The 1999 Pepsi 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on July 3, 1999, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. This race would make the halfway point of the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season.
| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 17 of 34 in the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season | |||
 Track map of Daytona International Speedway showing mainly the speedway. | |||
| Date | July 3, 1999 | ||
| Official name | Pepsi 400 | ||
| Location | Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida | ||
| Course | 2.500 mi (4.023 km) | ||
| Distance | 160 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km) | ||
| Weather | Very hot with temperatures of 86 °F (30 °C); wind speeds of 11.1 miles per hour (17.9 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 169.213 miles per hour (272.322 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 130,000[2] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Team SABCO | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Rusty Wallace | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | |
| Laps | 75 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 88 | Dale Jarrett | Yates Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | CBS | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Ned Jarrett, Buddy Baker | ||
Race report
editIt took nearly two hours and twenty-two minutes for Dale Jarrett to defeat Dale Earnhardt under the race's final caution flag in front of a live audience of 130,000.[2] Joe Nemechek would earn the pole position in this race driving at speeds up to 194.86 miles per hour or 313.60 kilometres per hour.[2] Ricky Craven would become the last-place finisher in this 160-lap race due to a steering issue on lap 34.[2] Mark Martin would be forced into a backup car while five drivers would fail to qualify for this race.[2] Only Michael Waltrip, Buckshot Jones, Steve Park, and Craven would fail to finish the race.[2] The average speed of the race was 169.213 miles per hour or 272.322 kilometres per hour with three cautions handed out by NASCAR authorities for nine brief laps.[2] Rain would briefly occur for four laps before disappearing for the remainder of the race.[2]
Loy Allen, Jr. would retire from NASCAR after this race.[3] The total prize purse for this race was estimated at more than two million dollars.[4] Winnings for this race varied from more than $160,000 for the winner and less than $36,000 for the last-place finisher.[5]
Drivers who failed to qualify for this race are Derrike Cope, Hut Stricklin, Ken Bouchard, Robert Pressley and Stanton Barrett. Jeff Burton, Terry Labonte, Kyle Petty, Kevin Lepage, Rick Mast, Ted Musgrave and Steve Park had to use a provisional in order to qualify for the race.[6]
Despite Rusty Wallace's average career finish of 18th place at Daytona International Speedway, Wallace would never clinch a win during his entire NASCAR Cup Series career.[7] His best finish at Daytona would be second place at the 2002 Pepsi 400.
Stanton Barrett ran first round qualifying but withdrew before the second.
Top 10 finishers
edit| Pos[2] | Grid | No. | Driver | Manufacturer | Laps | Laps led | Points | Time/Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Ford | 160 | 40 | 180 | 2:21:50 |
| 2 | 10 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Chevrolet | 160 | 18 | 175 | Lead lap under caution |
| 3 | 37 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Ford | 160 | 0 | 165 | Lead lap under caution |
| 4 | 8 | 31 | Mike Skinner | Chevrolet | 160 | 7 | 165 | Lead lap under caution |
| 5 | 9 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Pontiac | 160 | 3 | 160 | Lead lap under caution |
| 6 | 6 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Pontiac | 160 | 0 | 160 | Lead lap under caution |
| 7 | 25 | 22 | Ward Burton | Pontiac | 160 | 0 | 146 | Lead lap under caution |
| 8 | 18 | 4 | Bobby Hamilton | Chevrolet | 160 | 0 | 142 | Lead lap under caution |
| 9 | 32 | 36 | Ernie Irvan | Pontiac | 160 | 0 | 138 | Lead lap under caution |
| 10 | 38 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Chevrolet | 160 | 0 | 134 | Lead lap under caution |
Timeline
editSection reference: [2]
- Start of race: Joe Nemechek has the pole position.
- Lap 34: Ricky Craven's vehicle had some problem with its steering, making him the last-place finisher.
- Lap 78: Steve Park had engine problems, forcing him out of the race.
- Lap 86: Rain began, thus delaying the race.
- Lap 89: Rain ended, allowing the cars to go back to full speed.
- Lap 110: Buckshot Jones's radiator developed problems on the track.
- Lap 113: The rear end of Michael Waltrip's vehicle became unusable, forcing him to leave the race prematurely.
- Lap 148: Caution for debris, ended after two laps.
- Lap 159: Caution for a two-vehicle accident on turn four, ended after a single lap.
- Finish: Dale Jarrett was officially declared the winner of the event.
Media
editTelevision
editThe Pepsi 400 was covered by CBS in the United States for the first time. Mike Joy, two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Ned Jarrett and 1983 race winner Buddy Baker called the race from the broadcast booth. Dick Berggren, Ralph Sheheen and Bill Stephens handled pit road for the television side. Ken Squier would serve as co-host alongside Greg Gumbel.
| CBS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Host | Booth announcers | Pit reporters | |
| Lap-by-lap | Color-commentators | ||
| Greg Gumbel Ken Squier |
Mike Joy | Ned Jarrett Buddy Baker |
Dick Berggren Ralph Sheheen Bill Stephens |
Standings after the race
edit| Pos | Driver | Points[2] | Differential |
|---|---|---|---|
1 
|
Dale Jarrett | 2674 | 0 |
| 2
|
Bobby Labonte | 2497 | -177 |
| 3
|
Mark Martin | 2440 | -234 |
| 4
|
Jeff Burton | 2419 | -255 |
| 5
|
Jeff Gordon | 2280 | -394 |
| 6
|
Tony Stewart | 2261 | -413 |
| 7
|
Dale Earnhardt | 2182 | -492 |
8 
|
Rusty Wallace | 2053 | -621 |
| 9
|
Ward Burton | 2023 | -651 |
10 
|
Jeremy Mayfield | 2018 | -656 |
References
edit- ^ "Weather of the 1999 Pepsi 400". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Archived from the original on 2024-05-26. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 1999 Pepsi 400 racing information at Racing Reference
- ^ 1999 Pepsi 400 results at Race-Database
- ^ NASCAR Race Results for the 1999 Pepsi 400 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet
- ^ NASCAR Race Results for the 1999 Pepsi 400 Archived 2015-09-21 at the Wayback Machine at Driver Averages
- ^ 1999 Pepsi 400 qualifying information at Racing Reference
- ^ Rusty Wallace Results by Track at Driver Averages