NASCAR WCUP: Nemechek fastest at Talladega, creeping closer to 200 mph
16 October 1999
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
TALLADEGA, AL: Joe Nemechek won the NASCAR Winston Cup Bud Pole for the Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway with a lap of 48.283 seconds, 198.331 mph. This is Nemecheks fifth career NASCAR Winston Cup Bud Pole. It is his third Bud Pole and ninth top-10 qualifying effort of the 1999 season. It is his second top-10 qualifying effort and first Bud Pole in 11 races at Talladega.
Nemecheks speed was the fourth fastest Bud Pole speed at a restrictor-plate track since restrictor-plate racing began in 1988 and the quickest since Elliott posted a speed of 199.388 mph at Talladega in the spring of 1990.
Ricky Rudd had the second fastest time with a qualifying lap of 48.299 seconds, 198.265 mph.This is his eighth top-10 qualifying effort this season. He tied his best qualifying effort in 46 races at Talladega.
Kenny Wallace (third) has posted his ninth top-10 qualifying effort in 1999.
Ken Schrader (fourth) posted his 13th top-10 qualifying effort in 1999. Schrader has scored four straight starts of fourth or better, including two Bud Poles, at Talladega.
Tony Stewart (fifth) posted his 16th top-10 qualifying effort in 1999.
Jeff Gordon (14th), the defending Winston Cup champion, is the only driver that has qualified in the first round for every race in 1999. Gordon has won the previous two races under the supervision of new crew cheif, Brian Whitesell.
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