THE NEXT Winston Cup RACE
NEWS, STATS and INFO

• Race: Sunday, April 2, 2000 in Fort Worth, TX
• NOTE: Daylight Savings Time begins on April 2(moves ahead)
• Texas in in Central time, all times listed here are Eastern Time(1 hour ahead)
• TV: CBS 2:00pm/et
• Purse: $4,376,666
• Entry List: Entry List for the: DirecTV 500 from NOL
• 1999 Race Winner: Terry Labonte
• Race Speed Record: Terry Labonte, 1999, 144.276mph
• Track/Race Length: 1.5 mile quad-oval, 334 laps, 500.5 miles
• Practice: Friday, Mar 31st 12:00noon-1:15pm/et; 2:05-3:00pm/et; Saturday, Apr 1st, 10:00-11:00am/et
• Happy Hour Practice: Saturday, Apr 1st, after the BGN race, TV-?
• Qualifying Draw: Friday, Mar 31st at 11:30am/et
• Qualfying Order – DirecTV 500: NASCAR Online and That’s Racin’
• First Round Qualifying: 1 lap for positions 1-25, Friday, Mar 31st at 4:30pm/et, TV-? and live via PRN radio/internet(link below)
• Second-Round Qualifying: 1 lap for positions 26th on back, Saturday, Apr 1st at 11:45am/et
• Track/Race Qualifying Record: Kenny Irwin, 1999, 190.154mph
• Last Year’s Pole Sitter: Kenny Irwin, 190.154mph
• Pit Road Speed: 45mph
• NASCAR Online will have live lap-by-lap coverage of Winston Cup qualifying via the web
  

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  Track Specs:
  Degree of Banking: Turns: 24 degrees
  Straightaways: Banking: 5 degrees;
  Straights: Frontstraight – 2250 feet; Backstraight – 1330 feet

• Track Homepage: Texas Motor Speedway
• Scanner Frequencies: are linked on my Racing Links Page/ Scanners Section
  

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  RACE BONUS INFO

• The NASCAR Winston Cup Leader Bonus is $60,000 at Texas for leading the points and winning the race.(Dale Jarrett last won the award, $10,000 at Daytona) 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(3-26-2000)

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Perfect Paranoia
about television coverage of racing

Radio Coverage:
Performance Racing Network(PRN), with live RealAudio coverage
go to the Performance Racing Network(PRN) Affiliate List for your local station

Satellite/Backhaul Listing’s:
Satellite/Backhaul Listing’s: Stutzman Computer Service/Sales – Racing Feed Locations

Local Newspapers and other Sites that cover the Fort Worth/Dallas, TX Area:
Dallas Morning News
Star-Telegram

WEATHER FORECASTS:
Weather forecast for Fort Worth, TX by The Weather Channel
Weather Underground – Fort Worth, TX

TRACK INFO FOR THE FANS:
Texas Pre-Race Story – Speedway
Illustrated with Gary DeHart

TMS Fan Guide

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IN-CAR AUDIO SITES
Fans Can Online
Motortrax(NASCAR Online)
Race Day Audio
Racing Audio

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PREVIEW, FACT SHEETS and MISC News

• CBS: DirecTV 500 preview(3-31-2000)
• ODDS: Stardust NASCAR Odds – Texas(WRAL)(3-30-2000)
• From the TNN Site: DirecTV 500 Race Stats by their stat guru Bill Sloboda(3-29-2000)
• NASCAR – DirecTV 500 Preview(WRAL)(3-29-2000)
• Texas Race Fact Sheet (RaceWire)(3-28-2000)
• CNN/SI: Texas Track Facts(3-28-2000)
  

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  QUALIFYING, PRACTICE and RESULTS news and links

