2000 Winston 500

2000 Winston 500

Race details
Race 30 of 34 in the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 2000 Winston 500 program cover, featuring Dale Earnhardt.
Date	October 15, 2000
Official name	32nd Annual Winston 500
Location	Lincoln, Alabama, Talladega Superspeedway
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.66 mi (4.28 km)
Distance	188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.8 km)
Scheduled Distance	188 laps, 500.08 mi (804.8 km)
Average speed	165.681 miles per hour (266.638 km/h)
Attendance	140,000
Pole position
Driver	Joe Nemechek	Andy Petree Racing
Time	50.326
Most laps led
Driver	Bill Elliott	Bill Elliott Racing
Laps	40
Winner
No. 3	Dale Earnhardt	Richard Childress Racing
Television in the United States
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Jerry Punch, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons
Radio in the United States
Radio	Motor Racing Network

The 2000 Winston 500 was the 30th stock car race of the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series, the last of five No Bull 5 events in that year's season, and the 32nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 15, 2000, before an audience of 140,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete.

In what is considered by NASCAR as one of the most memorable finishes in NASCAR Winston Cup Series history, Richard Childress Racing's Dale Earnhardt managed to come back from the 18th position with five laps left in the race, making a late-race charge to gain the lead by the start of the final lap. Defending against Andy Petree Racing's Kenny Wallace, Earnhardt was able to defend the field to take his 76th and final career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his second and final victory of the season, and a No Bull 5 victory, netting him a bonus of $1,000,000.^[1][2] To fill out the top three, the aforementioned Kenny Wallace and his teammate, Joe Nemechek finished second and third, respectively.

That was the last restrictor plate race without Kurt Busch until 2015 Daytona 500.