2000 Winston Cup Series

2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Bobby Labonte won the 2000 Winston Cup Series Championship
Duration	February 20, 2000 through November 20, 2000
TV	ESPN/ABC, CBS/TNN, TBS, NBC
Season statistics
No. of races	34
First race	2000 Daytona 500
Last race	2000 NAPA 500
Drivers' champion	Bobby Labonte
Manufacturers' champion
Rookie of the Year	Matt Kenseth
Most popular driver	Bill Elliott
Previous	1999
Next	2001

The 2000 Winston Cup Series was the 52nd season of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. The season began with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 20 and ended with the NAPA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on November 20.

Bobby Labonte was the NASCAR Winston Cup Series Champion with 4 wins and 19 Top 5's. He finished the season 5,130 points, 265 points more than runner up Dale Earnhardt. Tony Stewart won the most races in the season, but finished 6th in the standings. Rookie sensations Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. had a competitive battle for Rookie of the Year honors, and each won races in the season.

The season is notable for being future champion Matt Kenseth's first full time Cup Season, as well as the last year for track-specific TV contracts. It was the last season without Dodge participation until 2013. The season was marred by the death of Kenny Irwin, Jr. in a practice crash during the thatlook.com 300 weekend. Chip Ganassi purchased an interest in the Felix Sabates team during the season, and thus it was the last season with Felix Sabates as a sole owner of a Cup Series team. Also during the season, the #10 Tyler Jet Motorsports team merged with MB2 Motorsports, forming a two car team that existed during the last third of the season.

Due to the .com bubble in the economy, a number of races and a few race teams were sponsored by internet companies. Most of these sponsorships did not last and were replaced when the bubble burst in 2001.

Teams Competing (Full Time)

