1999 NASCAR Cup Series Head-to-Head Playoff Results
By Zane Miller First round (8) #2 Rusty Wallace v. (1) #88 Dale Jarrett (7) #3 Dale Earnhardt v. (2) #6 Mark Martin (6) #24 Jeff Gordon v. (3) #18 Bobby Labonte (5) #99 Jeff Burton v. (4) #20 Tony Stewart In another major shift of the Cup Series schedule, New Hampshire would be the site of the playoff opener. As veteran driver Joe Nemechek captured his first career win, rookie sensation Tony Stewart took the runner-up spot to grab an early advantage over competitor Jeff Burton in fourth. Meanwhile, despite leading 49 laps, the #1-seeded Dale Jarrett struggled to an 18th-place finish as Rusty Wallace took sixth, followed by another upset as Mark Martin could only manage a 17th-place run with Dale Earnhardt finishing ahead in 13th. The battle between past champions Jeff Gordon and Bobby Labonte would be another tight one, with Labonte coming out on top in third while Gordon trailed in fifth. At Dover, Martin would conquer the Monster Mile for the third time in his Cup Series career, winning after leading 161 laps as Earnhardt finished a lap down in eighth. Stewart claimed another runner-up finish to eliminate Burton, in spite of the latter’s strong sixth-place finish, while Gordon’s shot at back-to-back championships was thwarted after a disappointing 17th-place run while Labonte rounded out the top-five. However, Jarrett kept his exceptional 1999 season going with a third-place finish after leading nearly 100 laps, whereas Wallace finished several laps down in 32nd. Moving onto Martinsville, both active series would end in upsets. Martin struggled at his namesake track, going three laps down on the way to a 16th-place result while Earnhardt reached back into his championship form from years past and pulled out a second-place run to face Stewart in the semifinals. Over on the counterpart series’ side, Wallace, a notoriously talented short track racer, took advantage with a fourth-place finish despite a solid comeback effort from Jarrett in 10th. Just like that, the #1 and #2-seeded drivers were eliminated, leaving the championship trophy wide open. Semifinal (8) #2 Rusty Wallace v. (3) #18 Bobby Labonte (7) #3 Dale Earnhardt v. (4) #20 Tony Stewart In the first race of the semifinals at the newly-renamed Lowe’s Motor Speedway (now Charlotte Motor Speedway), Labonte was determined to avenge his defeat in the 1998 finals, starting off with a runner-up finish to Wallace’s eighth-place run. Although both Earnhardt and Stewart finished outside the top-10, The Intimidator still got the best of the Rushville Rocket early on, thanks to a 12th-place finish to the newcomer’s 19th. As the series headed south for the round’s middle race at Talladega, Earnhardt would show once again why he was the best in the business on superspeedways, taking the race win after passing Jarrett for the lead with five laps to go. Despite an inspired effort from Stewart, he was eliminated after taking the checkers in sixth. Stewart’s teammate fared better against Wallace, as despite finishing behind Stewart in seventh, that would be just enough for Labonte to advance to the finals for the third year in a row as Wallace ended the day in 11th. Final (7) #3 Dale Earnhardt v. (3) #18 Bobby Labonte Kicking off the 1999 finals at Phoenix, Labonte got took full advantage of his top-10 starting spot, holding position at the front of the field throughout the afternoon and eventually grabbing the third spot, while Earnhardt came home as the last car on the lead lap in 11th. Earnhardt would again have his work cut out for him at the newly-reconfigured Homestead-Miami Speedway, starting 23rd on the grid while Labonte’s crew again came in clutch with another fast #18 ride. Earnhardt quickly began slicing his way through the field, though Labonte was already a step ahead by leading most of the event’s first half. When all was said and done, Earnhardt finished eighth, while Labonte scored the runner-up spot to claim his second career Cup Series title. Bobby Labonte’s stats for 1999 included five victories, 23 top-fives and 26 top-10s, taking second in points to real-life champion Dale Jarrett. 1999 Cup Series standings in real life: https://scorum.com/en-us/nascar/@zmiller82/1999-nascar-cup-series-season-recap Happy New Year!
