Dover International Speedway is an oval race track in Dover, Delaware, United States that has held at least two NASCAR races since it opened in 1969. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC and the NTT IndyCar Series. The track features one layout, a 1-mile (1.6 km) concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is owned and operated by Dover Motorsports.
The track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc., with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years later in 2001, the track's capacity moved to 135,000 seats, making the track have the largest capacity of sports venue in the mid-Atlantic. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track. After the 2014 season, the track's capacity was reduced to 95,500 seats.
The first practice session was held on Friday, June 4, at 11:00 AM EST. The session would last for one hour.[3]Kenny Wallace, driving for Andy Petree Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 22.678 and an average speed of 158.744 mph (255.474 km/h).[4]
The second practice session was held on Friday, June 4, at 1:20 PM EST. The session would last for 40 minutes.[3]Mark Martin, driving for Roush Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 22.677 and an average speed of 158.751 mph (255.485 km/h).[5]
The third practice session was held on Saturday, June 5, at 9:30 AM EST. The session would last for one hour and 15 minutes. Dick Trickle, driving for LJ Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.100 and an average speed of 155.844 mph (250.807 km/h).[3]
The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, June 5, after the preliminary 1999 MBNA Platinum 200. The session would last for one hour.[3]Jeremy Mayfield, driving for Penske-Kranefuss Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.293 and an average speed of 154.552 mph (248.727 km/h).[6]
During the session, Ernie Irvan would crash on the frontstretch, forcing Irvan to go to a backup car and to start at the rear for the race.[7]
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, June 4, at 3:30 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. During the first round, the top 25 drivers in the round would be guaranteed a starting spot in the race. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run, held on Saturday, June 5, at 11:30 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time.[3] Positions 26-36 would be decided on time, while positions 37-43 would be based on provisionals. Six spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The seventh is awarded to a past champion who has not otherwise qualified for the race. If no past champion needs the provisional, the next team in the owner points will be awarded a provisional.[8]
Bobby Labonte, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 22.596 and an average speed of 159.320 miles per hour (256.401 km/h).[9]