Car No.	Driver	Sponsor	Make	Crew Chief	Team
01	Ted Musgrave	BellSouth		Tony Glover	Team SABCO
1	Steve Park	Pennzoil		Paul Andrews	Dale Earnhardt Inc.
2	Rusty Wallace	Miller Lite		Robin Pemberton	Penske Racing South
3	Dale Earnhardt	GM Goodwrench		Kevin Hamlin	Richard Childress Racing
4	Bobby Hamilton	Kodak		David Ifft	Morgan-McClure Motorsports
5	Terry Labonte	Kellogg's		Gary DeHart	Hendrick Motorsports
6	Mark Martin	Valvoline		Jimmy Fennig	Roush Racing
7	Michael Waltrip	Nations Rent		Bobby Kennedy	Mattei Motorsports Ultra Motorsports
8	Dale Earnhardt, Jr. #	Budweiser		Tony Eury	Dale Earnhardt Inc.
9	Stacy Compton #	Kodiak		Chad Knaus Jerry Pitts	Melling Racing
10	Johnny Benson, Jr.	Lycos.com Aaron's		James Ince	Tim Beverley MB2 Motorsports
11	Brett Bodine	Ralph's		Mike Hillman	Brett Bodine Racing
12	Jeremy Mayfield	Mobil 1		Peter Sospenzo	Penske-Kranefuss Racing
13	Robby Gordon	Menards		Mark Tudor	Robby Gordon Motorsports
14	Mike Bliss # (4) Dick Trickle (2) Rick Mast (28)	Conseco		Phillippe Lopez (25) Terry Wooden (4) Waddell Wilson (1)	A.J. Foyt Racing
16	Kevin Lepage	NorthernLight.com FamilyClick.com		Pat Tryson	Roush Racing
17	Matt Kenseth #	DeWalt		Robbie Reiser	Roush Racing
18	Bobby Labonte	Interstate Batteries		Jimmy Makar	Joe Gibbs Racing
20	Tony Stewart	Home Depot		Greg Zipadelli	Joe Gibbs Racing
21	Elliott Sadler	Citgo		Eddie Wood	Wood Brothers Racing
22	Ward Burton	Caterpillar		Tommy Baldwin, Jr.	Bill Davis Racing
24	Jeff Gordon	Dupont		Robbie Loomis	Hendrick Motorsports
25	Jerry Nadeau	Michael Holigan		Tony Furr	Hendrick Motorsports
26	Jimmy Spencer	Kmart		Donnie Wingo	Haas-Carter Motorsports
27	Jeff Fuller # (7) Mike Bliss # (27)	Viagra		Berry Dodson	Eel River Racing
28	Ricky Rudd	Texaco Havoline		Michael McSwain	Robert Yates Racing
31	Mike Skinner	Lowe's		Larry McReynolds	Richard Childress Racing
32	Scott Pruett #	Tide		Scott Houston	PPI Motorsports
33	Joe Nemechek	Oakwood Homes		Danny Gill	Andy Petree Racing
36	Ken Schrader	M&M's		Sammy Johns	MB2 Motorsports
40	Sterling Marlin	Coors Light		Scott Eggleston	Team SABCO
41	Rick Mast (6) Gary Bradberry (3)	Big Daddy's BBQ Sauce		Phillippe Lopez	Larry Hedrick Motorsports
42	Kenny Irwin, Jr. † (17)	BellSouth		Tony Glover	Team SABCO
43	John Andretti	STP/Cheerios		Greg Steadman	Petty Enterprises
44	Kyle Petty (21) Steve Grissom (13)	Hot Wheels		Bobby Leslie Chris Hussey	Petty Enterprises
50	Ricky Craven	Midwest Transit		Greg Connors	Midwest Transit Racing
55	Kenny Wallace	Square D		Jimmy Elledge	Andy Petree Racing
60	Geoffrey Bodine (16) Ted Musgrave (5) Rich Bickle (5) Dick Trickle (4) Joe Bessey (2)	Power Team		Jim Long	Joe Bessey Racing
66	Darrell Waltrip	Kmart		Larry Carter	Haas-Carter Motorsports
71	Dave Marcis	Realtree		Bob Marcis	Marcis Auto Racing
75	Wally Dallenbach, Jr.	Cartoon Network TBS Red Cell Batteries RotoZip Tools WCW		Newt Moore	Galaxy Motorsports
77	Robert Pressley	Jasper Engines		Ryan Pemberton	Jasper Racing
88	Dale Jarrett	Quality Care/Ford Credit		Todd Parrott	Robert Yates Racing
90	Ed Berrier # (18) Brian Simo (2) Hut Stricklin (14)	Hills Brothers Coffee		Craig Huartson	Donlavey Racing
93	Dave Blaney #	Amoco		Doug Randolph	Bill Davis Racing
94	Bill Elliott	McDonald's		Mike Ford	Bill Elliott Racing
97	Chad Little (27) Kurt Busch (7)	John Deere		Jeff Hammond	Roush Racing
99	Jeff Burton	Exide Batteries (28) Citgo (6)		Frank Stoddard	Roush Racing

# - indicates a Rookie of the Year contender

(#) - indicates the number of races if the driver did not run the full season with the team.

† - indicates the #42 was renumbered to the #01 following the death of Kenny Irwin, Jr.