1999 NASCAR Cup Series Head-to-Head Playoff Results
By Zane Miller First round (8) #2 Rusty Wallace v. (1) #88 Dale Jarrett (7) #3 Dale Earnhardt v. (2) #6 Mark Martin (6) #24 Jeff Gordon v. (3) #18 Bobby Labonte (5) #99 Jeff Burton v. (4) #20 Tony Stewart In another major shift of the Cup Series schedule, New Hampshire would be the site of the playoff opener. As veteran driver Joe Nemechek captured his first career win, rookie sensation Tony Stewart took the runner-up spot to grab an early advantage over competitor Jeff Burton in fourth. Meanwhile, despite leading 49 laps, the #1-seeded Dale Jarrett struggled to an 18th-place finish as Rusty Wallace took sixth, followed by another upset as Mark Martin could only manage a 17th-place run with Dale Earnhardt finishing ahead in 13th. The battle between past champions Jeff Gordon and Bobby Labonte would be another tight one, with Labonte coming out on top in third while Gordon trailed in fifth. At Dover, Martin would conquer the Monster Mile for the third time in his Cup Series career, winning after leading 161 laps as Earnhardt finished a lap down in eighth. Stewart claimed another runner-up finish to eliminate Burton, in spite of the latter’s strong sixth-place finish, while Gordon’s shot at back-to-back championships was thwarted after a disappointing 17th-place run while Labonte rounded out the top-five. However, Jarrett kept his exceptional 1999 season going with a third-place finish after leading nearly 100 laps, whereas Wallace finished several laps down in 32nd. Moving onto Martinsville, both active series would end in upsets. Martin struggled at his namesake track, going three laps down on the way to a 16th-place result while Earnhardt reached back into his championship form from years past and pulled out a second-place run to face Stewart in the semifinals. Over on the counterpart series’ side, Wallace, a notoriously talented short track racer, took advantage with a fourth-place finish despite a solid comeback effort from Jarrett in 10th. Just like that, the #1 and #2-seeded drivers were eliminated, leaving the championship trophy wide open. Semifinal (8) #2 Rusty Wallace v. (3) #18 Bobby Labonte (7) #3 Dale Earnhardt v. (4) #20 Tony Stewart In the first race of the semifinals at the newly-renamed Lowe’s Motor Speedway (now Charlotte Motor Speedway), Labonte was determined to avenge his defeat in the 1998 finals, starting off with a runner-up finish to Wallace’s eighth-place run. Although both Earnhardt and Stewart finished outside the top-10, The Intimidator still got the best of the Rushville Rocket early on, thanks to a 12th-place finish to the newcomer’s 19th. As the series headed south for the round’s middle race at Talladega, Earnhardt would show once again why he was the best in the business on superspeedways, taking the race win after passing Jarrett for the lead with five laps to go. Despite an inspired effort from Stewart, he was eliminated after taking the checkers in sixth. Stewart’s teammate fared better against Wallace, as despite finishing behind Stewart in seventh, that would be just enough for Labonte to advance to the finals for the third year in a row as Wallace ended the day in 11th. Final (7) #3 Dale Earnhardt v. (3) #18 Bobby Labonte Kicking off the 1999 finals at Phoenix, Labonte got took full advantage of his top-10 starting spot, holding position at the front of the field throughout the afternoon and eventually grabbing the third spot, while Earnhardt came home as the last car on the lead lap in 11th. Earnhardt would again have his work cut out for him at the newly-reconfigured Homestead-Miami Speedway, starting 23rd on the grid while Labonte’s crew again came in clutch with another fast #18 ride. Earnhardt quickly began slicing his way through the field, though Labonte was already a step ahead by leading most of the event’s first half. When all was said and done, Earnhardt finished eighth, while Labonte scored the runner-up spot to claim his second career Cup Series title. Bobby Labonte’s stats for 1999 included five victories, 23 top-fives and 26 top-10s, taking second in points to real-life champion Dale Jarrett. 1999 Cup Series standings in real life: https://scorum.com/en-us/nascar/@zmiller82/1999-nascar-cup-series-season-recap Happy New Year!
