kodiak Chevrolet 97 33. 27 #16 Ted Musgrave Family Channel/Primestar Ford 80 34. 28 #75 Morgan Shepherd Remington Arms Ford 74 35. 39 #7 Geoff Bodine QVC Ford 40 36. 25 #29 Steve Grissom Cartoon Network Chevrolet 23 37. 16 #30 Johnny Benson Jr. Pennzoil Pontiac 17 38. 11 #43 Bobby Hamilton STP 25th Anniversary Pontiac 16 39. 21 #12 Derrike Cope Mane N' Tail Ford 14 40. 26 #15 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Hayes Modem Ford 12 41. 20 #2 Rusty Wallace Miller Genuine Draft Ford 10 42. 22 #8 Hut Stricklin Circuit City Ford 6
* Indicates lap leader.