Despite the win and a 23rd-place points finish, RCA left the sport and Andretti signed with Petty Enterprises. Yarborough signed Greg Sacks to drive his Thorn Apple Valley Ford in 1998, but Sacks suffered a neck injury at Texas Motor Speedway and was unable to race for the rest of the year. Rich Bickle took his place, and had a fourth-place finish at Martinsville. After the season Bickle resigned to drive for Tyler Jet Motorsports and Thorn Apple departed due to financial problems within the organization.