Only Yesterday: The 1999 Goody’s 500 Was So Much More Than A Rattled Cage

For those who followed NASCAR at the time, most can remember where they were on Aug. 28, 1999. Now, the date itself may not ring any bells, but what happened that Saturday night has echoed through the decades since. Two sentences were spoken, sentences that few people (if any) actually believed, but sentences no one ever forgot.

“I didn’t mean to turn him around. Meant to rattle his cage though.”

If you watch any NASCAR coverage from a race weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, the odds of seeing at least one replay of the incident, interview or both must be astronomically high. The footage and phrase have seen as much reuse as perhaps any racing-related event in history.

I remember it all well, as I listened to the live broadcast on MRN radio. Looking back, I would have loved to have covered NASCAR as a reporter that night. But not to stick a tape recorder in front of Dale Earnhardt while he uttered some of the other most famous words in motorsports. It’s because that race was so much more than what took place on the last lap.

First, there were the things going on during the lead up to the race. In 1999, Dale Jarrett had taken a page out of Jeff Gordon’s playbook, suffocating the competition with almost flawless consistency. Jarrett hadn’t finished worse than eighth since the fourth race of the year at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March. He piled up four wins during the 19-race streak of top 10s and seemed to be cruising toward a championship.

The previous weekend at Michigan International Speedway had been a difficult one for the sport. Ernie Irvan had decided to participate in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event that week, with catastrophic consequences. Irvan crashed during practice, suffering a bruised lung and mild head injury. The fact that it was five years to the day after his near fatal accident at the same track was troubling to say the least. Irvan was sidelined for Bristol and beyond, surrendering his seat to Jerry Nadeau.

The race began with rookie Tony Stewart on the pole for the second time that season. Stewart hadn’t won yet, but it was apparent to everyone that he would win soon. If not for running out of gas on the final lap six weeks earlier at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Stewart would have claimed his maiden victory there. 

Rusty Wallace, who won that year’s spring event at Bristol, snuck past Stewart’s Pontiac for the lead at the start of the August race, but Tony regained it on lap 27. He seized control of the race, leading the next 225 laps. It appeared that it was the rookie’s night to become the first freshman winner in 12 years, but Stewart lost the lead during caution flag pit stops. He didn’t regain it and went on to finish fifth.

Meanwhile, Jarrett was having a much less productive evening. Starting 25th meant being in the middle of the pack when the cars were close together during the early stages. At Bristol, this could spell disaster for a driver trying to avoid trouble, a prophecy that came to fruition when he spun, triggering a multi-car crash on lap 77. Jarrett sustained some damage but was able to continue on.

The storylines of points leader Jarrett and substitute driver Nadeau became intertwined on lap 99 when Nadeau’s nose got into the rear bumper of Jarrett’s Ford, sending it spinning around and slapping against the inside wall. This sent Jarrett behind the wall to replace the rear end housing.

NASCAR felt Nadeau was a bit too aggressive in making contact with the damaged Robert Yates Racing Ford. Nadeau was held in the pits for a two-lap penalty for rough driving. While Jarrett had a big enough lead in points to remain atop the standings for good, the 38th-place finish ended his run of good fortune.

For Terry Labonte, the most notable victim of the evening, things were going well. He held the lead off and on throughout the second half, leading a total of 154 laps when Jeremy Mayfield spun on lap 490. Race leader Labonte slowed as the caution was displayed and was hit from behind by the lapped car of Darrell Waltrip. The No. 5 Chevrolet spun for the first time that night, though it would be followed by a second, far more infamous one.

Andy Graves, Labonte’s crew chief, recognized that there were only eight cars on the lead lap, and with fewer than 10 laps remaining, there would be no lapped cars lined up next to the leaders on the restart. He brought Labonte to pit road for new tires, banking that Terry would be able to overcome at least some of the cars in front of him when the green came back out.

On the restart, Labonte stormed up through the field. The new tires were a much bigger advantage than anticipated, as he passed car after car. Then he moved to the inside of the black No. 3 car, and just after clearing Earnhardt for the lead in turn 2, their bumpers met and unleashed one of the greatest highlights NASCAR has ever produced. Bob Jenkins even said on the air that “they’ll be talking about this one for a long time.” He was certainly right about that.

While many of the lead-lap cars were piling into Labonte as he sat sideways on the backstretch, Jimmy Spencer slipped through and chased Earnhardt down. He got to the Goodwrench car but wasn’t able to get by before the checkered flag. Still, the runner-up finish was his best performance in more than a year. 

Unfortunately, like many of the great stories that night, it was overshadowed by the cage rattle heard ‘round the world.