The 2000 edition of

The Winston The NASCAR All-Star Race, formerly known as The Winston from 1985 to 2003, the Nextel All-Star Challenge from 2004 to 2007, the Sprint All-Star Race from 2008 to 2016, and the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race from 2017 to 2019, is an annual NA ...

was held on May 20, 2000, at

Lowe's Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including ...

Concord, North Carolina Concord is the county seat and largest city in Cabarrus County, in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 105,186, with an estimated population in 2021 of 107,697. In terms of population, the cit ...

. This was the 16th running of the event. The race is remembered for

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author, and an analyst for ''NASCAR on NBC''. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving t ...

becoming the first rookie to win The Winston. Drivers Steve Park and

Jerry Nadeau Gerald Nadeau (born September 9, 1970) is an American former stock car racer. He competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. He started racing in karting before moving up to car racing, driving in the 12 Hours of Sebring, the European Formula Ford ...

advanced to the main lineup, with Park winning the Winston Open and Nadeau winning the No Bull Sprint race. This was the last All-Star Race of Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt; Waltrip retired at the end of 2000 and called the 2001 race from the booth for

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...

, and Earnhardt was killed at the season-opening

Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...

. This was

Kenny Irwin Jr. Kenneth Dale Irwin Jr. (August 5, 1969 – July 7, 2000) was an American stock car racing driver. He had driven in all three NASCAR national touring series, and had two total victories, both in the Craftsman Truck Series (today Camping World Tru ...

's only appearance in The Winston, as he was killed in a crash during practice at

New Hampshire Motor Speedway New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a Oval track racing, oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire, which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1990, as well as the longest-running motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic. Nickna ...

on July 7. In addition, this was TNN's final broadcast of The Winston.

Background

The Winston was open to race winners from last season through the

Pontiac Excitement 400 The Toyota Owners 400 is a 400 lap NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia. From 2007 to 2011, former race title sponsor Crown Royal named the race after the winner of an essay contest during Dayton ...

Richmond International Raceway Richmond Raceway (RR) is a , ''D''-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in unincorporated Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Known as ...

and all previous All-Star race winners and NASCAR Winston Cup champions who had attempted to qualify for every race in 2000 were eligible to compete in the All-Star Race.

2000 The Winston drivers and eligibility

Race winners in 1999 and 2000

*2-

Rusty Wallace Russell William "Rusty" Wallace Jr. (born August 14, 1956) is an American former NASCAR racing driver. He has won the 1984 NASCAR Cup series Rookie of the Year and the 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Championship. Over the course of his successful care ...

(2 wins from 1999 and 2000) *3- Dale Earnhardt (4 wins from 1999 and 2000) *5-

Terry Labonte Terrance Lee Labonte (born November 16, 1956), nicknamed Texas Terry or The Iceman, is an American former stock car driver who raced from 1978 to 2014 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup and Sprint Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series). A tw ...

(1 win in 1999) *6-

Mark Martin Mark Anthony Martin (born January 9, 1959) is a retired American stock car racing driver. He has the second most wins all time in what is now the Xfinity Series with 49. He scored 40 Cup Series wins. He finished second in the NASCAR Cup Series st ...

(3 wins from 1999 and 2000) *8-

(2 wins in 2000) *12-

Jeremy Mayfield Jeremy Allen Mayfield (born May 27, 1969) is an American stock car racing driver. He drove cars for the Sadler brothers, T.W. Taylor, Cale Yarborough, Michael Kranefuss, Roger Penske, Ray Evernham, Bill Davis, and Gene Haas. In 2009, he drove for ...

(1 win in 2000) *18-

Bobby Labonte Robert Allen Labonte (born May 8, 1964) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and current analyst for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He also currently competes full-time in the Superstar Racing Experience, driving the No. 18 car. ...

(6 wins from 1999 and 2000) *20-

Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is a ...

(3 wins in 1999) *22-

Ward Burton John Edward Burton III (born October 25, 1961) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He has five career wins in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, including the 2002 Daytona 500 and the 2001 Southern 500. He is the older brothe ...

(1 win in 2000) *24-

Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...

(8 wins from 1999 and 2000, including the 1999 Daytona 500) *33-

Joe Nemechek Joseph Frank Nemechek III (born September 26, 1963) is an American professional stock car racing driver who last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 24 Toyota Supra for Sam Hunt Racing. Nemechek has made the second mos ...

(1 win in 1999) *43-

John Andretti John Andrew Andretti (March 12, 1963January 30, 2020) was an American race car driver. He won individual races in CART, IMSA GTP, Rolex Sports Car Series, and NASCAR during his career. He was the son of Aldo Andretti, older brother of racer Ada ...

(1 win in 1999) *88-

Dale Jarrett Dale Arnold Jarrett (born November 26, 1956) is a former American race car driver and current commentator for NBC. He is best known for winning the Daytona 500 three times (in 1993, 1996, and 2000) and winning the NASCAR Winston Cup Series champi ...

(5 wins from 1999 and 2000, including the

2000 Daytona 500 The 2000 Daytona 500, the 42nd running of the event, was held February 20, 2000 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida as the first race of both the 2000 NASCAR Winson Cup season and the 2000s decade. Dale Jarrett, the pole ...

) *99-

Jeff Burton Jeffrey Tyler Burton (born June 29, 1967), nicknamed The Mayor, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He scored 21 career victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, including two Coca-Cola 600s in ...

