1999 Dura Lube/Big K 400
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 2 of 34 in the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1999 Dura Lube/Big K 400 program cover. | |||
| Date | February 21, 1999 | ||
| Official name | 34th Annual Dura Lube/Big K 400 | ||
| Location | Rockingham, North Carolina, North Carolina Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.017 mi (1.637 km) | ||
| Distance | 393 laps, 399.681 mi (643.224 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 393 laps, 399.681 mi (643.224 km) | ||
| Average speed | 120.75 miles per hour (194.33 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 48,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Rudd Performance Motorsports | ||
| Time | 23.284 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | |
| Laps | 228 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | TNN | ||
| Announcers | Eli Gold, Buddy Baker, Dick Berggren | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The 1999 Dura Lube/Big K 400 was the second stock car race of the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 34th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 21, 1999, in Rockingham, North Carolina, at North Carolina Speedway, a 1.017 miles (1.637 km) permanent high-banked racetrack. The race took the scheduled 393 laps to complete. In the closing laps of the race, Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would manage to pull away with nine to go to win his 30th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the podium, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Bobby Labonte would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
[edit]
North Carolina Speedway was opened as a flat, one-mile oval on October 31, 1965. In 1969, the track was extensively reconfigured to a high-banked, D-shaped oval just over one mile in length. In 1997, North Carolina Motor Speedway merged with Penske Motorsports, and was renamed North Carolina Speedway. Shortly thereafter, the infield was reconfigured, and competition on the infield road course, mostly by the SCCA, was discontinued. Currently, the track is home to the Fast Track High Performance Driving School.[3]
Entry list
[edit]- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Practice
[edit]First practice
[edit]The first practice session was held on Friday, February 19, at 10:00 AM EST. The session would last for one hour and 15 minutes.[4] Jeremy Mayfield, driving for Penske-Kranefuss Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.409 and an average speed of 156.401 mph (251.703 km/h).[5]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Jeremy Mayfield | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 23.409 | 156.401 |
| 2 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 23.458 | 156.074 |
| 3 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 23.544 | 155.504 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second practice
[edit]The second practice session was held on Friday, February 19, at 12:00 PM EST. The session would last for 45 minutes.[4] Jeremy Mayfield, driving for Penske-Kranefuss Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.325 and an average speed of 156.964 mph (252.609 km/h).[6]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Jeremy Mayfield | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 23.325 | 156.964 |
| 2 | 31 | Mike Skinner | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 23.339 | 156.870 |
| 3 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.358 | 156.742 |
| Full second practice results | ||||||
Third practice
[edit]The third practice session was held on Saturday, February 20, at 9:00 AM EST. The session would last for 45 minutes.[7] Mark Martin, driving for Roush Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.185 and an average speed of 157.912 mph (254.135 km/h).[8]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 23.185 | 157.912 |
| 2 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 23.316 | 157.025 |
| 3 | 10 | Ricky Rudd | Rudd Performance Motorsports | Ford | 23.318 | 157.011 |
| Full third practice results | ||||||
Final practice
[edit]The third and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, February 20, after the preliminary 1999 Alltel 200. The session would last for an hour.[7] Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 24.251 and an average speed of 150.971 mph (242.964 km/h).[9]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 24.251 | 150.971 |
| 2 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 24.333 | 150.462 |
| 3 | 4 | Bobby Hamilton | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 24.348 | 150.369 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
[edit]Qualifying was originally meant to be split into two rounds and ran on Friday, February 19; however, due to rain, qualifying was instead condensed into one round and postponed to Saturday.[7]
Qualifying was held on Saturday, February 20, at 10:45 AM EST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap.[4][7] 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.[10]
Ricky Rudd, driving for Rudd Performance Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 23.284 and an average speed of 157.241 miles per hour (253.055 km/h).[11]
Four drivers would fail to qualify: Derrike Cope, Buckshot Jones, Billy Standridge, and Rich Bickle.
Full qualifying results
[edit]*Time not available.
Race results
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Poole, David (February 21, 1999). "Martin's victory stalls talk of another big year for Gordon". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
- ^ Harris, Mike (February 22, 1999). "Car puts Martin past his worries". Portland Press Herald. p. 25. Retrieved August 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Fast Track High Performance Driving School, Inc". Fasttrackracing.com. Retrieved July 16, 2012.
- ^ a b c "Jayski's Silly Season Site - 1999 Rockingham 1 Race Info Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on August 23, 2000. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
- ^ "Friday morning Winston Cup practice speeds". That's Racin'. February 19, 1999. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
- ^ "Friday's second Winston Cup practice speeds". That's Racin'. February 19, 1999. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Poole, David (February 19, 1999). "Qualifying postponed until Saturday". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
- ^ "Saturday morning Winston Cup practice speeds". That's Racin'. February 20, 1999. Archived from the original on June 6, 2000. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
- ^ "Happy Hour practice speeds". That's Racin'. February 20, 1999. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Poole, David (February 20, 1999). "Rudd wins pole for Dura-Lube 400". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
- ^ "1999 Dura Lube/Big K 400 - The Third Turn". The Third Turn. Retrieved August 9, 2022.