| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 23 of 34 in the2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 2000 goracing.com 500 program cover. | |||
| Date | August 26, 2000 | ||
| Official name | 40th Annual goracing.com 500 | ||
| Location | Bristol, Tennessee,Bristol Motor Speedway | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 0.533 miles (0.858 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.89 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.89 km) | ||
| Average speed | 85.394 miles per hour (137.428 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | ||
| Time | 15.292 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Rusty Wallace | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | |
| Laps | 279 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | ESPN | ||
| Announcers | Jerry Punch,Ned Jarrett,Benny Parsons | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Performance Racing Network | ||
The2000 goracing.com 500 was the 23rdstock car race of the2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 40th iteration of theevent. The race was held on Saturday, August 26, 2000,Bristol, Tennessee atBristol Motor Speedway, a 0.533 miles (0.858 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. At race's end,Rusty Wallace, driving forPenske-Kranefuss Racing would manage to take the lead on the final restart with 40 to go to win his 53rd careerNASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his fourth and final win of the season.[1][2] To fill out the podium,Tony Stewart ofJoe Gibbs Racing andMark Martin ofRoush Racing would finish second and third, respectively.
TheBristol Motor Speedway, formerly known asBristol International Raceway andBristol Raceway, is aNASCARshort track venue located inBristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Despite its short length, Bristol is among the most popular tracks on the NASCAR schedule because of its distinct features, which include extraordinarily steep banking, an all concrete surface, twopit roads, andstadium-like seating. It has also been named one of the loudest NASCAR tracks.
The first practice session was held on Friday, August 25, at 12:45 PMEST. The session would last for two hours and 45 minutes.[3]Sterling Marlin ofTeam SABCO would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 15.332 and an average speed of 125.150 mph (201.409 km/h).[4]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40 | Sterling Marlin | Team SABCO | Chevrolet | 15.332 | 125.150 |
| 2 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 15.336 | 125.117 |
| 3 | 20 | Tony Stewart(R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 15.407 | 124.540 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
The second practice session was held on Saturday, August 26, at 11:30 AMEST. The session would last for one hour and 30 minutes.[3]Geoff Bodine ofJoe Bessey Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 15.771 and an average speed of 121.666 mph (195.802 km/h).[5]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 60 | Geoff Bodine | Joe Bessey Racing | Chevrolet | 15.771 | 121.666 |
| 2 | 50 | Ricky Craven | Midwest Transit Racing | Chevrolet | 15.798 | 121.458 |
| 3 | 27 | Mike Bliss(R) | Eel River Racing | Pontiac | 15.847 | 121.082 |
| Full second practice results | ||||||
The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, August 26, at 2:15 PMEST. The session would last for one hour.[3]Kenny Wallace ofAndy Petree Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 15.989 and an average speed of 120.008 mph (193.134 km/h).[6]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 55 | Kenny Wallace | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 15.989 | 120.008 |
| 2 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 15.991 | 119.992 |
| 3 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 15.998 | 119.940 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, August 25, at 5:00 PMEST. 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, August 26, at 1:45 PMEST. 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.[7]
Rusty Wallace ofPenske-Kranefuss Racing would win the pole, setting a time of 15.292 and an average speed of 125.477 miles per hour (201.936 km/h).[8]
Four drivers would fail to qualify:Mike Bliss,Hut Stricklin,Carl Long, andRicky Craven.
The race was aired live onESPN in the United States.Jerry Punch,1965 race winnerNed Jarrett and1973 race winnerBenny Parsons called the race from the broadcast booth. Punch filled in for regular commentatorBob Jenkins who had was coveringESPN's coverage of theBelterra Resort Indy 300 atKentucky Speedway.Bill Weber,John Kernan andRay Dunlap handled pit road for the television side.
| ESPN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | |
| Lap-by-lap | Color-commentators | |
| Jerry Punch | Ned Jarrett Benny Parsons | Bill Weber John Kernan Ray Dunlap |
| Previous race: 2000 Pepsi 400 presented by Meijer | NASCAR Winston Cup Series 2000 season | Next race: 2000 Pepsi Southern 500 |