2000 DieHard 500

Race details
Race 9 of 34 in the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 2000 DieHard 500 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt.
Date	April 16, 2000
Official name	31st Annual DieHard 500
Location	Lincoln, Alabama, Talladega Superspeedway
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.66 mi (4.28 km)
Distance	188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.8 km)
Scheduled Distance	188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.8 km)
Average speed	161.157 miles per hour (259.357 km/h)
Attendance	185,000
Pole position
Driver	Jeremy Mayfield	Penske-Kranefuss Racing
Time	51.217
Most laps led
Driver	Mark Martin	Roush Racing
Laps	98
Winner
No. 24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	ABC
Announcers	Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons, Ray Evernham
Radio in the United States
Radio	Motor Racing Network

The 2000 DieHard 500 was the ninth stock car race of the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 31st iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 16, 2000, before an audience of 185,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. In a late race charge, Hendrick Motorsports' Jeff Gordon made a pass for the lead with five laps left in the race, defending the lead to take his 50th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season.^[1][2] To fill out the top three, Mike Skinner and Dale Earnhardt, both drivers from Richard Childress Racing, finished second and third, respectively.

Background

Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a tri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line that's located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which also is a 2.5-mile-long (4 km) tri-oval.

Entry list

• (R) denotes rookie driver.

Practice

First practice

The first practice session was held on Friday, April 14, at 12:15 PM EST. The session lasted for two hours. Roush Racing's Chad Little set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 50.946 and an average speed of 187.964 mph (302.499 km/h).^[3]

Second practice

The second practice session was held on Saturday, April 15, at 9:15 AM EST. The session lasted for one hour and 15 minutes. Dale Earnhardt, Inc.'s Steve Park set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 49.389 and an average speed of 193.889 mph (312.034 km/h).^[3]

Final practice

The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, April 15, at 2:00 PM EST. The session lasted for one hour. Dale Earnhardt, Inc.'s Steve Park set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 49.231 and an average speed of 194.512 mph (313.037 km/h).^[3]

Qualifying

Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, April 14, at 4:00 PM EST. Each driver had two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two counted as their official qualifying lap. During the first round, the top 25 drivers in the round was 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, April 15, at 11:45 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver had two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap.^[3] Positions 26–36 was decided on time, while positions 37–43 was based on provisionals. Six spots were awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The seventh was 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 was awarded a provisional.^[4]

Jeremy Mayfield, driving for Penske-Kranefuss Racing, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 51.217 and an average speed of 186.969 miles per hour (300.897 km/h) in the first round.^[5]

Five drivers failed to qualify - Brett Bodine, Kevin Lepage, Gary Bradberry, Rick Mast, & Elliott Sadler.

Full qualifying results

Race results

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 1 Mark Martin 1,370 1 2 Bobby Labonte 1,346 (−24) 3 Ward Burton 1,293 (−77) 1 4 Dale Earnhardt 1,272 (−98) 1 5 Jeff Burton 1,236 (−134) 1 6 Dale Jarrett 1,167 (−203) 5 7 Jeff Gordon 1,149 (−221) 2 8 Rusty Wallace 1,129 (−241) 2 9 Terry Labonte 1,118 (−252) 2 10 Ricky Rudd 1,086 (−284) Official driver's standings Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.