(*SPOILER ALERT: This is a summary of a race that some of you may not have seen. If you want to see the race before reading this article, do not scroll down past the point at the bottom of the screen. Here is the link to the race, which is also listed at the bottom of the page: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL78638601C68AC244.)
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Dale Jarrett started on the pole. It was all ready his second pole of the 2000 season in only four races. The race went green and Jarrett jumped out to the lead. Jarrett would only hold the lead a few laps before history would be made. On lap 5, Matt Kenseth, a rookie in the series, took the lead. It was Kenseth's first laps led in NASCAR's highest series, but, as we know, it wasn't his last. Kenseth only held the lead a couple of laps before teammate, Kevin Lepage took the lead on lap 8. Lepage would only hold the lead a few laps before Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the lead on lap 16. At this point in the race, the drivers at the front of the field began to change. Drivers like Dale Jarrett, Matt Kenseth, and Steve Park began to fall back due to the rough conditions of the tires and track, but drivers like Jerry Nadeau and Jeff Gordon began to move to the front. In fact, Nadeau made it up to the lead and took it away from Junior on lap 24. Nadeau held the lead for a few laps before Jeff Gordon took it away a lap before the first caution of the race waved on lap 29. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who had been up front, got loose in turn 2 and slammed the outside wall. He drove away from the accident, but he had a good bit of damage and his chances for a win were lost. This led to the first pit stops of the race. The strategy was the same on the stops with all the drivers taking four tires, but there was a little problem on pit road. Dale Jarrett spun Stacy Compton while he was leaving his pit box. Jarrett had a little front end damage and would have to come back down pit road to have a little repair work done while Compton returned to the track with only a little rear end damage. This would be a recurring theme in the race and it would be interesting to see how these pit problems affected the outcome of the event.
On the restart, Jeff Gordon held the lead. He only held it a few laps before Mark Martin took it away on lap 33. Shortly after this, Mike Skinner began to stretch his muscles in the event. He began to battle hard with Martin for the lead and the two switched the lead back and forth before Skinner gained complete control on lap 41. Skinner ran away from the field and held the lead until the second caution of the race waved on lap 55. Wally Dallenbach got loose in turn 4 and went for a slide across the frontstretch grass. He slid back on track and everybody was able to avoid him. He drove away from the scene with little damage. The second round of pit stops occurred during the race. Bill Elliott decided to pull some strategy and take only two tires while the rest of the field took four tires. It would be interesting to see how the move worked for Elliott. On the restart, everybody was easily shown that the move didn't work. Elliott began to fall back as Mike Skinner once again took the lead. Skinner held the lead for a few laps before Jeff Burton took it away on lap 64. Burton's race would soon reach a screeching halt with the third caution of the race on lap 68. Burton, who was leading at the time, blew a tire in turn 3. He slammed the outside wall and slid down the track. He reached a stop with heavy damage on the apron of the track. He would not return to the race and he would have a terrible finish to show for the race. Pit stops once again occurred during the caution. There wasn't any strategy with everybody taking four tires, but there was another incident on pit road. Bill Elliott made contact with Scott Pruett and received some damage. Elliott would have to come back down pit road and get the damage fixed, but he would return. Believe it or not, this was not the end of the action on pit road, but the race would return back to green before the next incident.
The race went back green and Mike Skinner held the lead over the field. Skinner drove away from the field and the laps began to click by. A good while after the restart, the first round of green flag pit stops of the race began on lap 128. The stops were filled with a good bit of action. In the middle of the stops, Jerry Nadeau's car began to smoke on the backstretch. He was able to coast around to pit road without bringing out a caution and the team diagnosed the problem as a busted oil pan. Nadeau would not return to the race after leading early. Around the same time, Kevin Lepage broke an axle leaving pit road and would have to retire from the race. Amid all the chaos and problems, all the drivers took four tires and Mike Skinner returned to the lead. Skinner continued to drive away from the field before the fourth caution waved on lap 183. Scott Pruett got loose in turn 2 and slammed the outside wall. He slid down the backstretch, but the field was able to avoid him. He had a good bit of damage and he would not return to the event. Pit stops once again occurred on the caution and this time they went smoothly with all the drivers taking four tires. The landscape of the race had changed a good bit. Because of the long green flag run, only a few drivers remained on the lead lap. This meant that the winner would only come from a select few drivers, but they would definitely battle hard for the win.