• Little E gets his first CUP win UPDATE: In his 12th start, rookie Dale Earnhardt Jr won his first Winston Cup race at Texas in the DirecTV 500, the same place he won his first BGN race. It’s the first time a father and son have won a CUP race in the same season since 1988 when Bobby and Davey Allison won. Another note mentioned by the CBS crew during the race, Both Dale Sr and Jr won their first CUP race on April Fools weekend, Dale Sr in 1979. Also it’s the first time a father and son have won their first CUP race in their rookie season. It’s the first win for Dale Earnhardt Inc(DEI), plus Dale Jr had the flu. Results of the DirecTV 500 at NOL(4-2-2000)
  UPDATE: Earnhardt Jr won in his 12th start, besting his Dad who won in the 16th start in 1979, Davey Allison who won in his 14th start in 1987 and Tony Stewart last year who won in his 25th start. Also the win makes Earnhardt Jr only the 2nd rookie to win his way into The Winston, Davey Allison also did it in 1987. Tony Stewart had to win the Winston Open to get into the field last year. Also it is Budweisers first win since Bill Elliott won in 1994 while driving Junior Johnson’s #11 Bud Ford(4-3-2000)

• Little/Lepage Situation: since this was somewhat confusing to folks, thought I’d post this info and link, well explained by David Poole: At one point during Sunday’s race at Texas it appeared that #16-Kevin Lepage and #97-Chad Little were the only two cars on the lead lap. That actually was true, but the sometimes confusing rule that stacks up cars on the tail end of the lead lap then came into play. Here’s what happened, see this story: Lepage, Little nearly had field a lap down(That’s Racin’)(4-3-2000)
• Texas Penalties: #17-Matt Kenseth was penalized a lap for pitting outside his pit stall Sunday. #20-Tony Stewart was penalized after his team let a tire get away during a stop. #3-Dale Earnhardt, #93-Dave Blaney, #97-Chad Little and #14 Rick Mast each were penalized for pit-road speed violations(Roanoke Times)(4-3-2000)
• Happy Hour: canceled by rain…it was the fourth straight year Happy Hour practice was either cut short or eliminated at Texas due to rain
• Rookies qualify well: for the first time in the 2000 season, all the Rookie of the Year(ROTY) candidates made the Cup race. There are now seven instead of the original eight since Mike Bliss was released. None had to use a provisional and all seven made it in the top 25 with #32-Scott Pruett being the highest starter at 3rd. #90-Ed Berrier has his career best starting spot at 18th as does #27-Jeff Fuller at 7th(4-2-2000)
• 2nd Round Qualifying at Texas was rained out. #45-Adam Petty gets in his Dad, #44-Kyle Petty is out. Even if Kyle had a provisional to use, he would have been too low in owners points(28th) to use one. Others missing the race were: #13-Robby Gordon(32nd in owners points); #75-Wally Dallenbach(40th); #71-Dave Marcis(47th); and #91-Todd Bodine(48th). See starting grid at NASCAR Online, Racin’ Network and see a story at goracing(4-1-2000)
• Saturday AM practice at Texas is over. Got the full hour in, so I guess the rain’s didn’t come yet, but the radar doesn’t look good. #21-Elliott Sadler was the fastest at 189.966mph. Only four drivers were faster then the 36th fastest time of 187.944mph. See the speeds at Racin’ Network and NASCAR Online(4-1-2000) this ended up being Happy Hour for the most part
• Track Record gone: Eleven drivers broke the old track record at Texas for the DirecTV 500: #5-Labonte, #16-Lepage, #32-Pruett, #8-Earnhardt Jr, #88-Jarrett, #1-Park, #27-Fuller, #25-Nadeau, #22-Burton, #6-Martin and #31-Skinner. Three of them are rookies(#’s 32,8,27)(3-31-2000)
• 1st Round Qualifying at Texas is over for the DirecTV 500. #5 ‘Texas’ Terry Labonte wins the pole with a new track record of 192.137mph, almost 2mph faster then the old track record of 190.145mph set last year. On the outside pole(2nd) will be #16-Kevin Lepage at 191.973mph. The pole run for Labonte was his first since Sears Point in 1996 and puts him in the 2001 Bud Shootout. #45-Adam Petty was 33rd. With a serious chance of rain on Saturday, today may be all the qualifying the the Cup drivers get. If things stay the same the following five drivers would miss the race: #44-Kyle Petty(28th in owners points and out of provisionals, ironically his son Adam would make it); #13-Robby Gordon(32nd); #75-Wally Dallenbach(40th); #71-Dave Marcis(47th); and #91-Todd Bodine(48th). See the Provisional Status page to see the rules and where the teams stand. #27-Jeff Fuller was seventh one of the biggest surprises of the day. #22-Ward Burton wrecked during practice earlier in the day and had to go to the backup car but still qualified 9th even though he was pretty sore. #14-Rick Mast and #99-Jeff Burton had engine problems and just barely got their attempts in. #14-Mast in his first run with the AJ Foyt team also had two fractured ribs from the accident at Bristol last week(while in the #41 car). See the results at NASCAR Online(NOL), That’s Racin’ and Racin’ Network(3-31-2000)
• Fri PM Practice is over at Texas. #5 ‘Texas’ Terry Labonte was the fastest at 191.843mph with #32-Scott Pruett close in 2nd at 191.775mph. The track record is 190.154mph set by Kenny Irwin last year and could be broken by many drivers. #45-Adam Petty was 32nd. Qualifying starts at 4:30pm/et and is NOT on TV but can be followed via the radio or Internet on PRN. See speeds at NOL, Racin’ Network(3-31-2000)
• Fri AM Practice is over at Texas. #1-Steve Park continues to be fast, he was the fastest at 190.961mph followed by #21-Elliott Sadler. #45-Adam Petty was 16th fastest at 188.685mph, NOL has him listed in a Pontiac during practice and a Chevy in the qualifying order, it’s a Chevy. See the speeds at NOL and the Racin’ Network(3-31-2000)
• How to break a tie? 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,

