• Race: Sunday, October 22, 2000 in Rockingham, NC
  
  
• TV: TNN 12:30pm/et
  
  
• Posted Awards/Purse: $2,217,736
  
  
• Entry List: Entry List for the: Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 from NOL
  
  
• 1999 Race Winner: Jeff Burton
  
  
• Race Record: Jeff Burton, Oct 1999, 131.103mph
  
  
• Track/Race Length: 1.017 mile oval, 393 laps, 399.68 miles
  
  
• Pit Road Speed: 45mph
  
  

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  Practice
  
  
• Practice: Friday, Oct 20th 10:30am - 12:15pm/et; Saturday, Oct 21st 8:00 - 9:30am/et
  
  
• Happy Hour Practice: Saturday, Oct 21st after the BGN race, TV-none
  
  

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  Qualifying
  
  
• Qualifying Draw: Friday, Oct 20th at 10:00am/et
  
  
• Qualfying Order - Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400: at That's Racin' or NASCAR Online
  
  
• First Round Qualifying: 1 lap for positions 1-25, Friday, Oct 20th at 2:00pm/et, TV-NONE (TNN will not show it) and live via MRN radio/internet
  
  
• First Round Qualifying Results: Rockingham 1st Round Qualifying Results page
  
  
• NASCAR Online will have live lap-by-lap coverage of Winston Cup qualifying via the web
  
  
• Second-Round Qualifying: 1 lap for positions 26th-36th, Saturday, Oct 21st at 9:30am/et
  
  
• Second-Round Qualifying Results: Rockingham 2nd Round Qualifying Results page
  
  
• Starting Grid
  
  
• Track Qualifying Record: Rusty Wallace, April 2000, 158.035mph
  
  
• Event Qualifying Record: Mark Martin, Oct 1999, 157.383mph
  
  
• Last Year's Pole Sitter: Mark Martin, 157.383mph
  
  

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• Track Specs: North Carolina Speedway, know as 'The Rock':
  Degree of Banking: Turns 1-2: 22 degrees; Turns 3-4: 25 degrees; Straightaways: 8 degrees
  Width: Turns 55 feet wide; Straightaways: 50 feet wide
  Number of Pits: 45 on front straight (1,436 ft. long) pit road
  Pit Stalls: 30 feet long; 16 feet wide
  Length of Front Straight: 1,300 feet
  Length of Back Straight: 1,367 feet
  Length of Turns 1 & 2: 1,256 feet
  Length of Turns 3 & 4: 1,437 feet(NCS Website)
  
  
• Track Homepage: North Carolina Speedway
  
  
• Scanner Frequencies: are linked on my Racing Links Page/ Scanners Section
  
  

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  PAST RACE/POLE WINNERS of All past races at Rockingham

  See the my All Time Rockingham Race and Pole Winners(10-17-2000)
  
  

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  RACE BONUS INFO

• The NASCAR Winston Cup Leader Bonus is $20,000 at North Carolina Speedway for leading the points and winning the race.(Bobby Labonte last won the award, $50,000 at Lowes/Charlotte on Oct 8, 2000). The $340,000 annual award is paid at $10,000 per race to the point leader at the end of each event if he is also the winner. The award increases by $10,000 each week the it goes unclaimed. If the point leader is not the race winner at the end of the year, the balance of the award is distributed among the top-10 finisher in the point standings(10-15-2000)
  
  

