2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series (Simpsonverse)

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The 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Season was the 52nd season of professional stock car racing in the United States, the 29th modern-era Cup series, and the last Cup series of the 20th century. The season began on February 13 and ended on November 20. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Bobby Labonte was declared champion at season's end.

This was the final season for three-time Winston Cup Champion Darrell Waltrip, and the first season with Pikes Peak International Raceway and Nazareth Speedway on the schedule, as well as the first for a new NASCAR race car known as the “Strictly Stock Car”, which incorporates many new safety features. The car had been in development since February 1992, after the sport's acquisition by the Orange Roof Corporation.

The 2000 season also marked the final one for various networks that carried NASCAR racing. Because of the new television deal struck on December 15, 1999, it would be the last year for a multitude of these long-time broadcasters. NASCAR on ESPN, alongside its affiliated programming with ESPN on ABC, ended its initial run of covering NASCAR's top series (both networks returned during the 2007 season); ESPN's first run of twenty seasons concluded with the NAPA 500 at Atlanta, while ABC's then-twenty-five nonconsecutive seasons with the sport stopped with the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis.

Teams and drivers

Complete schedule

Make	Team	No.	Race driver	Crew chief	Model
Chevrolet	Andy Petree Racing	33	Ken Schrader	Danny Gill	Monte Carlo
		55	Kenny Wallace	Jimmy Elledge
	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	1	Steve Park	Paul Andrews	Monte Carlo
		8	Dale Earnhardt Jr. (R)	Tony Eury
	Hendrick Motorsports	5	Terry Labonte (32)	Gary DeHart	Camaro
			Todd Bodine (1)
			Ron Horaday Jr. (1)
		24	Jeff Gordon	Robbie Loomis
		25	Jerry Nadeau	Tony Furr
	Joe Bessey Racing	60	Geoffrey Bodine	Jim Long	Camaro
	Marcis Auto Racing	71	Dave Marcis	Bob Marcis	Monte Carlo
			R.K. Smith
			Kerry Earnhardt
			Dick Trickle
	Morgan-McClure Motorsports	4	Bobby Hamilton	David Ifft	Camaro
	Richard Childress Racing	3	Dale Earnhardt	Kevin Hamlin	Monte Carlo
		31	Mike Skinner	Larry McReynolds
	Team SABCO	40	Sterling Marlin	Scott Eggleston	Monte Carlo
		42	Kenny Irwin Jr.	Tony Glover
	Mattei Motorsports	7	Michael Waltrip	Bobby Kennedy	Camaro
Ford	Bill Elliott Racing	94	Bill Elliott	Mike Ford	Taurus
	Brett Bodine Racing	11	Brett Bodine	Mike Hillman	Taurus
	Donlavey Racing	90	Ed Berrier	Craig Huartson	Mustang
			Brian Simo
			Hut Stricklin
	Galaxy Motorsports	75	Wally Dallenbach Jr.	Newt Moore	Taurus
	Haas-Carter Motorsports	26	Jimmy Spencer	Donnie Wingo	Mustang
		66	Darrell Waltrip	Larry Carter
	Jasper Motorsports	77	Robert Pressley	Ryan Pemberton	Taurus
	Melling Racing	9	Stacy Compton (R)	Chad Knaus Jerry Pitts	Taurus
			Bobby Hillin Jr.
	Orr Motorsports	37	Rodney Orr	John Page	Taurus
	Penske-Kranefuss Racing	2	Rusty Wallace	Robin Pemberton	Taurus
		12	Jeremy Mayfield	Peter Sospenzo
	PPI Motorsports	32	Scott Pruett (R)	Scott Houston	Taurus
	Robert Yates Racing	28	Ricky Rudd	Michael McSwain	Taurus
		88	Dale Jarrett	Todd Parrott
	Roush Racing	6	Mark Martin	Jimmy Fennig	Roush Mustang
		16	Kevin Lepage	Pat Tryson
		17	Matt Kenseth (R)	Robbie Reiser
		97	Chad Little	Jeff Hammond
			Kurt Busch
		99	Jeff Burton	Frank Stoddard
	Steele/Favre Motorsports	15	Tim Steele	Joey Knuckles	Taurus
	Wood Brothers Racing	21	Elliott Sadler	Eddie Wood	Shelby GT500
Pontiac	A.J. Foyt Racing	14	Mike Bliss (R)	Philippe Lopez	Grand Prix
			Dick Trickle
			Rick Mast
	Bill Davis Racing	22	Ward Burton	Tommy Baldwin Jr.	Grand Prix
		93	Dave Blaney (R)	Doug Randolph
	Eel River Racing	27	Jeff Fuller (R)	Barry Dodson	Grand Prix
			Mike Bliss (R)
	Joe Gibbs Racing	18	Bobby Labonte	Jimmy Makar	Grand Prix
		20	Tony Stewart	Greg Zipadelli
	MB2 Motorsports	36	Ernie Irvan	Sammy Johns	Firebird
	Petty Enterprises	43	John Andretti	Greg Steadman	Firebird
		44	Kyle Petty	Bobby Leslie Chris Hussey
	Tyler Jet Motorsports	10	Johnny Benson Jr.	James Ince	Grand Prix