Schedule

Round	Date	Race Name	Track	Time (EST)	TV
	February 13, 2000	Bud Shootout	Daytona International Speedway	12:00pm	CBS
	February 17, 2000	Gatorade 125s	Daytona International Speedway	12:30pm	CBS
1	February 20, 2000	Daytona 500 #	Daytona International Speedway	12:00pm	CBS
2	February 27, 2000	Dura Lube / Kmart 400	North Carolina Speedway	12:30pm	TNN
3	March 5, 2000	CarsDirect.com 400 #	Las Vegas Motor Speedway	2:30pm	ABC
4	March 12, 2000	Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	1:00pm	ABC
5	March 19, 2000	Mall.com 400	Darlington Raceway	12:30pm	ESPN
6	March 26, 2000	Food City 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	1:00pm	ESPN
7	April 2, 2000	DirecTV 500	Texas Motor Speedway	2:00pm	CBS
8	April 9, 2000	Goody's Body Pain 500	Martinsville Speedway	1:00pm	ESPN
9	April 16, 2000	DieHard 500	Talladega Superspeedway	1:00pm	ABC
10	April 30, 2000	NAPA Auto Parts 500	California Speedway	2:00pm	ABC
11	May 6, 2000	Pontiac Excitement 400	Richmond International Raceway	7:30pm	ESPN
	May 20, 2000	The Winston	Lowe's Motor Speedway	7:30pm	TNN
12	May 28, 2000	Coca-Cola 600 #	Lowe's Motor Speedway	6:05pm	TBS
13	June 4, 2000	MBNA Platinum 400	Dover Downs International Speedway	12:30pm	TNN
14	June 11, 2000	Kmart 400	Michigan Speedway	1:00pm	CBS
15	June 19, 2000	Pocono 500	Pocono Raceway	1:00pm	TNN
16	June 25, 2000	Save Mart / Kragen 350	Sears Point Raceway	4:00pm	ESPN
17	July 1, 2000	Pepsi 400	Daytona International Speedway	8:00pm	CBS
18	July 9, 2000	thatlook.com 300	New Hampshire International Speedway	1:00pm	TNN
19	July 23, 2000	Pennsylvania 500	Pocono Raceway	1:05pm	TBS
20	August 5, 2000	Brickyard 400	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	1:00pm	ABC
21	August 13, 2000	Global Crossing @ The Glen	Watkins Glen International	12:30pm	ESPN
22	August 20, 2000	Pepsi 400 Presented by Meijer	Michigan Speedway	12:30pm	ESPN
23	August 26, 2000	goracing.com 500	Bristol Motor Speedway	7:30pm	ESPN
24	September 3, 2000	Pepsi Southern 500	Darlington Raceway	1:00pm	ESPN
25	September 9, 2000	Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 #	Richmond International Raceway	7:30pm	ESPN
26	September 17, 2000	Dura Lube 300 sponsored by Kmart	New Hampshire International Speedway	12:30pm	TNN
27	September 24, 2000	MBNA.com 400	Dover Downs International Speedway	12:30pm	TNN
28	October 1, 2000	NAPA Autocare 500	Martinsville Speedway	1:00pm	ESPN
29	October 8, 2000	UAW-GM Quality 500	Lowe's Motor Speedway	1:05pm	TBS
30	October 15, 2000	Winston 500 #	Talladega Superspeedway	1:00pm	ESPN
31	October 22, 2000	Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400	North Carolina Speedway	12:30pm	TNN
32	November 5, 2000	Checker Auto Parts / Dura Lube 500k	Phoenix International Raceway	2:00pm	TNN
33	November 12, 2000	Pennzoil 400 presented by Discount Auto Parts	Homestead-Miami Speedway	12:30pm	NBC
34	November 20, 2000	NAPA 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	1:00pm	ESPN

