2000 Coca-Cola 600
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| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 12 of 34 in the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 2000 Coca-Cola 600 program cover Artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass. | |||
| Date | May 28, 2000 | ||
| Official name | 41st Annual Coca-Cola 600 | ||
| Location | Concord, North Carolina, Charlotte Motor Speedway | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.41 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 600 mi (965.606 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 400 laps, 600 mi (965.606 km) | ||
| Average speed | 142.64 miles per hour (229.56 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 183,500 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | ||
| Time | 29.027 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | |
| Laps | 175 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 17 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | TBS | ||
| Announcers | Allen Bestwick, Buddy Baker, Dick Berggren | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Performance Racing Network | ||
The 2000 Coca-Cola 600 was the 12th stock car race of the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 41st iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, May 28, 2000, before an audience of 183,500 in Concord, North Carolina, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent quad-oval. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. Taking advantage of a misfortunate Jerry Nadeau, Roush Racing's Matt Kenseth managed to make a late-race pass with 26 laps left in the race, leading the rest of the race to take his first career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season. With this win, he became the first ever rookie to win the Coca-Cola 600.[1][2] To fill out the top three, Joe Gibbs Racing's Bobby Labonte and Richard Childress Racing's Dale Earnhardt finished second and third, respectively.
Background[edit]
Lowe's Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, as well as the UAW-GM Quality 500. The speedway was built in1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith (son of Bruton Smith) as track president.
Entry list[edit]
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Practice[edit]
First practice[edit]
The first practice session was held on Wednesday, May 24, at 3:00 PM EST. The session lasted for two hours and 55 minutes. Dale Earnhardt, Inc.'s Dale Earnhardt Jr. set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.325 and an average speed of 184.143 mph (296.349 km/h).[5]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. (R) | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 29.325 | 184.143 |
| 2 | 12 | Jeremy Mayfield | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 29.435 | 183.455 |
| 3 | 14 | Rick Mast | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Pontiac | 29.461 | 183.293 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second practice[edit]
The second practice session was held on Thursday, May 25, at 2:30 PM EST. The session lasted for two hours. Melling Racing's Stacy Compton set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.189 and an average speed of 178.873 mph (287.868 km/h).[5]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Stacy Compton (R) | Melling Racing | Ford | 30.189 | 178.873 |
| 2 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 30.360 | 177.866 |
| 3 | 40 | Sterling Marlin | Team SABCO | Chevrolet | 30.396 | 177.655 |
| Full second practice results | ||||||
Third practice[edit]
The third practice session was held on Thursday, May 25, at 7:00 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 30.438 and an average speed of 177.410 mph (285.514 km/h).[5]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 30.438 | 177.410 |
| 2 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 30.476 | 177.189 |
| 3 | 31 | Mike Skinner | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 30.485 | 177.136 |
| Full third practice results | ||||||
Fourth practice[edit]
The fourth practice session was held on Saturday, May 27, at 9:00 AM EST. The session lasted for one hour. Joe Gibbs Racing's Bobby Labonte set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.175 and an average speed of 178.956 mph (288.002 km/h).[5]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 30.175 | 178.956 |
| 2 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 30.195 | 178.838 |
| 3 | 31 | Mike Skinner | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 30.229 | 178.636 |
| Full fourth practice results | ||||||
Final practice[edit]
The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, May 27, after the preliminary 2000 Carquest 300. The session lasted for one hour. Dale Earnhardt, Inc.'s Dale Earnhardt Jr. set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.441 and an average speed of 177.392 mph (285.485 km/h).[5]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. (R) | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 30.441 | 177.392 |
| 2 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 30.563 | 176.684 |
| 3 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 30.611 | 176.407 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
Qualifying[edit]
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Wednesday, May 24, at 8:05 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 Thursday, May 25, at 6:00 PM 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.[5] 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.[6]
Dale Earnhardt Jr., driving for Dale Earnhardt, Inc., managed to win the pole, setting a time of 29.027 and an average speed of 186.034 miles per hour (299.393 km/h) in the first round.[7]
Five drivers failed to qualify.
Full qualifying results[edit]
Race results[edit]
Standings after the race[edit]
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Notes[edit]
- ^ P. J. Jones is recorded as the official finisher of the race. Gordon was attempting to do Double Duty, but a rain delay at the 2000 Indianapolis 500 caused Gordon to arrive at the NASCAR race late. As Jones started the race, he is listed as the official finisher.[3]
- ^ a b Waltrip failed to qualify for the race. As a result of sponsor obligations, Waltrip bought out qualifier Carl Long's ride, replacing Long with Waltrip for the race.[4]
References[edit]
- ^ Poole, David (May 28, 2000). "Rookie Matt Kenseth scores". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on January 26, 2001. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
- ^ Mulhurn, Mike (May 29, 2000). "Kenseth rolls to win". Winston-Salem Journal. pp. C1, C8. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Fyrer, Jenna (May 29, 2000). "Kenseth comes from way back to win Coca-Cola". Ventura County Star. Associated Press. pp. C5. Retrieved July 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Utter, Jim (May 26, 2000). "Deal gets DW into 600". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on February 6, 2001. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "Jayski's Silly Season Site – Lowe's 1 Race Info Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved September 1, 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.
- ^ Utter, Jim (May 24, 2000). "Earnhardt Jr. grabs pole in record fashion". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on December 15, 2000. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
