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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 Team
01 Ted Musgrave BellSouth Chevrolet bowtie 2023 Felix Sabates
1 Steve Park Pennzoil Chevrolet bowtie 2023 Dale Earnhardt Inc.
2 Rusty Wallace Miller Lite Ford logo Roger Penske
3 Dale Earnhardt GM Goodwrench Chevrolet bowtie 2023 Richard Childress
4 Bobby Hamilton Kodak Chevrolet bowtie 2023 Morgan-McClure Motorsports
5 Terry Labonte Kellogg's Chevrolet bowtie 2023 Rick Hendrick
6 Mark Martin Valvoline Ford logo Jack Roush
7 Michael Waltrip Nations Rent Chevrolet bowtie 2023 Jim Mattei
8 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. # Budweiser Chevrolet bowtie 2023 Dale Earnhardt Inc.
9 Stacy Compton # Kodiak Ford logo Melling Racing
10 Johnny Benson, Jr. Lycos.com
Aaron's
Pontiac badge Tim Beverley
MB2 Motorsports
11 Brett Bodine Ralph's Ford logo Brett Bodine
12 Jeremy Mayfield Mobil 1 Ford logo Roger Penske
13 Robby Gordon Menards Ford logo Robby Gordon
14 Mike Bliss # (4)
Dick Trickle (2)
Rick Mast (28)
Conseco Pontiac badge A.J. Foyt
16 Kevin Lepage NorthernLight.com
FamilyClick.com
Ford logo Jack Roush
17 Matt Kenseth # DeWalt Ford logo Jack Roush
18 Bobby Labonte Interstate Batteries Pontiac badge Joe Gibbs
20 Tony Stewart Home Depot Pontiac badge Joe Gibbs
21 Elliott Sadler Citgo Ford logo Wood Brothers Racing
22 Ward Burton Caterpillar Pontiac badge Bill Davis
24 Jeff Gordon Dupont Chevrolet bowtie 2023 Rick Hendrick
25 Jerry Nadeau Michael Holigan Chevrolet bowtie 2023 Rick Hendrick
26 Jimmy Spencer Kmart Ford logo Travis Carter
27 Jeff Fuller # (7)
Mike Bliss # (27)
Viagra Pontiac badge Jack Birmingham
28 Ricky Rudd Texaco Havoline Ford logo Robert Yates
31 Mike Skinner Lowe's Chevrolet bowtie 2023 Richard Childress
32 Scott Pruett # Tide Ford logo PPI Motorsports
33 Joe Nemechek Oakwood Homes Chevrolet bowtie 2023 Andy Petree
36 Ken Schrader M&M's Pontiac badge MB2 Motorsports
40 Sterling Marlin Coors Light Chevrolet bowtie 2023 Felix Sabates
41 Rick Mast (6)
Gary Bradberry (3)
Big Daddy's BBQ Sauce Chevrolet bowtie 2023 Larry Hedrick
42 Kenny Irwin, Jr. † (17) BellSouth Chevrolet bowtie 2023 Felix Sabates
43 John Andretti STP/Cheerios Pontiac badge Petty Enterprises
44 Kyle Petty (21)
Steve Grissom (13)
Hot Wheels Pontiac badge Petty Enterprises
50 Ricky Craven Midwest Transit Chevrolet bowtie 2023 Midwest Transit Racing
55 Kenny Wallace Square D Chevrolet bowtie 2023 Andy Petree
60 Geoffrey Bodine (16)
Ted Musgrave (5)
Rich Bickle (5)
Dick Trickle (4)
Joe Bessey (2)
Power Team Chevrolet bowtie 2023 Joe Bessey
66 Darrell Waltrip Kmart Ford logo Travis Carter
71 Dave Marcis Realtree Chevrolet bowtie 2023 Dave Marcis
75 Wally Dallenbach, Jr. Cartoon Network
TBS
Red Cell Batteries
RotoZip Tools
WCW
Ford logo Darwin Oordt
77 Robert Pressley Jasper Engines Ford logo Jasper Racing
88 Dale Jarrett Quality Care/Ford Credit Ford logo Robert Yates
90 Ed Berrier # (18)
Brian Simo (2)
Hut Stricklin (14)
Hills Brothers Coffee Ford logo Junie Donlavey
93 Dave Blaney # Amoco Pontiac badge Bill Davis
94 Bill Elliott McDonald's Ford logo Bill Elliott
97 Chad Little (27)
Kurt Busch (7)
John Deere Ford logo Jack Roush
99 Jeff Burton Exide Batteries (28)
Citgo (6)
Ford logo Jack Roush