Limited schedule

Make	Team	No.	Race driver	Crew chief	Rounds	Model
Chevrolet	Andy Petree Racing	35	Geoffrey Bodine		1	1999 Monte Carlo
	Bill Baird Motorsports	52	Bill Baird		2	1999 Monte Carlo
	Bobby Hamilton Racing	57	Bobby Hamilton Jr.		1	1997 Monte Carlo
	Coulter Racing	61	Rich Bickle		1	1999 Monte Carlo
			Tim Sauter		1
	Gerhart Racing	89	Bobby Gerhart		1	Camaro
	AC Motorsports		Austin Cameron		1	Camaro
	Jim & Judie Motorsports	65	Dan Pardus		1	1999 Monte Carlo
	JKR Motorsports	34	David Green		1	Monte Carlo
	Cicci-Welliver Racing		Todd Bodine		1	1998 Monte Carlo
	Larry Hedrick Motorsports	41	Rick Mast		6	Camaro
			Gary Bradberry		3
	LJ Racing	91	Andy Hillenburg		1	1999 Monte Carlo
			Todd Bodine		3
			Larry Gunselman		1
			Blaise Alexander		2
	Marcis Auto Racing	72	Jim Sauter	Bob Marcis	1	1999 Monte Carlo
			Dwayne Leik		2
	McDuffie Racing	70	Loy Allen		20	Camaro
	Midwest Transit Racing	50	Ricky Craven	Greg Connors	26	Monte Carlo
	NEMCO Motorsports	87	John Nemechek		5	1999 Monte Carlo
			Ron Fellows		1
	Norm Benning Racing	84	Norm Benning		3	1999 Monte Carlo
	Petty-Huggins Motorsports	96	Greg Sacks		1	Camaro
Ford	Davis & Weight Motorsports	81	Michael Ritch		1	1999 Taurus
	Evernham Motorsports	19	Casey Atwood		1	Taurus
	Haas-Carter Motorsports	46	Todd Bodine		1	Mustang
	Hover Motorsports	80	Morgan Shepherd		1	1999 Taurus
	MacPherson Motorsports	98	Jeff Fuller	Vic Kangas	1	1999 Taurus
			Geoffrey Bodine		1
	Mansion Motorsports	85	Carl Long		10	1997 Thunderbird (no factory support)
			Darrell Waltrip		1
	Penske-Kranefuss Racing	02	Ryan Newman		1	1999 Taurus
	PPI Motorsports	96	Andy Houston		5	1999 Taurus
	Sadler Brothers Racing	95	David Keith		2	1999 Taurus
	Spencer Motor Ventures	23	Boris Said		3	Mustang
	TriStar Motorsports	48	Stanton Barrett		1	Taurus
	Team Menard	13	Robby Gordon	Mark Tudor	23	Mustang
			P. J. Jones		1
Pontiac	A. J. Foyt Racing	41	Larry Foyt		1	1999 Grand Prix
	Bill Davis Racing	23	Scott Wimmer		1	1999 Grand Prix
	Buckshot Racing	00	Buckshot Jones		1	1999 Grand Prix
Chevrolet 4 Pontiac 3	Petty Enterprises	45	Adam Petty	Chris Hussey	7	Monte Carlo 4 Grand Prix 3

