The 2000 Kmart 400 was the 14th stock car race of the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 32nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, June 11, 2000, in Brooklyn, Michigan, at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway. The race was shortened from its scheduled 200 laps to 194 due to inclement weather. At race's end, Tony Stewart, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would manage to hold off the field until lap 193 when the race was stopped for rain. The win was Stewart's fifth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his second of the season. To fill out the podium, Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress Racing and Bobby Labonte of Joe Gibbs Racing would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

The race was held at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located in Brooklyn, Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is known as a "sister track" to Texas World Speedway as MIS's oval design was a direct basis of TWS, with moderate modifications to the banking in the corners, and was used as the basis of Auto Club Speedway. The track is owned by International Speedway Corporation. Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking (by open-wheel standards; the 18-degree banking is modest by stock car standards).

Entry list

(R) denotes rookie driver.

#DriverTeamMake1Steve ParkDale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet2Rusty WallacePenske-Kranefuss RacingFord3Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet4Bobby HamiltonMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet5Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet6Mark MartinRoush RacingFord7Michael WaltripMattei MotorsportsChevrolet8Dale Earnhardt Jr. (R)Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet9Stacy Compton (R)Melling RacingFord10Johnny Benson Jr.Tyler Jet MotorsportsPontiac11Brett BodineBrett Bodine RacingFord12Jeremy MayfieldPenske-Kranefuss RacingFord13Robby GordonTeam MenardFord14Rick MastA. J. Foyt EnterprisesPontiac16Kevin LepageRoush RacingFord17Matt Kenseth (R)Roush RacingFord18Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingPontiac20Tony StewartJoe Gibbs RacingPontiac21Elliott SadlerWood Brothers RacingFord22Ward BurtonBill Davis RacingPontiac24Jeff GordonHendrick 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 SABCOChevrolet42Kenny Irwin Jr.Team SABCOChevrolet43John AndrettiPetty EnterprisesPontiac44Kyle PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiac50Ricky CravenMidwest Transit RacingChevrolet55Kenny WallaceAndy Petree RacingChevrolet60Geoff BodineJoe Bessey RacingChevrolet66Darrell WaltripHaas-Carter MotorsportsFord71Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet75Wally Dallenbach Jr.Galaxy MotorsportsFord77Robert PressleyJasper MotorsportsFord88Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord90Ed Berrier (R)Donlavey RacingFord93Dave Blaney (R)Bill Davis RacingPontiac94Bill ElliottBill Elliott RacingFord97Chad LittleRoush RacingFord99Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFordOfficial entry list

Practice

First practice The first practice session was held on Friday, June 9, at 10:15 AM EST, and would last for one hour and 40 minutes. Jerry Nadeau of Hendrick Motorsports would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 38.386 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed125Jerry NadeauHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet38.386187.568222Ward BurtonBill Davis RacingPontiac38.388187.558324Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet38.440187.304Full first practice results

Second practice The second practice session was held on Friday, June 9, at 1:00 PM EST, and would last for an hour and 30 minutes. Ricky Rudd of Robert Yates Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 38.387 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed128Ricky RuddRobert Yates RacingFord38.387187.563288Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord38.406187.471324Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet38.410187.451Full second practice results

Third practice The third practice session was held on Saturday, June 10, at 9:30 AM EST, and would last for one hour. Geoff Bodine of Joe Bessey Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 38.550 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed160Geoff BodineJoe Bessey RacingChevrolet38.550186.770227Mike Bliss (R)Eel River RacingPontiac38.830185.42437Michael WaltripMattei MotorsportsChevrolet38.832185.414Full third practice results

Fourth and final practice The fourth and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, June 10, after the preliminary 2000 Flagstar 200 ARCA Re/Max Series race, and lasted for up to an hour. Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 39.716 and an average speed of .

Around 38 minutes into the session, Elliott Sadler would suffer a blowover crash after blowing a right-rear tire, flipping around a dozen times. It was later revealed that the car barrel rolled higher than the catch fencing, and the majority of footage of the crash was subsequently destroyed. While bruised, Elliott would still race with a backup. Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed18Dale Earnhardt Jr. (R)Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet39.716181.287217Matt Kenseth (R)Roush RacingFord39.969180.13931Steve ParkDale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet39.971180.130Full Happy Hour practice results

Qualifying Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, June 2, at 3:30 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. 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, June 3, 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. Positions 26-36 would be decided on time, while positions 37-43 would be based on provisionals. Six spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The seventh is 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 will be awarded a provisional.

Bobby Labonte of Joe Gibbs Racing would win the pole, setting a time of 37.918 and an average speed of .

Three drivers would fail to qualify: Darrell Waltrip, Ricky Craven, and Dave Marcis.

Full qualifying results Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed118Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingPontiac37.918189.883228Ricky RuddRobert Yates RacingFord38.091189.021324Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet38.174188.61042Rusty WallacePenske-Kranefuss RacingFord38.275188.112533Joe NemechekAndy Petree RacingChevrolet38.287188.05368Dale Earnhardt Jr. (R)Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet38.348187.754799Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFord38.375187.622894Bill ElliottBill Elliott RacingFord38.403187.48593Dale EarnhardtRichard Childress RacingChevrolet38.409187.4561043John AndrettiPetty EnterprisesPontiac38.451187.2511110Johnny Benson Jr.Tyler Jet MotorsportsPontiac38.452187.2461216Kevin LepageRoush RacingFord38.471187.1541322Ward BurtonBill Davis RacingPontiac38.476187.130141Steve ParkDale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet38.490187.062157Michael WaltripMattei MotorsportsChevrolet38.502187.0031632Scott Pruett (R)PPI MotorsportsFord38.554186.7511793Dave Blaney (R)Bill Davis RacingPontiac38.561186.7171842Kenny Irwin Jr.Team SABCOChevrolet38.576186.645196Mark MartinRoush RacingFord38.588186.5872036Ken SchraderMB2 MotorsportsPontiac38.598186.5382121Elliott SadlerWood Brothers RacingFord38.601186.5242212Jeremy MayfieldPenske-Kranefuss RacingFord38.632186.3742317Matt Kenseth (R)Roush RacingFord38.661186.2342475Wally Dallenbach Jr.Galaxy MotorsportsFord38.667186.2052513Robby GordonTeam MenardFord38.667186.2052688Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord38.559186.7272727Mike Bliss (R)Eel River RacingPontiac38.608186.4902820Tony StewartJoe Gibbs RacingPontiac38.689186.0992914Rick MastA. J. Foyt EnterprisesPontiac38.701186.0423031Mike SkinnerRichard Childress RacingChevrolet38.739185.8593177Robert PressleyJasper MotorsportsFord38.743185.8403225Jerry NadeauHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet38.747185.821339Stacy Compton (R)Melling RacingFord38.748185.8163455Kenny WallaceAndy Petree RacingChevrolet38.791185.6103544Kyle PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiac38.819185.4763660Geoff BodineJoe Bessey RacingChevrolet38.833185.409Provisionals375Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet38.948184.8623897Chad LittleRoush RacingFord38.848185.3383940Sterling MarlinTeam SABCOChevrolet39.041184.4224026Jimmy SpencerHaas-Carter MotorsportsFord38.852185.319414Bobby HamiltonMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet38.942184.8904211Brett BodineBrett Bodine RacingFord39.259183.3974390Ed Berrier (R)Donlavey RacingFord39.428182.611Failed to qualify4466Darrell WaltripHaas-Carter MotorsportsFord38.920184.9954550Ricky CravenMidwest Transit RacingChevrolet39.022184.5114671Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet39.035184.450Official first round qualifying resultsOfficial starting lineup

Race results