(*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/watch?v=LfaYCwsf4P0*)
.jpg)
Jeff Gordon started on the pole. It was his first NASCAR Winston Cup Series pole of 2000 in only the fifth race of the season. The race went green and Gordon immediately jumped out to the lead with the field racing behind him. The race would only go a couple of laps before the first caution waved on lap 3. Steve Park made contact with Sterling Marlin in turn 1. Marlin began to slide while Park made contact with Joe Nemechek. Nemechek slammed the outside wall and came down towards Ken Schrader. The two made contact and Schrader slid down the track and hit Terry Labonte. Both Schrader and Labonte slid to the bottom of the track, but continued on in the race. Park and Marlin also gained control of their cars and continued on while Nemechek ended up stopped along the outside wall with heavy damage. None of the drivers came to pit road since it was so early in the race. The race went back green and Jeff Gordon once again held onto the lead. The race would only go for a few more laps before the second caution waved on lap 9. Rusty Wallace bumped Kenny Irwin Jr. exiting turn 2. Irwin tried to save it, but he went around and slammed the outside wall. Jerry Nadeau and Jeremy Mayfield received a lot of damage in the stack up from the wreck and all three drivers would have to pit or go to the garage for repairs. None of the drivers came down pit road under this caution either. The race went back green and Ward Burton was able to take the lead from Jeff Gordon. The race only went several laps before the third caution of the race waved on lap 19. Ted Musgrave had a tire blow out entering turn 3. His car locked up and piled straight into the outside wall. He slid to a stop on the bottom of the track with heavy damage. The race had finally went long enough for pit stops and there was a bit of strategy. Ward Burton decided to stay on track while the rest of the leaders came to pit road for four tires. With the abrasive surface of Darlington and tires being extremely important, it would be interesting to see how Burton would fare.
The race went back green and Ward Burton held onto the lead. He began to drive away a little bit and looked to be doing well without new tires. His speeds would soon go down and Bobby Hamilton was able to pass him for the lead on lap 36. Hamilton drove away from the field a little bit before Jeff Gordon took the lead from him on lap 55. Just after Gordon took the lead, the fourth caution of the race waved on lap 57. Jeff Fuller got loose exiting turn 2. He slid up the track and piled into the outside wall. He slid back down the track and made very slight contact with the inside wall. He drove away from the accident, but he had heavy damage and his race was pretty much over. Pit stops once again occurred during the caution with all the drivers taking four tires and Jeff Gordon coming out as the leader. The race went back green and Jeff Gordon was able to hold onto the lead. He would not hold the lead long as Bobby Labonte flew past Gordon and took the lead on lap 64. Labonte would not hold the lead long as Ward Burton took the lead away from Labonte on lap 72. Burton moved away from the field and the race calmed down for the moment.
Burton held the lead over the field until the first round of green flag pit stops of the race began on lap 121. Bobby Labonte's crew was able to beat Ward Burton's crew and Labonte was able to take the lead after the stops cycled through. Burton would not stay second for long as he took the lead away from Labonte on lap 144. Burton held the lead as the second round of green flag pit stops of the race occurred on lap 159. Ward Burton and the other drivers behind him waited a few laps after the start of the stops to come down. Eventually, they did and Dale Jarrett was able to take the lead from Ward Burton in the cycle of stops. Jarrett drove away from the field before the fifth and final caution of the race waved on lap 204. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who had been battling a loose condition all day, got loose exiting turn 2. His car slid down the track and slammed the inside wall. He slid to a stop at the bottom of the track with heavy front end damage. All the lead lap drivers came to pit road for four tires with Ward Burton coming out as the leader after loosing the lead on the previous round of green flag pit stops. Now, the race would be decided on a final round of green flag pit stops and the drivers ability to maneuver around the race track.
