1999 Cracker Barrel 500
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| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 4 of 34 in the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1999 Cracker Barrel 500 program cover. | |||
| Date | March 14, 1999 | ||
| Official name | 40th Annual Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500 | ||
| Location | Hampton, Georgia, Atlanta Motor Speedway | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 2.48 km (1.54 miles) | ||
| Distance | 325 laps, 500.5 mi (805.476 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 325 laps, 500.5 mi (805.476 km) | ||
| Average speed | 143.284 miles per hour (230.593 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 28.437 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 109 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ABC | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Performance Racing Network | ||
The 1999 Cracker Barrel 500 was the fourth stock car race of the 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the 40th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 14, 1999, in Hampton, Georgia at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a 1.54 miles (2.48 km) permanent asphalt quad-oval intermediate speedway. The race took the scheduled 325 laps to complete. In the closing laps of the race, Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would manage to pull a sizable lead over the rest of the field to win his 44th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second of the season.[1][2] To fill out the podium, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Bobby Labonte and Roush Racing driver Mark Martin would finish second and third, respectively.
Entry list
Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly Atlanta International Raceway) is a 1.54-mile race track in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car races since its inauguration in 1960.
The venue was bought by Speedway Motorsports in 1990. In 1994, 46 condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two intermediate ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval, with a new official length of 1.54-mile (2.48 km) where before it was 1.522-mile (2.449 km). The project made the track one of the fastest on the NASCAR circuit.
- (R) - denotes rookie driver
Practice
First practice
The first practice session was held on Friday, March 12, at 10:00 AM EST. The session would last for two hours and 25 minutes.[3] Jeremy Mayfield, driving for Penske-Kranefuss Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 28.603 and an average speed of 193.825 mph (311.931 km/h).[4]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Jeremy Mayfield | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 28.603 | 193.825 |
| 2 | 31 | Mike Skinner | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.663 | 193.420 |
| 3 | 60 | Geoff Bodine | Joe Bessey Racing | Chevrolet | 28.691 | 193.231 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second practice
The second practice session was held on Friday, March 12, at 12:00 PM EST. The session would last for 55 minutes.[3] Joe Nemechek, driving for Team SABCO, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 28.474 and an average speed of 194.703 mph (313.344 km/h).[5]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42 | Joe Nemechek | Team SABCO | Chevrolet | 28.474 | 194.703 |
| 2 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 28.504 | 194.499 |
| 3 | 60 | Geoff Bodine | Joe Bessey Racing | Chevrolet | 28.534 | 194.294 |
| Full second practice results | ||||||
Third practice
The third practice session was held on Saturday, March 13, at 9:30 AM EST. The session would last for 45 minutes. Derrike Cope, driving for Bahari Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.118 and an average speed of 190.397 mph (306.414 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 | Derrike Cope | Bahari Racing | Pontiac | 29.118 | 190.397 |
| 2 | 45 | Rich Bickle | Tyler Jet Motorsports | Pontiac | 29.222 | 189.720 |
| 3 | 55 | Kenny Wallace | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 29.289 | 189.286 |
| Full third practice results | ||||||
Final practice
The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, March 13, after the preliminary 1999 Yellow Freight 300. The session would last for one hour.[3] Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.359 and an average speed of 188.834 mph (303.899 km/h).[6]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.359 | 188.834 |
| 2 | 31 | Mike Skinner | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 29.432 | 188.366 |
| 3 | 20 | Tony Stewart (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 29.462 | 188.174 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||