The 2000 Pennsylvania 500 was the 19th stock car race of the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 28th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 23, 2000, in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, at Pocono Raceway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) triangular permanent course. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. On the final lap of the race, leader of the race, Penske-Kranefuss Racing driver Jeremy Mayfield would blow a tire heading into the second turn. Behind Mayfield, two drivers battling for position, teammate Rusty Wallace and Roush Racing driver Jeff Burton were battling for the second position, When Mayfield blew a tire, the two passed Mayfield, leading the two of them to battle for the lead. At the end of the race, Wallace was able to defend Burton to claim his 51st career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Jeff Burton and Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon would finish second and third, respectively.

2000 Pennsylvania 500
Race details
Race 19 of 34 in the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 2000 Pennsylvania 500 program cover, featuring Bobby Labonte.
The 2000 Pennsylvania 500 program cover, featuring Bobby Labonte.
Date July 23, 2000
Official name 28th Annual Pennsylvania 500
Location Long Pond, Pennsylvania, Pocono Raceway
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.0 km)
Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Scheduled Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Average speed 130.662 miles per hour (210.280 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Joe Gibbs Racing
Time 52.207
Most laps led
Driver Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing
Laps 73
Winner
No. 2 Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing
Television in the United States
Network TBS
Announcers Allen Bestwick, Buddy Baker, Dick Berggren
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

Background

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The layout of Pocono Raceway, the venue where the race was held.

The race was held at Pocono Raceway, which is a three-turn superspeedway located in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The track hosts two annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, as well as one Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series event. Until 2019, the track also hosted an IndyCar Series race.

Pocono Raceway is one of a very few NASCAR tracks not owned by either Speedway Motorsports, Inc. or International Speedway Corporation. It is operated by the Igdalsky siblings Brandon, Nicholas, and sister Ashley, and cousins Joseph IV and Chase Mattioli, all of whom are third-generation members of the family-owned Mattco Inc, started by Joseph II and Rose Mattioli.

Outside of the NASCAR races, the track is used throughout the year by Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and motorcycle clubs as well as racing schools and an IndyCar race. The triangular oval also has three separate infield sections of racetrack – North Course, East Course and South Course. Each of these infield sections use a separate portion of the tri-oval to complete the track. During regular non-race weekends, multiple clubs can use the track by running on different infield sections. Also some of the infield sections can be run in either direction, or multiple infield sections can be put together – such as running the North Course and the South Course and using the tri-oval to connect the two.

Entry list

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  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet Pennzoil
01 Ted Musgrave Team SABCO Chevrolet BellSouth
2 Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford Miller Lite
3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench Service
4 Bobby Hamilton Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet Kodak
5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Frosted Flakes
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Valvoline
7 Michael Waltrip Ultra Motorsports Chevrolet NationsRent
8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (R) Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet Budweiser
9 Stacy Compton (R) Melling Racing Ford Kodiak
10 Johnny Benson Jr. Tyler Jet Motorsports Pontiac Aaron's, RCA
11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford Ralphs
12 Jeremy Mayfield Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford Mobil 1
14 Rick Mast A. J. Foyt Enterprises Pontiac Conseco
16 Kevin Lepage Roush Racing Ford Family Click
17 Matt Kenseth (R) Roush Racing Ford DeWalt
18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac Interstate Batteries
20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac The Home Depot
21 Elliott Sadler Wood Brothers Racing Ford Citgo
22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac Caterpillar
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet DuPont
25 Jerry Nadeau Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Michael Holigan
26 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford Big Kmart
27 Mike Bliss (R) Eel River Racing Pontiac Viagra
28 Ricky Rudd Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
31 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Lowe's
32 Scott Pruett (R) PPI Motorsports Ford Tide
33 Joe Nemechek Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet Oakwood Homes
36 Ken Schrader MB2 Motorsports Pontiac M&M's
40 Sterling Marlin Team SABCO Chevrolet Coors Light
43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Pontiac Cheerios
44 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac Hot Wheels
55 Kenny Wallace Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet Square D, Cooper Lighting
60 Geoff Bodine Joe Bessey Racing Chevrolet Power Team
66 Darrell Waltrip Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford Route 66, Big Kmart
71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet Realtree
75 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Galaxy Motorsports Ford America Online, RedCell
77 Robert Pressley Jasper Motorsports Ford Jasper Engines & Transmissions
85 Carl Long Mansion Motorsports Ford Mansion Motorsports
88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford Quality Care Service, Ford Credit
90 Hut Stricklin Donlavey Racing Ford Hills Bros. Coffee
93 Dave Blaney (R) Bill Davis Racing Pontiac Amoco
94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford McDonald's
97 Chad Little Roush Racing Ford John Deere
99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford Exide
Official entry list

