The 1999 Goody's Headache Powder 500 was a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...

racing event that took place August 28, 1999, at

Bristol Motor Speedway Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Bristol is among the m ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. The race was the 23rd of the

1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series The 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 51st season of professional Stock car racing in the United States, the 28th modern-era Cup series, and the last Cup season of the 1990s and the 20th century. The season began on Sunday, February 7, and ...

season. The

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...

was held by

Joe Gibbs Racing Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization owned and operated by former Washington Redskins (today the Washington Commanders) coach Joe Gibbs, which first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991. His s ...

Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is a ...

, who also led the most laps with 225. The race winner was

Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr. (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably dri ...

Richard Childress Racing Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard ...

, who started 26th, the lowest starting position for a winner at Bristol.

Race report

The early part of the race was primarily dominated by

Terry Labonte Terrance Lee Labonte (born November 16, 1956), nicknamed Texas Terry or The Iceman, is an American former stock car driver who raced from 1978 to 2014 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup and Sprint Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series). A two ...

ran into

three times in the last half lap, then blew his entry into turn one. That allowed Dale to close and tap him. Labonte was so out of shape he could not hold on, then he stood on the gas and wrecked everybody behind him. On lap 410, the caution flew after

Dave Marcis David Alan Marcis (born March 1, 1941) is an American former professional stock car racing driver on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit whose career spanned five decades. Marcis won five times over this tenure, twice at Richmond, including his final ...

' car stopped against the turn-2 wall. Upon the caution flag-waving, Marcis proceeded to drive away, and as Marcis was frequently aided by

, suspicions arose over whether or not Marcis intentionally caused a caution. NASCAR then penalized Marcis, and made him stay in pit road for a lap; NASCAR stated that Marcis claimed he could not reach pit road, and had to stop. However, NASCAR said Marcis had a chance to reach pit road on the two laps he was driving slowly before stopping. On the restart,

led the race, and on lap 435, Earnhardt passed Labonte for the lead. However, Labonte then passed Earnhardt with 57 laps left, but on lap 490, Labonte slowed down and was spun by

Darrell Waltrip Darrell Lee Waltrip (born February 5, 1947) is an American motorsports analyst, author, former national television broadcaster, and stock car driver. He raced from 1972 to 2000 in the NASCAR Cup Series (known as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series dur ...

, giving the lead back to Earnhardt. Labonte then pitted for new tires, and eventually, with five laps remaining, Labonte contested Earnhardt for the lead, setting up the finish. Terry Labonte was leading on the last lap, but he was spun by Earnhardt in turn 2, and Earnhardt secured his ninth victory at Bristol. Jimmy Spencer finished second, followed by

Ricky Rudd Richard Lee Rudd (born September 12, 1956), nicknamed "The Rooster", is an American former racing driver. He is the uncle of actor Skeet Ulrich and former NASCAR Busch Series driver Jason Rudd. He retired in 2007 with 23 career wins. He was named ...

Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...

, and Stewart. Labonte finished in 8th, and one lap down. Earnhardt's victory was subsequently met by boos and obscene gestures from the crowd. NASCAR officials reviewed the pass but decided to let Earnhardt keep the victory. Earnhardt later stated, "I didn’t mean to wreck him, I just wanted to rattle his cage a bit." A similar incident between Earnhardt and Labonte had occurred four years prior, at the Goody's 500; Earnhardt turned Labonte sideways, and Labonte was pushed by Earnhardt past the finish line sideways, giving Labonte the win.

Top 10 finishers

Standings after the race

''Source:''

References

{{authority control Goody's Headache Powder 500 Goody's Headache Powder 500 NASCAR races at Bristol Motor Speedway