2000 Pepsi Southern 500
# 2000 Pepsi Southern 500

The 2000 Pepsi Southern 500 presented by Kmart, the 51st running of the event, was the 24th race of the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. It was held at Darlington Raceway on September 3, 2000. The race was scheduled for 367 laps but was shortened to 328 laps due to rain. Bobby Labonte of Joe Gibbs Racing won the race.

Darrell Waltrip would lead his final Cup Series lap in his career on lap 48. Rick Mast would also lead a lap for the final time in his career on lap 304. The Mayfield-Marcis tango didn't bring out a caution. Mayfield thought he was clear out of 2, then got hooked in the wall by Marcis. Mayfield slid down the track, sparks flying, right-front tore up, but the green flag remained active.

## Qualifying

### Full qualifying results

| RANK | DRIVER | NBR | CAR | TIME | SPEED | |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Jeremy Mayfield | 12 | Ford | 29.022 | 169.444 | |
| 2 | Johnny Benson, Jr. | 10 | Pontiac | 29.028 | 169.409 | |
| 3 | Ward Burton | 22 | Pontiac | 29.052 | 169.269 | |
| 4 | Mike Skinner | 31 | Chevrolet | 29.062 | 169.211 | |
| 5 | Mark Martin | 6 | Ford | 29.078 | 169.118 | |
| 6 | Dale Earnhardt | 3 | Chevrolet | 29.111 | 168.926 | |
| 7 | Scott Pruett | 32 | Ford | 29.117 | 168.891 | |
| 8 | Ken Schrader | 36 | Pontiac | 29.178 | 168.538 | |
| 9 | Dale Jarrett | 88 | Ford | 29.246 | 168.146 | |
| 10 | Jeff Gordon | 24 | Chevrolet | 29.275 | 167.980 | |
| 11 | Michael Waltrip | 7 | Chevrolet | 29.309 | 167.785 | |
| 12 | Jimmy Spencer | 26 | Ford | 29.313 | 167.762 | |
| 13 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | 8 | Chevrolet | 29.354 | 167.527 | |
| 14 | Kenny Wallace | 55 | Chevrolet | 29.358 | 167.505 | |
| 15 | Jerry Nadeau | 25 | Chevrolet | 29.370 | 167.436 | |
| 16 | Rusty Wallace | 2 | Ford | 29.373 | 167.419 | |
| 17 | Ricky Rudd | 28 | Ford | 29.375 | 167.408 | |
| 18 | Brett Bodine | 11 | Ford | 29.377 | 167.396 | |
| 19 | Bobby Hamilton | 4 | Chevrolet | 29.412 | 167.197 | |
| 20 | Mike Bliss | 27 | Pontiac | 29.421 | 167.146 | |
| 21 | Elliott Sadler | 21 | Ford | 29.447 | 166.998 | |
| 22 | Dave Blaney | 93 | Pontiac | 29.458 | 166.936 | |
| 23 | Geoffrey Bodine | 60 | Chevrolet | 29.475 | 166.840 | |
| 24 | Matt Kenseth | 17 | Ford | 29.489 | 166.760 | |
| 25 | Joe Nemechek | 33 | Chevrolet | 29.500 | 166.698 | |
| 26 | Chad Little | 97 | Ford | 29.506 | 166.664 | |
| 27 | Ted Musgrave | 01 | Chevrolet | 29.519 | 166.591 | |
| 28 | Dave Marcis | 71 | Chevrolet | 29.527 | 166.546 | |
| 29 | Tony Stewart | 20 | Pontiac | 29.531 | 166.523 | |
| 30 | Kevin Lepage | 16 | Ford | 29.531 | 166.523 | |
| 31 | Rick Mast | 14 | Pontiac | 29.551 | 166.411 | |
| 32 | Hut Stricklin | 90 | Ford | 29.576 | 166.270 | |
| 33 | Sterling Marlin | 40 | Chevrolet | 29.584 | 166.225 | |
| 34 | John Andretti | 43 | Pontiac | 29.599 | 166.141 | |
| 35 | Jeff Burton | 99 | Ford | 29.608 | 166.090 | |
| 36 | Steve Grissom | 44 | Pontiac | 29.641 | 165.905 | |
| 37 | Bobby Labonte | 18 | Pontiac | | | PR |
| 38 | Terry Labonte | 5 | Chevrolet | | | PR |
| 39 | Steve Park | 1 | Chevrolet | | | PR |
| 40 | David Green | 94 | Ford | | | PR |
| 41 | Robert Pressley | 77 | Ford | | | PR |
| 42 | Wally Dallenbach, Jr. | 75 | Ford | | | PR |
| 43 | Darrell Waltrip | 66 | Ford | | | PR |
| 44 | Stacy Compton | 9 | Ford | 30.031 | 163.751 | |