Practice

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First practice

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The first practice session was held on Friday, July 21, at 11:00 AM EST. The session would last for three hours. Mark Martin, driving for Roush Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 52.377 and an average speed of 171.831 mph (276.535 km/h).[3]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 52.377 171.831
2 12 Jeremy Mayfield Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 52.454 171.578
3 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 52.612 171.063
Full first practice results

Second practice

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The second practice session was held on Saturday, July 22, at 9:30 AM EST. The session would last for one hour and 20 minutes. Ted Musgrave, driving for Team SABCO, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 53.416 and an average speed of 168.489 mph (271.157 km/h).[3]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 01 Ted Musgrave Team SABCO Chevrolet 53.416 168.489
2 14 Rick Mast A. J. Foyt Enterprises Pontiac 53.475 168.303
3 60 Geoff Bodine Joe Bessey Racing Chevrolet 53.544 168.086
Full second practice results

Final practice

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The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, July 22, after the preliminary 2000 Pepsi ARCA 200 ARCA Re/Max Series race. The session would last for one hour. Matt Kenseth, driving for Roush Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 54.338 and an average speed of 165.629 mph (266.554 km/h).[3]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 17 Matt Kenseth (R) Roush Racing Ford 54.338 165.629
2 12 Jeremy Mayfield Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 54.370 165.532
3 28 Ricky Rudd Robert Yates Racing Ford 54.421 165.377
Full Happy Hour practice results

Qualifying

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Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, July 21, at 3:00 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a time. 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, July 22, at 11:30 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have one lap to set a time.[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.[4]

Tony Stewart, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 52.207 and an average speed of 172.391 miles per hour (277.436 km/h) in the first round.[5]

Two drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 52.207 172.391
2 2 Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 52.278 172.157
3 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 52.433 171.648
4 12 Jeremy Mayfield Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 52.465 171.543
5 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 52.479 171.497
6 25 Jerry Nadeau Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 52.493 171.451
7 94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 52.533 171.321
8 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 52.537 171.308
9 10 Johnny Benson Jr. MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 52.573 171.191
10 1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 52.605 171.086
11 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 52.607 171.080
12 43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Pontiac 52.639 170.976
13 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 52.754 170.603
14 28 Ricky Rudd Robert Yates Racing Ford 52.754 170.603
15 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (R) Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 52.764 170.571
16 33 Joe Nemechek Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 52.823 170.380
17 31 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 52.829 170.361
18 93 Dave Blaney (R) Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 52.862 170.255
19 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 52.947 169.981
20 77 Robert Pressley Jasper Motorsports Ford 52.972 169.901
21 7 Michael Waltrip Ultra Motorsports Chevrolet 52.978 169.882
22 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 53.055 169.635
23 16 Kevin Lepage Roush Racing Ford 53.061 169.616
24 17 Matt Kenseth (R) Roush Racing Ford 53.065 169.603
25 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 53.070 169.587
Failed to lock in Round 1
26 01 Ted Musgrave Team SABCO Chevrolet 53.008 169.786
27 55 Kenny Wallace Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 53.118 169.434
28 26 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 53.149 169.335
29 36 Ken Schrader MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 53.167 169.278
30 97 Chad Little Roush Racing Ford 53.179 169.240
31 75 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Galaxy Motorsports Ford 53.195 169.189
32 44 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 53.202 169.167
33 32 Scott Pruett (R) PPI Motorsports Ford 53.209 169.144
34 40 Sterling Marlin Team SABCO Chevrolet 53.238 169.052
35 14 Rick Mast A. J. Foyt Racing Pontiac 53.259 168.986
36 21 Elliott Sadler Wood Brothers Racing Ford 53.262 168.976
Provisionals
37 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 53.273 168.941
38 4 Bobby Hamilton Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 54.001 166.664
39 9 Stacy Compton (R) Melling Racing Ford 53.443 168.404
40 27 Mike Bliss (R) Eel River Racing Pontiac 53.617 167.857
41 66 Darrell Waltrip Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 53.448 168.388
42 90 Ed Berrier (R) Donlavey Racing Ford 54.440 165.320
43 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 53.829 167.196
Failed to qualify
44 60 Geoff Bodine Joe Bessey Racing Chevrolet 53.307 168.833
45 85 Carl Long Mansion Motorsports Ford 54.281 165.804
Official first round qualifying results
Official starting lineup

