2002 NAPA Auto Parts 500
Race details[1]
Race 10 of 36 in the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
The 2002 NAPA Auto Parts 500 program cover, featuring Rusty Wallace.
The 2002 NAPA Auto Parts 500 program cover, featuring Rusty Wallace.
Date April 28, 2002 (2002-April-28)
Official name NAPA Auto Parts 500
Location California Speedway, Fontana, California
Course Permanent racing facility
2.0 mi (3.23 km)
Distance 250 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Weather Temperatures reaching up to 75.9 °F (24.4 °C); wind speeds up to 11.1 miles per hour (17.9 km/h)
Average speed 150.088 miles per hour (241.543 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Penske Racing
Most laps led
Driver Kurt Busch Roush Racing
Laps 102
Winner
No. 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network Fox Broadcasting Company
Announcers Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds

The 2002 NAPA Auto Parts 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car race held on April 28, 2002 at California Speedway in Fontana, California. Contested over 250 laps on the 2-mile (3.23 km) asphalt D-shaped oval, it was the tenth race of the 2002 Winston Cup Series season. Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports won the race, his first career Winston Cup Series victory. Kurt Busch finished second and Ricky Rudd finished third.

Background

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

The track, California Speedway, is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2 miles (3.2 km) long.[2] The track's turns are banked from fourteen degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at eleven degrees. Unlike the front stretch, the back straightaway is banked at three degrees.

Summary

There were ten drivers who failed to finish the race; with five of the drivers forcing to leave the race due to terminal crashes while five other drivers had engine issues.[3] Nearly 10% of the 199-minute race was held under a caution flag and the average green flag run was approximately 38 laps.[4]

Dale Earnhardt Jr. suffered a concussion when Kevin Harvick slowed on the track and veered into Earnhardt Jr.'s path, causing Jr. to hit the outside retaining wall parallel on the driver's side (this was before SAFER barriers were installed). The impact bent the dashboard of Jr.'s car and severely disoriented him; this ultimately forced NASCAR to pass a regulation forcing drivers to take the ambulance ride to the infield care center every time they crashed (he did not admit to have this injury until mid-September, after which NASCAR also passed a new concussion protocol).[5][6]

Race results

Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 4 48 Jimmie Johnson (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 250 180
2 2 97 Kurt Busch Roush Racing Ford 250 180
3 37 28 Ricky Rudd Robert Yates Racing Ford 250 165
4 39 9 Bill Elliott Evernham Motorsports Dodge 250 165
5 26 6 Mark Martin (W) Roush Racing Ford 250 155
6 3 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 250 155
7 25 40 Sterling Marlin Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 250 146
8 10 2 Rusty Wallace (W) Penske Racing Ford 250 142
9 32 77 Dave Blaney Jasper Motorsports Ford 250 143
10 6 15 Michael Waltrip Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 250 139
11 16 30 Jeff Green Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 250 130
12 40 31 Robby Gordon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 249 127
13 29 16 Greg Biffle Roush Racing Ford 249 124
14 1 12 Ryan Newman (R) Penske Racing Ford 249 126
15 11 10 Johnny Benson Jr. MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 249 118
16 17 24 Jeff Gordon (W) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 249 115
17 19 45 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge 249 112
18 27 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Dodge 249 109
19 38 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 249 106
20 20 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing Ford 249 103
21 34 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 249 100
22 18 1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 249 97
23 36 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Ford 249 94
24 24 43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Dodge 249 91
25 13 26 Joe Nemechek Haas-Carter Motorsports Chevrolet 249 88
26 5 25 Jerry Nadeau Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 249 85
27 22 41 Jimmy Spencer Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 248 82
28 12 7 Casey Atwood Ultra Motorsports Dodge 248 79
29 8 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 247 76
30 30 55 Bobby Hamilton Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 247 73
31 33 4 Mike Skinner Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 247 70
32 42 90 Rick Mast Donlavey Racing Ford 246 67
33 41 44 Steve Grissom Petty Enterprises Dodge 244 64
34 28 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 240 61
35 21 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 226 58
36 9 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 225 55
37 15 32 Ricky Craven PPI Motorsports Ford 193 52
38 14 19 Jeremy Mayfield (W) Evernham Motorsports Dodge 189 49
39 7 21 Elliott Sadler Wood Brothers Racing Ford 163 46
40 31 23 Hut Stricklin Bill Davis Racing Dodge 147 43
41 35 14 Stacy Compton A. J. Foyt Racing Pontiac 104 45
42 43 49 Shawna Robinson (R) BAM Racing Dodge 18 37
43 23 36 Ken Schrader MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 4 34

Race Statistics

References

  1. ^ "2002 NAPA Auto Parts 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2015-04-15.
  2. ^ "Auto Club Speedway Track Facts". Auto Club Speedway. Archived from the original on 2010-08-24. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  3. ^ "2002 NAPA Auto Parts 500 DNF information". Driver Averages. Archived from the original on 2015-05-01. Retrieved 2015-04-17.
  4. ^ "2002 NAPA Auto Parts 500 caution flag information". Racing Reference. Retrieved 2015-04-17.
  5. ^ Jenkins, Chris (2002-09-25). "Earnhardt Jr. says he hid concussion". USA Today. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  6. ^ 2002 Protection One 400 pre-race telecast – NBC, September 29, 2002
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