The 2000 DirecTV 500 was the seventh stock car race of the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the fourth iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 2, 2000, before an audience of 223,000 in Fort Worth, Texas at Texas Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent tri-oval shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 334 laps to complete. At race's end, Dale Earnhardt, Inc.'s Dale Earnhardt Jr. managed to dominate the final stages of the race, leading the final 53 laps of the race to take his first career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Roush Racing's Jeff Burton and Joe Gibbs Racing's Bobby Labonte finished second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 7 of 34 in the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 2000 DirecTV 500 program cover, featuring Terry Labonte, Mark Martin, and Jeff Burton. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass. | |||
| Date | April 2, 2000 | ||
| Official name | Fourth Annual DirecTV 500 | ||
| Location | Fort Worth, Texas, Texas Motor Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.41 km) | ||
| Distance | 334 laps, 501 mi (806.281 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 334 laps, 501 mi (806.281 km) | ||
| Average speed | 131.152 miles per hour (211.069 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 223,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | 28.105 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | |
| Laps | 106 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | CBS | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Ned Jarrett, Buddy Baker | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Performance Racing Network | ||
Background
edit
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The track measures 1.5 miles (2.4 km) around and is banked 24 degrees in the turns, and is of the oval design, where the front straightaway juts outward slightly. The track layout is similar to Atlanta Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway (formerly Lowe's Motor Speedway). The track is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., the same company that owns Atlanta and Charlotte Motor Speedway, as well as the short-track Bristol Motor Speedway.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Practice
editOriginally, four practice sessions were scheduled to be held, with two sessions on Friday and two sessions on Saturday. However, due to rain, the scheduled final session was cancelled.[3]
First practice
editThe first practice session was held on Friday, March 31, at 12:00 PM EST. The session lasted for one hour and 15 minutes. Dale Earnhardt, Inc.'s Steve Park set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 28.278 and an average speed of 190.961 mph (307.322 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Steve Park | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 28.278 | 190.961 |
| 2 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 28.282 | 190.934 |
| 3 | 33 | Joe Nemechek | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 28.306 | 190.772 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second practice
editThe second practice session was held on Friday, March 31, at 2:05 PM EST. The session lasted for 55 minutes. Hendrick Motorsports' Terry Labonte set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 28.148 and an average speed of 191.843 mph (308.741 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.148 | 191.843 |
| 2 | 32 | Scott Pruett (R) | PPI Motorsports | Ford | 28.155 | 191.795 |
| 3 | 33 | Joe Nemechek | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 28.251 | 191.144 |
| Full second practice results | ||||||
Final practice
editThe final practice session was held on Saturday, April 1, at 10:00 AM EST. The session lasted for one hour. Wood Brothers Racing' Elliott Sadler set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 28.426 and an average speed of 189.967 mph (305.722 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Elliott Sadler | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 28.426 | 189.967 |
| 2 | 91 | Todd Bodine | LJ Racing | Chevrolet | 28.609 | 188.752 |
| 3 | 77 | Robert Pressley | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 28.704 | 188.127 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying was scheduled split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, March 17, at 4:30 PM EST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap. During the first round, the top 25 drivers in the round would be guaranteed a starting spot in the race. Originally, a second round qualifying session was scheduled to be held on Saturday, March 18.[3] However, due to rain, the round was cancelled, leaving all positions to be determined using the times from the first round.[4] Positions 26–36 was decided on time, while positions 37–43 was based on provisionals. Six spots were awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The seventh was 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 was awarded a provisional.[5]
Terry Labonte, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, won the pole, setting a time of 28.105 and an average speed of 192.137 miles per hour (309.215 km/h) in the first round.[6]
Five drivers failed to qualify.
Full qualifying results
editRace results
editTelevision
editThe DirecTV 500 was covered by CBS in the United States for the fourth straight year and it was their final DirecTV 500 race as coverage would switch to Fox in 2001. Mike Joy, two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Ned Jarrett and nineteen time NASCAR Cup Series race winner Buddy Baker called the race from the broadcast booth. Dick Berggren, Ralph Sheheen and Bill Stephens handled pit road for the television side. Ken Squier would serve as host.
| CBS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Host | Booth announcers | Pit reporters | |
| Lap-by-lap | Color-commentators | ||
| Ken Squier | Mike Joy | Ned Jarrett Buddy Baker |
Dick Berggren Ralph Sheheen Bill Stephens |
Standings after the race
edit
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References
edit- ^ Poole, David (April 2, 2000). "Dale Jr. says it all on victory lap". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
- ^ Strubin, John (April 3, 1999). "Big V For Little E". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. pp. 1D, 9D. Retrieved August 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e "Jayski's Silly Season Site – Texas Race Info Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
- ^ Hawkins, Stephen (April 1, 2000). "Rain ends qualifying hopes of five drivers". ThatsRacin. The Charlotte Observer. Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
- ^ "Jayski's Silly Season Site – 2000 Provisional Start Status". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on November 23, 2005. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ^ Poole, David (March 31, 2000). "T. Labonte has familiar seat for Sunday". ThatsRacin. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved August 10, 2023.