The 1999 Food City 500 was the seventh stock car race of the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 39th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 11, 1999, in Bristol, Tennessee at Bristol Motor Speedway, a 0.533 miles (0.858 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. At race's end, Penske-Kranefuss Racing driver Rusty Wallace would dominate most of the race to take home his 49th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only win of the season.[1][2] To fill out the podium, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin and Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett would finish second and third, respectively.

1999 Food City 500
Race details
Race 7 of 34 in the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1999 Food City 500 program cover.
The 1999 Food City 500 program cover.
Date April 11, 1999
Official name 39th Annual Food City 500
Location Bristol, Tennessee, Bristol Motor Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
0.533 mi (0.858 km)
Distance 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.89 km)
Scheduled Distance 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.89 km)
Average speed 93.363 miles per hour (150.253 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Penske-Kranefuss Racing
Time 14.954
Most laps led
Driver Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing
Laps 425
Winner
No. 2 Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing
Television in the United States
Network ESPN
Announcers Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons
Radio in the United States
Radio Performance Racing Network

Background

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The layout of Bristol Motor Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

The Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.

Entry list

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
00 Buckshot Jones (R) Buckshot Racing Pontiac Crown Fiber
1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet Pennzoil
2 Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford Miller Lite
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench Service Plus
4 Bobby Hamilton Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet Kodak
5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, Food City
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Valvoline
7 Michael Waltrip Mattei Motorsports Chevrolet Philips, Klaussner Furniture
9 Jerry Nadeau Melling Racing Ford Cartoon Network, Dexter's Laboratory
10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford Tide
11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford Paychex
12 Jeremy Mayfield Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford Mobil 1
16 Kevin Lepage Roush Racing Ford TV Guide
18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac Interstate Batteries
20 Tony Stewart (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac The Home Depot
21 Elliott Sadler (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac Caterpillar
23 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford Winston No Bull
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet DuPont
25 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Budweiser
26 Johnny Benson Jr. Roush Racing Ford Cheerios, Betty Crocker
28 Kenny Irwin Jr. Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
30 Derrike Cope Bahari Racing Pontiac Jimmy Dean, State Fair
31 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Lowe's
33 Ken Schrader Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet Skoal
36 Ernie Irvan MB2 Motorsports Pontiac M&M's
40 Sterling Marlin Team SABCO Chevrolet Coors Light
41 David Green Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kodiak Ice
42 Joe Nemechek Team SABCO Chevrolet BellSouth
43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Pontiac STP
44 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac Hot Wheels
45 Rich Bickle Tyler Jet Motorsports Pontiac 10-10-345
55 Kenny Wallace Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet Square D
58 Ricky Craven SBIII Motorsports Ford Hollywood Video
60 Geoff Bodine Joe Bessey Racing Chevrolet Power Team
66 Darrell Waltrip Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford Big Kmart
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Team Realtree
75 Ted Musgrave Butch Mock Motorsports Ford Polaris ATVs
77 Robert Pressley Jasper Motorsports Ford Jasper Engines & Transmissions
88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford Quality Care Service, Ford Credit
90 Stanton Barrett Donlavey Racing Ford Suburban Lodge, Tripledge
91 Dick Trickle LJ Racing Chevrolet Textilease
94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford McDonald's
97 Chad Little Roush Racing Ford John Deere
98 Rick Mast Burdette Motorsports Ford Burdette Motorsports
99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford Exide Batteries
Official entry list

Practice

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First practice

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The first practice session was held on Friday, April 9, at 11:00 AM EST. The session would last for two hours and 25 minutes.[3] Bobby Hamilton, driving for Morgan–McClure Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 15.406 and an average speed of 124.549 mph (200.442 km/h).[4]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 4 Bobby Hamilton Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 15.406 124.549
2 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 15.483 123.929
3 66 Darrell Waltrip Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 15.501 123.786
Full first practice results

Second practice

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The second practice session was held on Friday, April 9, at 1:15 PM EST. The session would last for 45 minutes.[3] Rusty Wallace, driving for Penske-Kranefuss Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 15.339 and an average speed of 125.092 mph (201.316 km/h).[5]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 2 Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 15.339 125.092
2 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.399 124.605
3 4 Bobby Hamilton Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 15.445 124.234
Full second practice results