(7 wins from 1999 and 2000)

Winning team owners in 1999 and 2000

*42-

Team SABCO The NASCAR operation of Chip Ganassi Racing was established in 1989 by Felix Sabates, a Cuban immigrant who was a self-made millionaire distributing products such as Teddy Ruxpin and Sega video game systems. The team was known as SABCO Racing, f ...

with new driver

(1 win in 1999 with Joe Nemechek)

Previous NASCAR Winston Cup Champions

*66- Darrell Waltrip (NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, and

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

) *94- Bill Elliott ( 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion)

Previous winners of The Winston

*7- Michael Waltrip ( 1996 The Winston Select winner)

Winners of The Winston Open and No Bull Sprint

*1- Steve Park (The Winston Open winner) *25-

(No Bull Sprint winner)

The Winston Open/No Bull Sprint

won the pole for The Winston Open and led 14 laps, but it was Steve Park who won the 30-lap race and earned $35,000. The only caution of the race occurred after the first lap when

Geoff Bodine Geoffrey Edwin Bodine (born April 18, 1949) is a retired American motorsport driver and bobsled builder. He is the oldest of the three Bodine brothers (with Brett Bodine and Todd Bodine), and sister Denise. Bodine lives in West Melbourne, Florid ...

and Dave Marcis collided with each other in turn four. Mike Skinner was the pole sitter for the No Bull Sprint and led nine laps, but finished 15th while Nadeau won the 16-lap race and earned $25,000. Two cautions occurred in the race caused by two crashes: Chad Little in lap six and

Elliott Sadler Elliott William Barnes Sadler (born April 30, 1975) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing. Sadler is one of 36 dr ...

in lap 10. Both Park and Nadeau advanced to The Winston. This also marked the first time

Ricky Rudd Richard Lee Rudd (born September 12, 1956), nicknamed "The Rooster", is an American former racing driver. He is the uncle of actor Skeet Ulrich and former NASCAR Busch Series driver Jason Rudd. He retired in 2007 with 23 career wins. He was name ...

failed to make The Winston after having participated in the past 15 events.

The Winston

Segment 1

Bill Elliott won the pole for The Winston, with

starting on outside pole. Despite having not won a race,

made the starting grid based on the No. 42 team's win in 1999 with

, who switched to the No. 33 team in 2000. The first caution occurred before the first lap when Irwin tangled with Dale Earnhardt and got loose in turn four, sending

hard on the outside wall. Michael Waltrip brought out the second caution on lap 24 when he spun loose and crashed in turn two. Elliott led all 30 laps of Segment 1, earning him $50,000. ;Segment results #94- Bill Elliott ($50,000) #6-

($15,000) #8-

($7,500)

Segment 2

It was decided by lottery that the top 12 finishers were to be inverted for Segment 2, with Nemechek and

in the front row. The caution was triggered on lap 38 when

spun loose in turn two and caused a wreck that involved Steve Park, Earnhardt Sr., and

made two pit stops due to a loose lug nut on his left rear tire while Park, Earnhardt Sr., and Gordon had their cars mended during the caution. Upon the restart, Mayfield lost third gear and was forced to retire from the race. On lap 50, Earnhardt Jr. hit the outside wall in turn four, but the damage was not significant enough to cause a tire rub. The caution came out on lap 54, when

nudged Martin towards the backstretch wall; Martin also collided with

before his car caught fire. Elliott once again had the dominant car, winning Segment 2 and earning another $50,000. ;Segment results #94- Bill Elliott ($50,000) #88-

($15,000) #8-

($7,500)

Segment 3

Elliott and

led the field for Segment 3. Park and Nemechek tangled on lap 62, resulting in a multi-car pileup in turn one that took them out along with Stewart and Gordon to bring out the final caution. The incident also caused an adverse handling effect on Elliott's car, as he lost the lead to Jarrett and faded out of the top five. Upon the restart, both Earnhardts rebounded in the top three as smoke suddenly started to appear in the rear end of Jarrett's car. With two laps to go, Earnhardt Jr. overtook Jarrett and won The Winston, earning him $500,000 and making him the first rookie to win the event. The victory celebration was held in front of the main grandstand instead of victory lane, which was left vacant for this race and the 2000 Coca-Cola 600 in memory of

Adam Petty Adam Kyler Petty (July 10, 1980 – May 12, 2000) was an American professional stock car racing driver. He was the fourth generation from the Petty family to drive in races in the highest division of NASCAR racing, mostly in what was then kno ...

, who was killed in a practice crash at

on May 12, 2000.

Bridge collapse

Following the race, a section of one of the track's pedistrian bridge walkway fell onto a highway in Concord as fans headed from the track to a nearby parking lot. In total, 107 fans were injured at Lowe's Motor Speedway when the bridge dropped to the ground. Nearly 50 lawsuits against the speedway resulted from the incident, with many being settled out of court. Investigators have said the bridge builder, Tindall Corp., used an improper additive to help the concrete filler at the bridge's center cure faster. The additive contained calcium chloride, which corroded the structure's steel cables and led to the collapse. The incident is considered one of the biggest disasters not involving a driver in NASCAR history.

References

{{NASCAR on TNN Winston, The Winston, The NASCAR races at Charlotte Motor Speedway Winston, The NASCAR All-Star Race NASCAR controversies