Dura-Lube/Big KMart 400
Posted: Fri February 19, 1999 at 6:00 a.m EST
February 21, 1999
North Carolina Motor Speedway
Rockingham, North Carolina
Race 2 of 34 on Winston Cup circuit
TV: TNN, 12:30 pm EST
Laps: 393
Track length: 1.017 miles
Race length: 400 miles
Banking: 22 degrees Turns 1&2
25 degrees Turns 3&4
Purse: $1.9 million
Qualifying record: Mark Martin, 157.885 mph, Feb 21, 1997
Race record: Jeff Gordon, 128.423 mph, Nov 1, 1998
DRIVERS TO WATCH
Jeff Burton -- Kicked off his third full season on the Winston
Cup circuit with a poor 35th place finish at Daytona; a
handling problem on lap 138 forced him out; in two races
at Rockingham last year he placed 18th (spring) and fifth
(fall); had 18 top-five finishes, including two victories,
in 1998, earning over $2 million; was fifth in the final
standings.
Ricky Craven -- Seems to run well at this track; although last
fall he finished just 37th in the AC Delco 400, he was 10th
in the GM Goodwrench 400 in the first race; also in the
1997 races he was fifth and third, respectively; completed
the Daytona 500, but just in 26th place; was NASCAR rookie
of the year in 1995.
Dale Earnhardt -- Almost captured his second straight Daytona
500, but had to settle for runner-up; challenged hard down
the stretch trying to pass Jeff Gordon up the bank and low,
but was unsuccessfull and was edged by 0.128 seconds;
despite running near the front of the field a good portion
of the race, he never led; did win the second Gatorade 125
qualifying race; last year he followed up his first Daytona
500 win with a modest 17th finish at the Rock; in the
second race later in the season he improved that with
ninth-place result; he has made it to victory lane in this
race twice and at Rockingham, a total of three times in his
career; in 39 starts at Rockingham, he has 12 top fives and
27 top 10s.
Jeff Gordon -- He just does not seem to go wrong when it comes
to racing and picked up where he left off in 1998 by
winning Daytona 500; won the last 1998 race in Atlanta;
started from the pole at Daytona and held off a furious
late rally from Dale Earnhardt; became just the second
driver since Bill Elliott did it in 1987 to win the Daytona
500 from the pole position; in addition to collecting $1
million for the win, he also claimed the Winston "No Bull
5" bonus for another $1 million, making this the biggest
single-race payday in NASCAR history, $2,194,246; took the
lead with an aggressive move on the 190th lap, nearly
running into the back of Ricky Rudd's car; is the two-time
defending Winston Cup champion -- won three of the last
four titles -- and the two-time defending champion of this
race; in the win here last year, he faltered to the back of
the field early, but made up ground getting to the front on
lap 372 where he stayed for the rest of the race; the win
at Daytona was the 43rd of his career.
Dale Jarrett -- Involved in an accident on lap 134, he finished
37th in the Daytona 500; was the runner-up in both
Rockingham races in 1997 and 1996; was seventh in this race
last year and again second to Gordon in the AC Delco 400 in
November; won two races last year to raise his total to 18
in his career; held on to the third position in the Winston
Cup standings for the last 17 races of the season.
Terry Labonte -- He is quite consistent at Rockingham; last
season he finished both races in eighth place, while two
years ago he placed seventh in both events at the track;
has two victories in 40 starts at the Rock; crashed on lap
134, cutting his day short in the Daytona 500; the 1996
Winston Cup champion finished ninth in the points standings
last year; not the best of seasons in 1998, with just five
top-five finishes, including the Pontiac 400 win, the 20th
of his career.
Mark Martin -- Has 14 top 10s in 25 career starts at Rockingham,
including a win in the 1989 fall race; last year he was
third in this race and fourth in the second event; once
again not a good finish at Daytona, just 31st; the previous
year he started the campaign finishing 38th at Daytona; did
win the Bud Shootout race during Speedweeks; a solid season
with seven victories -- second to Gordon -- to whom he also
finished second in four consecutive races during last year;
had 22 top fives and reached 29 career wins; after third-
and second-place finishes in the Winston Cup points
standings, this could turn out to be the year for his first
championship; is one of the best drivers in the series and
excels on all three course configurations; is one of the
most popular drivers among fans and competitors.
Jeremy Mayfield -- After four years on the circuit, he won his
first career race at the Pocono 500 in Pennsylvania last
season; not the best of finishes at the Rock, where he was
14th in this race and 29th in November; in 1997, finished
16th and 15th in the two races, respectively; had good
results last year -- 12 top five and 16 top 10s -- and is
expected to do better this year; finished a respectable
seventh in the points.