The race went back green and Bobby Labonte held onto the lead he had inherited on the pit stops. Mike Skinner would not stay second long as he took the lead on lap 190. Skinner began to drive away from the field as the fifth caution of the race waved on lap 203. Matt Kenseth lost an engine on track. Pit stops did not occur under the caution and Skinner held onto the lead. The race went back green and Skinner proved he wanted to win the race. Dale Earnhardt Sr., who was Skinner's teammate, made a run to Skinner's inside exiting turn 2 and Skinner drifted down the track. The two made contact and Earnhardt's left front began to smoke and he fell back as a tire might have been going down. He would catch a break as the sixth caution of the race waved a few laps later on lap 213. Wally Dallenbach spun on the frontstretch and slammed the outside wall. He had too much damaged and he would not return to the race. Pit stops occurred under the caution and they went smoothly as all the leaders took four tires. The race went back green and Mike Skinner held onto the lead. Skinner tried to drive away from the field again, but Bobby Labonte took the lead away from him on lap 233. Labonte drove away from the field and held onto the lead until the seventh caution waved on lap 262. Todd Bodine hit the wall in turn 4, but the damage was minor and he was able to continue on in the race. Pit stops once again occurred and all the drivers took four tires, but a final bit of craziness would occur on pit road. During the stops, Bobby Hamilton’s pit started to burn due to a dropped catch can and fuel can. He had driven away from the scene before the fire completely erupted, but the tail end of his car caught fire as he drove down the backstretch. He came to pit road and both fires were put out after a scary situation. With that dilemma over, the race could return to normal.
The race went back green and Bobby Labonte was able to hold onto the lead. He would only hold it a few laps as Dale Earnhardt Sr. took it away on lap 272. Earnhardt would hold the lead until the eighth caution waved on lap 275. Tony Stewart got loose in turn 4 and went for a spin down the frontstretch. He hit the wall and slid down in front of traffic. Robert Pressley slammed hard into Stewart's right side and the cars went sliding down the frontstretch. Stacy Compton and Rusty Wallace also received some damage trying to avoid, but they drove away. Pressley and Stewart were okay, but Stewart would need some medical attention in the infield. It was a scary crash, but it turned out okay. No pit stops occurred and the race went back green. Earnhardt held onto the lead, but Mike Skinner would not stay back long and took the lead on lap 285. Skinner began to drive away a bit with Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Bobby Labonte following behind. Skinner held the lead until the ninth caution waved on lap 298. Michael Waltrip lost an engine on the backstretch and dropped some oil on the track. He would be unable to return to the race and he would have to settle for a terrible finish. The final round of pit stops occurred during the caution. All the drivers took four tires and Mike Skinner would come out with the lead with Earnhardt and Labonte following behind him. The race went back green and Skinner held onto the lead. He looked to be in control, but the tenth and final caution of the race on lap 307 would unravel a great finish for Skinner. He was leading in turn 2 when he slowed on track. His engine began to smoke and oil dropped on the track. Kenny Irwin Jr. spun in the oil on the track, but he would drive away. Skinner made it to pit road and his promising afternoon would be finished. He seemed surprisingly okay in the garage with a hilarious interview, but the race seemed to be completely his most of the time and it was definitely a missed opportunity. Now, the final run to the green flag would be set up and Dale Earnhardt Sr. was in control with Bobby Labonte behind him.
