The 2000 Brickyard 400, the 7th running of the

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

, was a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and fro ...

race held on August 5, 2000, at

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and and formerly the home of the U ...

Speedway, Indiana Speedway is a town in Wayne Township, Marion County, Indiana, United States. The population was 13,952 at the 2020 census, up from 11,812 in 2010. Speedway, which is an enclave of Indianapolis, is the home of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. H ...

. Contested over 160 laps on the 2.5 mile (4.023 km) speedway, it was the 20th race of the

2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series file:MattKenseth&KevinHarvick.jpg, Matt Kenseth, (pictured in 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, 2007) was the NASCAR Rookie of the Year. The 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 52nd season of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, professional sto ...

season.

Bobby Labonte Robert Allen Labonte (born May 8, 1964) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and current analyst for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He also currently competes part-time in the SMART Modified Tour, driving the No. 18L for Hermie Sa ...

Joe Gibbs Racing Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization founded by Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs. His son, J. D. Gibbs, ran the team with him until his death in 2019. Founded in Huntersville, North Carolina, ...

won the race.

Background

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in

, (an

enclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is so ...

suburb of

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

) in the United States, is the home of the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

and the

Brickyard 400 The Brickyard 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States. The inaugural race was held in 1994 and was the first race other than the Indianapolis 500 to be held at the ...

. It is located on the corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road, approximately west of

Downtown Indianapolis Downtown Indianapolis is a neighborhood area in and the central business district of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Downtown is bordered by Interstate 65 in Indiana, Interstate 65, Interstate 70 in Indiana, Interstate 70, and the White ...

. It is a four-turn rectangular-oval track that is long. The track's turns are banked at 9

degrees Degree may refer to: As a unit of measurement * Degree (angle), a unit of angle measurement ** Degree of geographical latitude ** Degree of geographical longitude * Degree symbol (°), a notation used in science, engineering, and mathematics ...

, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, has no banking. The back stretch, opposite of the front, also has a zero degree banking. The racetrack has seats for more than 250,000 spectators.

Qualifying

Pole qualifications were held on August 3, two days before the race.

Ricky Rudd Richard Lee Rudd (born September 12, 1956), nicknamed "the Rooster", is an American former racing driver and racing team owner. He is the uncle of actor Skeet Ulrich and former NASCAR Busch Series driver Jason Rudd. He retired in 2007 with 23 ...

qualified on pole position with a speed of .

Darrell Waltrip Darrell Lee Waltrip (born February 5, 1947) is an American motorsports Color analyst, analyst, author as well as a former national television broadcaster and stock car driver. He raced from 1972 to 2000 in the NASCAR Cup Series (known as the NAS ...

qualified in second position, a surprise result as Waltrip had struggled for most of the 2000 season, including failing to qualify for three previous races in the season and failing to finish in the top 20 in any race prior. Waltrip received an ovation from the crowd in attendance as well as several competitors - including his younger brother

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

. The championship leader entering the race,

, qualified in third. During qualifying,

Todd Bodine Todd Martin Bodine (born February 27, 1964) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 62 Toyota Tundra for Halmar Friesen Racing, and is curre ...

qualified the #5

Hendrick Motorsports Hendrick Motorsports is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All-Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 316 Cup Series ra ...

entry for

Terry Labonte Terrance Lee Labonte (born November 16, 1956), nicknamed "Texas Terry" or "the Iceman", is an American former stock car racing, stock car driver. He raced from 1978 to 2014 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup and Sprint Cup Series (now called the NAS ...

while Labonte underwent further assessment for injuries he had sustained at the

Pepsi 400 The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Daytona International Speedway. First held in 1959, the event consists of 160 laps, , and is the second of two major stock car events held at Daytona on the Cup Series ci ...

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, about north of Orlando, Florida, Orlando. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race ...

. Labonte had further aggravated his injuries by participating in the races following Daytona and needed a relief driver for the

Pennsylvania 500 The Great American Getaway 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series race held at Pocono Raceway since 1974, the race is currently held as a 160 lap, 400 mile (643.738 km) race. From 1982 to 2021, a second race at the track (last held as a event) was also par ...

Pocono Raceway Pocono Raceway (formerly known as the Pocono International Raceway in early years) is a tri-oval track in Blakeslee, Pennsylvania. The track has held a variety of events since its opening in 1969, including NASCAR, IndyCar Series, and IMSA GT ...

