| Type: | NASWINSTON |
| Date: | March 19 |
| Most Laps: | 188 |
| Pole Driver: | Jeff Gordon |
| Pole Team: | Hendrick Motorsports |
| First Team: | Bill Davis Racing |
| First Driver: | Ward Burton |
| Most Team: | Bill Davis Racing |
| Most Driver: | Ward Burton |
| Car: | 22 |
| Network: | ESPN |
| Announcers: | Bob Jenkins, Ned Jarrett, Benny Parsons |
| Radio: | Motor Racing Network |
| Season No: | 36 |
| Location: | Darlington, South Carolina, Darlington Raceway |
| Race No: | 5 |
| Avg: | 128.076mph |
| Official Name: | 44th Annual Mall.com 400 |
| Race Name: | Mall.com 400 |
| Year: | 2000 |
| Scheduled Laps: | 293 |
| Distance Laps: | 293 |
| Distance Km: | 644.12 |
| Scheduled Km: | 644.12 |
| Scheduled Mi: | 400.238 |
| Course Km: | 2.198 |
| Course Mi: | 1.366 |
| Pole Time: | 28.481 |
| Distance Mi: | 400.238 |
| Caption: | The 2000 Mall.com 400 program cover, featuring Jeff Burton. |
The 2000 Mall.com 400 was the fifth stock car race of the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 44th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, March 19, 2000, in Darlington, South Carolina, at Darlington Raceway, a 1.366miles permanent egg-shaped oval racetrack. The race took the scheduled 293 laps to complete. At race's end, Bill Davis Racing's Ward Burton dominated the late laps of the race to take his second career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory, his only victory of the season, and his first victory in 131 races.[1] [2] To fill out the top three, Robert Yates Racing's Dale Jarrett and Richard Childress Racing's Dale Earnhardt finished second and third, respectively.
Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that is effective at both ends.
The first practice session was held on Friday, March 17, at 11:00 AM EST. The session would last for one hour and 15 minutes. Roush Racing's Jeff Burton set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 28.923 and an average speed of 170.024mph.[3]
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 28.923 | 170.024 | |
| 2 | 3 | Dale Earnhardt | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 28.982 | 169.678 | |
| 3 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 29.025 | 169.426 | |
| Full first practice results | |||||||
The second practice session was held on Friday, March 17, at 1:00 PM EST. The session would last for 45 minutes. Hendrick Motorsports's Jeff Gordon set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 28.747 and an average speed of 171.065mph.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 28.747 | 171.065 | |
| 2 | 28 | Ricky Rudd | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 28.833 | 170.555 | |
| 3 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 28.844 | 170.490 | |
| Full second practice results | |||||||
The third practice session was held on Saturday, March 18, at 9:30 AM EST. The session would last for one hour and 30 minutes. Dale Earnhardt, Inc.'s Dale Earnhardt Jr. set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.611 and an average speed of 166.073mph.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. (R) | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 29.611 | 166.073 | |
| 2 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 29.648 | 165.866 | |
| 3 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 29.712 | 165.508 | |
| Full third practice results | |||||||
The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, March 18, after the 2000 SunCom 200. The session would last for one hour. Roush Racing's Mark Martin set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.516 and an average speed of 166.607mph.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 29.516 | 166.607 | |
| 2 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Pontiac | 29.565 | 166.331 | |
| 3 | 12 | Jeremy Mayfield | Penske-Kranefuss Racing | Ford | 29.571 | 166.298 | |
| Full final practice results | |||||||
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, March 17, at 3:30 PM EST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap. During the first round, the top 25 drivers in the round would be guaranteed a starting spot in the race. If a driver was not able to guarantee a spot in the first round, they had the option to scrub their time from the first round and try and run a faster lap time in a second round qualifying run, held on Saturday, March 18, at 11:30 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap. Positions 26–36 would be decided on time, while positions 37–43 would be based on provisionals. Six spots were awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The seventh was awarded to a past champion who has not otherwise qualified for the race. If no past champion needs the provisional, the next team in the owner points was awarded a provisional.[4]
Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 28.481 and an average speed of 172.662mph in the first round.[5]
Five drivers failed to qualify.
| Pos | Driver | Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bobby Labonte | 794 | |||||||
| 2 | Mark Martin | 785 (−9) | |||||||
| 3 | Dale Earnhardt | 762 (−32) | |||||||
| 1 | 4 | Ward Burton | 733 (−61) | ||||||
| 1 | 5 | Dale Jarrett | 721 (−73) | ||||||
| 2 | 6 | Tony Stewart | 663 (−131) | ||||||
| 3 | 7 | Bill Elliott | 663 (−131) | ||||||
| 1 | 8 | Ricky Rudd | 647 (−147) | ||||||
| 4 | 9 | Jeff Burton | 621 (−173) | ||||||
| 1 | 10 | Rusty Wallace | 595 (−199) | ||||||
| Official driver's standings | |||||||||