# indicates a Winston No Bull 5 Race.

Results

Round	Race	Pole Winner	Winner	Make	Cautions	Caution Laps	Average Speed	Number of Lead Changes
	2000 Bud Shootout	Mark Martin	Dale Jarrett		0	0	182.334	4
	2000 Gatorade 125 (Race #1)	Dale Jarrett	Bill Elliott		0	0	188.758	1
	2000 Gatorade 125 (Race #2)	Ricky Rudd	Ricky Rudd		0	0	188.048	0
1	2000 Daytona 500	Dale Jarrett	Dale Jarrett		6	24	155.669	9
2	2000 Dura Lube/Kmart 400	Rusty Wallace	Bobby Labonte		4	22	127.875	22
3	2000 CarsDirect.com 400	Ricky Rudd	Jeff Burton		2	29	119.982	13
4	2000 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500	Dale Jarrett	Dale Earnhardt		10	62	131.759	30
5	2000 Mall.com 400	Jeff Gordon	Ward Burton		5	30	128.076	13
6	2000 Food City 500	Steve Park	Rusty Wallace		11	76	88.018	18
7	2000 DirecTV 500	Terry Labonte	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.		12	62	131.152	29
8	2000 Goody's Body Pain 500	Rusty Wallace	Mark Martin		17	116	71.161	14
9	2000 DieHard 500	Jeremy Mayfield	Jeff Gordon		4	17	161.157	27
10	2000 NAPA Auto Parts 500	Mike Skinner	Jeremy Mayfield		5	22	149.378	20
11	2000 Pontiac Excitement 400	Rusty Wallace	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.		9	59	99.374	21
	2000 The Winston	Bill Elliott	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.		7	0	167.035	6
12	2000 Coca-Cola 600	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Matt Kenseth		7	38	142.640	25
13	2000 MBNA Platinum 400	Rusty Wallace	Tony Stewart		10	58	109.514	14
14	2000 Kmart 400	Bobby Labonte	Tony Stewart		4	20	143.926	19
15	2000 Pocono 500	Rusty Wallace	Jeremy Mayfield		5	21	139.741	24
16	2000 Save Mart/Kragen 350	Rusty Wallace	Jeff Gordon		4	14	78.789	10
17	2000 Pepsi 400	Dale Jarrett	Jeff Burton		5	23	148.576	10
18	2000 thatlook.com 300	Rusty Wallace	Tony Stewart		5	38	103.145	12
19	2000 Pennsylvania 500	Tony Stewart	Rusty Wallace		7	32	130.662	25
20	2000 Brickyard 400	Ricky Rudd	Bobby Labonte		2	7	155.912	9
21	2000 Global Crossing @ The Glen	N/A	Steve Park		5	12	91.336	9
22	2000 Pepsi 400 Presented by Meijer	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Rusty Wallace		8	38	132.597	21
23	2000 goracing.com 500	Rusty Wallace	Rusty Wallace		13	85	85.394	19
24	2000 Pepsi Southern 500	Jeremy Mayfield	Bobby Labonte		9	69	108.273	22
25	2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400	Jeff Burton	Jeff Gordon		8	57	99.871	16
26	2000 Dura Lube 300 Sponsored by Kmart	Bobby Labonte	Jeff Burton		7	42	102.003	1
27	2000 MBNA.com 400	Jeremy Mayfield	Tony Stewart		8	45	115.191	24
28	2000 NAPA Autocare 500	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart		13	88	73.859	12
29	2000 UAW-GM Quality 500	Jeff Gordon	Bobby Labonte		9	51	133.630	46
30	2000 Winston 500	Joe Nemechek	Dale Earnhardt		3	13	165.681	49
31	2000 Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400	Jeremy Mayfield	Dale Jarrett		9	60	110.418	23
32	2000 Checker Auto Parts/Dura Lube 500	Rusty Wallace	Jeff Burton		6	39	105.041	23
33	2000 Pennzoil 400 Presented by Discount Auto Parts	Steve Park	Tony Stewart		4	25	127.480	15
34	2000 NAPA 500	Jeff Gordon	Jerry Nadeau		8	44	141.296	23

• The CarsDirect.com 400 was shortened to 148 laps (out of a scheduled 267) due to rain.
• The Kmart 400 was shortened to 194 laps (out of a scheduled 200) due to rain.
• The thatlook.com 300 was shortened to 273 laps (out of a scheduled 300) due to rain.
• The Pepsi Southern 500 was shortened to 328 laps (out of a scheduled 367) due to rain.