, but he still had intentions of racing at Indianapolis when CT scans came back negative. However, during post-qualifying practice, Labonte turned only one lap before suffering dizziness. Labonte then made the decision to withdraw from both Indianapolis and the following race at

Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track in the Northeastern United States, northeastern United States, located in Dix, New York, just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, Watkins Glen, at the ...

to fully recover. Todd Bodine would remain in the car for the Brickyard. The injuries brought an end to Labonte's streak of 655 consecutive races started.

Full qualifying results

Brett Bodine Brett Elias Bodine III (born January 11, 1959) is an American former stock car racing driver, former driver of the pace car in Cup Series events, and current NASCAR employee. Brett is the younger brother of 1986 Daytona 500 winner Geoff Bodine a ...

was the fastest qualifier, however his lap was set on the second day of qualifying, forcing him to line up behind those who qualified on pole day.

Jeremy Mayfield practice accident

During post-qualifying practice on August 4,

Jeremy Mayfield Jeremy Allen Mayfield (born May 27, 1969) is an American former stock car racing driver. He drove cars for the Sadler brothers, T.W. Taylor, Cale Yarborough, Michael Kranefuss, Roger Penske, Ray Evernham, Bill Davis, and Gene Haas. In 2009, he d ...

suffered a major accident in turn 3. Mayfield lost control of his car while following teammate

Rusty Wallace Russell "Rusty" William Wallace Jr. (born August 14, 1956) is an American former NASCAR racing driver. He won the 1984 NASCAR Cup series NASCAR Rookie of the Year, Rookie of the Year and the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup ...

, causing him to spin and heavily impact the outside wall on driver-side. Mayfield was initially found unconscious, though awoke shortly after. Safety crews took roughly 10 minutes to extract Mayfield from the car before transporting him directly to Methodist Hospital with what was described as a "moderate concussion." Mayfield checked himself out of the hospital later on Friday, but the injury would force him to miss the next two races.

Kyle Petty Kyle Eugene Petty (born June 2, 1960) is an American former stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He is the son of racer Richard Petty, grandson of racer Lee Petty, and father of racer Adam Petty, who was killed in a crash duri ...

, who had failed to qualify in his primary

Petty Enterprises Petty Enterprises (formerly Lee Petty Engineering) was a NASCAR racing team based in Level Cross, Randolph County, North Carolina, Level Cross, North Carolina, United States, USA. It was founded by Lee Petty with his two sons Richard Petty and Ma ...

car, was hired to be the injury substitute for the Brickyard. By NASCAR rules, Petty would have to drop to the rear of the field for the start on race day due to the driver swap.

Race

The race was held on Saturday, August 5.

led from pole position for the first 17 laps, but would not lead for the remainder of the race. The first of two cautions during the race came at lap 17, when Mike Skinner made contact with

Mark Martin Mark Anthony Martin (born January 9, 1959), nicknamed "the Kid", is an American former stock car racing driver. He most notably drove the No. 6 Ford Motor Company, Ford for Roush Racing for the majority of his career. From 1989 to 2009, Martin wo ...

, sending Martin heavily in to the turn 1 wall. As cars slowed to avoid Martin's wrecked car,

Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American stock car racing executive and former professional stock car racing driver who currently serves as the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, d ...

collided with the rear of

Rick Mast Richard Kenneth Mast (born March 4, 1957) is an American former NASCAR driver. He competed in both the Winston Cup and Busch Series, retiring in 2002. He holds a business administration degree from Blue Ridge Community College. Early career M ...

, sending Mast in to a spin and causing significant front-end damage to Gordon's car.

assumed the lead when racing resumed. At lap 32,

Jerry Nadeau Jerry Anthony Nadeau (born September 9, 1969) is an American former stock car racer. He competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. He started racing go-karts before moving up to car racing, driving in the 12 Hours of Sebring, the European Formu ...

took the lead for an 11 lap stretch; after this, the battle for the lead was exclusively between Wallace and

. The second and final caution of the race came at lap 44, when

John Andretti John Andrew Andretti (March 12, 1963January 30, 2020) was an American professional race car driver. He won individual races in CART, IMSA GTP, Rolex Sports Car Series, and NASCAR during his career. A member of the Andretti racing family, he was ...

