The 2000 Food City 500 was the sixth stock car race of the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 40th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 26, 2000, before an audience of 147,000 in Bristol, Tennessee, at Bristol Motor Raceway, a 0.533 miles (0.858 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. At race's end, Penske-Kranefuss Racing's Rusty Wallace managed to avoid wrecks and kept his car clean in the late stages of the race to take his 50th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series and his first victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Tyler Jet Motorsports's Johnny Benson Jr. and Bill Davis Racing's Ward Burton finished second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 6 of 34 in the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 2000 Food City 500 program cover. Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass. | |||
| Date | March 26, 2000 | ||
| Official name | 40th Annual Food City 500 | ||
| Location | Bristol, Tennessee, Bristol Motor Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.533 mi (0.858 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.89 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.89 km) | ||
| Average speed | 88.018 miles per hour (141.651 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 147,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | ||
| Time | 15.184 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 225 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Performance Racing Network | ||
Background
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The Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, two pit roads, and stadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Practice
editFirst practice
editThe first practice session was held on Friday, March 24, at 11:00 AM EST. The session would last for one hour and 15 minutes. Dale Earnhardt, Inc.'s Steve Park set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 15.310 and an average speed of 125.330 mph (201.699 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Steve Park | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 15.310 | 125.330 |
| 2 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 15.319 | 125.256 |
| 3 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 15.328 | 125.183 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second practice
editThe second practice session was held on Friday, March 24, at 1:15 PM EST. The session would last for 30 minutes. Dale Earnhardt, Inc.'s Steve Park set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 15.243 and an average speed of 125.881 mph (202.586 km/h).[3]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Steve Park | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 15.243 | 125.881 |
| 2 | 4 | Bobby Hamilton | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 15.282 | 125.559 |
| 3 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 15.284 | 125.543 |
| Full second practice results | ||||||
Final practice
editThe final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, March 25, after the 2000 Cheez-It 250. The session would last for one hour. Wood Brothers Racing's Elliott Sadler set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 15.786 and an average speed of 121.551 mph (195.617 km/h).[4]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Elliott Sadler | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 15.786 | 121.551 |
| 2 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 15.850 | 121.060 |
| 3 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 15.853 | 121.037 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, March 24, at 3:00 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. 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, March 25, at 11:30 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap.[3] Positions 26–36 would be decided on time, while positions 37–43 would be 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]
Steve Park, driving for Dale Earnhardt, Inc., managed to win the pole, setting a time of 15.184 and an average speed of 126.370 miles per hour (203.373 km/h) in the first round.[6]
Four drivers failed to qualify.
Full qualifying results
editRace results
editStandings after the race
edit
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References
edit- ^ Poole, David (March 26, 2000). "Wallace hits his Bristol bulls-eye". ThatsRacin. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on December 13, 2000. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
- ^ Gregory, Allan (March 27, 2000). "A family feud, Darlington-style". Bristol Herald Courier. pp. 1B, 2B. Retrieved August 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Jayski's Silly Season Site – Bristol 1 Race Info Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on May 10, 2000. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
- ^ "Jayski's Silly Season Site – Darlington 1 Race Info Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on April 23, 2001. Retrieved July 30, 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 24, 2000). "Park leads parade of record-breakers". ThatsRacin. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on May 1, 2001. Retrieved August 8, 2023.