Schedule

No.	Race Title	Track	Date	TV
	Bud Shootout Qualifier	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida|Daytona Beach	February 13	ESPN
	Bud Shootout			CBS
	Gatorade 125s		February 17	CBS
1	Daytona 500		February 20	CBS
2	Dura Lube/Kmart 400	North Carolina Speedway, Rockingham, North Carolina|Rockingham	February 27	MGM
3	CarsDirect.com 400	Las Vegas	March 5	ABC
4	Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500	Hampton	March 12	ABC
5	Mall.com 400	Darlington	March 19	MGM
6	Food City 500	Bristol	March 26	ESPN
7	DirecTV 500	Fort Worth	April 2	CBS
8	Howard Johnson's 400	Pikes Peak International Raceway, Fountain	April 9	MGM
9	DieHard 500	Talladega	April 16	ABC
10	NAPA Auto Parts 500	California Speedway, Fontana, California|Fontana	April 30	ABC
11	Pontiac Excitement 400	Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Virginia|Richmond	May 6	ESPN
	No Bull 25 Shootout	Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord	May 19	TNN
	Winston Open		May 20	TNN
	No Bull Sprint			TNN
	The Winston			MGM
12	Coca-Cola 600		May 28	TBS
13	MBNA Platinum 400	Dover Downs International Speedway, Dover, Delaware|Dover	June 4	TNN
14	Kmart 400	Brooklyn	June 11	CBS NASCAR on TNN|TNN
15	Pocono 500	Long Pond	June 19	TNN
16	Save Mart/Kragen 350	Sears Point Raceway, Sonoma, California|Sonoma	June 25	ESPN
17	Pepsi 400	Daytona Beach	July 1	CBS
18	thatlook.com 300	New Hampshire International Speedway, Loudon, New Hampshire|Loudon	July 9	TNN
19	SpongeBob SquarePants 400	Nazareth Speedway, Nazareth	July 23	MGM Nickelodeon
20	Brickyard 400	Speedway	August 5	ABC
21	Global Crossing @ The Glen	Watkins Glen	August 13	MGM
22	Pepsi 400 Presented by Meijer	Brooklyn	August 20	ESPN
23	Goracing.com 500	Bristol	August 26	MGM
24	Pepsi Southern 500	Darlington	September 3	ESPN NASCAR on ESPN|ESPN2
25	Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400	Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Virginia|Richmond	September 9	ESPN
26	Tyson Holly Farms 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro	September 17	TNN
27	Budweiser 400	Riverside International Raceway, Moreno Valley	September 24	MGM
28	NAPA Autocare 500	Ridgeway	October 1	ESPN
29	UAW-GM Quality Roval 500	Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord (Roval)	October 8	MGM
30	Winston 500	Talladega	October 15	ESPN
31	Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400	North Carolina Speedway, Rockingham, North Carolina|Rockingham	October 22	TNN
32	Checker Auto Parts/Dura Lube 500k	Phoenix International Raceway, Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix	November 5	MGM
33	Pennzoil 400 Presented by Discount Auto Parts	Homestead	November 12	NBC
34	NAPA 500	Hampton	November 20	ESPN

Changes

New Car

A new car, known officially as the Strictly Stock Car (SSC), and unofficially as the Gen-5 car, was introduced in the second half of the 1999 season, going full-time in 2000, but not necessarily mandatory. The new car was the culmination of seven years of development starting in 1992, first by mandating the HANS device, then making other modifications, as well as introducing SAFER barriers, before introducing the SSC in 1999.