suffered a punctured tire entering turn 3, causing him to heavily impact the outside wall. Racing resumed at lap 46 and remained under green-flag conditions for the remainder of the race. Rusty Wallace was the dominant car for much of the day, leading 110 of the race's 160 laps. He, however, was constantly under pressure from Bobby Labonte and, on lap 146, Labonte moved alongside Wallace at turn 3 for the lead. The two remained side-by-side through turn 4 and down the frontstraight before Labonte successfully completed the pass in to turn 1. Labonte would lead the remainder of the race and go on the take victory. The race set a new record for the fastest running for the Brickyard 400 at , narrowly surpassing the record set at the 1995 Brickyard 400. For Labonte, despite having led the championship for nearly the entire 2000 season, it was his first win since

North Carolina Speedway Rockingham Speedway and Entertainment Complex (formerly known as North Carolina Speedway from 1998 to 2007 and North Carolina Motor Speedway from 1965 to 1996) is a D-shaped oval track in Rockingham, North Carolina, United States. The track ...

in February.

Results

Failed to qualify

* David Keith (#95) *

Rich Bickle Richard Allen Bickle Jr. (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. Now retired from NASCAR racing, Bickle, who never completed a full season in the NASCAR Cup Series, had a long history in Short track motor r ...

(#61) *

Dave Marcis David Alan Marcis (born March 1, 1941) is an American former professional stock car racing driver on the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit whose career spanned five decades. Marcis won five times over this tenure, twice at Richmond, including his final ...

(#71) *

Robby Gordon Robert Wesley Gordon (born January 2, 1969) is an American semi-retired auto racing driver. He has raced in NASCAR, Championship Auto Racing Teams, CART, the IndyCar Series, the Trans-Am Series, International Motor Sports Association, IMSA, Inter ...

(#13) *

(#44) * Bill Baird (#52) *

(#5) - injured at previous race, replaced by

(#12) - injured in practice crash, replaced by

Morgan Shepherd Clay Morgan Shepherd (born October 12, 1941) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current team owner. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 89 Chevrolet Camaro for Shepherd Racing Vent ...

(#80) - withdrawn *

Carl Long James Carlyle Long (born September 20, 1967) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, mechanic, and team owner. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 66 Toyota Supra for MBM Motorsports. In th ...

(#85) - withdrawn

Race statistics

* Time of race: 2:33:56 * Average Speed: * Pole Speed: * Cautions: 2 for 7 laps * Margin of Victory: 4.229 * Lead changes: 9 * Percent of race run under caution: 4.4% * Average green flag run: 51 laps

Media

Television

The race was aired live on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

in the United States in which was their last broadcast of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series until the 2007 Brickyard 400 (in which the series was renamed to the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series) as part of ESPN group of networks.

Bob Jenkins Robert Francis Jenkins (September 4, 1947 – August 9, 2021) was an American television and radio sports announcer, primarily calling American open-wheel car racing, Indy car and NASCAR telecasts for ESPN/American Broadcasting Company, ABC and ...

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

champion

Benny Parsons Benjamin Stewart Parsons (July 12, 1941 – January 16, 2007) was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst/pit reporter on SETN, TBS, ABC, ESPN, NBC, and TNT. He became famous as the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion, an ...

and two-time

winning crew chief

Ray Evernham Raymond Donald Evernham Jr. (born August 26, 1957) is an American consultant for Rick Hendrick, Hendrick Companies, formerly an auto racing crew chief for Bill Davis Racing and Hendrick Motorsports, owner of his own team Evernham Motorsports fr ...

called the race from the broadcast booth.

Jerry Punch Gerald Lee Punch (born August 20, 1953) is an American auto racing and college football commentator known for his career at ESPN, as well as a physician. Punch also does local radio spots in Knoxville. Punch is also a Principal Investigator for ...

Bill Weber William Weber (May 8, 1957 – December 13, 2024) was an American television sports commentator best known for his work on TNT and NBC NASCAR broadcasts. Weber was also the lead announcer for Champ Car World Series events and other auto ra ...

and

Ray Dunlap Speed was an American sports-oriented cable and satellite television network that was owned by the Fox Sports Media Group division of 21st Century Fox. The network was dedicated to motorsports programming, including auto racing, as well as aut ...

handled pit road for the television side.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2000 Brickyard 400

NASCAR races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway