Indianapolis, IN, Aug 5, 2000 - Bobby Labonte won the seventh running of the
Brickyard 400 at a record speed of 155.918 mph, beating Rusty Wallace in a
wheel-to-wheel duel that left the rest of the field trailing behind. Labonte's
final margin of 4.2 seconds was the biggest gap between the two for the over
60 laps that they occupied first and second place. For most of the final
quarter of the race, after final pit stops, the pair was tenths of a second
apart and at least five seconds ahead of the next runner. It looked like
Wallace was going to win, as Labonte tried looking underneath several times
but could not get it done. Finally, on lap 146, Bobby set up on the inside at the
end of the backstretch getting underneath in the north chute. They ran side
by side down the front straight, touching fenders once, with Bobby finally
clearing into the lead in Turn 1. Over the final fourteen laps Bobby extended
his lead while Rusty battled with a car that was just a little too tight.
"To beat a great driver like Rusty Wallace, it's awesome," said Labonte in
Victory Lane. "I've been close here, and it just came up this time. Rusty
Wallace put up a great fight. I was better than him in Turn 2, and I could get
by him. This is one of those races that you dream about. I've dreamed about
it a long time. Tony Stewart, I'll remember that when I kiss those bricks
they're Hoosier bricks."
"It's definitely a thrill. We've been close a couple of times. The car worked
great all day. The only time we got below fifth was when we pitted and took
four tires when the other guys took two. The car was flawless. We only
adjusted air pressure all day." On his final pass of Wallace, he said "It's so
hard to pass here. I was puckered up on that one because when we got to Turn
1 I wasn't sure what was going to happen."
Rusty Wallace, who led 110 of the 160 laps, was disappointed with second. "I
wanted to win this thing so bad for Roger, not really for myself, but for
Roger. We almost won this thing three or four years ago...led all day long and
finished second. Here we do it again. The Brickyard has been really good to
me. I just have to bring the thing home." About the final pass, he said "That
last set of tires was just too tight. Bobby caught me, got around me and I
just couldn't do nothing with him at that point, but we had a great car all day
long. Man it was flying."
Bill Elliott finished third after a solid run. "I was just happy to finish. We've
had so much tragedy with this McDonald's team the last six to eight weeks.
From our standpoint, it was a good day, and I think we can take this and turn
this into turning around the second half of the season." Bill was never a factor
in the Labonte-Wallace duel. "I never did see them. I knew they were up
there somewhere. You can catch up, but once you get up there it still takes a
lot of laps to pass. It's a tough track. We needed this for morale. We felt
like we have a good race team. We've accomplished a lot."
Jerry Nadeau is on a hot streak. His fourth place finish today is his third
top-ten finish of the 2000 season, all of which have come in the last five
races. Nadeau tied his career best Winston Cup finish this afternoon, equaling
the mark set just two races ago at New Hampshire.
"The guys did an awesome job today," said Nadeau, who has jumped four
positions in the point standings in the last three races, from 29th to 25th.
"We had the best pit crew today. They couldn't do anything wrong."
"We ran great all day. We were just tight. We made several adjustments to
loosen it up. We were good when we were by ourselves, but when I got around
other cars, we got tight. Later in the day, the track got tight too, and in
traffic, I couldn't do anything."
"It would have been real nice to win the race, but we brought it home in one
piece and got a top-five finish. I can't think of a better place to get a
top-five finish right now."
Bobby Labonte's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Tony Stewart started 18th and
finished fifth. Stewart, who picked up six positions on the first lap, settled
into the top-ten by lap ten. "I have to give credit to Ward Burton," said
Stewart. "At the start, he went to the outside and I followed him. We got
around six guys on the first lap or two."
While Stewart ran in the top-ten for most of the race, he never chall! enged
the leaders. "I had a good car, but I couldn't run with the top two guys out
there. We weren't as fast as they were. That's all there was to it."
"About the last 20 or 25 laps we were pretty much locked into our spot. As
long as I didn't kill the race car and kill the tires we were pretty much going
to fish where we were at. We couldn't gain on anybody in front and we
weren't going to lose anything to anybody behind us. We basically just stayed
in there and at that point I was just asking for updates as to where
Bobby(Labonte) was."
"I'm real happy. We had a fifth-place car and finished fifth today."
Jeff Burton stormed from his 33rd starting position to finished sixth,
earning the Exide Batteries "All Charged Up" Award. "We ran better in
practice and just never had the car fast today," Burton said. "The car was
good in practice and in testing, but the race was a whole another matter. We
never got a handle on the handling, but we did the b! est we could."
"Sixth isn't bad. Starting position hurt us today, because there weren't any
cautions. But, at the same time, if you're going to start back there, you got to
be tough and get what you can get."
Pole sitter Ricky Rudd started off strong, leading the first seventeen laps,
but faded as the race wore on. "We just had problems today. The car just got
too tight and that wasn't too bad, but we made a choice to put on two tires
and that was a bad decision. Then we ended up pitting at the end for fuel. It
just wasn't our day." He finished 21st, one lap down.