Third practice

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The third practice session was held on Saturday, April 10, at 9:30 AM EST. The session would last for one hour. Joe Nemechek, driving for Team SABCO, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 15.564 and an average speed of 123.284 mph (198.406 km/h).[3]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 42 Joe Nemechek Team SABCO Chevrolet 15.564 123.284
2 1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 15.593 123.055
3 91 Dick Trickle LJ Racing Chevrolet 15.598 123.015
Full third practice results

Final practice

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The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, April 10, after the preliminary 1999 Moore's Snacks 250. The session would last for one hour.[3] Bobby Labonte, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 15.956 and an average speed of 120.255 mph (193.532 km/h).[6]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 15.956 120.255
2 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 15.961 120.218
3 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 16.046 119.581
Full Happy Hour practice results

Qualifying

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Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, April 9, at 3:00 PM EST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap. During the first round, the top 25 drivers in the round would be guaranteed a starting spot in the race. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run, held on Saturday, April 10, at 11:30 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap.[3] Positions 26-36 would be decided on time, while positions 37-43 would be based on provisionals. Six spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The seventh is awarded to a past champion who has not otherwise qualified for the race. If no past champion needs the provisional, the next team in the owner points will be awarded a provisional.[7]

Rusty Wallace, driving for Penske-Kranefuss Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 15.333 and an average speed of 194.957 miles per hour (313.753 km/h).[8]

Three drivers would fail to qualify: Rich Bickle, Stanton Barrett, and Derrike Cope.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 2 Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 15.333 125.142
2 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.353 124.979
3 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 15.414 124.484
4 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 15.439 124.283
5 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 15.439 124.283
6 55 Kenny Wallace Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 15.442 124.259
7 4 Bobby Hamilton Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 15.461 124.106
8 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 15.472 124.018
9 58 Ricky Craven SBIII Motorsports Ford 15.481 123.945
10 28 Kenny Irwin Jr. Robert Yates Racing Ford 15.482 123.937
11 77 Robert Pressley Jasper Motorsports Ford 15.485 123.913
12 66 Darrell Waltrip Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 15.492 123.857
13 75 Ted Musgrave Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 15.516 123.666
14 44 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 15.517 123.658
15 25 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.520 123.634
16 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 15.525 123.594
17 21 Elliott Sadler Wood Brothers Racing Ford 15.529 123.562
18 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 15.533 123.531
19 9 Jerry Nadeau Melling Racing Ford 15.533 123.531
20 33 Ken Schrader Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 15.539 123.483
21 23 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 15.550 123.395
22 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 15.562 123.300
23 94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 15.568 123.253
24 40 Sterling Marlin Team SABCO Chevrolet 15.571 123.229
25 60 Geoff Bodine Joe Bessey Racing Chevrolet 15.577 123.182
26 43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Pontiac 15.486 123.905
27 42 Joe Nemechek Team SABCO Chevrolet 15.558 123.332
28 16 Kevin Lepage Roush Racing Ford 15.572 123.221
29 91 Dick Trickle LJ Racing Chevrolet 15.576 123.190
30 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.590 123.079
31 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 15.593 123.055
32 98 Rick Mast Burdette Motorsports Ford 15.596 123.032
33 31 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15.599 123.008
34 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 15.600 123.000
35 41 David Green Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 15.600 123.000
36 00 Buckshot Jones Buckshot Racing Pontiac 15.602 122.984
Provisionals
37 12 Jeremy Mayfield Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford -* -*
38 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac -* -*
39 7 Michael Waltrip Mattei Motorsports Chevrolet -* -*
40 97 Chad Little Roush Racing Ford -* -*
41 36 Ernie Irvan MB2 Motorsports Pontiac -* -*
42 26 Johnny Benson Jr. Roush Racing Ford -* -*
43 1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet -* -*
Failed to qualify
44 45 Rich Bickle Tyler Jet Motorsports Pontiac 15.653 122.584
45 90 Stanton Barrett Donlavey Racing Ford 15.736 121.937
46 30 Derrike Cope Bahari Racing Pontiac 15.813 121.343
Official qualifying results

*Time not available.

