2000 NAPA 500

Auto race run at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2000 February 2025 CUST Race 34 of 34 in the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season NAPA 500 Weather information for the 2000 NAPA 500 at The Old Farmers' Almanac 2000 11 20 2000 34 34 Atlanta Motor Speedway.svg Atlanta Motor Speedway (1997-present configuration) NAPA 500 Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Georgia Cold with temperatures of 55.4 F C; wind speeds of 18.1 mph km/h 1.54 2.502 328 500.5 813.12 141.296 mph on Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports 28.537 seconds Jerry Nadeau Hendrick Motorsports 155 25 Jerry Nadeau Hendrick Motorsports ESPN Bob Jenkins Benny Parsons Ned Jarrett The 2000 NAPA 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was held on November 20, 2000, at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. It was originally scheduled for November 19 but was postponed because of rain and run on Monday. It was the 34th and final race of the 2000 NASCAR season. Jerry Nadeau, driving the #25 Michael Holigan Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Hendrick Motorsports, won the race. It was his first and only victory in the Winston Cup Series.http://www.racing-reference.info/race/2000_NAPA_500/W 2000 NAPA 500 Racing Reference 1 January 2024 After the race, the Winston Cup was formally awarded to series champion Bobby Labonte, the driver of the #18 Interstate Batteries Pontiac Grand Prix for Joe Gibbs Racing. Labonte had won the Winston Cup championship the previous week by finishing 4th in the Pennzoil 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and he followed that up with a 5th place finish in this race.Notable driver-related events at the 2000 NAPA 500 at Race Database Background Events The event was the final race to be broadcast on ESPN until 2007 and the last one with its broadcast team of Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons, and Ned Jarrett. Jenkins would remain at ESPN in his role as their lead voice for the Indy Racing League, while Parsons joined NBC Sports for their NASCAR broadcasts and TNT Sports for their NASCAR broadcasts as well. Jarrett, meanwhile, retired from broadcasting after over twenty years covering events for ESPN and CBS. It would also be the final race in the career of Darrell Waltrip, who called the 2000 season his "Victory Tour" in the #66 Kmart Ford Taurus for Haas-Carter Motorsports. Wally Dallenbach Jr. also retired from full-time racing after the race, as he had signed to join Parsons as a booth analyst for NBC and TNT. He drove the #75 Pizza Hut /TBS (American TV channel) Ford for Galaxy Motorsports in the race Scott Pruett, who had joined the Cup Series for 2000 driving the #32 Tide Ford Taurus for PPI Motorsports, finished what would be his only full-time season driving in NASCAR; he was released from the team after the season. Team changes After spending the previous seven seasons as an owner-driver, Bill Elliott ran his final race in his #94 McDonald's Ford Taurus. He sold his team to Ray Evernham, who promptly signed Elliott to pilot one of his two Dodge Intrepids for 2001. Michael Waltrip ran his last race in the #7 NationsRent Chevrolet for Ultra Motorsports. He would join Dale Earnhardt, Inc. to drive the #15 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet in 2001. Robby Gordon ran his last race for Team Menard in the #13 Turtle Wax Ford, as the team shut down after the season. Bobby Hamilton ran his last race in the #4 Kodak Chevrolet for Morgan-McClure Motorsports. He would move over to drive the #55 Square D Chevrolet for Andy Petree Racing in 2001 replacing Kenny Wallace, who would take over the #27 Eel River Racing Pontiac from Mike Bliss, whose team failed to qualify for this race. Buckshot Jones ran his last race for his family owned team in the #00 Crown Fiber Pontiac, as he was signed by Petty Enterprises to join the team for 2001. Kevin Lepage attempted to qualify the #16 Familyclick.com Ford for Roush Racing but did not make the field; this would prove to be his final ride in the car and the last full-time race for the #16 until 2003. Team suppliers Bill Davis Racing, which fielded the #22 Caterpillar Pontiac for Ward Burton, the #93 Amoco Ultimate Pontiac for Dave Blaney, and the #23 AT&T Pontiac for Scott Wimmer. Team SABCO, which fielded the #40 Bellsouth Chevrolet for Sterling Marlin and the #01 Coors Light Chevrolet for Bobby Hamilton Jr. This was also the team's last race with Felix Sabates as sole owner. Petty Enterprises, which fielded the #43 Cheerios Pontiac for John Andretti and saw Steve Grissom fail to qualify the #44 Hot Wheels Pontiac. Melling Racing attempted to qualify the #9 Kodiak Ford with Stacy Compton but did not make the field. Team sponsors Mark Martin's #6 Ford was running its