On Thursday, Darrell Waltrip said "I don't have to win; I don't have to be on
the pole. As long as you can leave here this weekend and say 'Old DW was up
there,' that's all that matters to me." He was there today, finishing a solid
eleventh, on the lead lap. "I couldn't have done any better. It was a great
weekend and people will remember that this was DW's last race and that all
th! at matters."
Scott Pruett finished tenth, the highest finishing rookie today and the first
time he has been the highest rookie in any Winston Cup race. This also
matches the highest finish he had on this track in the Indianapolis 500. "It
was awesome. I've been telling everybody that we've been gaining a lot of
momentum but the results just didn't show it. We had a great run at Pocono,
we had a great run at Sears. The Tide team has been making huge leaps and
gains. We needed one element. Brad Parrott came on board. We had a lot of
momentum, a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of excitement, and I think Brad was
able to bring that all together and really focus it.
The race was slowed only twice by cautions. The first came on lap 17, when
Mark Martin, with Mike Skinner close behind, went into Turn 1 under Michael
Waltrip. He checked up, was contacted by Waltrip, and wound up in the wall.
He was out of the race, but unhurt. "We were just running along there. Mich!
ael Waltrip was having trouble getting through the corners and I was just
trying to be real careful. I got on the inside of him and Skinner was trying to
help me draft by him when we had to check up for the corner...I was trying to
be careful...it was an accident."
Rick Mast and Jeff Gordon were caught in the melee, sustained some damage,
but were able to continue.
The second yellow came on lap 43, when a cut right front tire in Turn 3 put
John Andretti into the wall. Andretti was not hurt, and no other cars were
involved.
The NASCAR Winston Cup Series returns to road racing action in one week at
the famous Watkins Glen circuit in upstate New York. The Indianapolis Motor
Speedway will host the United States Grand Prix, the inaugural race on the
Speedway's road course, on September 24.
2000 Brickyard 400 Race Report
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Pos No St Driver Mak Lap Pts Bn Money Status
------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 3 18 Bobby Labonte Pon 160 180 5 $831,225 Running
2. 10 2 Rusty Wallace Frd 160 180 10 $310,625 Running
3. 7 94 Bill Elliott Frd 160 165 0 $236,475 Running
4. 23 25 Jerry Nadeau Chv 160 165 5 $210,875 Running
5. 18 20 Tony Stewart Pon 160 155 0 $189,475 Running
6. 33 99 Jeff Burton Frd 160 150 0 $160,310 Running
7. 5 88 Dale Jarrett Frd 160 146 0 $155,710 Running
8. 8 3 Dale Earnhardt Chv 160 142 0 $143,510 Running
9. 9 31 Mike Skinner Chv 160 138 0 $132,610 Running
10. 11 32 Scott Pruett Frd 160 134 0 $123,310 Running
11. 2 66 Darrell Waltrip Frd 160 130 0 $131,285 Running
12. 27 60 Geoffrey Bodine Chv 160 127 0 $117,760 Running
13. 6 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr Chv 160 124 0 $124,260 Running
14. 36 90 Hut Stricklin Frd 160 121 0 $98,260 Running
15. 25 5 Todd Bodine Chv 159 118 0 $117,260 Running
16. 22 1 Steve Park Chv 159 115 0 $109,560 Running
17. 21 26 Jimmy Spencer Frd 159 112 0 $107,860 Running
18. 35 33 Joe Nemechek Chv 159 109 0 $106,260 Running
19. 39 97 Chad Little Frd 159 106 0 $105,060 Running
20. 14 7 Michael Waltrip Chv 159 103 0 $108,360 Running
21. 1 28 Ricky Rudd Frd 159 105 5 $120,160 Running
22. 38 36 Ken Schrader Pon 159 97 0 $93,760 Running
23. 42 93 Dave Blaney Pon 159 94 0 $89,260 Running
24. 41 01 Ted Musgrave Chv 159 91 0 $99,660 Running
25. 13 10 Johnny Benson Pon 159 88 0 $90,960 Running
26. 37 17 Matt Kenseth Frd 159 85 0 $97,435 Running
27. 19 77 Robert Pressley Frd 159 82 0 $88,335 Running
28. 16 22 Ward Burton Pon 159 79 0 $102,235 Running
29. 17 55 Kenny Wallace Chv 158 76 0 $95,335 Running
