The 2000 Daytona 500 was the first stock car race of the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, the first of five No Bull 5 races, and the 42nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 20, 2000, before an audience of 200,000 in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) permanent triangular-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete.
In the final laps of the race, Robert Yates Racing's Dale Jarrett engaged in a battle for the lead against Tyler Jet Motorsports' Johnny Benson Jr. With four laps left in the race, Jarrett was able to pass Benson, retaining the lead until a caution came out with two laps left in the race for Jimmy Spencer. As the race ended under caution, Jarrett was the declared the winner at race's end. The victory was Jarrett's 23rd career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his first victory of the season, and his third and final Daytona 500 victory. To fill out the top three, Roush Racing's Jeff Burton and owner-driver Bill Elliott finished second and third, respectively.
Background
Daytona International Speedway is one of three superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.
After years of complaints over suspension issues first exposed after two fatal crashes in 1994 regarding overaggressive shock and spring setups, and exposed at the 1998 Firecracker 400 through cars "bottoming out" producing sparks as the suspension pieces rubbed the pavement, NASCAR decided for the "restrictor plate" races to implement standardised shocks and springs.
Entry list
(R) denotes rookie driver. (W) denotes past winner of the Daytona 500.
#DriverTeamMake1Steve ParkDale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet2Rusty WallacePenske-Kranefuss RacingFord3Dale Earnhardt (W)Richard Childress RacingChevrolet4Bobby HamiltonMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet5Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet6Mark MartinRoush RacingFord7Michael WaltripMattei MotorsportsChevrolet8Dale Earnhardt Jr. (R)Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet9Stacy Compton (R)Melling RacingFord10Johnny Benson Jr.Tyler Jet MotorsportsPontiac11Brett BodineBrett Bodine RacingFord12Jeremy MayfieldPenske-Kranefuss RacingFord13Robby GordonTeam MenardFord14Mike Bliss (R)A. J. Foyt EnterprisesPontiac15Derrike Cope (W)Fenley-Moore MotorsportsFord16Kevin LepageRoush RacingFord17Matt Kenseth (R)Roush RacingFord18Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingPontiac20Tony StewartJoe Gibbs RacingPontiac21Elliott SadlerWood Brothers RacingFord22Ward BurtonBill Davis RacingPontiac24Jeff Gordon (W)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet25Jerry NadeauHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet26Jimmy SpencerHaas-Carter MotorsportsFord27Jeff FullerEel River RacingPontiac28Ricky RuddRobert Yates RacingFord31Mike SkinnerRichard Childress RacingChevrolet32Scott Pruett (R)PPI MotorsportsFord33Joe NemechekAndy Petree RacingChevrolet34David GreenJKR MotorsportsChevrolet36Ken SchraderMB2 MotorsportsPontiac40Sterling Marlin (W)Team SABCOChevrolet41Rick MastLarry Hedrick MotorsportsChevrolet42Kenny Irwin Jr.Team SABCOChevrolet43John AndrettiPetty EnterprisesPontiac44Kyle PettyPetty EnterprisesPontiac48Stanton BarrettTriStar MotorsportsFord50Ricky CravenMidwest Transit RacingChevrolet55Kenny WallaceAndy Petree RacingChevrolet60Ted MusgraveJoe Bessey RacingChevrolet65Dan PardusJim & Judie MotorsportsChevrolet66Darrell Waltrip (W)Haas-Carter MotorsportsFord71Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet72Jim SauterMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet75Wally Dallenbach Jr.Galaxy MotorsportsFord77Robert PressleyJasper MotorsportsFord84Norm BenningNorm Benning RacingChevrolet85Carl LongMansion MotorsportsFord88Dale Jarrett (W)Robert Yates RacingFord89Bobby GerhartBobby Gerhart RacingChevrolet90Ed Berrier (R)Donlavey RacingFord91Andy HillenburgLJ RacingChevrolet93Dave Blaney (R)Bill Davis RacingPontiac94Bill Elliott (W)Bill Elliott RacingFord96Greg SacksPetty–Huggins MotorsportsChevrolet97Chad LittleRoush RacingFord99Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFord
Practice
First practice The first practice session was held on Friday, February 11, at 10:00 AM EST. The session lasted for two hours. Penske-Kranefuss Racing's Rusty Wallace set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 47.555 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed12Rusty WallacePenske-Kranefuss RacingFord47.555189.255288Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord47.559189.239332Scott Pruett (R)PPI MotorsportsFord47.566189.211Full first practice results
Second practice The second practice session was held on Friday, February 11, at 12:30 PM EST. The session lasted for two hours and 20 minutes. Penske-Kranefuss Racing's Rusty Wallace set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 47.425 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed12Rusty WallacePenske-Kranefuss RacingFord47.425189.77326Mark MartinRoush RacingFord47.446189.689332Scott Pruett (R)PPI MotorsportsFord47.448189.681Full second practice results
Third practice The third practice session was held on Saturday, February 12, at 8:30 AM EST. The session lasted for one hour and 10 minutes. Robert Yates Racing's Ricky Rudd set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 47.344 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed128Ricky RuddRobert Yates RacingFord47.344190.098232Scott Pruett (R)PPI MotorsportsFord47.434189.737388Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord47.465189.613Full third practice results
Fourth practice The fourth practice session was held on Monday, February 14, at 10:00 AM EST. The session lasted for one hour and 30 minutes. Andy Petree Racing's Joe Nemechek set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 46.663 and an average speed of .
