The 1999 VisionAire 500K was a scheduled Indy Racing League event to be run in May 1, 1999 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, USA.

Singer Katherine Parrott performed the national anthem, and actor Cliff Robertson commanded the drivers to start their engines.

Just as the green flag was waved to start the race after the pace laps, Robby Unser lost control of his car leaving the fourth turn but avoided sustaining damage.

[2] During the caution, Hamilton made a pit stop to allow his team to repair the left-hand side of his vehicle, but was later pushed into the garage and into retirement.

John Paul Jr. made contact with debris from Wattles' car, sending the latter's right rear wheel and tire assembly into the grandstands.

The IRL added tethers to the wheels of their cars in an effort to prevent them from detaching, while Lowe's Motor Speedway raised the height of the track's catchfence from 15 to 21 feet.

Two weeks after the incident, a controversy boiled at the 1999 Indianapolis 500 after Sports Illustrated published an article by Ed Hinton, entitled "Fatal Attractions: More fan deaths put the focus on the need for safety innovations" in its May 10 issue.

[10][11] The photo drew the ire of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway president Tony George, and they pulled Hinton's credentials for the 1999 Indy 500.

After a few days, the credentials were restored, when it was determined that Hinton was unaware of the photo published along with his article, and when free speech/censorship issues were raised.

Later in the year, a short series of bombings took place in Lowe's stores in North Carolina, injuring three, and prompting some to think there may be a link with a relative of one of the victims.

When George Rocha was arrested for the bombings, he claimed that he was angry about the crash at the speedway, but he later confessed that it was retribution for being caught shoplifting and an attempt at extortion.