Bristol NASCAR Statement

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 30, 1999) The following statement has been issued by Mike Helton, NASCAR's Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President, regarding the finish of Saturday night's Goody's Headache Powder 500 at the Bristol Motor Speedway. The conclusion of the race was marked by a collision in the second turn of the .533-mile concrete oval on the last lap in which race winner Dale Earnhardt's GM Goodwrench Service Plus Chevrolet collided with the rear of leader Terry Labonte's Kellogg's Chevrolet. Labonte spun and collected the cars of Ricky Rudd, Tony Stewart, Mark Martin and Sterling Marlin.

Earnhardt dodged Labonte's spinning car and beat Jimmy Spencer's Team Winston No Bull Ford back to the start/finish line to record his 73rd NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second this season.

Helton said no change would be made to the finishing order and no penalties would be assessed.

"After reviewing the tapes of the last lap at Bristol, NASCAR will let the finish order stand," Helton said. "In this case, our review of the tapes was inconclusive. You need to be 100 percent certain when making a decision as to whether or not you take a race win away from someone for something that happens on the race track."

The sanctioning body was questioned about its reaction to the finish of the race versus a situation earlier in the event in which a two-lap penalty was assessed Jerry Nadeau for spinning Dale Jarrett. Reportedly, Nadeau was warned for several laps by observers that Jarrett's car was proceeding on the bottom of the race track at a slightly reduced rate of speed.

"The incident with Nadeau was conclusive," Helton said.

Source: NASCAR Online