The 2000 Dura Lube/Kmart 400 was the second stock car race of the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 35th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 27, 2000, in Rockingham, North Carolina at North Carolina Speedway, a 1.017 miles (1.637 km) permanent D-shaped oval racetrack. The race took the scheduled 393 laps to complete. At race's end, Bobby Labonte, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would hold off Dale Earnhardt and win after leading the final 113 laps. This was Labonte's 13th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his first of the season. To fill out the podium, Dale Earnhardt of Richard Childress Racing and Ward Burton of Bill Davis Racing would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
North Carolina Speedway was opened as a flat, one-mile oval on October 31, 1965. In 1969, the track was extensively reconfigured to a high-banked, D-shaped oval just over one mile in length. In 1997, North Carolina Motor Speedway merged with Penske Motorsports, and was renamed North Carolina Speedway. Shortly thereafter, the infield was reconfigured, and competition on the infield road course, mostly by the SCCA, was discontinued. Currently, the track is home to the Fast Track High Performance Driving School.
Entry list
- (R) - denotes rookie driver
**Withdrew prior to the event.
Practice
First practice
The first practice session was held on Friday, February 25, at 10:00 AM EST, and would last for one hour and 15 minutes. Mark Martin of Roush Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.500 and an average speed of 155.795 miles per hour (250.728 km/h).
Second and final practice
The second and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, February 26. Ward Burton of Bill Davis Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.986 and an average speed of 152.639 miles per hour (245.649 km/h).
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Friday, February 25, at 2:30 PM EST. Each driver would have one lap to set a fastest time; and that lap 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.
Rusty Wallace of Penske-Kranefuss Racing would win the pole, setting a time of 23.167 and an average speed of 158.035 miles per hour (254.333 km/h).
Four drivers would fail to qualify: Ricky Craven, Scott Pruett, Dave Blaney, and Mike Bliss.
Full qualifying results
Race results
References
