NASCAR WCUP: Tony Stewart grabs Bristol Pole Position
28 August 1999
Bud Pole Winner: Tony StewartGoodys Headache Powder 500
Bristol Motor Speedway
* Tony Stewart won the NASCAR Winston Cup Bud Pole Award for the Goodys Headache Powder 500, lapping the .533-mile Bristol Motor Speedway in 15.401 seconds, at 124.589 mph. Rusty Wallace holds the track-qualifying record of 15.333 seconds, at 125.142 mph, set April 11, 1999.
* This is Stewarts second career NASCAR Winston Cup Bud Pole, and it came in his 23rd start. His other Bud Pole occurred at Martinsville in April, 15 races ago.
* This is Stewarts 11th top-10 qualifying effort of 1999. He qualified fourth in his first race at Bristol.
* Stewart became the fourth repeat Bud Pole winner in 1999. Jeff Gordon (seven), Bobby Labonte (four) and Rusty Wallace (two) are the other multiple Bud Pole winners this season.
* Stewart became the fourth different Bud Pole winner in the last 10 races at Bristol. Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace (four each) are the multiple Bud Pole winner in the 10-race period.
* Rusty Wallace had the second-quickest time with a qualifying lap of 15.408 seconds, at 124.533 mph and will join Stewart on the front row for the Goodys Headache Powder 500. This is his 13th top-10 qualifying effort in 1999 and his 21st top-10 start in 32 races at Bristol.
* This is the seventh Bud Pole for Pontiac in 1999. Chevrolet has 11 Bud Poles this season while Ford has four. Note: Qualifying was rained out at California.
* The NASCAR Winston Cup Leader Bonus is worth $30,000 to the winner of the Goodys Headache Powder 500 should he also be the points leader after the race.
* Kenny Wallace (third) posted his sixth top-10 qualifying effort in 1999. He started sixth here in April.
* Jeff Gordon (fourth) scored his 17th top-10 qualifying effort in 1999 and remains the only driver to successfully qualify in the first round for every race this season. He has qualified eighth or better in 10 consecutive races at Bristol.
* Ward Burton (fifth) posted his sixth top-10 qualifying effort this season. He used a provisional to make the race here this past spring, starting 38th.
* Todd Bodine (20th) qualified for his first NASCAR Winston Cup race this season. Replacing Derrike Cope, he qualified car No. 30 in the first round for the first time since Las Vegas, 20 races ago. The Bryan Foods Pontiac had failed to qualify 11 times this season.
* The Bud Pole has been the most productive starting position at Bristol yielding 18 race winners, 23 percent of the NASCAR Winston Cup winners at Bristol.
* The furthest back a winner has started at Bristol is 24th by Dale Earnhardt in the 1994 food City 500.
* There have been nine different race winners in the last nine NASCAR Winston Cup short-track races.
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