During the session, a crash involving Jeff Fuller and Greg Sacks occurred, forcing both drivers to use backup cars for the Gatorade 125s. Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed133Joe NemechekAndy Petree RacingChevrolet46.663192.872215Derrike CopeFenley-Moore MotorsportsFord46.679192.806317Matt Kenseth (R)Roush RacingFord46.680192.802Full fourth practice results
Fifth practice The fifth practice session was held on Tuesday, February 15, at 12:30 PM EST. The session lasted for one hour and 55 minutes. Tyler Jet Motorsports' Johnny Benson Jr. set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 46.375 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed110Johnny Benson Jr.Tyler Jet MotorsportsPontiac46.375194.07029Stacy Compton (R)Melling RacingFord46.565193.27832Rusty WallacePenske-Kranefuss RacingFord46.590193.175Full fifth practice results
Sixth practice The sixth practice session was held on Wednesday, February 16, at 10:30 AM EST. The session lasted for one hour and 30 minutes. Penske-Kranefuss Racing's Rusty Wallace set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 46.367 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed12Rusty WallacePenske-Kranefuss RacingFord46.367194.104294Bill ElliottBill Elliott RacingFord46.380194.049331Mike SkinnerRichard Childress RacingChevrolet46.411193.920Full sixth practice results
Seventh practice The seventh practice session was held on Wednesday, February 16, at 10:30 AM EST. The session lasted for one hour and 30 minutes. Owner-driver Bill Elliott set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 46.308 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed194Bill ElliottBill Elliott RacingFord46.308194.35127Michael WaltripMattei MotorsportsChevrolet46.320194.301326Jimmy SpencerHaas-Carter MotorsportsFord46.466193.690Full seventh practice results
Final practice The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, February 19, after the preliminary 2000 NAPA Auto Parts 300. The session lasted for one hour. Hendrick Motorsports' Jeff Gordon set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 46.478 and an average speed of .
During the session, Dale Jarrett was involved in a spin in the track's first and second turns after a check-up by Mike Bliss caused a chain reaction of drivers slowing down. Jarrett was, however, able to save the car and continue using the car for the Daytona 500. Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed124Jeff GordonHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet46.478193.640288Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord46.513193.494399Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFord46.521193.461Full Happy Hour practice results
Qualifying Qualifying was set by the 2000 Gatorade 125s. The top two positions were set by qualifying speeds held for the Gatorade 125s held on Saturday, February 12, with the top two qualifiers in the session earning the top two positions for the Daytona 500. The rest of the starting lineup was set in the Gatorade 125s held on Thursday, February 17, during two races. The top 14 finishers in the first race, excluding the pole position winner, set the inside row from rows two to 15, and the top 14 finishers in the second race, excluding the outside pole position winner, set the outside row from rows two to 15. The remaining non-qualifiers set positions 31-36 based on qualifying speeds from the first qualifying session held on Saturday. In addition, six provisionals based on the previous season's owner's points were given out, setting positions 37-42. The final position, position 43, was given to a past series champion who did not otherwise qualify by any other method. If no past champion needed the provisional, the position was given out to the next team in the previous season's owner's points.
Dale Jarrett, driving for Robert Yates Racing, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 47.098 and an average speed of in Saturday's session.
13 drivers failed to qualify.
Full qualifying results