The 2000 MBNA.com 400 was the 27th stock car race of the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 32nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, September 24, 2000, in Dover, Delaware at Dover International Speedway, a 1-mile (1.6 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. At race's end, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Tony Stewart would manage to dominate the late stages of the race to take his seventh career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his fourth victory of the season.[1][2] To fill out the top three, MB2 Motorsports driver Johnny Benson Jr. and Robert Yates Racing driver Ricky Rudd would finish second and third, respectively. It was also the first NASCAR Winston Cup Series start of future champion Kurt Busch.

2000 MBNA.com 400
Race details
Race 27 of 34 in the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 2000 MBNA.com 400 program cover.
The 2000 MBNA.com 400 program cover.
Date September 24, 2000
Official name 32nd Annual MBNA.com 400
Location Dover, Delaware, Dover International Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
1 mi (1.6 km)
Distance 400 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km)
Scheduled Distance 400 laps, 400 mi (643.737 km)
Average speed 115.191 miles per hour (185.382 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Penske-Kranefuss Racing
Time 22.518
Most laps led
Driver Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps 163
Winner
No. 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network TNN
Announcers Eli Gold, Dick Berggren, Buddy Baker
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

Background

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The layout of Dover International Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

Dover International Speedway is an oval race track in Dover, Delaware, United States that has held at least two NASCAR races since it opened in 1969. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosted USAC and the NTT IndyCar Series. The track features one layout, a 1-mile (1.6 km) concrete oval, with 24° banking in the turns and 9° banking on the straights. The speedway is owned and operated by Dover Motorsports.

The track, nicknamed "The Monster Mile", was built in 1969 by Melvin Joseph of Melvin L. Joseph Construction Company, Inc., with an asphalt surface, but was replaced with concrete in 1995. Six years later in 2001, the track's capacity moved to 135,000 seats, making the track have the largest capacity of sports venue in the mid-Atlantic. In 2002, the name changed to Dover International Speedway from Dover Downs International Speedway after Dover Downs Gaming and Entertainment split, making Dover Motorsports. From 2007 to 2009, the speedway worked on an improvement project called "The Monster Makeover", which expanded facilities at the track and beautified the track. After the 2014 season, the track's capacity was reduced to 95,500 seats.

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 Kellogg's
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. MB2 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 Steve Grissom Petty Enterprises Pontiac Hot Wheels
55 Kenny Wallace Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet Square D, Cooper Lighting
60 Joe Bessey 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 Dinner and a Movie
77 Robert Pressley Jasper Motorsports Ford Jasper Engines & Transmissions
85 Carl Long Mansion Motorsports Ford NoopCo Paint Remover
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 McFlurry
97 Kurt Busch Roush Racing Ford John Deere
99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford Exide
Official entry list

Practice

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Originally, three practice sessions were scheduled to be held, with one on Friday and two on Saturday. However, due to rain, the first Saturday session was cancelled.[3]

First practice

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The first practice session was held on Friday, September 22, at 10:00 AM EST. The session would last for two hours. Johnny Benson Jr., driving for MB2 Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 22.518 and an average speed of 159.872 mph (257.289 km/h).[3]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 10 Johnny Benson Jr. MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 22.518 159.872
2 12 Jeremy Mayfield Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 22.522 159.843
3 2 Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 22.533 159.765
Full first practice results

Final practice

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The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, September 23, after the preliminary 2000 MBNA.com 200 NASCAR Busch Series race. The session would last for one hour. Mark Martin, driving for Roush Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.519 and an average speed of 153.067 mph (246.337 km/h).[3]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 23.519 153.067
2 12 Jeremy Mayfield Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 23.521 153.054
3 31 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 23.574 152.710
Full Happy Hour practice results

Qualifying

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Qualifying was originally scheduled to be split into two rounds. First-round qualifying was run on Friday, September 22m at 1:30 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set at time. Originally, the first round would lock in the top 25 drivers into the field.[3] Second-round qualifying was scheduled to set the rest of the field; however, rain would force the cancellation of the second round, leading the field to be set by qualifying results from the first round. 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][5]

Jeremy Mayfield, driving for Penske-Kranefuss Racing, would win the pole, setting a time of 22.518 and an average speed of 159.872 miles per hour (257.289 km/h) in the first round.[6]

