The 1999 Primestar 500 was the sixth stock car race of the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the third iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 28, 1999, in Fort Worth, Texas at Texas Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent tri-oval shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 334 laps to complete. Nearing the end of the race, Hendrick Motorsports driver Terry Labonte would make a late-race move to pass Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett for the lead. With three to go, the caution came out for Jimmy Spencer, handing the win to Labonte.[1][2] The win was Labonte's 21st career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season. To fill out the podium, Jarrett and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Bobby Labonte would finish second and third, respectively.

1999 Primestar 500
Race details
Race 6 of 34 in the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 1999 Primestar 500 program cover, with artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
The 1999 Primestar 500 program cover, with artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass.
Date March 28, 1999
Official name Third Annual Primestar 500
Location Fort Worth, Texas, Texas Motor Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
1.5 mi (2.41 km)
Distance 334 laps, 501 mi (806.281 km)
Scheduled Distance 334 laps, 501 mi (806.281 km)
Average speed 144.276 miles per hour (232.190 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Robert Yates Racing
Time 28.398
Most laps led
Driver Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports
Laps 124
Winner
No. 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network CBS
Announcers Mike Joy, Ned Jarrett, Buddy Baker
Radio in the United States
Radio Performance Racing Network

Background

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

Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The track measures 1.5 miles (2.4 km) around and is banked 24 degrees in the turns. It is of the oval design, where the front straightaway juts outward slightly. The track layout is similar to Atlanta Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway (formerly Lowe's Motor Speedway). The track is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., the same company that owns Atlanta and Charlotte Motor Speedway, as well as the short-track Bristol Motor Speedway.

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
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
14 Randy LaJoie No Fear Racing Ford Federated Auto Parts
16 Kevin Lepage Roush Racing Ford PrimeStar
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, Bryan Foods
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, John Wayne Cancer Institute
41 David Green Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kodiak
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 Remington Arms
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
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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Originally, four practice sessions were scheduled to be held, with two on Friday and two on Saturday. However, due to rain, the second practice session on Saturday was cancelled.[3]

First practice

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The first practice session was held on Friday, March 26, at 11:00 AM CST. The session would last for one hour and 15 minutes.[3] Mark Martin, driving for Roush Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 28.402 and an average speed of 190.127 mph (305.980 km/h).[4]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 28.402 190.127
2 60 Geoff Bodine Joe Bessey Racing Chevrolet 28.418 190.020
3 21 Elliott Sadler Wood Brothers Racing Ford 28.637 188.567
Full first practice results

Second practice

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The second practice session was held on Friday, March 26, at 1:05 PM CST. The session would last for one hour and 20 minutes.[3] Geoff Bodine, driving for Joe Bessey Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 28.402 and an average speed of 190.127 mph (305.980 km/h).[5]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 60 Geoff Bodine Joe Bessey Racing Chevrolet 28.406 190.101
2 1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 28.486 189.567
3 94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 28.523 189.321
Full second practice results

Final practice

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The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, March 27, at 9:00 AM CST. The session would last for one hour. Geoff Bodine, driving for Joe Bessey Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 28.347 and an average speed of 190.496 mph (306.574 km/h).[3]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 60 Geoff Bodine Joe Bessey Racing Chevrolet 28.347 190.496
2 42 Joe Nemechek Team SABCO Chevrolet 28.686 188.245
3 91 Dick Trickle LJ Racing Chevrolet 28.805 187.467
Full final practice results

Qualifying

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Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, March 26, at 3:30 PM CST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. 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, March 27, at 10:45 AM CST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time.[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.[6]

Kenny Irwin Jr., driving for Robert Yates Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 28.398 and an average speed of 190.154 miles per hour (306.023 km/h).[7]

Four drivers would fail to qualify: Dick Trickle, Kyle Petty, Dave Marcis, and Stanton Barrett.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 28 Kenny Irwin Jr. Robert Yates Racing Ford 28.398 190.154
2 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 28.443 189.853
3 1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 28.520 189.341
4 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.553 189.122
5 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 28.573 188.990
6 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 28.578 188.957
7 33 Ken Schrader Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 28.605 188.778
8 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.617 188.699
9 94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 28.634 188.587
10 25 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 28.649 188.488
11 2 Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 28.654 188.455
12 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 28.663 188.396
13 21 Elliott Sadler (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 28.686 188.245
14 14 Randy LaJoie No Fear Racing Ford 28.697 188.173
15 43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Pontiac 28.731 187.950
16 77 Robert Pressley Jasper Motorsports Ford 28.778 187.643
17 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 28.784 187.604
18 98 Rick Mast Burdette Motorsports Ford 28.797 187.520
19 20 Tony Stewart (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 28.802 187.487
20 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 28.829 187.311
21 9 Jerry Nadeau Melling Racing Ford 28.855 187.143
22 36 Ernie Irvan MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 28.857 187.130
23 31 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 28.886 186.942
24 26 Johnny Benson Jr. Roush Racing Ford 28.904 186.825
25 75 Ted Musgrave Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 28.908 186.800
26 60 Geoff Bodine Joe Bessey Racing Chevrolet 28.504 189.447
27 12 Jeremy Mayfield Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 28.741 187.885
28 42 Joe Nemechek Team SABCO Chevrolet 28.741 187.885
29 7 Michael Waltrip Mattei Motorsports Chevrolet 28.831 187.298
30 45 Rich Bickle Tyler Jet Motorsports Pontiac 28.922 186.709
31 00 Buckshot Jones (R) Buckshot Racing Pontiac 28.923 186.703
32 66 Darrell Waltrip Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 28.946 186.554
33 4 Bobby Hamilton Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 28.957 186.483
34 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 28.963 186.445
35 58 Ricky Craven SBIII Motorsports Ford 29.000 186.207
36 30 Derrike Cope Bahari Racing Pontiac 29.033 185.995
Provisionals
37 97 Chad Little Roush Racing Ford -* -*
38 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet -* -*
39 40 Sterling Marlin Team SABCO Chevrolet -* -*
40 16 Kevin Lepage Roush Racing Ford -* -*
41 23 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford -* -*
42 55 Kenny Wallace Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet -* -*
43 41 David Green Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet -* -*
Failed to qualify
44 91 Dick Trickle LJ Racing Chevrolet 29.065 185.790
45 44 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 29.180 185.058
46 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 29.331 184.106
47 90 Stanton Barrett Donlavey Racing Ford 29.099 185.573
Official qualifying results