IN-CAR AUDIO SITES

PREVIEWS, FACT SHEETS and MISC News

• Pit Crew Competition - #99 Wins: The Union 76/Rockingham World Pit Crew Competition is on Saturday October 21, 2000, 11:00am/et at North Carolina Speedway. Bobby Labonte and the Interstate Batteries Pontiac team took home the trophy and the bragging rights as being the fastest pit crew on the NASCAR Winston Cup Series circuit in last year's event(10-15-2000)
  What Happened in 1999? 1999 Pit Crew Competition Results from the 33rd annual Rockingham Pit Crew Competition at North Carolina Speedway on Oct 23rd, 1999 at That's Racin': Pit Crew Competition Results(10-26-1999/10-18-2000)
  UPDATE: a few stories on the Competition: Competition pits crew against crew by Jim Utter of That's Racin'(10-20-2000)
  UPDATE - #99 Wins Pit Competition and Results: Jeff Burton's #99 team completed the four-tire and gas pit stop in 18.355 seconds without any penalties, which also was a competition record to give the team its first Rockingham World Pit Crew Competition championship Saturday at Rockingham. #1-Steve Park's team completed its stop in 17.907 seconds, but was assessed a three-second penalty for one loose lug nut, which proved the difference in the final standings. #43-John Andretti's team finished with a stop in 18.614 seconds, while #88-Dale Jarrett's team was third (18.799 seconds). The defending champion of the event, Bobby Labonte's team, completed its stop in 18.368 seconds, but had one loose lug nut(That's Racin', results from That's Racin'; and SpeedVision). TNN will televise the competition on November 26th at 5:00pm/et(10-21-2000)
  
  
• Frontstretch: Raceday - Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400(10-22-2000)
  
  
• Total Sports: Lee Montgomery's Race Preview - Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400(10-20-2000)
  
  
• CBS: Winston Cup preview -- Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400(10-19-2000)
  
  
• Stats via the TNN Site: Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 Race Stats by their stat guru Bill Sloboda(10-19-2000)
  
  
• NASCAR Online: Race facts - Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400(10-19-2000)
  
  
• NCS Stats from TNN: 15 of all the 70 North Carolina Speedway(NCS) races have been won by the pole starter - 21 percent. Lowest start of a Pop Secret 400 winner: 28th in 1997 by Bobby Hamilton. Lowest Rockingham, 30th, 3/88 by Neil Bonnet. Most NCS poles: 5 - Kyle Petty, Mark Martin, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough. Most NCS wins: 11 - Richard Petty; Active - 5 by Rusty Wallace. 56 of the 70 NCS races have been won from the Top 10 - 80 percent. Most common starting position of all NCS race winners - 1st, 15 times. The Last Pop Secret 400 won by the pole winner: 1992, by Kyle Petty(TNN)(10-19-2000)
  
  
• Some Rock Notes: Mark Martin and Kyle Petty lead active drivers with the most pole positions (5) at NCS. In addition to Bill Elliott, three drivers made their NASCAR Winston Cup debut at NCS; Raybestos Rookie of the Year Candidate Dave Blaney (1992), Ricky Craven (1991) and Ricky Rudd (1975). Junior Johnson leads all car owners with 14 victories at NCS, while Petty Engineering has collected 12 victories. The Union 76 World Pit Crew Competition will be held this Saturday at Rockingham for the 33rd straight year. The teams began four-tire changes in 1985 (only two-tire changes were required prior to 1985). The No. 18 Interstate Batteries team, led by crew chief Jimmy Makar, are the reigning champions of the event with a record time of 19.166 seconds. This event started in 1967 with Cale Yarborough (driver) and Leonard Wood's (crew chief) team winning what has now become an annual event(NASCAR PR)(10-18-2000)
  
  
• Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 Quick Facts(TNN)(10-18-2000)
  
  
• That's Racin': This week's race - Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400(10-18-2000)
  
  
• Labonte needs 10th: If #18-Bobby Labonte finishes tenth or better in each of the remaining five races, he will clinch the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Championship, regardless of any other driver's performance(10-15-2000)
  
  
• Did ya know? If Bobby Labonte wins the 2000 Winston Cup Championship, he and his brother Terry, who won it in 1984 and 1996, will be the first brothers to do so in Winston Cup history. There have been two father-son pairs; Lee and Richard Petty, and Ned and Dale Jarrett(9-3-2000)
  ALSO: Bobby would be the first former BGN champ(since the series began in 1982, not counting the old Sportsman division) to win the Winston Cup championship(10-1-2000)
  
  
• Manufacturer Points: In the race for the Manufacturers Championship in Winston Cup, Chevy has been eliminated. Ford has a pretty good hold on the lead, 206 to 190 over Pontiac. With four races, Ford needs any combo of 21 points to clinch it. If a Ford team wins at the Rock and a Pontiac is the 3rd highest manufacturer in the race(wuth Chevy finishing ahead), they would clinch it. See my Manufacturer Championship Standing page for the standings(10-15-2000)
  
