The 2002 Virginia 500 was the eighth stock car race of the

2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series The 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 54th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 31st modern-era Cup Series season. It began on February 10, 2002, at Daytona International Speedway, and ended on November 17, ...

and the 53rd iteration of the

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

. The race was held on Sunday, April 14, 2002, in Martinsville, Virginia at Martinsville Speedway, a permanent oval-shaped short track. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. At race's end, Bobby Labonte, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would hold off the field on the final restart with seven to go to win his 19th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his first and only win of the season. To fill out the podium, Matt Kenseth of

Roush Racing Roush is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Politics *Glenn Roush (1934–2020), American politician in Montana * J. Edward Roush (1920–2004), United States Representative for Indiana, namesake of: ** J. Edward Roush Lake, a re ...

and

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 ...

of Joe Gibbs Racing would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

Martinsville Speedway is an

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

-owned stock car racing track located in Henry County, in Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At 0.526 miles (0.847 km) in length, it is the shortest track in the

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only remaining race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948. Kenny Wallace replaced Kevin Harvick, who was parked by NASCAR for a deliberate collision against

Coy Gibbs Coy Randall Gibbs (December 9, 1972 – November 6, 2022) was an American NASCAR driver, assistant coach with the Washington Redskins, and co-owner of Joe Gibbs Racing. He was the son of Joe Gibbs, five-time NASCAR Cup Series championship-winni ...

during the supporting Trucks race (Advance Auto Parts 250); Harvick had been in probation for an altercation against

Greg Biffle Gregory Jack Biffle (born December 23, 1969) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 44 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for NY Racing Team and full-time in the ...

at the Busch Series Bristol race weeks prior. Harvick was also fined $35,000 and had his probation from the altercation, originally intended to expire on August 28, 2002, extended to December 31 instead.

Entry list

* (R) denotes rookie driver. * (R) denotes rookie driver.

Practice

First practice

The first practice session was held on Friday, April 12, at 11:20 AM EST, and would last for two hours.

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 ...

Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) was a race team founded by Dale Earnhardt and his wife, Teresa Earnhardt, to compete in the NASCAR series, the highest level of competition for professional stock car racing in the United States. From 1998 to 2009, t ...

would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.145 and an average speed of .

Second practice

The second practice session was held on Saturday, April 13, at 10:30 AM EST, and would last for 45 minutes. Sterling Marlin of

Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech ...

would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.145 and an average speed of .

Third and final practice

The third and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, April 13, at 12:15 PM EST, and would last for 45 minutes.

of Joe Gibbs Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 20.347 and an average speed of .

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Friday, April 12, at 3:05 PM EST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap. Positions 1-36 would be decided on time, while positions 37-43 would be based on provisionals. Six spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The seventh is awarded to a past champion who has not otherwise qualified for the race. If no past champ needs the provisional, the next team in the owner points will be awarded a provisional.

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 ...

Hendrick Motorsports Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 291 Cup Seri ...

would win the pole, setting a time of 20.106 and an average speed of .

Randy Renfrow Randy Renfrow (born January 28, 1958) is an American former stock car racing driver. He raced many years in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series before retiring. Renfrow has won 237 late model races at 40 different tracks over his career. Nextel Cup ...

was the only driver to fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

Race results

References

{{2002 Winston Cup 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series NASCAR races at Martinsville Speedway April 2002 sports events in the United States 2002 in sports in Virginia