Top Row Seat - Bristol
Dateline: 04/12/99It was a familiar story in Bristol this weekend as Rusty Wallace dominated the Food City 500. However, there was one marked difference in this year's race. Rusty Wallace actually won the race.
For the last two years Rusty Wallace has sat on the pole for the Food City 500 and dominated the race. But in each of the last two years Rusty found a way to lose. Two years ago Jeff Gordon helped Rusty lose by shoving him out of the way just a few yards from the finish line. Last year Rusty dropped a cylinder, fell back and then, true to his luck, Rusty ran over some debris which sent him hard into the wall, ending his day and his points lead.
This year Rusty again took the pole, setting a new track record along the way. Rusty them dominated all day leading over 400 laps of the 500 lap race while neatly avoiding the wrecks that took out many of the top contenders including Bobby Labonte, Jeff Gordon and the surprisingly fast rookie Tony Stewart.
When it came down to the finish it was Mark Martin who had the fastest car. Mark tried every trick he knew to find a way around Rusty, but the short-track master kept his cool as he kept Mark behind him and cruised to his first win of the 1999 season.
Have something to say about this week's race? Think Mark should have done what Jeff did a couple years ago and wrecked Rusty to win? Let the world know what you think on the bulletin boards. Or you can swing by the chat room Wednesday night from 8-9pm EST to talk about this week's event and to try your luck at NASCAR Trivia.