  
• Some Rock Stats: 15 of all the 70 Rockingham races have been won by the pole starter(21.4%), Five times in the history of the Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400(Fall Rockingham/North Carolina Speedway) has the Bud Pole winning driver gone on to win the race. It was most recently accomplished by Kyle Petty in 1992. The farthest back a driver has started and won the race is 28th by Bobby Hamilton in 1997. Lowest all time start of a Rockingham race to win: 30th, 1988 by Neil Bonnett, and 56 of the 70 Rockingham races have been won from the Top 10(80%)(10-15-2000)
  
  
• The Crew Chief Club
  
  

• ODD's: NASCAR Odds - Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400(10-21-2000)
  
  
• Race ODDS - Stardust: NASCAR Odds - Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400(WRAL)(10-20-2000)
  
  
• ODD's Cup/Race: to win the race and the 2000 Winston Cup Championship at Don Best Sports(10-16-2000)
  
  

• Cautions at the Rock: Caution Flags at Rockingham: there were 9 for a total 60 laps. 101-107 (Oil on Track), 158-167 (Car #13-Accident, Backstretch), 176-181 (Car #26, 6 & 31-Accident, Backstretch), 193-197 (Car #5-Spin, Backstretch), 212-216 (Car #7-Accident, Turn 4), 236-239 (Car #8-Accident, Backstretch), 256-264 (Car #40 & 16-Accident, Turn 3), 323-332 (Fire on Pit Road), 350-353 (Oil on Track).(NASCAR Official Results)(10-23-2000)
  
  
• Jarrett wins at 'The Rock': #88-Dale Jarrett wins the Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 at North Carolina, his 2nd win of 2000 and his first ever at Rockingham. Points leader Bobby Labonte scored a 20th and only lost 9 points in the championship, #3-Dale Earnhardt finished 17th. See the unofficial results at NASCAR Online(10-22-2000)
  
  
• Happy Hour at Rockingham: a little bit of a surprise, #97-Kurt Busch was the fastest at 150.822mph followed by #22-Ward Burton at 150.401mph. Slowest was #85-Carl Long at 142.832mph. See the speeds at That's Racin'(10-21-2000)
  
  
• 2nd Round Qualifying is over at Rockingham. #27-Mike Bliss was the fastest at 154.305mph and was able to race into the field, knocking #32-Scott Pruett out of the 36th spot and into taking a provisional, thus knocking #01-Ted Musgrave, who is out of provisionals, out of the race(Musgrave's team is 26th in owners points, if he was 25th the team would had been able to use a provisional). Five driver made attempt's, Bliss, and all the drivers who missed the race but Musgrave, who stood on his speed. #71-Marcis and #85-Long get the final two provisionals, #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr took his first EVER provisional. The other four drivers missing the race were also out of provisionals (until next race at Phoenix): #60-Bickle(36th in owners points); #44-Grissom(37th); #90-Stricklin(43rd); and #9-Compton(39th). See my Rockingham charts: 2nd Round Qualifying Results and the Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 Starting Grid page, a little different then the norm(10-21-2000)
  
  
• Saturday AM practice is over at Rockingham. Speeds this morning are much slower then they were on Friday in either practice or 1st round qualifying. Fastest was #20-Tony Stewart at 150.765mph, the pole speed yesterday was 157.342mph and the 36th fastest speed is 154.182mph. Unless something changes it looks like a pretty uneventful 2nd round of qualifying at 9:30am/et this morning. See the speeds at NOL and Racin' Network(10-21-2000)
  
  
• 1st Round Qualifying at the Rock: No TV, no local radio, NOL's scoring was not working, MRN on the internet kept cutting out....but got the speeds. #12-Jermey Mayfield is on the Bud Pole with a speed of 157.342mph, his 4th of 2000. Outside pole is #18-Bobby Labonte at 157.248mph. of the twelve cars not making the top 36, six of the are out of provisionals, so if things stay the same, #71-Marcis and #85-Long would get provisionals. That would leave one spot open for the six drivers who do not have provisionals left, this spot is based on speed, so the 43rd spot would go to #01-Ted Musgrave who is the fastest of the six without provisionals at 154.104mph. At present #8-Earnhardt Jr would need to use a provisional, which would be his first ever in the Cup series. #32-Scott Pruett is in 36th spot and has provisionals left to use. See my Rockingham 1st Round Qualifying Results and Provisional Page for the rules and see next note(10-20-2000)
  
