2000 Daytona 500

The 2000 Daytona 500 was the first stock car race of the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, the first of five No Bull 5 races, and the 42nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 20, 2000, before an audience of 200,000 in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) permanent triangular-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete.

In the final laps of the race, Robert Yates Racing's Dale Jarrett engaged in a battle for the lead against Tyler Jet Motorsports' Johnny Benson Jr. With four laps left in the race, Jarrett was able to pass Benson, retaining the lead until a caution came out with two laps left in the race for Jimmy Spencer. As the race ended under caution, Jarrett was the declared the winner at race's end. The victory was Jarrett's 23rd career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his first victory of the season, and his third and final Daytona 500 victory. To fill out the top three, Roush Racing's Jeff Burton and owner-driver Bill Elliott finished second and third, respectively.

Background

Daytona International Speedway is one of three superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.

After years of complaints over suspension issues first exposed after two fatal crashes in 1994 regarding overaggressive shock and spring setups, NASCAR decided for the "restrictor plate" races to implement standardised shocks and springs.

Entry list

* (R) denotes rookie driver.
* (W) denotes past winner of the Daytona 500.

Practice

First practice

The first practice session was held on Friday, February 11, at 10:00 AM EST. The session lasted for two hours. Penske-Kranefuss Racing's Rusty Wallace set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 47.555 and an average speed of .

Second practice

The second practice session was held on Friday, February 11, at 12:30 PM EST. The session lasted for two hours and 20 minutes. Penske-Kranefuss Racing's Rusty Wallace set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 47.425 and an average speed of .

Third practice

The third practice session was held on Saturday, February 12, at 8:30 AM EST. The session lasted for one hour and 10 minutes. Robert Yates Racing's Ricky Rudd set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 47.344 and an average speed of .

Fourth practice

The fourth practice session was held on Monday, February 14, at 10:00 AM EST. The session lasted for one hour and 30 minutes. Andy Petree Racing's Joe Nemechek set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 46.663 and an average speed of .

During the session, a crash involving Jeff Fuller and Greg Sacks occurred, forcing both drivers to use backup cars for the Gatorade 125s.

Fifth practice

The fifth practice session was held on Tuesday, February 15, at 12:30 PM EST. The session lasted for one hour and 55 minutes. Tyler Jet Motorsports' Johnny Benson Jr. set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 46.375 and an average speed of .

Sixth practice

The sixth practice session was held on Wednesday, February 16, at 10:30 AM EST. The session lasted for one hour and 30 minutes. Penske-Kranefuss Racing's Rusty Wallace set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 46.367 and an average speed of .

Seventh practice

The seventh practice session was held on Wednesday, February 16, at 10:30 AM EST. The session lasted for one hour and 30 minutes. Owner-driver Bill Elliott set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 46.308 and an average speed of .

Final practice

The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, February 19, after the preliminary 2000 NAPA Auto Parts 300. The session lasted for one hour. Hendrick Motorsports' Jeff Gordon set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 46.478 and an average speed of .

During the session, Dale Jarrett was involved in a spin in the track's first and second turns after a check-up by Mike Bliss caused a chain reaction of drivers slowing down. Jarrett was, however, able to save the car and continue using the car for the Daytona 500.

Qualifying

Qualifying was set by the 2000 Gatorade 125s. The top two positions were set by qualifying speeds held for the Gatorade 125s held on Saturday, February 12, with the top two qualifiers in the session earning the top two positions for the Daytona 500. The rest of the starting lineup was set in the Gatorade 125s held on Thursday, February 17, during two races. The top 14 finishers in the first race, excluding the pole position winner, set the inside row from rows two to 15, and the top 14 finishers in the second race, excluding the outside pole position winner, set the outside row from rows two to 15. The remaining non-qualifiers set positions 31-36 based on qualifying speeds from the first qualifying session held on Saturday. In addition, six provisionals based on the previous season's owner's points were given out, setting positions 37-42. The final position, position 43, was given to a past series champion who did not otherwise qualify by any other method. If no past champion needed the provisional, the position was given out to the next team in the previous season's owner's points.

Dale Jarrett, driving for Robert Yates Racing, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 47.098 and an average speed of in Saturday's session.

13 drivers failed to qualify.

Full qualifying results

Race results and criticism

The race was criticized by fans and even some drivers. Despite the race having some good moments like the underdog story of Johnny Benson, whose team did not have a sponsor for the entirety of speedweeks until the morning of the race, the race overall was viewed as boring with a lot of single file and spread out racing. Out of the 200 laps of the race, the race saw a total of 9 lead changes and 7 different leaders. It was the second fewest for lead changes in Daytona 500 history behind 1964 that saw 6 lead changes. Fans have called the race the worst of all the Daytona 500 races. Not just fans, but some drivers and members of NASCAR were not thrilled with the race. Two-time Daytona 500 winning crew chief and the crew chief for Mike Skinner, Larry McReynolds, when asked about the race said "They're thinking about building more seats here. They oughta build cots 'cause this stuff is going to put everyone to sleep!" One of McReynolds' former drivers he was with in seven-time Winston Cup Series champion and winner of the 1998 Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt, voiced his displeasure with the race in his post-race interview saying,

After the race, NASCAR changed its plate package by adding a roof strip on the top of the car to allow more pack racing and more passing which showed in the following years' Daytona 500 as the race had 49 lead changes.

Media

Television

The Daytona 500 was covered by CBS in the United States for the twenty second straight year and it was their final Daytona 500 as coverage would switch to Fox in 2001. Mike Joy, two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Ned Jarrett and 1980 race winner Buddy Baker called the race from the broadcast booth. Dick Berggren, Ralph Sheheen and Bill Stephens handled pit road for the television side. Ken Squier would serve as host.

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings

* Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.

Notes

References

{{NASCAR on CBS

2000 in sports in Florida
2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
February 2000 sports events in the United States
NASCAR races at Daytona International Speedway