Fourth race of the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
2002 MBNA America 500
Race details
|
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|
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Date
|
March 10, 2002
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Official name
|
44th Annual MBNA America 500
|
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Location
|
Hampton, Georgia
,
Atlanta Motor Speedway
|
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Course
|
Permanent racing facility
1.54 mi (2.48 km)
|
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Distance
|
325 laps, 500.5 mi (805.476 km)
|
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Scheduled Distance
|
325 laps, 500.5 mi (805.476 km)
|
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Average speed
|
148.443 miles per hour (238.896 km/h)
|
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|
Driver
|
|
Evernham Motorsports
|
---|
Time
|
28.944
|
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|
Driver
|
Tony Stewart
|
Joe Gibbs Racing
|
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Laps
|
143
|
---|
|
No. 20
|
Tony Stewart
|
Joe Gibbs Racing
|
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|
Network
|
FOX
|
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Announcers
|
Mike Joy
,
Larry McReynolds
,
Darrell Waltrip
|
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|
Radio
|
Performance Racing Network
|
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Booth Announcers
|
Chuck Carland, Rob Albright
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Turn Announcers
|
Brett McMillan, Steve Richards, Pat Patterson
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Motor car race
The
2002 MBNA America 500
was the fourth
stock car race
of the
2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
and the fifth iteration of the
event
. The race was held on Sunday, March 10, 2002, in
Hampton, Georgia
at
Atlanta Motor Speedway
, a 1.54 miles (2.48 km) permanent asphalt quad-oval intermediate speedway. The race took the scheduled 325 laps to complete.
Tony Stewart
, driving for
Joe Gibbs Racing
, would pass the worn-out car of
Ward Burton
with 23 to go to win his 13th career
NASCAR Winston Cup Series
win and his first of the season.
[1]
To fill out the podium,
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
of
Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
and
Jimmie Johnson
of
Hendrick Motorsports
would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
[
edit
]
Atlanta Motor Speedway
(formerly
Atlanta International Raceway
) is a track in
Hampton, Georgia
, 20 miles (32 km) south of
Atlanta
. It is a 1.54-mile (2.48 km) quad-oval track with a
seating capacity
of 111,000. It opened in 1960 as a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) standard oval. In 1994, 46
condominiums
were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two 1.5-mile (2.4 km) ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval. The project made the track one of the fastest on the
NASCAR
circuit.
Entry list
[
edit
]
Practice
[
edit
]
First practice
[
edit
]
The first practice session was held on Friday, March 8, at 11:20 AM
EST
, and would last for two hours.
[2]
Tony Stewart
of
Joe Gibbs Racing
would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.118 and an average speed of 190.391 miles per hour (306.405 km/h).
[3]
Second practice
[
edit
]
The second practice session was held on Saturday, March 9, at 9:30 AM
EST
, and would last for 45 minutes.
[2]
Ryan Newman
of
Penske Racing
would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.896 and an average speed of 185.436 miles per hour (298.430 km/h).
[4]
Third and final practice
[
edit
]
The third and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, March 9, at 11:15 AM
EST
, and would last for 45 minutes.
[2]
Jerry Nadeau
of
Hendrick Motorsports
would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.110 and an average speed of 184.125 miles per hour (296.320 km/h).
[5]
Qualifying
[
edit
]
Qualifying was held on Friday, March 8, 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.
[2]
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.
[6]
Bill Elliott
of
Evernham Motorsports
would win the pole, setting a time of 28.944 and an average speed of 191.542 miles per hour (308.257 km/h).
[7]
Two drivers would fail to qualify:
Ron Hornaday Jr.
and
Carl Long
.
Full qualifying results
[
edit
]
Race results
[
edit
]
Fin
[8]
|
St
|
#
|
Driver
|
Team
|
Make
|
Laps
|
Led
|
Status
|
Pts
|
Winnings
|
1
|
9
|
20
|
Tony Stewart
|
Joe Gibbs Racing
|
Pontiac
|
325
|
143
|
running
|
185
|
$174,978
|
2
|
3
|
8
|
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
|
Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
|
Chevrolet
|
325
|
38
|
running
|
175
|
$104,600
|
3
|
15
|
48
|
Jimmie Johnson
(R)
|
Hendrick Motorsports
|
Chevrolet
|
325
|
0
|
running
|
165
|
$72,350
|
4
|
32
|
17
|
Matt Kenseth
|
Roush Racing
|
Ford
|
325
|
46
|
running
|
165
|
$91,700
|
5
|
6
|
32