The race went back green and Earnhardt held onto the lead. Labonte moved solidly into second place with only about ten laps remaining. The two ran hard in the corners with one gaining one lap and the other gaining on the next lap. Labonte seemed to have the better race car, but he couldn't make the move. Soon, only five laps remained. Labonte stayed in Earnhardt's tracks as the laps began to click by and only two remained. Each corner was like clockwork for the two drivers and they took the white flag in the same stride. Labonte began to move around a lot on track looking for the right groove. As they came into turn 3, Labonte hit the inside line as Earnhardt stuck to the outside. The two drove hard off the corner and they were side by side coming into the quad-oval. The two nipped the finish line almost simultaneously. The crowd and viewers stood in bewilderment waiting for the winner to be crowned. Eventually, it was decided that Earnhardt had won by only 0.010 seconds. It was one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history and Dale Earnhardt Sr., possibly one of the greatest, had taken the win.
Is there really anything bad you can say about Dale Earnhardt Sr.? Yes, he did rattle some cages. Yes, he did ruffle some feathers. Of course, he had some words to say sometimes, but he lived up to those words most of the time. But, most of time, he drove you as hard as you drove him and he didn't say anything without evidence. That was just how he was. He carried himself like a champion and that is why I have always thought fairly fond of him. It sucks I never got to see him race live or in person, but everything you hear about him is great. Bobby Labonte was so close to his second win of the season in only four races, but second was great for him in terms of points. Dale Jarrett had a terrible race and ended up deep in the finishing order, which allowed Labonte to lengthen his advantage on the points. It was still early in the season, but these races at the beginning of the year always turn out to be very crucial. This race was very interesting in terms of crazy things happening. There were pit problems, engines blowing up, and even a crazy wreck with Tony Stewart and some other drivers. With a race this crazy early in the season, it was hard to see a better race coming. The next race of the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup season was the Mall.com 400 at Darlington Raceway. Would the race end with a crazy finish like the one at Atlanta, would Bobby Labonte capture another win and boost his hold on the points, or would another driver take the win and boost his morale in the early part of the season? We will have to wait until the next installment of “Flashback Friday” to find this information out.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 29- Dale Earnhardt Jr. got loose in turn 2 and slammed the outside wall.
2nd Caution: Lap 55- Wally Dallenbach got loose in turn 4 and went for a slide across the frontstretch grass.
3rd Caution: Lap 68- Jeff Burton blew a tire in turn 3 and slammed the outside wall.
4th Caution: Lap 183- Scott Pruett got loose in turn 2 and slammed the outside wall.
5th Caution: Lap 203- Matt Kenseth lost an engine on track.
6th Caution: Lap 213- Wally Dallenbach spun on the frontstretch and slammed the outside wall.
7th Caution: Lap 262- Todd Bodine hit the wall in turn 4.
8th Caution: Lap 275- Tony Stewart got loose in turn 4 and went for a spin down the frontstretch. Robert Pressley could not avoid him and slammed into his door. Stacy Compton and Rusty Wallace also got involved while trying to avoid.
9th Caution: Lap 298- Michael Waltrip lost an engine on the backstretch of the track.
10th Caution: Lap 307- Mike Skinner lost an engine in turn 2 while leading.
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Dale Earnhardt Sr.
2nd: Bobby Labonte
3rd: Mark Martin
4th: Steve Park
5th: Joe Nemechek
Notables Not in Top 5:
9th: Jeff Gordon
10th: Bill Elliott
25th: Michael Waltrip
29th: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
32nd: Rusty Wallace
34th: Tony Stewart
36th: Dale Jarrett
40th: Matt Kenseth
43rd: Jeff Burton
Credits:
-Image:
http://www.atlantamotorspeedway.com/images/2000_Earnhadt_Last_Win_lg.jpg
-Thanks to AUTiger7222 for the full race. Unfortunately, he took it down after I finished watching the race so I will link you guys to a playlist with the entire race in parts. Credit goes to m140m for the race:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL78638601C68AC244
-Statistics:
http://www.racing-reference.info/race?id=2000-04&series=W
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