Two drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

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Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 12 Jeremy Mayfield Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 22.518 159.872
2 14 Rick Mast A. J. Foyt Racing Pontiac 22.652 158.926
3 10 Johnny Benson Jr. MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 22.670 158.800
4 2 Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 22.694 158.632
5 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 22.725 158.416
6 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 22.735 158.346
7 94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 22.741 158.304
8 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 22.745 158.277
9 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.773 158.082
10 97 Kurt Busch Roush Racing Ford 22.794 157.936
11 25 Jerry Nadeau Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.798 157.909
12 33 Joe Nemechek Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 22.809 157.832
13 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (R) Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 22.817 157.777
14 28 Ricky Rudd Robert Yates Racing Ford 22.869 157.418
15 77 Robert Pressley Jasper Motorsports Ford 22.869 157.418
16 93 Dave Blaney (R) Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 22.875 157.377
17 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 22.885 157.308
18 36 Ken Schrader MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 22.898 157.219
19 7 Michael Waltrip Ultra Motorsports Chevrolet 22.937 156.952
20 27 Mike Bliss (R) Eel River Racing Pontiac 22.937 156.952
21 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 22.947 156.883
22 21 Elliott Sadler Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22.953 156.842
23 55 Kenny Wallace Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 22.963 156.774
24 31 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 22.984 156.631
25 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 22.984 156.631
26 26 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 23.037 156.270
27 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 23.039 156.257
28 1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 23.045 156.216
29 43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Pontiac 23.080 155.979
30 16 Kevin Lepage Roush Racing Ford 23.099 155.851
31 17 Matt Kenseth (R) Roush Racing Ford 23.108 155.790
32 75 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Galaxy Motorsports Ford 23.114 155.750
33 01 Ted Musgrave Team SABCO Chevrolet 23.115 155.743
34 32 Scott Pruett (R) PPI Motorsports Ford 23.140 155.575
35 4 Bobby Hamilton Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 23.162 155.427
36 66 Darrell Waltrip Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 23.166 155.400
Provisionals
37 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 23.249 154.845
38 40 Sterling Marlin Team SABCO Chevrolet 23.184 155.280
39 9 Stacy Compton (R) Melling Racing Ford 23.447 153.538
40 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 23.410 153.780
41 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 23.350 154.176
42 85 Carl Long Mansion Motorsports Ford 23.907 150.584
43 44 Steve Grissom Petty Enterprises Pontiac 23.241 154.899
Failed to qualify
44 90 Hut Stricklin Donlavey Racing Ford 23.625 152.381
45 60 Joe Bessey Joe Bessey Racing Chevrolet 23.384 153.951
Official starting lineup

Race results

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Fin St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 27 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 400 163 running 185 $158,535
2 3 10 Johnny Benson Jr. MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 400 7 running 175 $99,710
3 14 28 Ricky Rudd Robert Yates Racing Ford 400 1 running 170 $93,160
4 28 1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 400 0 running 160 $81,010
5 17 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 400 1 running 160 $82,670
6 5 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 400 60 running 155 $71,965
7 12 33 Joe Nemechek Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 400 3 running 151 $70,590
8 4 2 Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 400 0 running 142 $67,590
9 9 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 0 running 138 $70,290
10 2 14 Rick Mast A. J. Foyt Racing Pontiac 399 0 running 134 $55,990
11 24 31 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 399 0 running 130 $61,990
12 31 17 Matt Kenseth (R) Roush Racing Ford 399 0 running 127 $64,440
13 25 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 399 0 running 124 $63,490
14 15 77 Robert Pressley Jasper Motorsports Ford 399 0 running 121 $49,190
15 23 55 Kenny Wallace Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 399 0 running 118 $61,090
16 13 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (R) Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 399 0 running 115 $55,190
17 37 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 398 0 running 112 $63,390
18 10 97 Kurt Busch Roush Racing Ford 398 0 running 109 $55,975
19 7 94 Bill Elliott Bill Elliott Racing Ford 398 9 running 111 $55,690
20 40 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 398 0 running 103 $52,240
21 32 75 Wally Dallenbach Jr. Galaxy Motorsports Ford 397 0 running 100 $47,290
22 29 43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Pontiac 397 0 running 97 $61,540
23 33 01 Ted Musgrave Team SABCO Chevrolet 397 0 running 94 $54,890
24 19 7 Michael Waltrip Ultra Motorsports Chevrolet 397 0 running 91 $54,640
25 35 4 Bobby Hamilton Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 397 0 running 88 $54,765
26 22 21 Elliott Sadler Wood Brothers Racing Ford 397 0 running 85 $54,115
27 43 44 Steve Grissom Petty Enterprises Pontiac 394 0 running 82 $53,865
28 41 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 390 0 running 79 $42,590
29 39 9 Stacy Compton (R) Melling Racing Ford 388 0 running 76 $45,440
30 18 36 Ken Schrader MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 377 1 running 78 $45,290
31 36 66 Darrell Waltrip Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 313 0 engine 70 $45,115
32 8 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 301 0 running 67 $66,555
33 11 25 Jerry Nadeau Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 252 38 crash 69 $49,805
34 26 26 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 244 1 engine 66 $49,655
35 1 12 Jeremy Mayfield Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 228 73 engine 63 $55,505
36 21 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 186 39 crash 60 $61,375
37 38 40 Sterling Marlin Team SABCO Chevrolet 150 0 engine 52 $49,250
38 30 16 Kevin Lepage Roush Racing Ford 120 0 crash 49 $49,125
39 16 93 Dave Blaney (R) Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 98 4 crash 51 $41,000
40 6 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 25 0 crash 43 $58,850
41 42 85 Carl Long Mansion Motorsports Ford 12 0 crash 40 $40,725
42 34 32 Scott Pruett (R) PPI Motorsports Ford 11 0 crash 37 $40,600
43 20 27 Mike Bliss (R) Eel River Racing Pontiac 2 0 crash 34 $40,475
Failed to qualify
44 90 Hut Stricklin Donlavey Racing Ford
45 60 Joe Bessey Joe Bessey Racing Chevrolet
Official race results

References

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  1. ^ Utter, Jim (September 24, 2000). "Stewart saw rivals fade". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on February 4, 2001. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  2. ^ Brinster, Dick (September 25, 2000). "Stewart sweeps at Monster Mile". Republican and Herald. p. 12. Retrieved November 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ a b c d "Jayski's Silly Season Site - Dover 2 Race Info Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on April 23, 2001. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  4. ^ Utter, Jim (September 23, 2000). "Rain washes out 2nd-round qualifying". That's Racin'. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on November 24, 2001. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ Brinster, Dick (September 23, 2000). "On the upswing". Centre Daily Times. p. 21. Retrieved November 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
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