The 2000 Winston 500 Presented By UPS was the 30th stock car race of the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, the last of five No Bull 5 events in that year's season, and the 32nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 15, 2000, before an audience of 140,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete.
In what is considered by NASCAR as one of the most memorable finishes in NASCAR Winston Cup Series history, Richard Childress Racing's Dale Earnhardt managed to come back from the 18th position with five laps left in the race, making a late-race charge to gain the lead by the start of the final lap. Defending against Andy Petree Racing's Kenny Wallace, Earnhardt was able to defend the field to take his 76th and final career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his second and final victory of the season, and a No Bull 5 victory, netting him a bonus of $1,000,000. To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Kenny Wallace and his teammate, Joe Nemechek finished second and third, respectively.
Background
Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a tri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line that's located just past the exit to pit road. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval, a tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which also is a tri-oval.
Entry list
(R) denotes rookie driver. (N) denotes driver eligible for the No Bull 5.
#DriverTeamMake1Steve Park (N)Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet01Ted MusgraveTeam SABCOChevrolet2Rusty WallacePenske-Kranefuss RacingFord3Dale Earnhardt (N)Richard Childress RacingChevrolet4Bobby HamiltonMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet5Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet6Mark Martin (N)Roush RacingFord7Michael WaltripMattei MotorsportsChevrolet8Dale Earnhardt Jr. (R)Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet9Stacy Compton (R)Melling RacingFord10Johnny Benson Jr.MB2 MotorsportsPontiac11Brett BodineBrett Bodine RacingFord12Jeremy MayfieldPenske-Kranefuss RacingFord14Rick MastA. J. Foyt EnterprisesPontiac16Kevin LepageRoush RacingFord17Matt Kenseth (R)Roush RacingFord18Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingPontiac20Tony StewartJoe Gibbs RacingPontiac21Elliott SadlerWood Brothers RacingFord22Ward BurtonBill Davis RacingPontiac24Jeff Gordon (N)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet25Jerry NadeauHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet26Jimmy SpencerHaas-Carter MotorsportsFord27Mike Bliss (R)Eel River RacingPontiac28Ricky RuddRobert Yates RacingFord31Mike SkinnerRichard Childress RacingChevrolet32Scott Pruett (R)PPI MotorsportsFord33Joe NemechekAndy Petree RacingChevrolet36Ken SchraderMB2 MotorsportsPontiac40Sterling MarlinTeam SABCOChevrolet43John AndrettiPetty EnterprisesPontiac44Steve GrissomPetty EnterprisesPontiac50Ricky CravenMidwest Transit RacingChevrolet55Kenny WallaceAndy Petree RacingChevrolet60Rich BickleJoe Bessey RacingChevrolet66Darrell WaltripHaas-Carter MotorsportsFord71Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet75Wally Dallenbach Jr.Galaxy MotorsportsFord77Robert PressleyJasper MotorsportsFord88Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord90Hut StricklinDonlavey RacingFord91Blaise AlexanderLJ RacingChevrolet93Dave Blaney (R)Bill Davis RacingPontiac94Bill ElliottBill Elliott RacingFord97Chad LittleRoush RacingFord99Jeff Burton (N)Roush RacingFordOfficial entry list
Practice
First practice The first practice session was held on Friday, October 13, at 12:00 PM EST. The session lasted for two hours. Dale Earnhardt, Inc.'s Steve Park set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 50.105 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed11Steve Park (N)Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet50.105191.119255Kenny WallaceAndy Petree RacingChevrolet50.357190.16238Dale Earnhardt Jr. (R)Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet50.465189.755Full first practice results
Second practice The second practice session was held on Saturday, October 14, at 9:15 AM EST. The session lasted for one hour and 15 minutes. Joe Gibbs Racing's Bobby Labonte set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 48.248 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed118Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingPontiac48.248198.475277Robert PressleyJasper MotorsportsFord48.583197.10631Steve Park (N)Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet48.683196.701Full second practice results
Third practice The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, October 14, at 12:45 PM EST. The session lasted for one hour. Penske-Kranefuss Racing's Rusty Wallace set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 49.693 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed12Rusty WallacePenske-Kranefuss RacingFord49.693192.703201Ted MusgraveTeam SABCOChevrolet49.701192.672310Johnny Benson Jr.MB2 MotorsportsPontiac49.875192.000Full Happy Hour practice results
Qualifying Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, October 13, at 4:00 PM EST. Each driver had two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two counted as their official qualifying lap. During the first round, the top 25 drivers in the round was 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, October 14, at 11:45 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver had two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap. Positions 26–36 were decided on time, while positions 37–43 were 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.