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  TRACK/RACE NEWS

• Fort Worth Tornado: the Fort Worth, TX area was hit by a tornado on Tuesday, causing damage in the area and four people died, at last count. First of all, thoughts and wishes go out to the families of these people and any injured or left homeless. For those wishing to help. contact the Red Cross: www.redcross.org. As for the race, my understanding is that the tornado was a few miles away from the track and the race and activities are on schedule. Folks traveling to the area may wish to check on their hotel status. A few sites with coverage of the disaster are: Star- Telegram and Dallas Morning News, The Weather Channel and the Texas Motorspeedway Site, and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. Also a story at Tachzone: Texas Tornadoes(3-29-2000)
  UPDATE: The tragic tornados that struck the Fort Worth, TX area Tuesday did no damage to the Texas Motor Speedway and all events scheduled there will come off as planned. However, local officials are recommending travelers call ahead to confirm lodging reservations as some hotels are being used to shelter the persons who lost their homes in the disaster(Speedway Illustrated)(3-30-2000)

• Texas Coolers: Texas Motor Speedway will not sell beer to fans at the March race this season. A county vote created the option of fans bringing beer in coolers into the track. But the law is written in such a way that a facility must choose between allowing coolers or selling beer. Track owner Bruton Smith decided to concede to the fans’ wishes and opted for the coolers instead of the concessions(Times-Dispatch)(3-5-2000)
• Texas Pole Day/Petty: Fans will once again be able to watch two days of exciting qualifying action for free, courtesy of Sprint, this year’s sponsor for CUP and BGN pole days at Texas Motor Speedway. Race fans can get a free $10 general admission ticket good for both qualifying days by visiting participating Radio Shack or Sprint PCS stores throughout Texas. The ticket, which features Adam and Kyle with the #45 Sprint Chevy, is good for BGN qualifying Thursday, March 30 and CUP qualifying Friday, March 31. Sprint is also mailing the commemorative tickets to all their Texas customers. Sprint is also revved up for the Winston Cup qualifying debut of Adam Petty, driver of the #45 Sprint Chevrolet Monte Carlo. If Petty qualifies for the DIRECTV 500, it will be the first time he will race against his father, Kyle Petty(Texas Motor Speedway Site)(3-4-2000)
• Texas Pole Sponsor: TMS’s Eddie Gossage will be at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Thursday to announce a sponsor for DIRECTV 500 Winston Cup pole qualifying March 31. The sponsorship will allow the speedway to let fans who obtain a coupon to attend Winston Cup pole qualifying for free. A similar offer last year attracted some 78,000 spectators, one of the largest crowds of the season for pole qualifying(Dallas Morning News)(3-2-2000)
• 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 – Texas
  