The cars have modifications to the chassis, engine, and interior, but are still visually identical to their showroom counterparts. Private engine builders were ousted in favor of having the manufacturers build engines, often being race-spec stock engines. It is essentially a modernized version of the second-generation cars run between 1967 and 1980.

The SSC is built on a new chassis provided by the manufacturer. Engines and body panels also come from the manufacturer, and are distributed from a designated factory team (usually whichever teams finished the highest three in points the previous season); for 2000, the factory teams were Hendrick Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, and Morgan-McClure Motorsports for Chevrolet, Robert Yates Racing, Roush Racing and Penske Racing for Ford, and Joe Gibbs Racing, Bill Davis Racing, and Petty Enterprises for Pontiac. One feature inherited from the older car is the use of an X-exhaust system. It also uses what is referred to by NASCAR as an "electronic carburetor", which combines electronic fuel injection with a traditional carburetor.

The rules were also changed so that manufacturers run could multiple models on the track. All manufacturers field two models. In terms of models used:

• Chevrolet fields the Monte Carlo and Camaro
• Ford fields the Taurus and Mustang, with Roush Racing using its own high-performance version of the Mustang
• Pontiac fields the Grand Prix and Firebird

The SSC received universal acclaim from fans and drivers, and the intense competition between manufacturers resurrected the old adage "race on Sunday, sell on Monday". Despite this, several small teams continued using the older car (the car was run in the Bud Shootout, before making its competitive debut in the Gatorade 125s), forcing NASCAR to maintain a separate rule package for these holdouts (most part-time teams could not afford the new car, and thus had to continue using the older cars; the SSC was made much cheaper in 2001). No such cars finished in the top ten in 2000, due to a multitude of disadvantages in terms of aerodynamics, engines, and fuel capacity, as well as the older car not having any factory support due to Chevrolet, Ford, and Pontiac focusing completely on the SSC. All teams who switched to the SSC either cascaded the chassis to the Busch Series, where most only lasted a year before the SSC was introduced in the Busch Series in 2001 (like in the Cup Series, several smaller Grand National Series teams still used the older car to cut costs); most chassis were also sold to ARCA RE/MAX Series teams, where the old bodystyle would stay in use until older SSC bodies began appearing in 2004. Most such chassis are now run by regional and local stock car leagues and clubs, often with different bodies than the ones they bore in NASCAR competition. Any chassis that weren't sold or cascaded either still run in the Cup and Grand National Series, donated to museums, sold to private collectors, or were scrapped or recycled (for example, in 2000, the axles for the Hendrick Camaros came off of their old chassis dating back to 1995; they switched to factory-supplied axles in 2001).