Race results

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Fin[9] St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 1 2 Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 500 425 running 185 $87,435
2 8 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 500 7 running 175 $73,585
3 16 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 500 0 running 165 $68,650
4 26 43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Pontiac 500 0 running 160 $64,295
5 31 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 500 0 running 155 $57,335
6 2 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 500 0 running 150 $55,970
7 13 75 Ted Musgrave Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 500 0 running 146 $40,245
8 14 44 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 500 0 running 142 $36,995
9 38 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 500 11 running 143 $49,265
10 34 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 500 0 running 134 $48,630
11 10 28 Kenny Irwin Jr. Robert Yates Racing Ford 499 0 running 130 $43,870
12 39 7 Michael Waltrip Mattei Motorsports Chevrolet 499 2 running 132 $39,365
13 30 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 499 0 running 124 $43,290
14 24 40 Sterling Marlin Team SABCO Chevrolet 499 0 running 121 $38,615
15 4 20 Tony Stewart (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 498 55 running 123 $48,505
16 6 55 Kenny Wallace Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 498 0 running 115 $28,390
17 21 23 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 498 0 running 112 $38,040
18 7 4 Bobby Hamilton Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 498 0 running 109 $42,140
19 32 98 Rick Mast Burdette Motorsports Ford 498 0 running 106 $30,830
20 20 33 Ken Schrader Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 498 0 running 103 $40,440
21 33 31 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 497 0 running 100 $37,740
22 18 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 497 0 running 97 $37,490
23 43 1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 497 0 running 94 $36,965
24 40 97 Chad Little Roush Racing Ford 497 0 running 91 $36,865
25 23 94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 497 0 running 88 $36,720
26 17 21 Elliott Sadler (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 497 0 running 85 $37,490
27 37 12 Jeremy Mayfield Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 496 0 running 82 $41,570
28 25 60 Geoff Bodine Joe Bessey Racing Chevrolet 495 0 running 79 $26,515
29 42 26 Johnny Benson Jr. Roush Racing Ford 495 0 running 76 $36,485
30 15 25 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 494 0 running 73 $35,660
31 29 91 Dick Trickle LJ Racing Chevrolet 493 0 running 70 $25,615
32 12 66 Darrell Waltrip Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 491 0 running 67 $25,370
33 35 41 David Green Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 490 0 running 64 $25,350
34 22 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 490 0 running 61 $25,810
35 28 16 Kevin Lepage Roush Racing Ford 489 0 running 58 $32,290
36 27 42 Joe Nemechek Team SABCO Chevrolet 478 0 running 55 $32,770
37 3 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 471 0 running 52 $41,960
38 5 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 410 0 handling 49 $32,250
39 36 00 Buckshot Jones (R) Buckshot Racing Pontiac 406 0 running 46 $25,240
40 11 77 Robert Pressley Jasper Motorsports Ford 403 0 running 43 $25,425
41 9 58 Ricky Craven SBIII Motorsports Ford 401 0 running 40 $25,200
42 19 9 Jerry Nadeau Melling Racing Ford 335 0 crash 37 $25,675
43 41 36 Ernie Irvan MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 144 0 handling 34 $32,161
Failed to qualify
44 45 Rich Bickle Tyler Jet Motorsports Pontiac
45 90 Stanton Barrett Donlavey Racing Ford
46 30 Derrike Cope Bahari Racing Pontiac
Official race results

References

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  1. ^ Poole, David (April 11, 1999). "New car, same old Rusty at Bristol". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on October 1, 2000. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  2. ^ "Rusty Wallace gets redemption at Bristol". The Daily American. April 12, 1999. p. 9. Retrieved August 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Jayski's Silly Season Site - 1999 Bristol 1 Race Info Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on May 8, 1999. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  4. ^ "First session Winston Cup practice speeds". That's Racin'. April 9, 1999. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  5. ^ "2nd session Winston Cup practice speeds". That's Racin'. April 9, 1999. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  6. ^ "Happy Hour practice speeds". That's Racin'. April 10, 1999. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  7. ^ "Jayski's Silly Season Site - 1999 Provisional Start Status". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on April 18, 1999. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  8. ^ Macenka, Joe (April 9, 1999). "Another pole for Rusty Wallace at Bristol". That's Racin'. Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  9. ^ "1999 Food City 500 - The Third Turn". The Third Turn. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
Previous race:
1999 Primestar 500
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1999 season
Next race:
1999 Goody's Body Pain 500