The 2000 Bud Shootout was the first of two exhibition stock car races of the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, and the 22nd running of the Bud Shootout. The race was held on February 13, 2000, in Daytona Beach, Florida, at Daytona International Speedway. Dale Jarrett, driving for Robert Yates Racing, won the 25-lap race, marking his second win in the event. Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon finished second and Team SABCO driver Sterling Marlin finished third.
Mark Martin, the race's pole sitter, was swallowed up by the pack on the backstretch of the first lap and gave up the lead to Gordon, who led the first nine laps of the race. Gordon conceded the lead to Bobby Labonte on the tenth lap, due to the mandatory pit stop. After Labonte made his mandatory pit stop, Marlin overtook the race lead on lap 12 and maintained it until the final lap, during which he was passed for the race win by Jarrett. There were four lead changes amongst four different drivers, and no cautions were issued during the race.
Background
The 2000 Bud Shootout was the first of two non-points scoring exhibition stock car races of the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 22nd annual edition of the event. It was held on February 13, 2000, in Daytona Beach, Florida at Daytona International Speedway, a superspeedway that holds NASCAR races. Its standard track is a four-turn, superspeedway. Daytona's turns are banked at 31 degrees, and the front stretch (the location of the finish line) is banked at 18 degrees.
The Bud Shootout was created by Busch Beer brand manager Monty Roberts as the Busch Clash in 1979. The race, designed to promote Busch Beer, invites the fastest NASCAR drivers from the previous season to compete. The race is considered a "warm-up" for the Daytona 500. It was renamed the Bud Shootout in 1998.
Format and eligibility Fifteen drivers were eligible to enter the race, including the fourteen pole position winners from the previous season and the winner of the qualifier race. Mark Martin was the defending race winner, and was among the fourteen pole position winners in 1999. John Andretti had won the pole for the Checker Auto Parts/Dura Lube 500 in November 1999; however, he was not eligible to enter because he did not carry a Budweiser sticker on the car. His team owner, Richard Petty, promised his mother years ago that he would not allow alcohol to sponsor his race cars. The race was 25 laps long, and all drivers were required to make a pit stop to change the right-side tires between laps 10 and 12. Laps that were run under the caution flag were not scored, and if the caution were to be issued, the field would be determined by the running order of the last-completed green flag lap. Every rolling restart had cars alongside each other in pairs (as opposed to the usual single-file restarts at the time), and all lapped competitors had to move to the rear of the field.
The preliminary qualifier race held prior to the Bud Shootout was open to the fastest second-round qualifiers of the 1999 season. The winner of the race would take the fifteenth and final starting position in the Bud Shootout. The same rules from the Bud Shootout also applied to its qualifier race. Among those entered in this race were Dale Jarrett, the defending Winston Cup champion and two-time Daytona 500 winner, who became the first Winston Cup champion since Dale Earnhardt in 1991 to fail to score any poles throughout a season. The day before the Bud Shootout, Jarrett also won the pole for the Daytona 500 on February 20. Jarrett commented on the expectations set upon him following his championship in 1999: "I have said all along that the thing I want to be and this race team wants to be is the best champion NASCAR has seen. We're trying hard to do that, to be as accommodating to as many people as we can and still get our jobs done." Five of Jarrett's crew members, the jackman and four tire changes, were previously crewmen for Jeff Gordon and would make their debut pitting for Jarrett on Sunday.
Other previous Daytona 500 winners such as Geoff Bodine, Darrell Waltrip, and Derrike Cope were also entered in the event. Earnhardt, six-time winner of the Bud Shootout, was not entered in the qualifier race or the main event.
Practice and qualifying
Three practice sessions were held prior to the race. The first session was held on Friday, February 11, and the last two sessions were held on Saturday, February 12. The first and third sessions lasted for 60 minutes, while the second session lasted 30 minutes. Bobby Labonte led the first session with a time of 46.639 seconds, ahead of Ken Schrader, Kevin Lepage, Terry Labonte, and Dale Jarrett. Ricky Rudd ran the fastest lap of the second session with a time of 47.147 seconds, ahead of Jarrett, Tony Stewart, Sterling Marlin, and Kenny Wallace. Jeff Gordon and Joe Nemechek were tied at 192.049 mph (309.073 km/h) for the fastest lap in the final practice session.
For qualifying, the 14 entered drivers chose their starting positions by lot, a feature unique to the event. The draw was held on Thursday, February 10. Mark Martin drew the pole position, with Marlin, Stewart, Ward Burton, and Mike Skinner rounding out the top five. Gordon, Bobby Labonte, David Green, Rudd, and Schrader drew positions six through ten, while Lepage, Nemechek, Kenny Irwin Jr., and Rusty Wallace drew positions eleventh through fourteenth. Ricky Craven drew the pole position for the qualifier race, and Jimmy Spencer, Jeff Burton, Rick Mast, and Kenny Wallace drew positions second through fifth. Jarrett, Darrell Waltrip, Stanton Barrett, Dave Marcis, Geoff Bodine, Derrike Cope, and Terry Labonte drew the final seven positions. After the draw, Martin showed confidence for the upcoming race: "Winning the pole sums up kind of like how I feel right now. I feel that good. I feel like a new man. Hopefully, we can stay up front. Last year, we had a real good car. It wasn't spectacular, but it was a good car, and every move I made on the race track was the right one."
