Rusty Wallace started on the pole. When the race went green, he immediately jumped out to the lead and he was able to lead the first lap. It was a short time before the first caution of the race waved on lap 20. Kenny Irwin Jr. got loose in turn 4 and spun, but received no damage. Robby Gordon also spun down the apron. Chad Little did not spin, but he received some damage trying to slow down from the wreck. This is when the strategy started playing out for the field. Drivers like Ward Burton, Bobby Hamilton, Sterling Marlin, Dale Jarrett, and Michael Waltrip decided to pit. Other drivers like Bobby Labonte, Jeff Gordon, and Dale Earnhardt decided not to pit. Immediately, we found out which decision was the best.
The race went green and the drivers with fresh tires shot to the front of the field. Ward Burton took the lead with Bobby Hamilton behind him. All the drivers who didn't take tires fell back and lost a lot of time. Those drivers finally pitted around lap 70 to make their way back through the field. The race continued on until the second caution of the race on lap 106. Dave Marcis' car began to smoke and NASCAR spotted oil on the track. The team found out that the radiator had busted and they were able to fix the car. The oil was cleaned up and the race went back green once again. The race continued on until the third caution on lap 112. Darrell Waltrip was running slow and cars behind him began to check up. Jerry Nadeau got bumped from behind and went for a spin down the frontstretch, but he was able to save it and prevent damage. He got back going and the field set up for the restart. The race went back green and one of the contenders in the race would have trouble.
Bobby Hamilton, who was in the lead, began to slow on the track on lap 136. He coasted the car onto pit road for his team to look at. He immediately told his crew that the problem was with the ignition. He had already switched over from the primary ignition earlier in the race and the secondary system was now having trouble. The team took the car behind the wall and replaced the distributor. He was able to get back running, but his chances for a win were lost. The race continued on until green flag pit stops began on lap 180. These stops ended as the fourth and final caution of the race came out on lap 187. Jeff Fuller got high coming out of turn 2 and made contact with the outside wall. The track was cleaned up and the drivers got ready for the restart. Now, they only needed two pit stops to finish the race and the winner would be the driver who used his equipment the best.
The race continued on until green flag pit stops began on lap 250. The stops went well with Ward Burton taking the lead afterwards and Bobby Labonte passing him later. The race continued until one of the contenders would have trouble. With about 80 laps to go, Jeff Burton, who had been running up front, began to see his lap times slowing. His crew felt that he was having problem with one of the valve springs. He was able to continue on for a little while, but his chances for a good finish were lost. After a short time, his car began to smoke and NASCAR black flagged him. He reported to pit road and his team thought they had fixed the problem, but his car began to smoke again and he was forced to pit. The race continued on until the final pit stops of the race began on lap 325. Bobby Labonte held the lead before and after the stops. He continued to hold the lead as Dale Earnhardt Sr. made a charge late in the race. It wasn't enough as Bobby Labonte cruised to his first win of the season and his thirteenth in his career. Bobby, along with his brother, Terry, became the third set of brothers to win a race at Rockingham. Also, Bobby moved within five points of Dale Jarrett's point lead, but the season was far from over.
Bobby Labonte had a dominating day. He led 134 of the 393 laps, which included the last 113 laps of the race. Dale Earnhardt Sr., Ward Burton, Tony Stewart, Bobby Hamilton, Jeff Gordon, and Rusty Wallace all had chances to win throughout the race, but Bobby Labonte was just too impressive to beat. It was a good momentum booster for Bobby's team and they would look to take it to their first Winston Cup championship. The next race of the season was the 2000 CarsDirect.com 400 at Las Vegas. Did Bobby Labonte repeat with a win, did a driver win the one million dollar bonus, or did another throw his name in the championship chase? It was an okay race that will be good for the next installment of “Flashback Friday.”
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 20- Kenny Irwin Jr. and Robby Gordon spun in turn 4, but neither driver received damage. Chad Little did not spin, but received some damage.
2nd Caution: Lap 106- Dave Marcis' car began to smoke and NASCAR spotted oil on the track.
3rd Caution: Lap 112- Jerry Nadeau spun along the frontstretch after being bumped when cars started to stack up in front of him.
4th Caution: Lap 187- Jeff Fuller got into the wall coming out of turn 2.
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Bobby Labonte
2nd: Dale Earnhardt Sr.
3rd: Ward Burton
4th: Tony Stewart
5th: Dale Jarrett
Notables Not in Top 5:
8th: Mark Martin
10th: Jeff Gordon
11th: Rusty Wallace
19th: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
32nd: Jeff Burton
37th: Matt Kenseth
Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Special Thanks to SKracing for the full race:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xhjP6zzBdA&feature=youtu.be
-Statistics:
http://racing-reference.info/race/2000_Dura_Lube_Kmart_400/W
-Image:
http://onlineathens.com/images/022800/labonte.jpg
No comments:
Post a Comment