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  DRIVER/TEAM NEWS

• #15 takes off: hearing the #15 Fenley-Moore team and Derrike Cope have withdrawn from the DirecTV 500, the team has been removed from the NOL Entry list(3-30-2000)
• REPOST: Albertson’s will be an associate sponsor of the #43 Petty Enterprises Pontiac and driver John Andretti for select Winston Cup events in 2000 with the first event being at Las Vegas. Then Texas, California, Dover in the fall, Phoenix and Homestead-Miami(Albertson’s Website)(2-3/3-30-2000)
• Petty Debut: Adam Petty is scheduled to make his Winston Cup debut at Texas this coming weekend in the #45 Sprint Chevy. Petty tested there a few weeks ago. See story at the TMS site: Adam Petty Bids for First Winston Cup Race in Texas. See an image of the car on the Paint Scheme Gallery(3-27-2000)
• Falk and Bodine return: the #91 LJ Racing team will return to the track at Texas with Todd Bodine driving. It’s their first race since finishing 7th at Atlanta(LJ Racing Site)(3-29-2000)
• Bliss has a ride: Mike Bliss will get behind the wheel of the #19 Yellow/Kobalt Mechanics Tools/Pameco Chevy at the mile and a half Texas Motor Speedway for this weekend’s BGN Albertson’s 300 race. It’s a one race deal at present. This weekend’s primary sponsor for the #19 entry is Yellow Freight System, Inc.(Grandstand Communications PR)(3-29-2000)
• Craven to skip Texas UPDATE: hearing Ricky Craven and the #50 Midwest Transit team will skip Texas but return to Martinsville
  UPDATE – Crew Chief: The #50 Midwest Transit Chevy team named Greg Connor as their crew chief. Connor has been a crew chief with the Junie Donlavey and Cale Yarborough teams in the past. Driver Ricky Craven and Connor plan to test at Greenville Pickens or Martinsville to get familiar with each other(RPM2Nite)(3-28-2000)

• and the #41? UPDATE: rumor has Ricky Craven returning to the #41 Hedrick Motorsports team, another rumor has Gary Bradberry in the car at Texas(3-27-2000)
  UPDATE: The #41, in negotiations with a full-time primary sponsor, will have Gary Bradberry in the car at Texas(SpeedVision) guess Big Daddy’s is leaving?? haven’t heard(3-28-2000)

• Trickle to drive for Power Team UPDATE confirmed: Dick Trickle was contacted by Joe Bessey owner of the #60 Power Team to take over the driver’s seat at Texas. The #60 Power Team hopes Dick can help them in their qualifying efforts. They’ve had to use all but one of their remaining provisionals thus far this season. The team has worked well with Ted Musgrave since he took over the driving duties for Geoff Bodine during his recovery, but they continue to struggle each week. They hope that Dick can help them possibly with set-ups and input as he did for the #14 Conseco team(Dick Trickle Fanclub Site) no word on Musgrave’s plans(3-27-2000)
  UPDATE: just in from Power Team – Bessey Motorsports has announced that Dick Trickle will substitute for
  the injured Geoffrey Bodine in the #60 Power Team Chevrolet this weekend. This arrangement is a one-race deal for the DIRECTV 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway. Trickle replaces Ted Musgrave in the #60 car. Musgrave drove for the team on a race-by-race basis for five races. His best finish with the team came in February’s Kmart/Dura Lube 400 at the North Carolina Speedway, where he finished sixteenth. Bodine suffered multiple injuries, including a fractured twelfth vertebrae and broken right wrist, in February’s Daytona 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event at Daytona International Speedway. He is currently undergoing physical therapy and plans a return to racing in early May. He will attend this weekend’s race at Texas as an advisor to the #60 team and plans to meet with the media at 10:30am on Friday at the Texas Motor Speedway media center(Power Team Site) and see the NOL Column(3-28-2000)