1999 NASCAR Cup Series Head-to-Head Playoff Results
By Zane Miller First round (8) #2 Rusty Wallace v. (1) #88 Dale Jarrett (7) #3 Dale Earnhardt v. (2) #6 Mark Martin (6) #24 Jeff Gordon v. (3) #18 Bobby Labonte (5) #99 Jeff Burton v. (4) #20 Tony Stewart In another major shift of the Cup Series schedule, New Hampshire would be the site of the playoff opener. As veteran driver Joe Nemechek captured his first career win, rookie sensation Tony Stewart took the runner-up spot to grab an early advantage over competitor Jeff Burton in fourth. Meanwhile, despite leading 49 laps, the #1-seeded Dale Jarrett struggled to an 18th-place finish as Rusty Wallace took sixth, followed by another upset as Mark Martin could only manage a 17th-place run with Dale Earnhardt finishing ahead in 13th. The battle between past champions Jeff Gordon and Bobby Labonte would be another tight one, with Labonte coming out on top in third while Gordon trailed in fifth. At Dover, Martin would conquer the Monster Mile for the third time in his Cup Series career, winning after leading 161 laps as Earnhardt finished a lap down in eighth. Stewart claimed another runner-up finish to eliminate Burton, in spite of the latter’s strong sixth-place finish, while Gordon’s shot at back-to-back championships was thwarted after a disappointing 17th-place run while Labonte rounded out the top-five. However, Jarrett kept his exceptional 1999 season going with a third-place finish after leading nearly 100 laps, whereas Wallace finished several laps down in 32nd. Moving onto Martinsville, both active series would end in upsets. Martin struggled at his namesake track, going three laps down on the way to a 16th-place result while Earnhardt reached back into his championship form from years past and pulled out a second-place run to face Stewart in the semifinals. Over on the counterpart series’ side, Wallace, a notoriously talented short track racer, took advantage with a fourth-place finish despite a solid comeback effort from Jarrett in 10th. Just like that, the #1 and #2-seeded drivers were eliminated, leaving the championship trophy wide open. Semifinal (8) #2 Rusty Wallace v. (3) #18 Bobby Labonte (7) #3 Dale Earnhardt v. (4) #20 Tony Stewart In the first race of the semifinals at the newly-renamed Lowe’s Motor Speedway (now Charlotte Motor Speedway), Labonte was determined to avenge his defeat in the 1998 finals, starting off with a runner-up finish to Wallace’s eighth-place run. Although both Earnhardt and Stewart finished outside the top-10, The Intimidator still got the best of the Rushville Rocket early on, thanks to a 12th-place finish to the newcomer’s 19th. As the series headed south for the round’s middle race at Talladega, Earnhardt would show once again why he was the best in the business on superspeedways, taking the race win after passing Jarrett for the lead with five laps to go. Despite an inspired effort from Stewart, he was eliminated after taking the checkers in sixth. Stewart’s teammate fared better against Wallace, as despite finishing behind Stewart in seventh, that would be just enough for Labonte to advance to the finals for the third year in a row as Wallace ended the day in 11th. Final (7) #3 Dale Earnhardt v. (3) #18 Bobby Labonte Kicking off the 1999 finals at Phoenix, Labonte got took full advantage of his top-10 starting spot, holding position at the front of the field throughout the afternoon and eventually grabbing the third spot, while Earnhardt came home as the last car on the lead lap in 11th. Earnhardt would again have his work cut out for him at the newly-reconfigured Homestead-Miami Speedway, starting 23rd on the grid while Labonte’s crew again came in clutch with another fast #18 ride. Earnhardt quickly began slicing his way through the field, though Labonte was already a step ahead by leading most of the event’s first half. When all was said and done, Earnhardt finished eighth, while Labonte scored the runner-up spot to claim his second career Cup Series title. Bobby Labonte’s stats for 1999 included five victories, 23 top-fives and 26 top-10s, taking second in points to real-life champion Dale Jarrett. 1999 Cup Series standings in real life: https://scorum.com/en-us/nascar/@zmiller82/1999-nascar-cup-series-season-recap Happy New Year!