| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 34 in the1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 1999 Daytona 500 logo | |||
| Date | February 14, 1999 (1999-02-14) | ||
| Location | Daytona International Speedway Daytona Beach, Florida,US | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4.02336 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 64.9 °F (18.3 °C); wind speeds approaching 15.9 miles per hour (25.6 km/h)[1] | ||
| Average speed | 161.551 miles per hour (259.991 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Qualifying race winners | |||
| Duel 1 Winner | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Duel 2 Winner | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing | |
| Laps | 104 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | CBS | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy,Buddy Baker, andNed Jarrett | ||
| Nielsen ratings | 9.6/25 (12.9 million viewers) | ||
The1999 Daytona 500, the 41st running of theevent, was held February 14, 1999, atDaytona International Speedway.Jeff Gordon won the pole and won the race, making him the first Daytona 500 pole sitter to win the race sinceBill Elliott in1987. Including the No Bull 5 Bonus, Gordon earned a then-record payout of $2,172,246 for winning, while the last place finisher earned $91,751.
The start of the 1999 season was marked by three owners (Andy Petree,Travis Carter, andJoe Gibbs) expanding to 2 full-time teams for the first time in their careers. Their drivers wereKenny Wallace (Petree),Darrell Waltrip (Carter), and rookieTony Stewart (JGR). Several new teams debuted, includingJoe Bessey's new #60 and the #58 Ford owned byScott Barbour. Speedweeks would also be marked by controversy involvingJunie Donlavey's #90 Ford. Rookie driverMike Harmon was dismissed from his team just before the Gatorade 125 qualifying races after reports surfaced that Harmon's sponsor, Big Daddy's Barbecue Sauce, was not living up to its contract obligations, as well as the team wanting a veteran driver to find more speed on the track; Donlavey's team wound up signing Mike Wallace, who'd driven for the team in the 1994-96 period.[2]
Jeff Gordon won the pole for the race with a speed of just over 195 mph, and would start alongside formerIndy Racing League championTony Stewart, who was making his Winston Cup debut. A total of 59 drivers would make an attempt to qualify for the 1999 Daytona 500.Bobby Labonte would win the first Gatorade 125 qualifying race after taking the lead from Gordon on lap 39. A lap 1 incident, the only caution of the First Duel, endedDan Pardus andJeff Green's chances at making the Daytona 500.Dale Earnhardt won the 2nd Gatorade duel after taking the lead from Stewart on lap 8. The second duel was marred by two caution periods that endedDick Trickle,Glen Morgan, andDavid Green's chances at qualifying for the race. This would be Earnhardt's final win at Daytona.
Drivers qualified for the Daytona 500 either by finishing in the top 16 in their qualifying race, through a 2-lap qualifying run, or a provisional starting spot based on owner points from the 1999 season. They had three chances to make a 2-lap time trial run that would be fast enough to make the Daytona 500.
This race was known forJeff Gordon's daring three-wide pass onRusty Wallace andMike Skinner. He passed Wallace after ducking to the apron, nearly plowing into the damaged car ofRicky Rudd. Skinner jumped to the outside and they raced three-wide for three laps untilDale Earnhardt (the defending Daytona 500 winner) gave Gordon the needed push. The race was also known for a determined Earnhardt repeatedly trying to pass Gordon for the lead on the final lap, only for Gordon to beat him to the finish. The race had a13-car pileup on lap 135, in which eventual series championDale Jarrett flipped over twice but he was uninjured. This was also the firstWinston No Bull 5 race of the season.
The Daytona 500 was covered byCBS in the United States for the twenty first straight year.Mike Joy, two-timeNASCAR Cup Series championNed Jarrett and1980 race winnerBuddy Baker called the race from the broadcast booth.Dick Berggren,Ralph Sheheen andBill Stephens handled pit road for the television side.Ken Squier would serve as co-host alongsideGreg 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 |