• Six Different UPDATE: Rusty Wallace was the sixth different winner in the first six races in 2000. The last time that happened was 1991(News and Observer) and it’s only the fifth time it has happened in the history of NASCAR
  UPDATE: The most different winners to start off a season in the modern era is 7 in 1991 (Ernie Irvan, Dale Earnhardt, Kyle Petty, Ken Schrader, Ricky Rudd, Rusty Wallace and Darrell Waltrip) That also happened in 1964(Ned Jarrett, Fireball Roberts, Wendell Scott, Richard Petty, Dan Gurney, Junior Johnson, Bobby Isaac.)(thanks Matt)(3-27-2000)

• Gordon Streak continues: Jeff Gordon has gone 11 races without a Top-Five finish. This is the longest that Gordon has gone without a Top-Five in his 229-race NASCAR Winston Cup Series career. But in the last two races the team has shown much improvement and has three top 10’s in a row and led the most laps at Bristol(3-26-2000)
• See the 2000 Team Chart which has links to past news for each team
  

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  PAINT SCHEME NEWS

• Cowboy’s Schemes? a month or so ago it was reported here that one or two cars may be painted in a Dallas Cowboy’s(NFL) paint scheme. Have heard or seen nothing on it since. Rumored drivers included #18-Labonte and #2-Wallace. See the past news on it at the Paint Scheme’s Gallery – Current News link(3-30-2000)
• Tyler Jet Paint Scheme UPDATE: The #10 Lycos Pontiac will have the Texas flag on the rear decklid at Texas and will unveil its new paint scheme for the rest of the season(Tyler Jet PR)(3-27-2000)
  UPDATE – Images: see the new looks #10 Lycos Pontiac in my Paint Schemes Gallery(3-30-2000)

• Cowboys and NASCAR UPDATE 2: The NFL Dallas Cowboys are negotiating to have two cars bearing their colors and logo race in next April’s Direct TV 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway, owner Jerry Jones said Thursday. The two Winston Cup cars – one predominantly silver and the other predominantly blue – would compete in the April 2 race. The Cowboys also want a car with their colors to compete in the Texas 300, a Busch Series race, on April 1. Jones would not divulge the names of the drivers the Cowboys have targeted, but spokesmen for Bobby Labonte and Rusty Wallace’s primary sponsor say they have had preliminary discussions with the Cowboys. For example, the Cowboys wouldn’t use Earnhardt because he has an endorsement deal with Coke. Jones has ties with Pepsi(Dallas Morning News) NOTE: that should rule out Labonte also as he has an endorsement deal with Coke also(10-1-1999) — UPDATE: readers tell me that the latest issue of Beckett has this on pg 84: “And in the spring, at least one driver from the Winston Cup, Busch and NHRA circuits will drive in the blue-and-silver scheme of the Dallas Cowboys, one of the most popular NFL teams among collectors. The paint jobs will be used at races in Texas, with some big time names such as Bobby Labonte and nine-time NHRA champion John Force involved”(Beckett Magazine)(1-9-2000) — UPDATE 2: NFL Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ plan of having two Cup cars with the Cowboys’ colors and logos driven in April’s Direct TV 500 is on hold while NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue reviews the situation. Tagliabue wants the league to make sure the cross-sport association is well thought out. Jones said he thinks any reservations by Tagliabue will be eased before the race. If the idea is approved, the two Winston Cup cars – one predominantly silver and the other predominantly blue – would compete in the race April 2. The Cowboys also want a car with their colors to compete in the Texas 300, a BGN race, on April 1. The schmes would only be used once. The Cowboys are negotiating with Action Performance, Co., which has licensing agreements with more than 300 drivers, owners and sponsors. Action Performance specializes in selling, distributing and licensing goods such as caps, T-shirts and car replicas. Negotiations are serious enough that the Cowboys already have mock drawings of the cars and their paint schemes(Condensed from the Dallas Morning News)(2-22-2000)
• More Paint Scheme news can be found on Jayski’s Paint Scheme Gallery, choose current news
  