# - 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 Ford logo 0 0 182.334 4
2000 Gatorade 125 (Race #1) Dale Jarrett Bill Elliott Ford logo 0 0 188.758 1
2000 Gatorade 125 (Race #2) Ricky Rudd Ricky Rudd Ford logo 0 0 188.048 0
1 2000 Daytona 500 Dale Jarrett Dale Jarrett Ford logo 6 24 155.669 9
2 2000 Dura Lube/Kmart 400 Rusty Wallace Bobby Labonte Pontiac badge 4 22 127.875 22
3 2000 CarsDirect.com 400 Ricky Rudd Jeff Burton Ford logo 2 29 119.982 13
4 2000 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500 Dale Jarrett Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet bowtie 2023 10 62 131.759 30
5 2000 Mall.com 400 Jeff Gordon Ward Burton Pontiac badge 5 30 128.076 13
6 2000 Food City 500 Steve Park Rusty Wallace Ford logo 11 76 88.018 18
7 2000 DirecTV 500 Terry Labonte Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Chevrolet bowtie 2023 12 62 131.152 29
8 2000 Goody's Body Pain 500 Rusty Wallace Mark Martin Ford logo 17 116 71.161 14
9 2000 DieHard 500 Jeremy Mayfield Jeff Gordon Chevrolet bowtie 2023 4 17 161.157 27
10 2000 NAPA Auto Parts 500 Mike Skinner Jeremy Mayfield Ford logo 5 22 149.378 20
11 2000 Pontiac Excitement 400 Rusty Wallace Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Chevrolet bowtie 2023 9 59 99.374 21
2000 The Winston Bill Elliott Dale Earnhardt, Jr Chevrolet bowtie 2023 7 0 167.035 6
12 2000 Coca-Cola 600 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Matt Kenseth Ford logo 7 38 142.640 25
13 2000 MBNA Platinum 400 Rusty Wallace Tony Stewart Pontiac badge 10 58 109.514 14
14 2000 Kmart 400 Bobby Labonte Tony Stewart Pontiac badge 4 20 143.926 19
15 2000 Pocono 500 Rusty Wallace Jeremy Mayfield Ford logo 5 21 139.741 24
16 2000 Save Mart/Kragen 350 Rusty Wallace Jeff Gordon Chevrolet bowtie 2023 4 14 78.789 10
17 2000 Pepsi 400 Dale Jarrett Jeff Burton Ford logo 5 23 148.576 10
18 2000 thatlook.com 300 Rusty Wallace Tony Stewart Pontiac badge 5 38 103.145 12
19 2000 Pennsylvania 500 Tony Stewart Rusty Wallace Ford logo 7 32 130.662 25
20 2000 Brickyard 400 Ricky Rudd Bobby Labonte Pontiac badge 2 7 155.912 9
21 2000 Global Crossing @ The Glen N/A Steve Park Chevrolet bowtie 2023 5 12 91.336 9
22 2000 Pepsi 400 Presented by Meijer Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Rusty Wallace Ford logo 8 38 132.597 21
23 2000 goracing.com 500 Rusty Wallace Rusty Wallace Ford logo 13 85 85.394 19
24 2000 Pepsi Southern 500 Jeremy Mayfield Bobby Labonte Pontiac badge 9 69 108.273 22
25 2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 Jeff Burton Jeff Gordon Chevrolet bowtie 2023 8 57 99.871 16
26 2000 Dura Lube 300 Sponsored by Kmart Bobby Labonte Jeff Burton Ford logo 7 42 102.003 1
27 2000 MBNA.com 400 Jeremy Mayfield Tony Stewart Pontiac badge 8 45 115.191 24
28 2000 NAPA Autocare 500 Tony Stewart Tony Stewart Pontiac badge 13 88 73.859 12
29 2000 UAW-GM Quality 500 Jeff Gordon Bobby Labonte Pontiac badge 9 51 133.630 46
30 2000 Winston 500 Joe Nemechek Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet bowtie 2023 3 13 165.681 49
31 2000 Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 Jeremy Mayfield Dale Jarrett Ford logo 9 60 110.418 23
32 2000 Checker Auto Parts/Dura Lube 500 Rusty Wallace Jeff Burton Ford logo 6 39 105.041 23
33 2000 Pennzoil 400 Presented by Discount Auto Parts Steve Park Tony Stewart Pontiac badge 4 25 127.480 15
34 2000 NAPA 500 Jeff Gordon Jerry Nadeau Chevrolet bowtie 2023 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[1]
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.[2]

Position Make Points Race Wins
1 Ford logo 234 14
2 Pontiac badge 213 12
3 Chevrolet bowtie 2023 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[2]

References:[]

  1. https://tobychristie.com/2000-nascar-winston-cup-series-rookie-of-the-year-standings/
  2. 2.0 2.1 The Official NASCAR Preview and Press Guide 2001. 2001. UMI Publications.
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