|
Ricky Craven
|
PPI Motorsports
|
Ford
|
325
|
0
|
running
|
155
|
$69,950
|
6
|
38
|
2
|
Rusty Wallace
|
Penske Racing
|
Ford
|
325
|
0
|
running
|
150
|
$90,625
|
7
|
28
|
22
|
Ward Burton
|
Bill Davis Racing
|
Dodge
|
325
|
20
|
running
|
151
|
$90,325
|
8
|
39
|
6
|
Mark Martin
|
Roush Racing
|
Ford
|
325
|
0
|
running
|
142
|
$89,833
|
9
|
12
|
40
|
Sterling Marlin
|
Chip Ganassi Racing
|
Dodge
|
325
|
0
|
running
|
138
|
$89,117
|
10
|
2
|
12
|
Ryan Newman
(R)
|
Penske Racing
|
Ford
|
325
|
15
|
running
|
139
|
$78,000
|
11
|
4
|
97
|
Kurt Busch
|
Roush Racing
|
Ford
|
325
|
59
|
running
|
135
|
$62,225
|
12
|
14
|
44
|
Buckshot Jones
|
Petty Enterprises
|
Dodge
|
325
|
0
|
running
|
127
|
$58,450
|
13
|
7
|
88
|
Dale Jarrett
|
Robert Yates Racing
|
Ford
|
325
|
0
|
running
|
124
|
$77,450
|
14
|
13
|
5
|
Terry Labonte
|
Hendrick Motorsports
|
Chevrolet
|
325
|
0
|
running
|
121
|
$76,083
|
15
|
34
|
45
|
Kyle Petty
|
Petty Enterprises
|
Dodge
|
325
|
2
|
running
|
123
|
$44,500
|
16
|
19
|
24
|
Jeff Gordon
|
Hendrick Motorsports
|
Chevrolet
|
325
|
0
|
running
|
115
|
$96,478
|
17
|
24
|
77
|
Dave Blaney
|
Jasper Motorsports
|
Ford
|
324
|
2
|
running
|
117
|
$65,200
|
18
|
23
|
31
|
Robby Gordon
|
Richard Childress Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
324
|
0
|
running
|
109
|
$72,246
|
19
|
16
|
21
|
Elliott Sadler
|
Wood Brothers Racing
|
Ford
|
324
|
0
|
running
|
106
|
$62,279
|
20
|
37
|
28
|
Ricky Rudd
|
Robert Yates Racing
|
Ford
|
324
|
0
|
running
|
103
|
$89,157
|
21
|
30
|
99
|
Jeff Burton
|
Roush Racing
|
Ford
|
324
|
0
|
running
|
100
|
$86,507
|
22
|
11
|
1
|
Kenny Wallace
|
Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
|
Chevrolet
|
324
|
0
|
running
|
97
|
$75,010
|
23
|
40
|
19
|
Jeremy Mayfield
|
Evernham Motorsports
|
Dodge
|
323
|
0
|
running
|
94
|
$52,835
|
24
|
25
|
36
|
Ken Schrader
|
MB2 Motorsports
|
Pontiac
|
323
|
0
|
running
|
91
|
$52,535
|
25
|
27
|
26
|
Joe Nemechek
|
Haas-Carter Motorsports
|
Ford
|
322
|
0
|
running
|
88
|
$69,822
|
26
|
5
|
41
|
Jimmy Spencer
|
Chip Ganassi Racing
|
Dodge
|
322
|
0
|
running
|
85
|
$43,985
|
27
|
10
|
10
|
Johnny Benson Jr.
|
MBV Motorsports
|
Pontiac
|
322
|
0
|
running
|
82
|
$51,670
|
28
|
21
|
4
|
Mike Skinner
|
Morgan?McClure Motorsports
|
Chevrolet
|
321
|
0
|
running
|
79
|
$43,420
|
29
|
22
|
55
|
Bobby Hamilton
|
Andy Petree Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
320
|
0
|
running
|
76
|
$51,110
|
30
|
26
|
25
|
Jerry Nadeau
|
Hendrick Motorsports
|
Chevrolet
|
320
|
0
|
running
|
73
|
$51,385
|
31
|
35
|
14
|
Stacy Compton
|
A. J. Foyt Enterprises
|
Pontiac
|
320
|
0
|
running
|
70
|
$42,810
|
32
|
41
|
7
|
Casey Atwood
|
Ultra-Evernham Motorsports
|
Dodge
|
319
|
0
|
running
|
67
|
$42,235
|
33
|
29
|
90
|
Rick Mast
|
Donlavey Racing
|
Ford
|
318
|
0
|
running
|
64
|
$39,670
|
34
|
31
|
49
|
Shawna Robinson
(R)
|
BAM Racing
|
Dodge
|
310
|
0
|
running
|
61
|
$39,625
|
35
|
1
|
9
|
Bill Elliott
|
Evernham Motorsports
|
Dodge
|
288
|
0
|
crash
|
58
|
$72,146
|
36
|
20
|
43
|
John Andretti
|
Petty Enterprises
|
Dodge
|
288
|
0
|
crash
|
55
|
$66,638
|
37
|
18
|
18
|
Bobby Labonte
|
Joe Gibbs Racing
|
Pontiac
|
287
|
0
|
running
|
52
|
$85,298
|
38
|
42
|
11
|
Brett Bodine
|
Brett Bodine Racing
|
Ford
|
276
|
0
|
engine
|
49
|
$39,475
|
39
|
8
|
29
|
Kevin Harvick
|
Richard Childress Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
254
|
0
|
engine
|
46
|
$85,218
|
40
|
17
|
15
|
Michael Waltrip
|
Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
|
Chevrolet
|
204
|
0
|
engine
|
43
|
$47,380
|
41
|
36
|
30
|
Jeff Green
|
Richard Childress Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
187
|
0
|
engine
|
40
|
$39,345
|
42
|
43
|
71
|
Dick Trickle
|
Marcis Auto Racing
|
Chevrolet
|
178
|
0
|
crash
|
37
|
$39,305
|
43
|
33
|
23
|
Hut Stricklin
|
Bill Davis Racing
|
Dodge
|
164
|
0
|
engine
|
34
|
$38,605
|
Failed to qualify
|
44
|
|
57
|
Ron Hornaday Jr.
|
Team CLR
|
Ford
|
|
45
|
85
|
Carl Long
|
Mansion Motorsports
|
Dodge
|
Official race results
|
References
[
edit
]
|
---|
Networks
| |
---|
Current
programs
| |
---|
Current
commentators
| Play-by-play announcers
| |
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Color commentators
| |
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Pit reporters
| |
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Pre-race show
| |
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Spanish
| |
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Other commentators
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Former
commentators
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Music
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Daytona 500
| |
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Coca-Cola 600
| |
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Related articles
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Points races
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Exhibition races
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