The 2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 was the 25th stock car race of the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 40th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, September 9, 2000, in Richmond, Virginia, at Richmond International Raceway, a 0.75 miles (1.21 km) D-shaped oval. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. At race's end, Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would manage to pull away on the final restart with 15 to go to win his 52nd career NASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his third and final win of the season.[1][2] To fill out the podium, Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress Racing and Mark Martin of Roush Racing would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 25 of 34 in the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 program cover. | |||
| Date | September 9, 2000 | ||
| Official name | 43rd Annual Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 | ||
| Location | Richmond, Virginia, Richmond International Raceway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.75 mi (1.21 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 400 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km) | ||
| Average speed | 99.871 miles per hour (160.727 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Roush Racing | ||
| Time | 21.466 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | |
| Laps | 152 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Background
editRichmond International Raceway (RIR) is a 3/4-mile (1.2 km), D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series. Known as "America's premier short track", it formerly hosted a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, an IndyCar Series race, and two USAC sprint car races.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Practice
editFirst practice
editThe first practice session was held on Friday, September 8, at 12:30 PM EST. The session would last for one hours and 25 minutes.[3] Rusty Wallace of Penske-Kranefuss Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 21.656 and an average speed of 124.676 mph (200.647 km/h).[4]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 21.656 | 124.676 |
| 2 | 26 | Jimmy Spencer | Haas-Carter Motorsports | Ford | 21.670 | 124.596 |
| 3 | 12 | Jeremy Mayfield | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 21.711 | 124.360 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second practice
editThe second practice session was held on Friday, September 8, at 3:00 PM EST. The session would last for one hour and 30 minutes.[3] Bobby Labonte of Joe Gibbs Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 21.545 and an average speed of 125.319 mph (201.681 km/h).[5]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 21.545 | 125.319 |
| 2 | 10 | Johnny Benson Jr. | Tyler Jet Motorsports | Pontiac | 21.644 | 124.745 |
| 3 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 21.668 | 124.607 |
| Full second practice results | ||||||
Third practice
editThe third practice session was held on Saturday, September 9, at 11:30 AM EST. The session would last for one hour.[3] Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 21.545 and an average speed of 125.319 mph (201.681 km/h).[6]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 22.289 | 121.135 |
| 2 | 27 | Mike Bliss (R) | Eel River Racing | Pontiac | 22.337 | 120.875 |
| 3 | 21 | Elliott Sadler | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 22.347 | 120.821 |
| Full third practice results | ||||||
Fourth and final practice
editThe final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held after second-round qualifying. The session would last until 2:20 PM EST.[3] Jeremy Mayfield of Penske-Kranefuss Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 22.220 and an average speed of 121.512 mph (195.555 km/h).[7]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Jeremy Mayfield | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 22.220 | 121.512 |
| 2 | 50 | Ricky Craven | Midwest Transit Racing | Chevrolet | 22.234 | 121.435 |
| 3 | 60 | Geoff Bodine | Joe Bessey Racing | Chevrolet | 22.259 | 121.299 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, September 8, at 5:30 PM EST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap. During the first round, the top 25 drivers in the round would be 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 Saturday, September 9, at 1:15 PM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap.[3] Positions 26-36 would be decided on time, while positions 37-43 would be based on provisionals. Six spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The seventh is 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 will be awarded a provisional.[8]
Jeff Burton of Roush Racing would win the pole, setting a time of 21.466 and an average speed of 125.780 miles per hour (202.423 km/h).[9]
Four drivers would fail to qualify: Mike Bliss, Robby Gordon, Darrell Waltrip, and Dave Marcis.
Full qualifying results
editRace results
editReferences
edit- ^ Poole, David (September 9, 2000). "Gordon shines and Labonte scores in spite of trouble". ThatsRacin. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on November 24, 2001. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
- ^ Schmidt, Russell (September 10, 2000). "Gordon claims Chevrolet 400". The Daily News Leader. p. 11. Retrieved May 26, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e "Jayski's Silly Season Site - 2000 Richmond 2 Race Info Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on April 25, 2001. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
- ^ "2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 - NASCAR Winston Cup Series Practice 1". NASCAR Online. Archived from the original on October 18, 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
- ^ "2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 - NASCAR Winston Cup Series Practice 2". NASCAR Online. Archived from the original on October 18, 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
- ^ "2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 - NASCAR Winston Cup Series Practice 3". NASCAR Online. Archived from the original on October 18, 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
- ^ "2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 - NASCAR Winston Cup Series Practice 4". NASCAR Online. Archived from the original on October 18, 2000. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Poole, David (September 8, 2000). "Jeff Burton wins a rare pole at Richmond". ThatsRacin. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on November 6, 2001. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
- ^ "2000 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2022-05-24.