| Type: | NASWINSTON |
| Location: | North Las Vegas, Nevada, Las Vegas Motor Speedway |
| Distance Mi: | 222 |
| Pole Time: | 31.293 |
| Course Mi: | 1.5 |
| Course Km: | 2.41 |
| Scheduled Km: | 644.542 |
| Distance Km: | 357.272 |
| Scheduled Mi: | 400.5 |
| Distance Laps: | 148 |
| Scheduled Laps: | 267 |
| Year: | 2000 |
| Race Name: | CarsDirect.com 400 |
| Official Name: | Third Annual CarsDirect.com 400 |
| Race No: | 3 |
| Season No: | 34 |
| Radio: | Motor Racing Network |
| Date: | March 5 |
| Network: | ABC |
| Announcers: | Bob Jenkins, Benny Parsons, Ray Evernham |
| Car: | 99 |
| Pole Team: | Robert Yates Racing |
| Most Driver: | Jeff Burton |
| First Team: | Roush Racing |
| First Driver: | Jeff Burton |
| Most Team: | Roush Racing |
| Most Laps: | 56 |
| Pole Driver: | Ricky Rudd |
| Avg: | 119.982mph |
The 2000 CarsDirect.com 400 was the third stock car race of the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the third iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 5, 2000, in North Las Vegas, Nevada at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a 1.5miles permanent D-shaped oval racetrack. The race was decreased from 267 to 148 laps due to inclement weather. At race's end, Jeff Burton, driving for Roush Racing, took the lead away from teammate Mark Martin, and lead the final 13 laps before the race would get canceled from rain. This was Burton's 12th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his first of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Tony Stewart of Joe Gibbs Racing and Mark Martin of Roush Racing would finish second and third, respectively.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a 1200acres complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The first practice session was held on Friday, March 3, at 10:00 AM PST, and would last for three hours and 55 minutes.[2] Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 31.548 and an average speed of 171.167mph.[3]
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. (R) | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 31.548 | 171.167 | |
| 2 | 12 | Jeremy Mayfield | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 31.710 | 170.293 | |
| 3 | 1 | Steve Park | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 31.737 | 170.148 | |
| Full first practice results | |||||||
The second practice session was held on Saturday, March 4, at 9:00 AM PST, and would last for one hour and 30 minutes. Ed Berrier of Donlavey Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 32.515 and an average speed of 166.077mph.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 90 | Ed Berrier | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 32.515 | 166.077 | |
| 2 | 93 | Dave Blaney (R) | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 32.549 | 165.903 | |
| 3 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 32.571 | 165.791 | |
| Full second practice results | |||||||
The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, March 4, at 4:15 PM PST. Mark Martin of Roush Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 32.535 and an average speed of 165.975mph.[4]
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 32.535 | 165.975 | |
| 2 | 12 | Jeremy Mayfield | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 32.562 | 165.837 | |
| 3 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 32.618 | 165.552 | |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | |||||||
Qualifying was held on Friday, March 3, at 2:00 PM PST. Each driver would have one lap to set a fastest time; and that lap would count as their official qualifying lap. Positions 1-36 would be decided on time, while positions 37-43 would be based on provisionals. Six spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The seventh is awarded to a past champion who has not otherwise qualified for the race. If no past champ needs the provisional, the next team in the owner points will be awarded a provisional.[5]
Ricky Rudd of Robert Yates Racing would win the pole, setting a time of 31.293 and an average speed of 172.563mph.[6]
Six drivers would fail to qualify: Rick Mast, Mike Bliss, Ed Berrier, Brett Bodine, Dave Marcis, and Austin Cameron.