  
• Provisionals: There are eight teams out of provisionals after Talladega, #66-Darrell Waltrip, #44-Steve Grissom, #60-Joe Bessey(or whoever is driving), #75-Wally Dallenbach, #90-Hut Stricklin, #9-Stacy Compton, #01-Ted Musgrave, #27-Mike Bliss. They must make the races with speed until another provisional is allotted at Phoenix, which is one race away. But the drivers/teams without provisionals could still get into a race using a provisional - If one or a few of the teams without provisionals fail to get in on speed, then the part time teams(don't attempt all races and are deep in the OWNERS points) get a shot at the provisionals, lining up by Owners Points(only if they have owners points).
  If spots are still available, then the teams without provisionals or owners points get placed in the field by fastest qualifying speed until all 43 spots are filled. For more info on provisionals see my Provisionals Status and Owners Points page(10-15/20-2000)
  
  
• Qualifying Order: is up. See above for the links. #93-Dave Blaney is the first scheduled to go out, last driver scheduled is #90-Hut Stricklin. 48 cars/driver will attempt the race, 43 make it. Qualifying starts approx. 2:00pm/et(after BGN qualifying). There is NO TV coverage of qualifying. MRN will carry it via radio/internet, and NOL will have online scoring(10-20-2000)
  
  
• Friday practice at Rockingham is over with #12-Jeremy Mayfield being the fastest at 157.654mph, with #99-Jeff Burton 2nd at 156.897mph. Slowest was #85-Carl Long at 150.666mph. See speeds at NOL or Racin' Network(10-20-2000)
  
  
• Entry List is up for Rockingham. See above for the link. 47 teams are entered. No driver listed in the #60 as of yet. #13-Robby Gordon and #96-Andy Houston are on the List. Am hearing it'll be Rich Bickle in the #60 Chevy this week at the Rock(10-17-2000)
  UPDATE: hearing #85-Carl Long will attempt to make the Cup race at Rockingham in the #85 Ford, if so, that'll be 48 cars for 43 starting spots
  UPDATE 2: the NOL Entry List has been updated to include Bickle and Long(10-18-2000)
  
  
• Pole Record: What is the record for the most poles in a season by one driver? In the modern era(1972 to present): Cale Yarborough had 14 poles in 31 starts(45%) during the 1980 season. The overall record was Bobby Isaac who had 20 poles in 50 starts(40%) during the 1969 season(Stock Car Racing Encyclopedia). So far in 2000, #2-Rusty Wallace has 8 in 30 races - 26.7%, that equates to approx 9 for the year, so they modern era record looks out of reach(10-15-2000)
  
  
• How to break a tie during qualifying? When drivers are tied for a starting spot during qualifying, it is broken by owners points standings(not drivers). For provisionals standings see the Jayski Provisional Status page(2-20-2000)
  
  
• Links: Practice speeds, qualifying and results can be found at these sites: NASCAR Online,
  
  

TRACK/RACE NEWS

• Rockingham 2001 date changes: North Carolina Speedway(NCS) officials announced, a revision in its previously announced schedule for the 2001 NASCAR season. In cooperation with Phoenix International Raceway(PIR), NCS has rescheduled its October BGN and Cup races to November 2 – 4. The change was necessary after the 2001 CART schedule was announced last month with California Speedway scheduled to host a CART event the same weekend PIR traditionally hosts its annual Cup race(NCS Site)(8-25-2000)
  
  
• Rain: The Southern 500 was the fifth Cup race this season to be affected by rain having a two hour rain delay after 38 laps and being shortened to 328 laps instead of the 367 scheduled. Others: Las Vegas was shortened by 119 laps. Michigan fell six laps short in June. Pocono was postponed to the next day(a Monday). New Hampshire only went 273 of 300 laps in July(9-4-2000)
  