Kyle Petty -- Has posted three of his eight career Winston Cup
victories at Rockingham; finished in the top 10 in 12 of 37
starts at the track; Petty is tied with David Pearson and
Cale Yarborough with the most pole positions at Rockingham
with five.
Ricky Rudd -- A runner-up at Rockingham three times before
breaking through with a win in the fall race of 1996; was
10th in the fall race last year; has 12 top fives and 17
top 10s in 42 starts at Rockingham; won the NAPA 500 at
Martinsville Speedway to extend his streak of winning at
least one race every season to 16 years; streak is two shy
of Richard Petty's record, set from 1960-77, and one behind
David Pearson.
Tony Stewart -- Spent three years in the open-wheel Indy Racing
League, winning the 1997 season; driving as a full-time
rookie in the Winston Cup in 1999 for owner Joe Gibbs; he
will compete in the 83rd Indianapolis 500 on May 30; made
an impressive debut by starting second in the Daytona 500,
but finished 28th with no drafting help from the veterans;
look for him to be a good driver in NASCAR.
Rusty Wallace -- Made a strong bid to win his first Daytona 500
in 16 tries, but Jeff Gordon passed him late and he settled
for eight place; led three times for 104 of the 200 laps;
the 1989 Winston Cup champion was runner-up to Gordon here
last season and third in the AC Delco 400 in November, a
race also won by Gordon; is the active leader in wins at
the Rock with five, but his last win came in 1994; he and
Richard Petty are the only two drivers to win three
consecutive races at Rockingham -- Wallace did it by
winning this event in 1993 and 1994 as well as the fall
race in 1993; also won two in a row with a fall win in 1988
and a spring win in 1989; has 15 top 10s in 30 career
starts at Rockingham; one of the most popular drivers in
the series; has won at least one race in 13 consecutive
seasons; his one win in 1998 came in the Dura Lube 500 in
Phoenix; improved five spots from 1997, finishing a very
strong fourth in the final points standings -- the fifth
straight season in the top 10; had 14 other top-five
finishes and earned over $2 million in 1998; considered
the master of short tracks, but has shown ability on all
types of tracks as well.
1998 Top 10 Finishers
1. Jeff Gordon (24), Chevrolet
2. Rusty Wallace (2), Ford
3. Mark Martin (6), Ford
4. Jimmy Spencer (23), Ford
5. Geoff Bodine (7), Ford
6. Bill Elliott (94), Ford
7. Dale Jarrett (88), Ford
8. Terry Labonte (5), Chevrolet
9. Bobby Hamilton (4), Chevrolet
10. Ricky Craven (50), Chevrolet
Average Speed: 117.065 miles per hour
Time of Race: 3 hours, 24 minutes, 51 seconds
Margin of Victory: 1.281 seconds
Cautions: 6 for 50 laps
Lead Changes: 27 among 12 drivers
Past Champions
1998 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 117.065 mph
1997 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 125.927 mph
1996 a-Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 113.959 mph
1995 Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 125.305 mph
1994 Rusty Wallace, Ford, 125.239 mph
1993 Rusty Wallace, Pontiac, 124.486 mph
1992 Bill Elliott, Ford, 126.125 mph
1991 Kyle Petty, Pontiac, 124.083 mph
1990 Kyle Petty, Pontiac, 122.864 mph
1989 Rusty Wallace, Pontiac, 115.122 mph
1988 Neil Bonnett, Chevrolet, 120.159 mph
1987 Dale Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 117.556 mph
1986 Terry Labonte, Oldsmobile, 120.488 mph
1985 Neil Bonnett, Chevrolet, 114.953 mph
1984 Bobby Allison, Buick, 122.931 mph
1983 Richard Petty, Pontiac, 113.055 mph
1982 Cale Yarborough, Buick, 108.992 mph
1981 Darrell Waltrip, Buick, 114.594 mph
1980 Cale Yarborough, Oldsmobile, 108.735 mph
1979 Bobby Allison, Ford, 121.727 mph
1978 David Pearson, Mercury, 116.681 mph
1977 Richard Petty, Plymouth, 97.865 mph
1976 Richard Petty, Plymouth, 113.665 mph
1975 Cale Yarborough, Chevrolet, 117.588 mph
1974 Richard Petty, Dodge, 121.622 mph
1973 David Pearson, Mercury, 118.655 mph
1972 Bobby Issac, Dodge, 113.895 mph
1971 Richard Petty, Plymouth, 118.696 mph
1970 Richard Petty, Plymouth, 116.117 mph
1969 David Pearson, Ford, 102.569 mph
1968 Donnie Allison, Ford, 99.338 mph
1967 Richard Petty, Plymouth, 104.682 mph
1966 Paul Goldsmith, Plymouth, 100.027 mph
a-race length reduced from 500 to 400 miles
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