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  STATS and STUFF

• Two Top Tens: Only two drivers to have finished in the top 10 in all four of the CUP races run at Texas: #18-Bobby Labonte and #5-Terry Labonte(4-2-2000)
• Texas Driver Averages
• NOL Stats: NASCAR by the Numbers
• Manu Lap Leaders: Chevrolet drivers have led 693 of the 1,859 laps completed in 2000 while Ford has led 604 laps and Pontiac has led 562(3-26-2000)

• Top Fives: There have been 14 different Cup drivers(add #5-Labonte, #10-Benson, #12-Mayfield at Bristol) score a Top-5 in 2000….1999’s total was 28 and 1998 year’s total number was 27(3-26-2000)
• Top Tens: There were 24 different Cup drivers(add #40-Sterling Marlin after Bristol) score a Top-10 in 2000…..1999’s total was 40 and 1998’s total number was 41(3-26-2000)
• Provisonal Finishes: In 42 provisonal starts(6 races x 7), drivers have accumulated 0 Wins, 1 Top 5’s and 1 Top 10’s. See my Provisional Finishes Page(3-26-2000)
• Lap Leader/Bonus Points: 29 drivers have led at least one Winston Cup lap in 2000. To see who has led laps and who leads in the bonus points, see my Bonus Points Leaders Page(3-26-2000)
• Manu Lap Leaders: Chevrolet drivers have led 693 of the 1,859 laps completed in 2000 while Ford has led 604 laps and Pontiac has led 562(3-26-2000)
• Consecutive Starts: Terry Labonte has 642 consecutive Winston Cup starts, Dale Earnhardt is next with 619(3-26-2000)
• No Top Fives Since…. It has been a while since some drivers have had even a whiff of success on the Winston Cup circuit. Here are those with the longest streak of races without a top-five finish:

  
     Driver          Races  Finish    Track           Date
                     Since
  
     Brett Bodine     173     2nd     Indianapolis    8-6-94
     Rick Mast        103     4th     Martinsville    9-22-96
     Kyle Petty        77     3rd     Dover           9-21-97
     Chad Little       66     2nd     Texas           4-5-98
     Hut Stricklin     60     2nd     Darlington      9-1-96
     Robert Pressley   57     3rd     Texas           4-5-98
     Darrell Waltrip   56     5th     California      5-3-98
     Ken Schrader      48     4th     Richmond        9-12-98
     Derrike Cope      46     5th     Atlanta         11-16-97
     Dick Trickle      45     5th     Rockingham      10-27-97
     Steve Grissom     40     4th     New Hampshire   9-14-97
     Ted Musgrave      39     5th     Phoenix         10-25-98
     Ricky Craven      38     3rd     Rockingham      10-27-97
  
  Dave Marcis has not had a top 10 since April 10, 1994 in
  the Food City 500 at Bristol, he finished 10th.
  Marcis has had no top fives since a 3rd at
  Watkins Glen on August 10, 1987.
  
  Regular Drivers Without a Career Top Five
  
     Driver         Races
     David Green     76
     Elliott Sadler  42
  Cup drivers(not including 2000 rookies)
  
  (data compiled from UMI Press Guides, Winston Cup Updates)(3-26-2000)
  

• No Wins Ever…. Some regular drivers in Winston Cup who have never won a Cup race and how many starts they have:

   Driver          Races Run

   Michael Waltrip  434
   Rick Mast        314
   Ted Musgrave     285
   Hut Stricklin    264*
   Dick Trickle     262 
   Wally Dallenbach 200
   Chad Little      195
   Kenny Wallace    191
   Robert Pressley  142
   Steve Grissom    135*
   Johnny Benson    134
   Ricky Craven     129
   Mike Skinner     116
   David Green       76*
   Kenny Irwin       76
   Jerry Nadeau      75
   Kevin Lepage      70
   Steve Park        62
   Elliott Sadler    42

(3-26-2000)(UMI Press Guides Stats)

