 |
 |
| | Friday, November 24 Little E fades down the stretch | |||||
| HAMPTON, Ga. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the famous name and
the big-money deal. Matt Kenseth wound up with the rookie of the
year award.
The 28-year-old native of Cambridge, Wis., clinched the title
with a ninth-place finish in Monday's year-ending NAPA 500 at
Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Earnhardt, the closest challenger, was 20th in the race and
wound up with 250 points in the rookie standings -- 30 behind
Kenseth.
Earnhardt, son of the seven-time Winston Cup champion, made a
big splash early in the season, winning two of the first 11 races.
But he slumped in the second half.
Kenseth won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and
was more consistent than his rival.
Still, Kenseth said he would gladly trade the rookie title for
another victory.
"Racing for rookie of the year is really cool," he said, "but
it's different. You could finish 20th and be the top finishing
rookie, so that means there were 19 other cars that whooped up on
us that day.
"When you win a points championship like Bobby Labonte did, you
know you beat all the guys consistently every week."
Bodine: Bad start, bad finish Geoffrey Bodine would prefer to forget the start and finish of his 2000 season. Bodine was severely injured in a fiery truck crash at Daytona in February. After recovering from his injuries, he made 14 Winston Cup starts. Bodine wound up last in the 43-car field Monday when his car hit the wall in turn two just 12 laps into the race. "The year started so bad with the crash at Daytona," Bodine said. "To end it this was is obviously not what we wanted." He wasn't sure what happened, speculating that his Chevrolet struck debris on the track. "I thought the car would be a real good car," Bodine said. "It's a shame it happened, but it did. That's racing." Delayed finish ESPN televised its final Winston Cup race for at least six years Monday, peppering its broadcast with two decades of racing memories. Beginning next season, NASCAR has a new TV deal with NBC, Fox and Turner Sports that runs through 2007. ESPN was a fledgling cable network when it televised its first flag-to-flag NASCAR race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1981. "It's been a wonderful, wonderful run for last 20 years," announcer Bob Jenkins said. STP one more time The No. 43 car had one last race with its blue-and-red paint scheme. In early July, Petty Enterprises switched the primary logo on its most famous car from STP to Cheerios, breaking a 29-year tradition. At that time, the colors changed from blue and red to blue and yellow. But Cheerios allowed Petty to switch back to its old colors for the NAPA 500. The paint scheme mirrored the one used in 1972, when Richard Petty first ran with the STP logo. John Andretti, who drives the No. 43 car, finished 19th in the Pontiac Grand Prix. Petty is switching to Dodge next season, and the blue-and-yellow colors will return. Unlikely Wimmer Scott Wimmer came to Atlanta hoping to take part in the ARCA preliminary race. When rain washed out qualifying -- along with his hopes of getting in the field -- he entered the NAPA 500 instead. Amazingly, Wimmer qualified for the race and actually led for nine laps Monday before slipping back to a 22nd-place finish. Still, he earned $37,780, which is more than Bob Strait got for winning the ARCA Georgia Boot 400, held Monday after the Winston Cup race. Ford farewell Bill Elliott is moving on after a lifelong relationship with Ford. Elliott, who is switching to the new Dodge Interpids for 2001, wound up 11th in the final race with his longtime manufacturer. "Now, it's time to start another chapter," he said. Elliott began his Winston Cup career in 1976 in a family-owned Ford. He helped rebuild Ford's presence in the racing series with 40 victories and a Winston Cup championship. Elliott planned to keep the car he drove in the NAPA 500 as a reminder of his days with Ford. "I have a little bit of mixed emotions," he said. "In one way, I'm glad the year is over, but a lot of things have happened. I'll miss all my buddies at Ford, but we'll still be friends on down the road and I look forward to new relationships with Dodge." | ALSO SEE Nadeau secures first win while Waltrip bids farewell NASCAR Winston Cup farewells | |||||