| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 31 of 34 in the1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 1999 Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 program cover. | |||
| Date | October 24, 1999 | ||
| Official name | 35th Annual Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 | ||
| Location | Rockingham, North Carolina,North Carolina Speedway | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 1.017 miles (1.636 km) | ||
| Distance | 393 laps, 399.681 mi (643.224 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 393 laps, 399.681 mi (643.224 km) | ||
| Average speed | 131.103 miles per hour (210.990 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 50,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Roush Racing | ||
| Time | 23.263 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | |
| Laps | 160 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | TNN | ||
| Announcers | Eli Gold,Buddy Baker,Dick Berggren | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
The1999 Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 was the 31ststock car race of the1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 35th iteration of theevent. The race was held on Sunday, October 24, 1999, before an audience of 50,000 inRockingham, North Carolina, atNorth Carolina Speedway, a 1.017 miles (1.637 km) permanent high-banked racetrack. The race took the scheduled 393 laps to complete. In the final laps of the race,Roush Racing driverJeff Burton would manage to pull away from the field with 68 to go to win his 11th careerNASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his sixth and final victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the podium,Bill Davis Racing driverWard Burton andJoe Gibbs Racing driverBobby Labonte would finish second and third, respectively.
North Carolina Speedway was opened as a flat, one-mileoval on October 31, 1965. In 1969, the track was extensively reconfigured to a high-banked, D-shaped oval just over one mile in length. In 1997, North Carolina Motor Speedway merged withPenske Motorsports, and was renamed North Carolina Speedway. Shortly thereafter, the infield was reconfigured, and competition on the infield road course, mostly by the SCCA, was discontinued. Currently, the track is home to the Fast Track High Performance Driving School.[3]
The first practice session was held on Friday, October 22, at 10:00 AMEST. The session would last for one hour and 15 minutes.[4]Dale Jarrett, driving forRobert Yates Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.346 and an average speed of 156.823 mph (252.382 km/h).[5]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 23.346 | 156.823 |
| 2 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 23.494 | 155.836 |
| 3 | 12 | Jeremy Mayfield | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 23.501 | 155.789 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
The second practice session was held on Friday, October 22, at 12:00 PMEST. The session would last for 30 minutes.[4]Jeff Gordon, driving forHendrick Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.272 and an average speed of 157.322 mph (253.185 km/h).[6]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 23.272 | 157.322 |
| 2 | 20 | Tony Stewart(R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 23.366 | 156.689 |
| 3 | 12 | Jeremy Mayfield | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 23.416 | 156.355 |
| Full second practice results | ||||||
The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, October 23, after the preliminary1999 Kmart 200. The session would last for one hour.[4]Ward Burton, driving forBill Davis Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 24.018 and an average speed of 152.436 mph (245.322 km/h).[7]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 24.018 | 152.436 |
| 2 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 24.058 | 152.182 |
| 3 | 12 | Jeremy Mayfield | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 24.083 | 152.024 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, October 22, at 2:00 PMEST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 25 drivers in the round would be guaranteed a starting spot in the race. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run, held on Saturday, October 23, at 9:30 AMEST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time.[4] Positions 26-36 would be decided on time, while positions 37-43 would be based on provisionals. Six spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The seventh is awarded to a past champion who has not otherwise qualified for the race. If no past champion needs the provisional, the next team in the owner points will be awarded a provisional.[8]
Mark Martin, driving forRoush Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 23.263 and an average speed of 157.383 miles per hour (253.283 km/h).[9]
Four drivers would fail to qualify:Dave Marcis,Rich Bickle,Hut Stricklin, andEd Berrier.
| Previous race: 1999 Winston 500 | NASCAR Winston Cup Series 1999 season | Next race: 1999 Checker Auto Parts/Dura Lube 500k |