The race went back green and Ward Burton was able to hold onto the lead. Burton drove away from the field just as Steve Park encountered a problem on lap 217. His engine began to smoke on the frontstretch of the track. He was able to coast around to pit road and pull to the garage, but he would not return to the race as the event stayed green. Burton and the leaders did not encounter any other problems as the laps clicked by until the third and final round of green flag pit stops of the race began on lap 252. The stops were filled with problems for a couple of drivers. Matt Kenseth missed pit road the first time and had to come back around to the pits. His team performed the stop and he would not lose too much time. This was not the case for Bobby Labonte. Labonte missed pit road as well and had to come back around, but he would have another problem. Coming down the backstretch, his right front tire ripped apart because he had flat spotted the tires trying to get to pit road. Labonte made it back around to pit road with heavy right front fender damage. He had the tire replaced along with the damage fixed and returned to the track, but he had lost a lot of time. Through all of the craziness, Ward Burton was able to take the lead with Dale Jarrett behind him. Only forty laps remained and Ward Burton had to negotiate traffic and the track to take the win.
Burton had a nice lead over Jarrett as the pit stops came to a close. The laps began to click by as the two leaders negotiated the heavy traffic of Darlington Raceway. Soon only thirty laps remained with Jarrett chasing in Burton's tire tracks a few odd seconds back. Burton and Jarrett negotiated traffic as only twenty laps remained. The drivers behind them began to battle hard as lap 283 flashed across the board meaning that only ten laps remained. Burton had a sizable lead and no traffic around, but a huge pack was in front of him with five laps to go. Jarrett began to gain as Burton moved near the pack with two laps to go. Burton hit his line and made it to the white flag with at least a second over Jarrett. Burton did not have to worry about more traffic and he was able to cruise to the line for his second career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory. The win ended a five year drought and Burton was able to celebrate in victory lane at Darlington.
It was a very emotional win for Ward Burton. His kids were too young to remember his first win, but now his kids could celebrate with him in victory lane and remember it. If only Ward knew that thirteen years after this win, his son, Jeb, would be in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series full time and would be a first time winner in the series. This still might be one of Burton's most memorable wins along with his Daytona 500 win in 2002 if you were to ask him today. Dale Jarrett came so close to a second win of the season after a victory in the season opening Daytona 500. Even though he finished second, it was a much needed run after a terrible finish at Atlanta one week before. Bobby Labonte had some struggles late in the event, but he still held the points lead over Mark Martin by only a few points. Still, it was early in the season and points could be lost in the future. Once again, Darlington Raceway chewed up and spit out a few different drivers and the race was filled with a lot of excitement. But the excitement was far from over as the series headed to Bristol Motor Speedway the next week for a crazy event in Tennessee. Would Ward Burton take another win in the 2000 season, would Bobby Labonte lengthen his hold over the points lead, or would anther driver take the win and move up in the points? We will have to wait until the next installment of “Flashback Friday” to find this out and a whole lot more.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 3- Steve Park made contact with Sterling Marlin in turn 1. Marlin made contact with Joe Nemechek and sent Nemechek into the outside wall. Ken Schrader and Terry Labonte also received some damage while trying to avoid.
2nd Caution: Lap 9- Rusty Wallace bumped Kenny Irwin Jr. exiting turn 2 and sent Irwin into the outside wall. Jerry Nadeau and Jeremy Mayfield also received some damage in the stack up.
3rd Caution: Lap 19- Ted Musgrave lost a tire entering turn 3 and slammed the outside wall.
4th Caution: Lap 57- Jeff Fuller got loose exiting turn 2 and piled into the outside wall.
5th Caution: Lap 204- Dale Earnhardt Jr. got loose exiting turn 2 and slammed the inside wall.
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Ward Burton
2nd: Dale Jarrett
3rd: Dale Earnhardt Sr.
4th: Tony Stewart
5th: Jeff Burton
Notables Not in Top 5:
6th: Matt Kenseth
8th: Jeff Gordon
9th: Mark Martin
16th: Rusty Wallace
19th: Bill Elliott
40th: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Credits:
-Statistics:
http://racing-reference.info/race/2000_Mall.com_400/W
-Special thanks to Wfrncsu012 for the full race on Youtube. Here is a link to the race so that you guys can go check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfaYCwsf4P0
-Image:
http://gregb41.tripod.com//sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/05_mall.com400_winner.jpg
No comments:
Post a Comment