final race with Valvoline sponsorship as the team signed on to sponsor Johnny Benson Jr.'s #10 at MB2 Motorsports. The team picked up sponsorship from Pfizer for 2001, with its Viagra brand promoted (this led to Eel River Racing losing its sponsorship). Dale Jarrett ran his last race in the #88 with Ford Credit as his primary sponsor; he would begin running with United Parcel Service as his sponsor the next year and would carry that sponsorship for the remainder of his racing career. John Deere ceased sponsoring the #97 Ford after the race. This left Kurt Busch, who had taken over the ride near the end of the season, sponsorless entering 2001, but he would eventually become identified with his new sponsor Newell Rubbermaid and its Sharpie line of writing implements. In an unexpected final occurrence, Dale Earnhardt recorded the last top five finish of his racing career as he finished second to Nadeau. The reason this was unexpected was because of his death in the Daytona 500 at the beginning of the following season. Race It wasn't uncommon for a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race in the 1990s to have only three to five cars on the lead lap. If someone spun, didn't hit the wall or anyone else, and could fire it up and get going, there would be no reason to wave a caution flag for multiple laps. Between 8-12 cars on the lead lap was considered to be a typical performance at a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race during the 1990s; compared to the more than 15 cars on the lead lap at short track in the current NASCAR. Approximately 14% of the race was run under a caution flag; the average green flag run was 31 laps. Several accidents and oil spills caused eight caution periods for 44 laps. Three hundred and twenty-five laps were completed in 3 hours, 32 minutes and 32 seconds. Jerry Nadeau beat Dale Earnhardt to the finish line by 1.338 seconds to win the race (his first and only victory in Winston Cup competition). ESPN's Bob Jenkins, calling his last Winston Cup event for ESPN, called the finish thus: Back in March of '81, Darrell Waltrip took the checkered flag to win the very first race we televised on ESPN...and in November of 2000...Jerry Nadeau wins the final race on ESPN! As the competitors of the race completed lap 320, Dale Earnhardt finally achieved the feat of completing 10000 laps in a single NASCAR Winston Cup Series season before his death at the 2001 Daytona 500. The race was officially started shortly after 1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time and finished at approximately 4:32 PM EST.Benson, Ince seek revenge in Atlanta https://web.archive.org/web/20141112095621/http://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/benson-ince-seek-revenge-in-atlanta/ 2014-11-12 at Motorsport.com 300px|left|thumb|Atlanta Motor Speedway, the race track where the race was held. Geoff Bodine finished last due to an engine problem on lap 11. Buckshot Jones was the lowest finisher to complete the event, finishing in 37th place, 48 laps behind the lead lap drivers. Jeremy Mayfield had a winning racecar that was forced to leave the race on lap 53 due to engine problems; this performance was typical of his 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Darrell Waltrip finishes 34th in his final Cup start and 7 laps behind Jerry Nadeau; even though it was certainly not the "victory tour" that he had planned. For the 2001 season, Waltrip would begin working as a color commentator for Fox Sports' coverage of Winston Cup racing. Waltrip's retirement also ended a rocky relationship between himself and Travis Carter Motorsports that lasted since the 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. According to certain fans, the final years of Waltrip's NASCAR career had involved him allowing Jeff Gordon to take a leading role. Jeff Gordon was in his early career at the time. Darrell Waltrip's career with Fox Sports commenced with the Budweiser Shootout on February 11, 2001. The following week, Waltrip provided commentary for the Daytona 500 race in which the death of Dale Earnhardt occurred on that race's final lap.. 43 drivers, all born in the United States of America qualified for the NAPA 500, driving either Chevrolet, Ford or Pontiac cars. 13 other drivers failed to qualify, including Dick Trickle, Hut Stricklin, Morgan Shepherd and Hermie Sadler. Individual race earnings for each driver ranged from $180,550 to Jerry Nadeau ($ when adjusted for inflation) to $34,982 to last-place finisher Geoff Bodine ($ when adjusted for inflation). The total purse for the event was $2,336,442 ($ when adjusted for inflation).Winnings information for the 2000 NAPA 500 at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet Notable crew chiefs who actively participated in this race included Robin Pemberton, Jimmy