  
• Track Qualifying Records fall in 2000: In 30 events there have been fourteen(14) track records set, including Bristol, California, Lowes, Michigan, Pocono, Rockingham, Texas, Las Vegas, New Hampshire(July), Sears Point, Pocono(2nd time), Indy, Michigan(2nd time), Martinsville(2nd race). These are TRACK records, not EVENT records(of course we all know there are four races that there is no chance to break the track record, the two each at Daytona and Talladega)(10-15-2000)
  
  
• How to Calculate Track Speeds: use the formula Speed = Distance divided by Time. Distance is Track Length, and Lap Time into Hours. Once hour is 3600 seconds, so the calculation for a 48 second lap at Daytona(2.5 miles) would be: Speed = 2.5 x (3600/48), = 2.5 x 75 = 187.500mph. For a 19 second lap at Bristol(.533 miles): Speed = .533 x (3600/19), = .533 x 189.474 = a speed of 100.990mph
  
  
• Past track news: posted in the past at Past Track News - North Carolina Speedway
  
  

DRIVER/TEAM NEWS

• Milestones: #40-Sterling Marlin is scheduled to make his 500th career Winston Cup start and #25-Jerry Nadeau is scheduled to make his 100th career Winston Cup start at Rockingham this weekend(10-18/22-2000)
  
  
• Skinner in a backup: #31-Mike Skinner was forced to move to a backup car after hitting the inside retaining wall on the back stretch at Rockingham during Friday's practice(That's Racin')(10-20-2000)
  
  
• See the 2000 Team Chart which has links to past news for each team and see the 2001 Team Chart for next season's teams
  
  

PAINT SCHEME NEWS

• Pop Secret, no longer a secret: Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn officials announced today that Donna Miner of Milbank, South Dakota, is the grand prize winner of the Pop Secret "Guess Richard Petty's Favorite Paint Scheme" Sweepstakes. Miner will be Petty's guest this weekend at the Pop Secret 400 NASCAR Winston Cup race at North Carolina Speedway to watch John Andretti race Petty's favorite Pop Secret #43 Pontiac. As part of the grand prize, Miner is guaranteed to take home $25,000 this weekend, but could win additional cash based on Andretti's performance in the race. Fans were asked to enter the online sweepstakes at www.popsecret.com and guess which of three Pop Secret #43 Pontiacs was Richard Petty's favorite. Each car paid tribute to Petty's legendary career. Petty chose the "Butter Bomber" as his favorite, stating that it was a tough decision over the "Pop Rod," and "Kernel Cruiser." Miner's name was drawn from those who correctly guessed the "Butter Bomber" and was awarded the grand prize(IMG Motorsports PR). See an image of the winning car in my Paint Schemes Gallery(10-18-2000)
  
  
• #12 and baseball UPDATE: during October the #12 Mobil 1 Penske-Kranefuss Ford will have a MLB(Major League Baseball) World Series paint scheme. The car driven by Jeremy Mayfield, will be unveiled at Indy on August 3rd(Winston Cup Scene)(7-27-2000)
  UPDATE: Jeremy Mayfield and Major League Baseball announced a partnership Thursday that will allow MLB to showcase its 2000 World Series by displaying its logo on Mayfield's #12 Fords in two races in October: Talladega and Rockingham. Mayfield will also attend at least one World Series game as part of the promotion(That's Racin')(8-4-2000)
  
  
• Images and a contest: Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn Unveils Three Pop Secret No. 43 Pontiacs and Asks Fans to Guess Which Pop Secret Pontiac is Richard Petty's Favorite. Petty's Favorite Pop Secret No. 43 Will Race In the Pop Secret 400. The "Guess Richard Petty's Favorite Paint Scheme" Sweepstakes Will Give One Lucky Fan the Chance to Win Over $86,000 as Andretti Races. To see images of the three cars, see Jayski's Paint Scheme Gallery(5-26-2000)
  
  
• More Paint Scheme news can be found on Jayski's Paint Scheme Gallery, choose current news
  
  

STATS and STUFF