30. 20 40 Sterling Marlin Chv 158 73 0 $94,735 Running
31. 34 27 Mike Bliss Pon 158 70 0 $92,735 Running
32. 4 12 Kyle Petty Frd 158 67 0 $97,735 Running
33. 29 24 Jeff Gordon Chv 158 64 0 $102,185 Running
34. 28 21 Elliott Sadler Frd 158 61 0 $89,735 Running
35. 31 75 Wally Dallenbach Frd 158 58 0 $81,460 Running
36. 40 16 Kevin Lepage Frd 158 55 0 $89,360 Running
37. 43 9 Stacy Compton Frd 157 57 5 $81,660 Running
38. 24 14 Rick Mast Pon 156 49 0 $81,160 Running
39. 26 11 Brett Bodine Frd 155 46 0 $83,560 Running
40. 32 4 Bobby Hamilton Chv 129 43 0 $88,960 Engine
41. 30 50 Ricky Craven Chv 59 40 0 $80,860 Handling
42. 15 43 John Andretti Pon 41 37 0 $98,760 Accident
43. 12 6 Mark Martin Frd 15 34 0 $98,655 Accident
2000 BRICKYARD 400 RACE RESULTS
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Pos No Driver Make Time Gap To 1st Speed Gap To 1st
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. 28 Ricky Rudd Frd 49.705 181.068
2. 66 Darrell Waltrip Frd 49.745 0.040 0.040 180.923 0.145 0.145
3. 18 Bobby Labonte Pon 49.763 0.018 0.058 180.857 0.066 0.211
4. 12 Jeremy Mayfield Frd 49.772 0.009 0.067 180.825 0.032 0.243
5. 88 Dale Jarrett Frd 49.807 0.035 0.102 180.697 0.128 0.371
6. 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr.* Chv 49.854 0.047 0.149 180.527 0.170 0.541
7. 94 Bill Elliott Frd 49.876 0.022 0.171 180.448 0.079 0.620
8. 3 Dale Earnhardt Chv 49.891 0.015 0.186 180.393 0.055 0.675
9. 31 Mike Skinner Chv 49.912 0.021 0.207 180.317 0.076 0.751
10. 2 Rusty Wallace Frd 49.916 0.004 0.211 180.303 0.014 0.765
11. 32 Scott Pruett* Frd 49.921 0.005 0.216 180.285 0.018 0.783
12. 6 Mark Martin Frd 49.970 0.049 0.265 180.108 0.177 0.960
13. 10 Johnny Benson Pon 50.003 0.033 0.298 179.989 0.119 1.079
14. 7 Michael Waltrip Chv 50.043 0.040 0.338 179.845 0.144 1.223
15. 43 John Andretti Pon 50.165 0.122 0.460 179.408 0.437 1.660
16. 22 Ward Burton Pon 50.167 0.002 0.462 179.401 0.007 1.667
17. 55 Kenny Wallace Chv 50.171 0.004 0.466 179.386 0.015 1.682
18. 20 Tony Stewart Pon 50.195 0.024 0.490 179.301 0.085 1.767
19. 77 Robert Pressley Frd 50.199 0.004 0.494 179.286 0.015 1.782
20. 40 Sterling Marlin Chv 50.200 0.001 0.495 179.283 0.003 1.785
21. 26 Jimmy Spencer Frd 50.201 0.001 0.496 179.279 0.004 1.789
22. 1 Steve Park Chv 50.207 0.006 0.502 179.258 0.021 1.810
23. 25 Jerry Nadeau Chv 50.219 0.012 0.514 179.215 0.043 1.853
24. 14 Rick Mast Pon 50.232 0.013 0.527 179.169 0.046 1.899
25. 5 Todd Bodine Chv 50.344 0.112 0.639 178.770 0.399 2.298
26. 11 Brett Bodine** Frd 49.704 -0.640 -0.001 181.072 -2.302 -0.004
27. 60 Geoffrey Bodine Chv 50.269 0.565 0.564 179.037 2.035 2.031
28. 21 Elliott Sadler Frd 50.350 0.081 0.645 178.749 0.288 2.319
29. 24 Jeff Gordon Chv 50.351 0.001 0.646 178.745 0.004 2.323
30. 50 Ricky Craven Chv 50.351 0.000 0.646 178.745 0.000 2.323
31. 75 Wally Dallenbach Frd 50.355 0.004 0.650 178.731 0.014 2.337
32. 4 Bobby Hamilton Chv 50.356 0.001 0.651 178.727 0.004 2.341
33. 99 Jeff Burton Frd 50.358 0.002 0.653 178.720 0.007 2.348
34. 27 Mike Bliss* Pon 50.441 0.083 0.736 178.426 0.294 2.642
35. 33 Joe Nemechek Chv 50.448 0.007 0.743 178.402 0.024 2.666
36. 90 Hut Stricklin Frd 50.450 0.002 0.745 178.394 0.008 2.674
37. 17 Matt Kenseth* Frd Provisional
38. 36 Ken Schrader Pon Provisional
39. 97 Chad Little Frd Provisional
40. 16 Kevin Lepage Frd Provisional
41. 01 Ted Musgrave Chv Provisional
42. 93 Dave Blaney* Pon Provisional
43. 9 Stacy Compton* Frd Provisional
Failed to qualify
95 David Keith Frd 00:50.539 178.080
61 Rich Bickle Chv 00:50.661 177.651
71 Dave Marcis Chv 00:50.944 176.665
13 Robby Gordon Frd 00:51.141 175.984
44 Steve Grissom Pon 00:51.517 174.700
52 Bill Baird Chv 00:52.319 172.022
* = rookie
** Bodine was fast qualifier, but speed was obtained on the second day of qualifying.
Only times set in first day qualifying are used to set the pole position
2000 BRICKYARD 400 QUALIFYING
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