| Fin | St | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 148 | 56 | Running | 185 | |
| 2 | 16 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 148 | 0 | Running | 170 | |
| 3 | 5 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 148 | 33 | Running | 170 | |
| 4 | 39 | 94 | Bill Elliott | Bill Elliott Racing | Ford | 148 | 0 | Running | 160 | |
| 5 | 4 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 148 | 0 | Running | 155 | |
| 6 | 8 | 10 | Johnny Benson Jr. | Tyler Jet Motorsports | Pontiac | 148 | 0 | Running | 150 | |
| 7 | 6 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 148 | 0 | Running | 146 | |
| 8 | 33 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 148 | 0 | Running | 142 | |
| 9 | 18 | 33 | Joe Nemechek | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 148 | 0 | Running | 138 | |
| 10 | 3 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. (R) | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 148 | 42 | Running | 139 | |
| 11 | 14 | 16 | Kevin Lepage | Roush Racing | Ford | 148 | 0 | Running | 130 | |
| 12 | 1 | 28 | Ricky Rudd | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 148 | 1 | Running | 132 | |
| 13 | 12 | 13 | Robby Gordon | Team Menard | Ford | 148 | 8 | Running | 129 | |
| 14 | 21 | 17 | Matt Kenseth (R) | Roush Racing | Ford | 148 | 0 | Running | 121 | |
| 15 | 19 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 148 | 0 | Running | 118 | |
| 16 | 34 | 36 | Ken Schrader | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 148 | 0 | Running | 115 | |
| 17 | 15 | 12 | Jeremy Mayfield | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 148 | 0 | Running | 112 | |
| 18 | 30 | 40 | Sterling Marlin | Team SABCO | Chevrolet | 148 | 0 | Running | 109 | |
| 19 | 27 | 97 | Chad Little | Roush Racing | Ford | 148 | 0 | Running | 106 | |
| 20 | 9 | 25 | Jerry Nadeau | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 103 | |
| 21 | 13 | 77 | Robert Pressley | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 147 | 0 | Running | 100 | |
| 22 | 36 | 93 | Dave Blaney (R) | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 147 | 0 | Running | 97 | |
| 23 | 37 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 147 | 0 | Running | 94 | |
| 24 | 25 | 42 | Kenny Irwin Jr. | Team SABCO | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 91 | |
| 25 | 38 | 43 | John Andretti | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 147 | 0 | Running | 88 | |
| 26 | 28 | 60 | Ted Musgrave | Joe Bessey Racing | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 85 | |
| 27 | 20 | 31 | Mike Skinner | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 82 | |
| 28 | 10 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 79 | |
| 29 | 41 | 44 | Kyle Petty | Petty Enterprises | Pontiac | 147 | 6 | Running | 81 | |
| 30 | 35 | 26 | Jimmy Spencer | Haas-Carter Motorsports | Ford | 147 | 0 | Running | 73 | |
| 31 | 24 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 70 | |
| 32 | 32 | 9 | Stacy Compton (R) | Melling Racing | Ford | 147 | 0 | Running | 67 | |
| 33 | 7 | 7 | Michael Waltrip | Mattei Motorsports | Chevrolet | 147 | 0 | Running | 64 | |
| 34 | 31 | 4 | Bobby Hamilton | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 146 | 0 | Running | 61 | |
| 35 | 42 | 75 | Wally Dallenbach Jr. | Galaxy Motorsports | Ford | 146 | 0 | Running | 58 | |
| 36 | 22 | 27 | Jeff Fuller (R) | Eel River Racing | Pontiac | 146 | 0 | Running | 55 | |
| 37 | 26 | 15 | Derrike Cope | Fenley-Moore Motorsports | Ford | 146 | 0 | Running | 52 | |
| 38 | 43 | 66 | Darrell Waltrip | Haas-Carter Motorsports | Ford | 146 | 2 | Running | 54 | |
| 39 | 40 | 55 | Kenny Wallace | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 146 | 0 | Running | 46 | |
| 40 | 29 | 50 | Ricky Craven | Midwest Transit Racing | Chevrolet | 145 | 0 | Running | 43 | |
| 41 | 17 | 21 | Elliott Sadler | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 145 | 0 | Running | 40 | |
| 42 | 2 | 32 | Scott Pruett (R) | PPI Motorsports | Ford | 143 | 0 | Running | 37 | |
| 43 | 23 | 1 | Steve Park | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 92 | 0 | Engine | 34 | |
| Failed to qualify | ||||||||||
| 44 | 41 | Rick Mast | Larry Hedrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | ||||||
| 45 | 14 | Mike Bliss (R) | A. J. Foyt Racing | Pontiac | ||||||
| 46 | 90 | Ed Berrier | Donlavey Racing | Ford | ||||||
| 47 | 11 | Brett Bodine | Brett Bodine Racing | Ford | ||||||
| 48 | 71 | Dave Marcis | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | ||||||
| 49 | 89 | Austin Cameron | AC Motorsports | Chevrolet | ||||||
| Official race results | ||||||||||