Fenning, Tony Eury, Sr., Greg Zipadelli, Donnie Wingo, Larry McReynolds, Hut Stricklin, Jeff Hammond among others.2000 NAPA 500 crew chiefs at Racing Reference This was the last NASCAR race of the 20th century and of the 2nd millennium. While the price of gasoline and oil would remain cheap throughout the first five years of the 21st century, the constant threat of fossil fuel depletion eventually caused NASCAR to adopt electronic fuel injection as a fuel-saving measure. Concern for the environment also caught the eye of NASCAR officials during the 21st century; they would make an attempt to reduce the carbon footprint that NASCAR elevated during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.NASCAR sets fuel injection for '12 but keeping restrictor plates at USA TodayNASCAR Moves to Fuel Injection, Bosch First Approved Supplier https://web.archive.org/web/20140201224457/http://www.autoserviceworld.com/news/nascar-moves-to-fuel-injection-bosch-first-approved-supplier/1000522267/ 2014-02-01 at Auto Service WorldBosch to provide oxygen sensors for fuel injection https://web.archive.org/web/20111225011421/http://www.nascar.com/news/111020/bosch-sensors-fuel-injection/index.html 2011-12-25 at NASCAR.com The 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season featured 14 different race winners. The season also saw the emergence of several notable younger drivers, including Matt Kenseth, Steve Park and Dale Earnhardt Jr.2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Results at Racing Reference At least five of the drivers involved in this race are no longer living as of 2020, including Blaise Alexander,http://www.arcaracing.com/content/view/2428/2/ BLAISE ALEXANDER (1976–2001) – ARCA Racing.com 2007-10-08 bot: unknown https://web.archive.org/web/20070927200715/http://www.arcaracing.com/content/view/2428/2/ 2007-09-27 http://www.arcaracing.com/content/view/2427/2/ BLAISE ALEXANDER – ARCA Racing.com 2007-10-08 bot: unknown https://web.archive.org/web/20070927200854/http://www.arcaracing.com/content/view/2427/2/ 2007-09-27 Dick Trickle,Takeda Allison Dick Trickle Dead: Former NASCAR Driver Dies of an Apparent Suicide at 71 http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/dick-trickle-dead-former-nascar-driver-dies-of-an-apparent-suicide-at-71-2013165 Us Weekly May 17, 2013 Dale Earnhardt,http://www.nascar.com/2001/NEWS/02/18/earnhardt_stewart/index.html Earnhardt dies following Daytona 500 accident Dave Rodman Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. February 19, 2001 NASCAR.com September 6, 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20010219102746/http://www.nascar.com/2001/NEWS/02/18/earnhardt_stewart/index.html February 19, 2001 dead mdy Bobby Hamilton,Woody, Larry. Friends, drivers mourn death of HamiltonNovember 2016 InternetArchiveBot yes . The Tennessean. Retrieved January 7, 2007. and John Andretti. Qualifying Grid No. Car number Driver Manufacturer Speed Speed in miles per hourQualifying information for the 2000 NAPA 500 at Racing Reference Qualifying time Qualifying time in seconds Owner Sponsor 1 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 194.274 28.537 Rick Hendrick Dupont Automotive Finishes 2 25 Jerry Nadeau Chevrolet 193.299 28.681 Rick Hendrick Michael Holigan Homes 3 88 Dale Jarrett Ford 193.157 28.702 Yates Racing Ford Quality Care 4 93 Dave Blaney Pontiac 193.157 28.792 Bill Davis Amoco Ultimate 5 46 Todd Bodine Ford 192.253 28.837 Travis Carter Big Kmart/Route 66 Jeans 6 6 Mark Martin Ford 192.073 28.864 Jack Roush Valvoline/Cummins 7 12 Jeremy Mayfield Ford 191.987 28.877 Michael Kranefuss Mobil 1 8 3 Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet 191.403 28.965 Richard Childress GM Goodwrench Service Plus 9 18 Bobby Labonte Pontiac 191.278 28.984 Joe Gibbs Interstate Batteries 10 75 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Ford 191.113 29.009 Darwin Oordt TBS Dinner & A Movie/Pizza Hut Results Pos No. Car number Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Number of laps completed Laps led Number of laps led Time/Status 1 25 Jerry Nadeau Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 325 155 3:32:32 2 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 325 12 +1.338 seconds 3 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 325 96 Lead lap under green flag 4 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 325 4 Lead lap under green flag 5 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 325 4 Lead lap under green flag 6 31 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 325 1 Lead lap under green flag 7 2 Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 325 0 Lead lap under green flag 8 40 Sterling Marlin Team SABCO Chevrolet 325 0 Lead lap under green flag 9 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing Ford 324 0 +1 lap 