Qualifying results
Bud Shootout qualifier Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 50 Ricky Craven Midwest Transit Racing Chevrolet 2 26 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 3 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 4 41 Rick Mast Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 5 55 Kenny Wallace Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 6 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 7 66 Darrell Waltrip Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 8 48 Stanton Barrett TriStar Motorsports Ford 9 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 10 60 Geoff Bodine Joe Bessey Racing Chevrolet 11 15 Derrike Cope Fenley-Moore Motorsports Ford 12 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports ChevroletOfficial qualifying results
Bud Shootout Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 2 40 Sterling Marlin Team SABCO Chevrolet 3 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 4 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 5 31 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 6 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 7 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 8 34 David Green Joyner-Kersee-Roehrig Motorsports Chevrolet 9 28 Ricky Rudd Robert Yates Racing Ford 10 36 Ken Schrader MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 11 16 Kevin Lepage Roush Racing Ford 12 33 Joe Nemechek Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 13 42 Kenny Irwin Jr. Team SABCO Chevrolet 14 2 Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing FordOfficial qualifying results
Qualifier race The Bud Shootout qualifier race began on Sunday, February 13, and was broadcast live on ESPN beginning at 11:00 AM EST, with Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons, and Ray Evernham providing commentary. Derrike Cope, who drew the eleventh starting position, did not participate in this race, as he and the Fenley-Moore Motorsports team elected to focus on second-round qualifying for the Daytona 500. Stanton Barrett, starting 8th, and Dave Marcis, starting 9th, were forced to move to the rear of the field due to missing the qualifying draw.
As the race began, pole sitter Ricky Craven immediately lost the race lead to Jeff Burton in turn one. That same lap, the first caution flag was issued when Kenny Wallace bounced off of the wall in turn four and spun down the tri-oval, collecting Rick Mast and Stanton Barrett in the process. All three drivers were uninjured, though they retired from the race. Since no laps had been completed prior to the crash, the race's start was called off and restarted, with Craven and Dale Jarrett starting on the front row. Burton again passed Craven for the lead in turn one and led the first lap over Craven by a slim margin. Burton led the second lap, but was passed by Craven for the lead on the third lap. Geoff Bodine came into pit road that same lap for repairs to his car as the field split up into two groups.
Jarrett also passed Burton for second position on the fifth lap, and remained in hot pursuit of Craven until Craven, Jarrett, Labonte, and Burton made their mandatory pit stop on lap 10. Jarrett exited pit road first and eventually gained the lead two laps later when Darrell Waltrip took his pit stop. Waltrip's teammate, Jimmy Spencer, retired from the race due to a transmission issue. Craven fell to fourth in the running order, and would pit again for a vibration issue. To make matters worse for the Midwest Transit Racing team, Craven was penalized by NASCAR for exceeding the pit road speed limit as he exited. Craven later retired from the race due to a vibration issue. Jarrett preserved his lead and led the final twelve laps of the race en route to victory and the final starting position of the Bud Shootout. Jarrett also collected $36,363 in race winnings. Burton finished second, 5.095 seconds behind Jarrett. Labonte finished third, Waltrip fourth, and Marcis fifth, the last car on the lead lap. Bodine, Craven, Spencer, Mast, Wallace, Barrett, and Cope completed the finishing order.
Qualifier race results Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps1 6 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 252 3 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 253 12 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 254 7 66 Darrell Waltrip Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 255 9 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 256 10 60 Geoff Bodine Joe Bessey Racing Chevrolet 237 1 50 Ricky Craven Midwest Transit Racing Chevrolet 138 2 26 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 109 4 41 Rick Mast Larry Hedrick Motorsports Chevrolet 010 5 55 Kenny Wallace Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 011 8 48 Stanton Barrett TriStar Motorsports Ford 012 11 15 Derrike Cope Fenley-Moore Motorsports Ford 0Official race results
Qualifier race statistics
Lead changes: 4 among 4 drivers Cautions/Laps: 1 for 0 Red flags: 0 Time of race: 20 minutes and 43 seconds Average speed:
Starting lineup Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 2 40 Sterling Marlin Team SABCO Chevrolet 3 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 4 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 5 31 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 6 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 7 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 8 34 David Green Joyner-Kersee-Roehrig Motorsports Chevrolet 9 28 Ricky Rudd Robert Yates Racing Ford 10 36 Ken Schrader MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 11 16 Kevin Lepage Roush Racing Ford 12 33 Joe Nemechek Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 13 42 Kenny Irwin Jr. Team SABCO Chevrolet 14 2 Rusty Wallace Penske-Kranefuss Racing Ford 15 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing FordOfficial starting lineup
Race The Bud Shootout began at 12:00 PM EST on Sunday, February 13, and was broadcast live on CBS, with Mike Joy, Buddy Baker, and Ned Jarrett providing commentary. Conditions prior to the race were calm and warm, with an air temperature of and a wind speed of .