1999 Primestar 500

File:TexasMotorSpeedway.svg, the venue where the race was held.]]

Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The track measures 1.5 miles (2.4 km) around and is banked 24 degrees in the turns. It is of the oval design, where the front straightaway juts outward slightly. The track layout is similar to Atlanta Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway (formerly Lowe's Motor Speedway). The track is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., the same company that owns Atlanta and Charlotte Motor Speedway, as well as the short-track Bristol Motor Speedway.

• (R) denotes rookie driver.

Originally, four practice sessions were scheduled to be held, with two on Friday and two on Saturday. However, due to rain, the second practice session on Saturday was cancelled.{{Cite web |date= |title=Jayski's Silly Season Site - 1999 Texas Race Info Page |url=http://www.jayski.com/next/nr-texas.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001030063319/http://www.jayski.com/next/nr-texas.htm |archive-date=October 30, 2000 |access-date=August 13, 2022 |website=Jayski's Silly Season Site}}

The first practice session was held on Friday, March 26, at 11:00 AM CST. The session would last for one hour and 15 minutes. Mark Martin, driving for Roush Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 28.402 and an average speed of {{Convert|190.127|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}.{{Cite web |date=March 26, 1999 |title=Friday's first Winston Cup practice speeds |url=http://www.thatsracin.com/99/0328/0327practice.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000817214557/http://www.thatsracin.com/99/0328/0327practice.htm |archive-date=August 17, 2000 |access-date=August 13, 2022 |website=That's Racin'}}

The second practice session was held on Friday, March 26, at 1:05 PM CST. The session would last for one hour and 20 minutes. Geoff Bodine, driving for Joe Bessey Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 28.402 and an average speed of {{Convert|190.127|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}.{{Cite web |date=March 26, 1999 |title=Friday's second-session practice speeds |url=http://www.thatsracin.com/99/0328/0327practice2.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000817214603/http://www.thatsracin.com/99/0328/0327practice2.htm |archive-date=August 17, 2000 |access-date=August 13, 2022 |website=That's Racin'}}

The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, March 27, at 9:00 AM CST. The session would last for one hour. Geoff Bodine, driving for Joe Bessey Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 28.347 and an average speed of {{Convert|190.496|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}.

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, March 26, at 3:30 PM CST. 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, March 27, at 10:45 AM CST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time. 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.{{Cite web |title=Jayski's Silly Season Site - 1999 Provisional Start Status |url=http://jayski.com/prov.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990418054033/http://jayski.com/prov.htm |archive-date=April 18, 1999 |access-date=August 9, 2022 |website=Jayski's Silly Season Site}}

Kenny Irwin Jr., driving for Robert Yates Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 28.398 and an average speed of {{Convert|190.154|mph|km/h}}.{{Cite web |last=Strubin |first=John |date=March 27, 1999 |title=Kenny Irwin tops 190 mph for Texas pole position |url=http://www.thatsracin.com/99/0328/0328fwqual.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000817214703/http://www.thatsracin.com/99/0328/0328fwqual.htm |archive-date=August 17, 2000 |access-date=August 13, 2022 |website=That's Racin' |publisher=Fort Worth Star-Telegram}}

Four drivers would fail to qualify: Dick Trickle, Kyle Petty, Dave Marcis, and Stanton Barrett.

*Time not available.

The DirecTV 500 was covered by CBS in the United States for the fourth straight year and it was their final DirecTV 500 race as coverage would switch to Fox in 2001. Mike Joy, two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Ned Jarrett and nineteen time NASCAR Cup Series race winner Buddy Baker called the race from the broadcast booth. Dick Berggren, Ralph Sheheen and Bill Stephens handled pit road for the television side. Ken Squier would serve as host.

{{Reflist}}{{NASCAR next race|Previous_race=1999 TranSouth Financial 400|Next_race=1999 Food City 500|Monsteryear=1999|Series=NASCAR Winston Cup Series}}

{{NASCAR on CBS}}{{1999 Winston Cup}}

Category:1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series

Category:NASCAR races at Texas Motor Speedway

Category:March 1999 sports events in the United States

Category:1999 in sports in Texas