Race results

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Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 2 2 Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 200 49 running 180 $125,745
2 8 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 200 11 running 175 $121,245
3 5 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 10 running 170 $92,045
4 11 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 200 73 running 170 $97,470
5 24 17 Matt Kenseth (R) Roush Racing Ford 200 0 running 155 $71,590
6 13 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 200 1 running 155 $62,065
7 17 31 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 0 running 146 $53,915
8 35 14 Rick Mast A. J. Foyt Racing Pontiac 200 0 running 142 $41,615
9 28 26 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 200 0 running 138 $49,715
10 4 12 Jeremy Mayfield Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 200 31 running 139 $49,615
11 22 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 0 running 130 $60,565
12 9 10 Johnny Benson Jr. MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 200 4 running 132 $38,915
13 15 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (R) Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 200 0 running 124 $43,015
14 20 77 Robert Pressley Jasper Motorsports Ford 200 0 running 121 $36,015
15 10 1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 200 0 running 118 $45,390
16 26 01 Ted Musgrave Team SABCO Chevrolet 200 0 running 115 $46,590
17 21 7 Michael Waltrip Ultra Motorsports Chevrolet 200 0 running 112 $44,090
18 18 93 Dave Blaney (R) Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 200 0 running 109 $30,990
19 29 36 Ken Schrader MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 200 0 running 106 $34,440
20 30 97 Chad Little Roush Racing Ford 200 0 running 103 $46,515
21 27 55 Kenny Wallace Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 200 0 running 100 $42,390
22 41 66 Darrell Waltrip Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 200 0 running 97 $33,490
23 23 16 Kevin Lepage Roush Racing Ford 200 2 running 99 $41,165
24 40 27 Mike Bliss (R) Eel River Racing Pontiac 200 0 running 91 $29,640
25 25 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 199 6 running 93 $48,915
26 1 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 199 0 running 85 $56,490
27 6 25 Jerry Nadeau Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 199 0 running 82 $40,415
28 37 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 198 0 running 79 $47,065
29 36 21 Elliott Sadler Wood Brothers Racing Ford 184 0 running 76 $39,990
30 19 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 183 0 transmission 73 $29,240
31 31 75 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Galaxy Motorsports Ford 176 0 transmission 70 $31,590
32 7 94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 163 13 engine 72 $39,440
33 42 90 Ed Berrier (R) Donlavey Racing Ford 160 0 rear end 64 $28,240
34 16 33 Joe Nemechek Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 159 0 engine 61 $38,515
35 39 9 Stacy Compton (R) Melling Racing Ford 148 0 engine 58 $27,415
36 33 32 Scott Pruett (R) PPI Motorsports Ford 141 0 engine 55 $27,290
37 43 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 128 0 engine 52 $27,200
38 14 28 Ricky Rudd Robert Yates Racing Ford 111 0 crash 49 $35,150
39 38 4 Bobby Hamilton Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 106 0 engine 46 $35,100
40 32 44 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Pontiac 96 0 engine 43 $35,025
41 12 43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Pontiac 41 0 engine 40 $44,975
42 34 40 Sterling Marlin Team SABCO Chevrolet 31 0 engine 37 $34,925
43 3 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 25 0 engine 34 $44,875
Failed to qualify
44 60 Geoff Bodine Joe Bessey Racing Chevrolet
45 85 Carl Long Mansion Motorsports Ford
Official race results

References

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  1. ^ Utter, Jim (July 23, 2000). "Luck or not, Wallace will take No. 51". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  2. ^ Brinster, Dick (July 24, 2000). "Wallace makes most of last-lap opportunity". Clarion-Ledger. p. 24. Retrieved November 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c d "Jayski's Silly Season Site - 2000 Pocono 2 Race Info Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on April 25, 2001. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  4. ^ "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.
  5. ^ Utter, Jim (July 21, 2000). "Rain helps Stewart capture Pocono pole". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
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NASCAR Winston Cup Series
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