The 2000 Daytona 500

Sunday Conversation

Dale Jarrett joins ESPN's Bill Weber from Daytona's Victory Lane for the Sunday Conversation.
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Daytona 500

DJ nearly lost his car Saturday but did lose it after Sunday.
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Making it fun

Dale Jarrett believes NASCAR needs to make fans happy.
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Just too strong

Passing was difficult for Jarrett, but he made it to the front.
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Daytona 500
1. (88) Dale Jarrett, Ford
3. (99) Jeff Burton, Ford
2. (94) Bill Elliott, Ford
4. (2) Rusty Wallace, Ford
5. (6) Mark Martin, Ford
6. (18) Bobby Labonte, Pontiac
7. (5) Terry Labonte, Chevrolet
8. (22) Ward Burton, Pontiac
9. (36) Ken Schrader, Chevrolet
10. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford
Full Results

Front-running Benson falls short
Jonny Benson's bid for the Daytona 500 was dashed by a stronger Dale Jarrett and his Ford buddies.
Junior couldn't find drafting 'Buds'
Dale Earnhardt Jr., found out just how important it is to have friends in the Daytona 500.

Jarrett cashed in during the first quarter.

DJ's 88 cleans up nicely
His car was a mess Sunday morning. But it ended up in Victory Lane in the afternoon. Dale Jarrett won his third Daytona 500 under caution after overpowering Johnny Benson with four laps to go. Give Jarrett's crew credit for working all morning to fix a car that was badly damaged Saturday in a practice crash.

Daily Dish: Gordon's day goes up in smoke

Kenseth came up a winner Saturday.

Remember me?
Matt Kenseth knows what it's like to be beaten by Winston Cup drivers in the Busch Series. Now, he's doing it himself. Kenseth, who will begin his rookie Cup campaign Sunday in the Daytona 500, won Saturday's season-opening Busch race, holding off veterans Joe Nemechek and Terry Labonte in a wreck-filled NAPA Auto Parts 300.

Wallace was a winner on a wild day.

Frightening first race
The first truck race at Daytona International Speedway will certainly be remembered for quite some time. While Mike Wallace won the race, a fiery 10-truck accident sent Geoff Bodine, Jimmy Kitchens and five fans to the hospital Friday. ESPN's Dr. Jerry Punch says NASCAR's safety precautions kept the injuries to a minimum.

Winner watched wreck in rear-view mirror

Daily dish: Scary day; safe result

Earnhardt visited a familiar place Friday.

Just like starting over
On an equal playing field, Dale Earnhardt once again proved he's the "King of Daytona," winning the IROC opener at the superspeedway on Friday. Last year's IROC champion just wishes his Monte Carlo was equal to the Fords and Pontiacs in the 500. "I just wish the Winston Cup cars were as equal as these cars are," said Earnhardt from Victory Lane.

Ricky Rudd ended upside down Sunday.

Tour de DJ
Over the course of 48 hours, Dale Jarrett established himself as the man to beat this week. His latest conquest came Sunday in a wild Bud Shootout when the Daytona 500 pole-sitter emerged the winner of a race that saw Ricky Rudd finish on the roof of his No. 28. DJ passed Jeff Gordon just yards from the finish line.

Notebook: Rudd escapes unscathed

Keith left his mark on DIS.

Keith stunned by success
David Keith made a name for himself Sunday at Daytona International Speedway. Keith, who had started only six previous ARCA races, won the Pro2Call 200 by holding off defending champ Bobby Gerhart over the final 23 laps. The lead opened up for him when polesitter Kirk Shermerdine got blocked on pit road.

Robinson back for full season

Dunlap: Winston Cup's R&D series

Daytona complaints send NASCAR to wind tunnel
Kevin Triplett, NASCAR's operations director, said Monday the sanctioning body is reserving testing time at Lockheed's wind tunnel in Marietta, Ga., in an effort to find out why Fords dominated at Daytona.

Jarrett's crew beats the clock
The clock was ticking in the Dale Jarrett garage, as No. 88 crew worked all night and morning to get the pole-sitter's car ready -- to eventually win.

Daily Dish: Gordon's day goes up in smoke
Defending champion Jeff Gordon was an early casualty on Sunday, falling victim to a broken oil line fitting and finishing 34th.

No one wins in Earnhardt family feud
Junior messed with Daddy. Daddy messed with Junior. And neither Dale Earnhardt nor Dale Earnhardt Jr. was helped by their late-race battle.

Sweep smell of victory for Fords at Daytona
To no one's surprise, Ford recorded its first sweep of the top five spots in the Daytona 500.

Jarrett's final practice anything but 'Happy Hour'
A chain-reaction incident during Happy Hour had several drivers, including the pole-sitter, waiting through some anxious moments on Saturday.

Waltrip prepares for emotional sendoff
Darrell Waltrip isn't getting too emotional, yet, for his final Daytona 500.

'It's Time!' for Dodge
Dodge announced its team of drivers and car owners or the 2001 Winston Cup season on Saturday.

Frightening first truck race
Geoffrey Bodine escaped serious injury, as did nine fans who were hit with debris, during a fiery crash in the Daytona 250.

Dr. Punch: NASCAR thinks safety first
NASCAR's safety measures worked, writes ESPN's Dr. Jerry Punch. That's why Geoffrey Bodine and nine spectators escaped serious injury Friday.

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Sunday, Feb. 20
The best car probably won. But the big story was the winning car was wrecked three minutes before Happy Hour ended and Dale Jarrett's team knew they had a rocket ship sitting in their garage. It was the fastest car on the track all week.

They looked at the car Saturday, took the measurements, weighed the car and decided it was their best chance to win. It was truly a gutsy call. And Jarrett didn't know for sure if his car was OK until two laps into the race.

This team would have been second-guessed forever if that car had not run well. But everyone on that team knew how well that car on blocks in the garage was.