Joe Nemechek, driving for Andy Petree Racing, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 50.326 and an average speed of in the first round.
Three drivers failed to qualify: Wally Dallenbach Jr., Blaise Alexander, & Hut Stricklin.
Full qualifying results Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed133Joe NemechekAndy Petree RacingChevrolet50.326190.279294Bill ElliottBill Elliott RacingFord50.388190.04538Dale Earnhardt Jr. (R)Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet50.562189.391425Jerry NadeauHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet50.681188.947520Tony StewartJoe Gibbs RacingPontiac50.713188.827618Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingPontiac50.737188.738755Kenny WallaceAndy Petree RacingChevrolet50.811188.463824Jeff Gordon (N)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet50.817188.441971Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet50.844188.341101Steve Park (N)Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet50.934188.0081128Ricky RuddRobert Yates RacingFord50.948187.9561288Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord51.005187.746139Stacy Compton (R)Melling RacingFord51.115187.3421436Ken SchraderMB2 MotorsportsPontiac51.116187.3391543John AndrettiPetty EnterprisesPontiac51.122187.3171616Kevin LepageRoush RacingFord51.231186.918175Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet51.247186.860187Michael WaltripUltra MotorsportsChevrolet51.262186.805194Bobby HamiltonMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet51.262186.805203Dale Earnhardt (N)Richard Childress RacingChevrolet51.263186.8012122Ward BurtonBill Davis RacingPontiac51.296186.6812226Jimmy SpencerHaas-Carter MotorsportsFord51.308186.6382310Johnny Benson Jr.MB2 MotorsportsPontiac51.340186.5212431Mike SkinnerRichard Childress RacingChevrolet51.439186.1622521Elliott SadlerWood Brothers RacingFord51.462186.079Failed to lock in the first round2650Ricky CravenMidwest Transit RacingChevrolet51.394186.325276Mark Martin (N)Roush RacingFord51.466186.0652860Rich BickleJoe Bessey RacingChevrolet51.474186.0362914Rick MastA. J. Foyt RacingPontiac51.482186.0073001Ted MusgraveTeam SABCOChevrolet51.484186.0003144Steve GrissomPetty EnterprisesPontiac51.535185.8153240Sterling MarlinTeam SABCOChevrolet51.552185.7543393Dave Blaney (R)Bill Davis RacingPontiac51.566185.7043466Darrell WaltripHaas-Carter MotorsportsFord51.576185.6683532Scott Pruett (R)PPI MotorsportsFord51.583185.6433617Matt Kenseth (R)Roush RacingFord51.672185.323Provisionals3799Jeff Burton (N)Roush RacingFord51.728185.122382Rusty WallacePenske-Kranefuss RacingFord51.757185.0183997Chad LittleRoush RacingFord51.696185.2374012Jeremy MayfieldPenske-Kranefuss RacingFord52.069183.9104177Robert PressleyJasper MotorsportsFord51.757185.0184211Brett BodineBrett Bodine RacingFord51.699185.2264327Mike Bliss (R)Eel River RacingPontiac51.805184.847Failed to qualify4475Wally Dallenbach Jr.Galaxy MotorsportsFord51.682185.2874591Blaise AlexanderLJ RacingChevrolet52.104183.7864690Hut StricklinDonlavey RacingFord52.221183.375Official first round qualifying resultsOfficial starting lineup
Race results