*Time not available.

Race results

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Fin[8] St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 4 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 334 124 running 185 $376,840
2 12 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 334 39 running 175 $250,100
3 2 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 334 10 running 170 $181,650
4 11 2 Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 334 0 running 160 $151,675
5 27 12 Jeremy Mayfield Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 334 2 running 160 $119,925
6 19 20 Tony Stewart (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 334 0 running 150 $107,315
7 20 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 334 0 running 146 $107,675
8 38 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 334 0 running 142 $97,775
9 39 40 Sterling Marlin Team SABCO Chevrolet 334 0 running 138 $95,150
10 13 21 Elliott Sadler (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 334 2 running 139 $96,490
11 24 26 Johnny Benson Jr. Roush Racing Ford 334 0 running 130 $91,150
12 30 45 Rich Bickle Tyler Jet Motorsports Pontiac 333 0 running 127 $76,300
13 37 97 Chad Little Roush Racing Ford 333 0 running 124 $85,100
14 29 7 Michael Waltrip Mattei Motorsports Chevrolet 333 0 running 121 $83,400
15 1 28 Kenny Irwin Jr. Robert Yates Racing Ford 333 32 running 123 $94,640
16 5 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 333 56 running 120 $90,800
17 7 33 Ken Schrader Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 333 4 running 117 $75,900
18 17 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 333 1 running 114 $74,900
19 34 10 Ricky Rudd Rudd Performance Motorsports Ford 333 0 running 106 $73,400
20 16 77 Robert Pressley Jasper Motorsports Ford 333 0 running 103 $68,065
21 9 94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 333 0 running 100 $66,575
22 36 30 Derrike Cope Bahari Racing Pontiac 331 0 running 97 $58,075
23 10 25 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 331 0 running 94 $63,975
24 21 9 Jerry Nadeau Melling Racing Ford 331 0 running 91 $56,475
25 32 66 Darrell Waltrip Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 330 0 running 88 $51,775
26 43 41 David Green Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 330 0 running 85 $54,075
27 35 58 Ricky Craven SBIII Motorsports Ford 330 1 running 87 $49,775
28 41 23 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 329 0 crash 79 $58,775
29 33 4 Bobby Hamilton Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 324 0 running 76 $62,775
30 18 98 Rick Mast Burdette Motorsports Ford 307 0 running 73 $49,500
31 25 75 Ted Musgrave Butch Mock Motorsports Ford 306 0 running 70 $45,275
32 3 1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 289 0 running 67 $50,975
33 28 42 Joe Nemechek Team SABCO Chevrolet 272 0 running 64 $49,975
34 6 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 253 63 running 66 $58,975
35 31 00 Buckshot Jones (R) Buckshot Racing Pontiac 252 0 vibration 58 $40,975
36 26 60 Geoff Bodine Joe Bessey Racing Chevrolet 244 0 running 55 $41,450
37 22 36 Ernie Irvan MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 241 0 engine 52 $45,950
38 15 43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Pontiac 202 0 handling 49 $44,950
39 42 55 Kenny Wallace Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 174 0 overheating 46 $38,450
40 14 14 Randy LaJoie No Fear Racing Ford 152 0 engine 43 $37,950
41 40 16 Kevin Lepage Roush Racing Ford 132 0 crash 40 $44,850
42 23 31 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 123 0 crash 37 $45,000
43 8 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 68 0 crash 34 $60,000
Failed to qualify
44 91 Dick Trickle LJ Racing Chevrolet
45 44 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac
46 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet
47 90 Stanton Barrett Donlavey Racing Ford
Official race results

References

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  1. ^ Poole, David (March 28, 1999). "T. Labonte earns Texas-sized victory". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  2. ^ Strubin, John (March 29, 1999). "Terry Labonte returns to Texas for victory". The Leaf-Chronicle. The New York Times. p. 19. Retrieved August 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Jayski's Silly Season Site - 1999 Texas Race Info Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on October 30, 2000. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  4. ^ "Friday's first Winston Cup practice speeds". That's Racin'. March 26, 1999. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  5. ^ "Friday's second-session practice speeds". That's Racin'. March 26, 1999. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  6. ^ "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.
  7. ^ Strubin, John (March 27, 1999). "Kenny Irwin tops 190 mph for Texas pole position". That's Racin'. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
  8. ^ "1999 Primestar 500 - The Third Turn". The Third Turn. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
Previous race:
1999 TranSouth Financial 400
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1999 season
Next race:
1999 Food City 500