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Goody’s Headache Powder 500
By Maryann Toomey
August 23, 2007
August 29th, 1999 was not just another Saturday night,
it was "The Saturday Night Race" that all race fans would look forward to! It
was Bristol!
(The concrete half-mile oval in Thunder Valley still hosts two NASCAR races each season. There is nothing as special as seeing, hearing, and feeling those 43 cars battling on the track for 500 laps. This is the race ticket that is the hardest to come by.)
Back in 1999, there were 150,00 fans that swarmed into Bristol that night. What a show were they going to see!
That year “silly season” was in full swing. Todd Bodine was driving in the Bahari-Eel River racing Pontiac as Derrike Cope had parted company with the team. Jerry Nadeau was subbing for the injured Ernie Irvan aboard the M&M Pontiac. Steve Grissom was driving the Melling Ford; a ride left empty by Nadeau. Richard Petty had just extended John Andretti’s contract for 3 more years. Jeremy Mayfield had just signed a 2 year extension with Penske-Kranefuss, Jimmy Spencer and Travis Carter came to terms to have Spencer stay with them for the 2000 season. There were drivers
and team owners that were trying to get ready for the 2000 season.
But there was one driver, our "rookie sensation" who was going about his own business. Tony Stewart had led during the spring race for JGR. When Stewart rolled out for his qualifying position, he posted a 15.401 second. Rusty Wallace was the only driver that had come close to Stewart, but he lost out by .007 seconds. Our top ten starting lineup for the race that night was the following: T. Stewart, R. Wallace, K. Wallace, J.Gordon, W.Burton, M.Skinner, M.Martin,
J.Nadeau, T. Labonte and Sterling Marlin.
As the green flag dropped, Rusty forged ahead of Tony Stewart, but
by lap 27, Stewart was on the point and was hammering the field until lap 251. Dale Jarrett had a lot of problems that night. This gave the other drivers some breathing room. There was a caution on lap 300 which brought Dale Earnhardt and Terry Labonte to the front of the field.
The next 190 laps saw the veterans battling at the point, and from where I sat, it looked like Terry Labonte was headed for his second win of the season. But with 10 laps to go, Jeremy Mayfield and Wally Dallenbach tangled and brought out
another caution flag. Terry was tagged and spun by Darrel Waltrip. Terry was forced back on pit road and took on fresh tires and returned to the line up in 5th place. The first 4 cars were on old tires when the green flag dropped with 4 laps to go. Everyone was on their feet expecting Earnhardt to win. Labonte made
a charge to the front and by lap 496 he had made short work of Martin, Gordon, and Stewart. By lap 499, he was back to the front, passing race leader Earnhardt on the front stretch. The pair bumped as Terry drove by. But Earnhardt caught him and as they exited turn two and Earnhardt spun Labonte. Earnhardt went on to
the checker flag, as the cars piled up behind him. Jimmy Spencer avoided the accident and came in second. Rudd finished third after colliding with Labonte. Jeff Gordon came in fourth and Tony Stewart came in fifth.
This Earnhardt victory was his ninth at Bristol in 41 starts, the 73rd win of his career and his second win of this season. Now when you mention
this race to race fans you may stir up a lot of controversy, but to me I will
never forget sitting in my living room and watching this race. So let's just
say that the sparks will be flying this Saturday night and oh by the way, “ Does anyone have an extra ticket?”
Goody’s Headache Powder 500
By Maryann Toomey
August 23, 2007
August 29th, 1999 was not just another Saturday night,
it was "The Saturday Night Race" that all race fans would look forward to! It
was Bristol!
(The concrete half-mile oval in Thunder Valley still hosts two NASCAR races each season. There is nothing as special as seeing, hearing, and feeling those 43 cars battling on the track for 500 laps. This is the race ticket that is the hardest to come by.)
Back in 1999, there were 150,00 fans that swarmed into Bristol that night. What a show were they going to see!
That year “silly season” was in full swing. Todd Bodine was driving in the Bahari-Eel River racing Pontiac as Derrike Cope had parted company with the team. Jerry Nadeau was subbing for the injured Ernie Irvan aboard the M&M Pontiac. Steve Grissom was driving the Melling Ford; a ride left empty by Nadeau. Richard Petty had just extended John Andretti’s contract for 3 more years. Jeremy Mayfield had just signed a 2 year extension with Penske-Kranefuss, Jimmy Spencer and Travis Carter came to terms to have Spencer stay with them for the 2000 season. There were drivers
and team owners that were trying to get ready for the 2000 season.
But there was one driver, our "rookie sensation" who was going about his own business. Tony Stewart had led during the spring race for JGR. When Stewart rolled out for his qualifying position, he posted a 15.401 second. Rusty Wallace was the only driver that had come close to Stewart, but he lost out by .007 seconds. Our top ten starting lineup for the race that night was the following: T. Stewart, R. Wallace, K. Wallace, J.Gordon, W.Burton, M.Skinner, M.Martin,
J.Nadeau, T. Labonte and Sterling Marlin.
As the green flag dropped, Rusty forged ahead of Tony Stewart, but
by lap 27, Stewart was on the point and was hammering the field until lap 251. Dale Jarrett had a lot of problems that night. This gave the other drivers some breathing room. There was a caution on lap 300 which brought Dale Earnhardt and Terry Labonte to the front of the field.
The next 190 laps saw the veterans battling at the point, and from where I sat, it looked like Terry Labonte was headed for his second win of the season. But with 10 laps to go, Jeremy Mayfield and Wally Dallenbach tangled and brought out
another caution flag. Terry was tagged and spun by Darrel Waltrip. Terry was forced back on pit road and took on fresh tires and returned to the line up in 5th place. The first 4 cars were on old tires when the green flag dropped with 4 laps to go. Everyone was on their feet expecting Earnhardt to win. Labonte made
a charge to the front and by lap 496 he had made short work of Martin, Gordon, and Stewart. By lap 499, he was back to the front, passing race leader Earnhardt on the front stretch. The pair bumped as Terry drove by. But Earnhardt caught him and as they exited turn two and Earnhardt spun Labonte. Earnhardt went on to
the checker flag, as the cars piled up behind him. Jimmy Spencer avoided the accident and came in second. Rudd finished third after colliding with Labonte. Jeff Gordon came in fourth and Tony Stewart came in fifth.
This Earnhardt victory was his ninth at Bristol in 41 starts, the 73rd win of his career and his second win of this season. Now when you mention
this race to race fans you may stir up a lot of controversy, but to me I will
never forget sitting in my living room and watching this race. So let's just
say that the sparks will be flying this Saturday night and oh by the way, “ Does anyone have an extra ticket?”
Former articles include:
Chad Knaus, Brendan Gaughan, JJ Yeley, Sam Schmidt, Brandon Knupp, Jamie McMurray, Carl Edwards, Bobby Labonte, Matt Crafton, Dennis Setzer, Ted Musgrave, Dion Ciccarelli, Kasey Kahne, Auggie Vidovich, Burney Lamar, Sara Maloney, Jessica Helberg, and much more!