Races

No.	Race	Pole position	Most laps led	Winning driver	Make/Model
	Bud Shootout Qualifier	Ricky Craven	Dale Jarrett	Dale Jarrett	Ford Taurus
	Bud Shootout	Mark Martin	Sterling Marlin	Dale Jarrett	Ford Taurus
	Gatorade 125 #1	Dale Jarrett	Bill Elliott	Bill Elliott	Ford Taurus
	Gatorade 125 #2	Ricky Rudd	Ricky Rudd	Ricky Rudd	Ford Taurus
1	Daytona 500	Dale Jarrett	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Johnny Benson	Pontiac Grand Prix
2	Dura Lube/Kmart 400	Rusty Wallace	Bobby Labonte	Bobby Labonte	Pontiac Grand Prix
3	CarsDirect.com 400	Ricky Rudd	Jeff Burton	Jeff Burton	Ford Roush Mustang
4	Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500	Dale Jarrett	Mike Skinner	Dale Earnhardt	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
5	Mall.com 400	Jeff Gordon	Ward Burton	Ward Burton	Pontiac Grand Prix
6	Food City 500	Steve Park	Jeff Gordon	Rusty Wallace	Ford Taurus
7	DirecTV 500	Terry Labonte	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
8	Goody's Body Pain 500	Rusty Wallace	Rusty Wallace	Mark Martin	Ford Roush Mustang
9	DieHard 500	Jeremy Mayfield	Mark Martin	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Camaro
10	NAPA Auto Parts 500	Mike Skinner	Matt Kenseth	Jeremy Mayfield	Ford Taurus
11	Pontiac Excitement 400	Rusty Wallace	Rusty Wallace	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
	No Bull 25 Race 1	Ricky Craven	Jerry Nadeau	Jerry Nadeau	Chevrolet Camaro
	No Bull 25 Race 2	Mike Skinner	Steve Park	Jimmy Spencer	Ford Mustang
	Winston Open	Jerry Nadeau	Jerry Nadeau	Steve Park	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
	No Bull Sprint	Mike Skinner	Mike Skinner	Jerry Nadeau	Chevrolet Camaro
	The Winston	Bill Elliott	Bill Elliott	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
12	Coca-Cola 600	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Matt Kenseth	Ford Roush Mustang
13	MBNA Platinum 400	Rusty Wallace	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Pontiac Grand Prix
14	Kmart 400	Bobby Labonte	Jeremy Mayfield	Tony Stewart	Pontiac Grand Prix
15	Pocono 500	Rusty Wallace	Rusty Wallace	Jeremy Mayfield	Ford Taurus
16	Save Mart/Kragen 350	Rusty Wallace	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Camaro
17	Pepsi 400	Dale Jarrett	Dale Jarrett	Jeff Burton	Ford Roush Mustang
18	thatlook.com 300	Rusty Wallace	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Pontiac Grand Prix
19	SpongeBob SquarePants 400	Rusty Wallace	Rusty Wallace	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Camaro
20	Brickyard 400	Ricky Rudd	Rusty Wallace	Bobby Labonte	Pontiac Grand Prix
21	Global Crossing @ The Glen	Bobby Labonte	Steve Park	Steve Park	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
22	Pepsi 400 Presented by Meijer	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Rusty Wallace	Rusty Wallace	Ford Taurus
23	goracing.com 500	Rusty Wallace	Rusty Wallace	Rusty Wallace	Ford Taurus
24	Pepsi Southern 500	Jeremy Mayfield	Jeremy Mayfield	Bobby Labonte	Pontiac Grand Prix
25	Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400	Jeff Burton	Jeff Burton	Jeff Gordon	Pontiac Grand Prix
26	Tyson Holly Farms 400	Bobby Labonte	Jeff Burton	Terry Labonte	Chevrolet Camaro
27	Budweiser 400	Jeremy Mayfield	Tony Stewart	Dale Earnhardt	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
28	NAPA Autocare 500	Tony Stewart	Jeff Burton	Tony Stewart	Pontiac Grand Prix
29	UAW-GM Quality 500	Jeff Gordon	Ricky Rudd	Bobby Labonte	Pontiac Grand Prix
30	Winston 500	Joe Nemechek	Bill Elliott	Dale Earnhardt	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
31	Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400	Jeremy Mayfield	Jeremy Mayfield	Dale Jarrett	Ford Taurus
32	Checker Auto Parts/Dura Lube 500k	Rusty Wallace	Jeff Burton	Jeff Burton	Ford Roush Mustang
33	Pennzoil 400 presented by Discount Auto Parts	Steve Park	Tony Stewart	Tim Steele	Ford Taurus
34	NAPA 500	Jeff Gordon	Jerry Nadeau	Jerry Nadeau	Chevrolet Camaro