• Drivers with the longest streak since they won a CUP race:

   Driver          Races Run   Last Win   Track

   Dave Marcis      470        2/21/82    Richmond
   Brett Bodine     301        4/22/90    North Wilkesboro
   Ken Schrader     275        6/2/91     Dover
   Derrike Cope     272        6/3/90     Dover
   Darrell Waltrip  228        9/6/92     Darlington
   Jimmy Spencer    174        7/24/94    Talladega
   Bill Elliott     167        9/4/94     Darlington
   Kyle Petty       149        6/4/95     Dover
   Sterling Marlin  120        7/6/96     Daytona
   Geoffrey Bodine  106        8/11/96    Watkins Glen
   Bobby Hamilton    65        4/20/98    Martinsville
   Ricky Rudd        46        9/27/98    Martinsville    

(3-26-2000)(UMI Press Guides Stats)




• 43rd Fact: Last driver to win from the 43rd starting spot was Fonty Flock at Raliegh, NC in 1953, the only other driver to do so was Johnny Mantz in the 1950 Southern 500
• Amazing Finishes: Races won from a starting position of 35 or worse in the history of NASCAR

  Starting Position  Race                                 Driver
   43                1950 Southern 500, Darlington        Johnny Mantz
   43                1953 Raliegh, NC                     Fonty Flock   
   38 provisional    1999 Jiffy Lube 300, Loudon          Jeff Burton
   38                1988 Firecracker 400, Daytona        Bill Elliott
   37 provisional    1999 NAPA 500, Atlanta               Bobby Labonte
   37                1995 Miller 500, Dover               Kyle Petty
   35                2000 Cracker Barrel 500, Atlanta     Dale Earnhardt
  (3-13-2000)
  

• Winners: 1999 was the fifth straight year that there have been 11 different winners in a season (1995-99). Every winner in 1999 was from a multi-car team. The last time a single-car team scored a victory was by Ricky Rudd at Martinsville in September 1998(NOL)(11-24-1999)
• UPDATE: Jeff Burton was the first driver to win from a provisional starting spot EVER at New Hampshire in 1999 and that is the farthest back any driver has won from since Kyle Petty won from 37th at Dover in June 1995(in 1995 37th was not a provisional starting spot). Bill Elliott also won from 38th spot in the 1988 Pepsi 400. In fact ALL the provisional starters for the race finished in the top 25 at NHIS(7-11-1999) — UPDATE: Add Bobby Labonte as the 2nd ever provisional winners by winning the 1999 NAPA 500 at Atlanta(11-21-1999)
• Short Track Wins UPDATE 3 the streak lives: Nine different drivers win the last nine short-track races: Dale Jarrett, John Andretti, Rusty Wallace, Ricky Rudd, Jeff Burton, Mark Martin, Terry Labonte, Bobby Hamilton and Jeff Gordon(Bristol Spring 98)(8-25-1999) — UPDATE Make it Ten drivers, add Dale Earnhardt to the mix(8-29-1999) — UPDATE 2: Make it Eleven different drivers now as Tony Stewart won at Richmond(9-12-1999) — UPDATE 3 It still stands at eleven since Gordon was first on the list to start the streak, so we still have 11 different winners in the last 11 short track races(10-5-1999)
• 1999 Short Track Season: The short track ‘title’ goes to Rusty Wallace by four points over Dale Earnhardt. The top ten: 1) #2-Wallace 891; 2) #3-Earnhardt 887; 3) #6-Martin 838; 4) #88-Jarrett 835; 5) #40-Marlin; 6) #24-Gordon 788; 7) #44-Petty 772; 8) #99-Burton 766; 9) #20-Stewart 734; 10) #31-Skinner 727 (Stock Car Fans Rumblings)(10-3-1999)
• Stats: Only five times in NASCAR’s modern era(1972-present) has the eventual champion not won by the sixth race of the season. Those champions were Benny Parsons in 1973, Terry Labonte in 1984 and 1996, Darrell Waltrip in 1985 and Dale Jarrett in 1999.(2-20-2000)

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