The 2002 MBNA Platinum 400 was a

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 ...

Winston Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, 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. ...

racing

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 e ...

that was held on June 2, 2002, at

Dover International Speedway Dover Motor Speedway (formerly Dover Downs International Speedway and later Dover International Speedway) is a race track in Dover, Delaware. The track has hosted at least one NASCAR Cup Series race each year since 1969, including two per yea ...

Dover, Delaware Dover () is the capital and second-largest city of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County and the principal city of the Dover, DE, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County and is part of ...

Tony Raines Floyd Anthony Raines (born April 14, 1964) is a retired American professional stock car racing driver. He is a former National Touring Series champion in the now defunct American Speed Association and 1999 Rookie of the Year in the NASCAR Natio ...

would start his NASCAR Cup Series career during this event while

Dick Trickle Richard Leroy Trickle (October 27, 1941 – May 16, 2013) was an American race car driver. He raced for decades around the short tracks of Wisconsin, winning many championships along the way. Trickle competed in the ASA, ARTGO, ARCA, All ...

and Chad Little would end theirs after this race.

Race report

There were 43 drivers on the starting grid; all of them were born in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

Derrike Cope Derrike Wayne Cope (born November 3, 1958) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He is known for his win in the 1990 Daytona 500. He last competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 15 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 f ...

Hermie Sadler Herman Marion Sadler III (born April 24, 1969) is a candidate for the newly redrawn Virginia State Senate District 17 and was a former American professional stock car racing driver, announcer, professional wrestling promoter, and autism advocate ...

, and

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 ...

failed to qualify for this race.

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 ...

was credited as the last-place finisher due to a

crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch su ...

on lap 42. This racing event lasted for 400 laps and

Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, ...

defeated

Bill Elliott William Clyde Elliott (born October 8, 1955), also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, Million Dollar Bill, or Wild Bill is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He competes full time in the Camping World Superstar Racing ...

by almost half a second.

Matt Kenseth Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 8 car in the Superstar Racing Experience. (SRX) Kenseth started racing on several short tracks in Wisconsin and won track cha ...

would clinch his first ever

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...

start by driving up to during his solo qualifying run.''2002 MBNA Platinum 400''
racing information at Racing Reference''2002 MBNA Platinum 400''
racing information at Race Database The race itself would last approximately three hours and twenty-four minutes; the green flag was officially waved at 1:00 PM Eastern Daylight Saving Time while the checkered flag came at approximately 4:24 PM EDT. Jimmie Johnson's average speed during his winning run was . Any yellow flags in this race were caused by accidents, debris, and an

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

spill on lap 373. About 40 laps of this race were done under caution with each green flag session lasting an average of 45 laps.

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 named ...

, Bill Elliott,

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 ...

, and

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 ...

would jointly lead the first 100 laps while the last 100 laps saw the first-place position of the race split between Ricky Rudd and eventual race winner Jimmie Johnson.

Sterling Marlin Sterling Burton Marlin (born June 30, 1957) is an American semi-retired, professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes part-time JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour, driving the No. 114 for Sterling Marlin Racing. He formerly competed in the N ...

kept his championship lead after this racing event. Only time in Cup when BACE Motorsports fielded two Cup entries. Pretty gutsy move considering their financial situation. Winnings for this racing event varied from $56,712 ($ when adjusted for inflation) to $152,400 ($ when adjusted for inflation). The overall racing purse for this event added up to $3,450,082 ($ when adjusted for inflation).''2002 MBNA Platinum 400''
racing information at Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet

Qualifying

Top 10 finishers

Timeline

Section reference: * Start of race: Matt Kenseth started the race with the pole position but quickly lost it to Ricky Rudd. * Lap 19: Caution due to debris; green flag racing on lap 22. * Lap 42: Joe Nemechek had a terminal crash; forcing him to become the last-place finisher. * Lap 44: Caution due to Joe Nemechek and Todd Bodine's accident; green flag racing on lap 50. * Lap 48: Mark Martin took over the lead from Ricky Rudd before being overtaken by Jimmie Johnson on lap 125. * Lap 126: Caution due to a 3-car accident; green flag racing on lap 136. * Lap 144: Jimmie Johnson took over the lead from Jeff Gordon before being overtaken by Ricky Craven on lap 217. * Lap 170: A fuel pump issue forced Dick Trickle out of the race for the day. * Lap 216: Caution due to Matt Kenseth's accident; green flag racing resumed on lap 220. * Lap 218: Jimmie Johnson took over the lead from Ricky Craven before being overtaken by Dale Jarrett on lap 293. * Lap 283: Mark Martin had a terminal crash; ending his day on the track. * Lap 292: Caution due to Jeff Green's accident; green flag racing resumed on lap 297. * Lap 307: Caution due to debris; green flag racing on lap 311. * Lap 308: Ricky Rudd took over the lead from Dale Jarrett before being overtaken by Jimmie Johnson on lap 363. * Lap 370: Ken Schrader had a terminal crash; bringing his NASCAR race weekend to an early end. * Lap 373: Caution due to oil on track; green flag racing on lap 378. * Finish: Jimmie Johnson was officially declared the winner of the event.

Standings after the race

References

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MBNA Platinum 400 MBNA Corporation was a bank holding company and parent company of wholly owned subsidiary MBNA America Bank, N.A., headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, prior to being acquired by Bank of America in 2006. History The former Maryland National ...

NASCAR races at Dover Motor Speedway