10 10 Johnny Benson Jr. MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 324 0 +1 lap 11 94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 324 0 +1 lap 12 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 324 0 +1 lap 13 77 Robert Pressley Jasper Motorsports Ford 324 6 +1 lap 14 46 Todd Bodine Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 324 0 +1 lap 15 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 323 2 +2 laps 16 4 Bobby Hamilton Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 323 0 +2 laps 17 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 323 0 +2 laps 18 93 Dave Blaney Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 323 0 +2 laps 19 43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Pontiac 323 0 +2 laps 20 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 322 0 +3 laps 21 1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 322 1 +3 laps 22 23 Scott Wimmer Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 322 9 +3 laps 23 55 Kenny Wallace Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 322 1 +3 laps 24 28 Ricky Rudd Robert Yates Racing Ford 321 0 +4 laps 25 33 Joe Nemechek Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 321 0 +4 laps 26 36 Ken Schrader MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 321 0 +4 laps 27 13 Robby Gordon Team Menard Ford 321 0 +4 laps 28 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 321 0 +4 laps 29 75 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Galaxy Motorsports Ford 320 0 +5 laps 30 50 Ricky Craven Midwest Transit Racing Chevrolet 320 0 +5 laps 31 01 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Team SABCO Chevrolet 319 0 +6 laps 32 32 Scott Pruett PPI Motorsports Ford 319 0 +6 laps 33 26 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 318 0 +7 laps 34 66 Darrell Waltrip Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 318 0 +7 laps 35 14 Rick Mast A. J. Foyt Enterprises Pontiac 317 0 +8 laps 36 97 Kurt Busch Roush Racing Ford 316 0 +9 laps 37 00 Buckshot Jones Buckshot Racing Pontiac 277 0 +48 laps 38 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 195 0 Handling 39 7 Michael Waltrip Ultra Motorsports Chevrolet 125 0 Crash 40 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 122 17 Engine 41 12 Jeremy Mayfield Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 53 17 Engine 42 21 Elliott Sadler Wood Brothers Racing Ford 18 0 Engine 43 35 Geoff Bodine Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 11 0 Crash Race statistics Section reference: Time of race: 3:32:32 Average Speed: 141.296 mph kph on Pole Speed: 194.274 mph kph on Cautions: 8 for 44 laps Margin of Victory: 1.338 sec Lead changes: 23 Percent of race run under caution: 13.5% Average green flag run: 31.2 laps Lap leaders Laps Leader 1–4 Jeff Gordon 5–26 Jerry Nadeau 27–37 Jeremy Mayfield 38–46 Ward Burton 47–52 Jeremy Mayfield 53–54 Jerry Nadeau 55–63 Scott Wimmer 64 Steve Park 65–81 Mark Martin 82–93 Dale Earnhardt 94–111 Jerry Nadeau 112 Kenny Wallace 113–130 Jerry Nadeau 131–136 Robert Pressley 137–138 Dale Jarrett 139–167 Ward Burton 168–191 Jerry Nadeau 192–195 Bobby Labonte 196–256 Jerry Nadeau 257–296 Ward Burton 297–299 Jerry Nadeau 300 Mike Skinner 301–318 Ward Burton 319–325 Jerry Nadeau Total laps led Laps led Driver 155 Jerry Nadeau 96 Ward Burton 17 Mark Martin 17 Jeremy Mayfield 12 Dale Earnhardt 9 Scott Wimmer 6 Robert Pressley 4 Jeff Gordon 4 Bobby Labonte 2 Dale Jarrett 1 Mike Skinner 1 Steve Park 1 Kenny Wallace Cautions: 8 for 44 laps Laps Reason 14–17 #35 (G. Bodine) accident turn 2 21–26 Oil turns 3/4 37–40 Competition 54–60 Oil turn 3 69–74 #7 (M. Waltrip) accident turn 4 111–115 #20 (Stewart) accident turn 2 130–135 #7 (M. Waltrip) accident turn 3 313–318 #32 (Pruett) spin backstraight Media Television The race was aired live on ESPN in the United States for the final time till 2007. Bob Jenkins, two-time 1964 race winner Ned Jarrett and 1973 Cup Series champion Benny Parsons called the race from the broadcast booth. Jerry Punch, Bill Weber, Ray Dunlap and John Kernan handled pit road for the television side. ESPN Booth announcers Pit reporters Lap-by-lap Color-commentators Bob Jenkins Ned Jarrett Benny Parsons Jerry Punch Bill Weber John Kernan Ray Dunlap Standings after the race Pos Driver Points Differential 1 10px Bobby Labonte 5,130 0 2 Dale Earnhardt 4,865 -265 3 Jeff Burton 4,841 -289 4 10px Dale Jarrett 4,684 -446 5 Ricky Rudd 4,575 -555 6 Tony Stewart 4,570 -560 7 10px Rusty Wallace 4,544 -586 8 10px Mark Martin 4,410 -720 9 10px Jeff Gordon 4,361 -769 10 10px Ward Burton 4,152 -978 References 2000 Pennzoil 400 2001 Daytona 500 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Season 2000-01 NAPA NAPA 500 Category:NASCAR races at Atlanta Motor Speedway Category:November 2000 sports events in the United States