Final Points Standings

Pos.	Driver	Races	Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	Points	Difference
1	Bobby Labonte	34	4	19	24	2	5130
2	Dale Earnhardt	34	2	13	24	0	4865	-265
3	Jeff Burton	34	4	15	22	1	4836	-294
4	Dale Jarrett	34	2	15	24	3	4684	-446
5	Ricky Rudd	34	0	12	19	2	4575	-555
6	Tony Stewart	34	6	12	23	2	4570	-560
7	Rusty Wallace	34	4	12	20	9	4544	-586
8	Mark Martin	34	1	13	20	0	4410	-720
9	Jeff Gordon	34	3	11	22	3	4361	-769
10	Ward Burton	34	1	4	17	0	4152	-978
11	Steve Park	34	1	6	13	2	3934	-1196
12	Mike Skinner	34	0	1	11	1	3898	-1232
13	Johnny Benson, Jr.	33	0	3	7	0	3716	-1414
14	Matt Kenseth	34	1	4	11	0	3711	-1419
15	Joe Nemechek	34	0	3	9	1	3534	-1596
16	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	34	2	3	5	2	3516	-1614
17	Terry Labonte	32	0	3	6	1	3433	-1697
18	Ken Schrader	34	0	0	2	0	3398	-1732
19	Sterling Marlin	34	0	1	7	0	3363	-1767
20	Jerry Nadeau	34	1	3	5	0	3273	-1857
21	Bill Elliott	32	0	3	7	0	3267	-1863
22	Jimmy Spencer	34	0	2	5	0	3188	-1942
23	John Andretti	34	0	0	2	0	3169	-1961
24	Jeremy Mayfield	32	2	6	12	4	3156	-1974
25	Robert Pressley	34	0	1	1	0	3055	-2075
26	Kenny Wallace	34	0	1	1	0	2874	-2256
27	Michael Waltrip	34	0	1	1	0	2797	-2333
28	Kevin Lepage	32	0	1	3	0	2795	-2335
29	Elliott Sadler	33	0	0	1	0	2762	-2368
30	Bobby Hamilton	34	0	0	2	0	2715	-2415
31	Dave Blaney	33	0	0	2	0	2656	-2474
32	Chad Little	27	0	0	1	0	2634	-2496
33	Rick Mast	29	0	0	2	0	2366	-2764
34	Wally Dallenbach, Jr.	30	0	0	1	0	2344	-2786
35	Brett Bodine	29	0	0	0	0	2145	-2985
36	Darrell Waltrip	29	0	0	0	0	1981	-3149
37	Scott Pruett	28	0	0	1	0	1879	-3251
38	Stacy Compton	27	0	0	0	0	1857	-3273
39	Mike Bliss	25	0	0	1	0	1748	-3382
40	Ted Musgrave	18	0	0	0	0	1614	-3516
41	Kyle Petty	19	0	0	1	0	1441	-3689
42	Kenny Irwin, Jr.	17	0	1	1	0	1440	-3690
43	Robby Gordon	17	0	1	2	0	1309	-3821
44	Ricky Craven	16	0	0	0	0	1175	-3955
45	Geoffrey Bodine	14	0	0	0	0	1039	-4091
46	Dave Marcis	11	0	0	0	0	723	-4407
47	Ed Berrier	10	0	0	0	0	628	-4502
48	Kurt Busch	7	0	0	0	0	613	-4517
49	Todd Bodine	5	0	0	1	0	456	-4674
50	Hut Stricklin	7	0	0	0	0	436	-4694

Complete statistics can be found at Racing-Reference.info.

Rookie of the Year

The 2000 Rookie of the Year battle came down to two top contenders, Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.. Both drivers drove for top teams in the series and were evenly matched throughout the season. While Earnhardt, Jr had won the previous two NASCAR Busch Series championships, and won more victories in the 2000 season, Kenseth ultimately had a more consistent season, finishing ahead of Earnhardt Jr. in points and won the Raybestos Rookie of the Year title.

Rookie of the Year Standings

Position	Driver	Points	Race Wins
1	Matt Kenseth	316	1
2	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	274	2
3	Dave Blaney	240	0
4	Scott Pruett	221	0
5	Stacy Compton	213	0
6	Mike Bliss	207	0
7	Ed Berrier	87	0

Manufacturer Championship

With 14 wins, Ford won the manufacturer's championship.

Position	Make	Points	Race Wins
1		234	14
2		213	12
3		199	8

Other Season Awards

• Most Popular Driver: Bill Elliott (received 39% of 280,000 votes cast)
• Exide All Charged Up Award: Jeff Burton
• True Value Man-Of-The-Year Award: Dale Jarrett
• Gatorade Front Runner Award: Rusty Wallace
• Clevite Engine Builder of the Year Award: Mark Cronquist, Joe Gibbs Racing
• Tosco (76) Oil Contingency Award: Dale Earnhardt
• Tosco (76) Gasoline Contingency Award: Bobby Labonte
• Plasti-Kote Quality Finish Award: Jimmy Makar, Joe Gibbs Racing (Bobby Labonte's Crew Chief)
• DuPont Point Fund Award: Dale Jarrett
• Bud Pole Award: Rusty Wallace
• Goodyear Tire Award: Bobby Labonte
• Union-76 World Pit Crew Championship: #99 Roush Racing Ford Pit Crew, led by Frank Stoddard