OP: qualified via owners points

PC: qualified as past champion

PR: provisional

QR: via qualifying race

* - had to qualify on time

## Results

| POS | ST | # | DRIVER | SPONSOR / OWNER | CAR | LAPS | MONEY | STATUS | LED | PTS |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 37 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Interstate Batteries (Joe Gibbs) | Pontiac | 328 | 198180 | running | 10 | 180 |
| 2 | 35 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Exide Batteries (Jack Roush) | Ford | 328 | 106705 | running | 17 | 175 |
| 3 | 6 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | GM Goodwrench Service (Richard Childress) | Chevrolet | 328 | 82745 | running | 47 | 170 |
| 4 | 10 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | DuPont Automotive Finishes (Rick Hendrick) | Chevrolet | 328 | 82540 | running | 24 | 165 |
| 5 | 9 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Quality Care / Ford Credit (Yates Racing) | Ford | 328 | 80570 | running | 3 | 160 |
| 6 | 3 | 22 | Ward Burton | Caterpillar (Bill Davis) | Pontiac | 328 | 66655 | running | 59 | 155 |
| 7 | 30 | 16 | Kevin Lepage | FamilyClick.com / TV Guide (Jack Roush) | Ford | 328 | 55535 | running | 0 | 146 |
| 8 | 17 | 28 | Ricky Rudd | Texaco / Havoline (Yates Racing) | Ford | 328 | 52475 | running | 0 | 142 |
| 9 | 29 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Home Depot (Joe Gibbs) | Pontiac | 328 | 55735 | running | 0 | 138 |
| 10 | 39 | 1 | Steve Park | Pennzoil (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.) | Chevrolet | 328 | 55330 | running | 0 | 134 |
| 11 | 13 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | Budweiser (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.) | Chevrolet | 328 | 46345 | running | 16 | 135 |
| 12 | 31 | 14 | Rick Mast | Conseco (A.J. Foyt) | Pontiac | 328 | 39750 | running | 1 | 132 |
| 13 | 27 | 01 | Ted Musgrave | BellSouth (Felix Sabates) | Chevrolet | 328 | 48860 | running | 0 | 124 |
| 14 | 5 | 6 | Mark Martin | Valvoline / Cummins (Jack Roush) | Ford | 328 | 56970 | running | 29 | 126 |
| 15 | 38 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Kellogg's (Rick Hendrick) | Chevrolet | 328 | 53680 | running | 0 | 118 |
| 16 | 8 | 36 | Ken Schrader | M&M's (Nelson Bowers) | Pontiac | 327 | 38310 | running | 1 | 120 |
| 17 | 33 | 40 | Sterling Marlin | Coors Light (Felix Sabates) | Chevrolet | 327 | 46390 | running | 0 | 112 |
| 18 | 21 | 21 | Elliott Sadler | Citgo (Wood Brothers) | Ford | 327 | 45615 | running | 0 | 109 |
| 19 | 42 | 75 | Wally Dallenbach, Jr. | Cartoon Network/Scooby Doo (Darwin Oordt) | Ford | 327 | 36660 | running | 0 | 106 |
| 20 | 22 | 93 | Dave Blaney | Amoco (Bill Davis) | Pontiac | 327 | 35865 | running | 0 | 103 |
| 21 | 26 | 97 | Chad Little | John Deere (Jack Roush) | Ford | 327 | 45065 | running | 1 | 105 |
| 22 | 19 | 4 | Bobby Hamilton | Kodak (Larry McClure) | Chevrolet | 326 | 43820 | running | 0 | 97 |
| 23 | 28 | 71 | Dave Marcis | RealTree Camouflage (Dave Marcis) | Chevrolet | 326 | 31950 | running | 13 | 99 |
| 24 | 7 | 32 | Scott Pruett | Tide (Cal Wells) | Ford | 324 | 31750 | running | 0 | 91 |
| 25 | 40 | 94 | David Green | McDonald's (Bill Elliott) | Ford | 324 | 43215 | running | 0 | 88 |
| 26 | 36 | 44 | Steve Grissom | Hot Wheels (Petty Enterprises) | Pontiac | 324 | 43330 | running | 0 | 85 |
| 27 | 18 | 11 | Brett Bodine | Ralph's Supermarkets (Brett Bodine) | Ford | 324 | 31295 | running | 0 | 82 |
| 28 | 20 | 27 | Mike Bliss | Pfizer / Viagra (Jack Birmingham) | Pontiac | 323 | 31160 | running | 0 | 79 |
| 29 | 15 | 25 | Jerry Nadeau | Michael Holigan.com (Rick Hendrick) | Chevrolet | 315 | 42425 | engine | 0 | 76 |
| 30 | 16 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Miller Lite (Roger Penske) | Ford | 308 | 48940 | running | 0 | 73 |
| 31 | 25 | 33 | Joe Nemechek | Oakwood Homes (Andy Petree) | Chevrolet | 306 | 42580 | engine | 0 | 70 |
| 32 | 12 | 26 | Jimmy Spencer | Big Kmart / Route 66 (Travis Carter) | Ford | 305 | 41865 | running | 2 | 72 |
| 33 | 24 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | DeWalt Tools (Jack Roush) | Ford | 286 | 41675 | running | 0 | 64 |
| 34 | 32 | 90 | Hut Stricklin | Hills Brothers Coffee (Junie Donlavey) | Ford | 268 | 30515 | engine | 0 | 61 |
| 35 | 14 | 55 | Kenny Wallace | Square D / Cooper Lighting (Andy Petree) | Chevrolet | 264 | 41380 | engine | 0 | 58 |
| 36 | 41 | 77 | Robert Pressley | Jasper Engines (Doug Bawel) | Ford | 245 | 33295 | running | 0 | 55 |
| 37 | 34 | 43 | John Andretti | Cheerios (Petty Enterprises) | Pontiac | 223 | 48206 | crash | 0 | 52 |
| 38 | 2 | 10 | Johnny Benson, Jr. | Aaron's Rents / RCA (Nelson Bowers) | Pontiac | 175 | 32535 | handling | 0 | 49 |
| 39 | 23 | 60 | Geoffrey Bodine | Power Team (Joe Bessey) | Chevrolet | 171 | 38000 | crash | 0 | 46 |
| 40 | 11 | 7 | Michael Waltrip | NationsRent (Jim Smith) | Chevrolet | 123 | 37900 | engine | 0 | 43 |
| 41 | 1 | 12 | Jeremy Mayfield | Mobil 1 (Michael Kranefuss) | Ford | 120 | 37850 | crash | 104 | 50 |
| 42 | 43 | 66 | Darrell Waltrip | Big Kmart / Route 66 (Travis Carter) | Ford | 113 | 29800 | electrical | 1 | 42 |
| 43 | 4 | 31 | Mike Skinner | Lowe's (Richard Childress) | Chevrolet | 15 | 37750 | engine | 0 | 34 |

## Race statistics

* Time of race: 4:08:20
* Average Speed: 108.273 miles per hour (174.249 km/h)
* Pole Speed: 169.444
* Cautions: 9 for 69 laps
* Margin of Victory: under caution
* Lead changes: 22
* Percent of race run under caution: 21%
* Average green flag run: 28.8 laps
