|| *Comments on the 2000 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500:* View the most recent comment <#67> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. Mike Lindeen posted: 12.10.2004 - 8:22 am Rate this comment: (4) (0) This is the race that was the closest that Mike Skinner ever got to a win in Cup, as he completely dominated the race....and blew up with 20 to go. Very painful 2. HomeDepotKid posted: 12.11.2004 - 11:19 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) I remember that race like it was yesterday. I was sitting in the Aaron's suite(Yeah, what a upper-class snob I am), and I remember Tony Stewart getting clocked in the driverdoor by Robert Pressley. Tony was OK. I didn't care as much as I would now-I was an Earnhardt fan. Then, 20 to go, Skinner loses the engine. We loved it. Everyone's cheering. I'm cheering. Last lap. "The Great One" and Bobby Labonte, door to door, side by side, Dale gets him. I thought Bobby won until the TVs showed Earnhardt's crew. Then, I KNEW Dale won. To say the least, I was jumping up and down. 3. XAC33 posted: 08.01.2006 - 3:40 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Earnhardt's last non-restrictor plate win I believe 4. Steve posted: 09.18.2006 - 5:14 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) This was the record fourth different decade in which Earnhardt won a Winston Cup race. He won at Bristol in 1979, he won 38 races in the 1980s, he won 35 races in the 1990s, and two races in 2000. 5. Jim posted: 10.04.2006 - 1:51 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) This race produced one of my all-time favorite quotes, which came from Skinner. Skinner had run into Earnhardt on pit road, mashing in one of Dale's fenders. Dale was pretty ticked about it. After Skinner's car blew up the pit reporter asked him about the run in with Earnhardt, and Skinner replied, "I'd wreck my momma to get my first Winston Cup win." 6. Brock posted: 03.16.2007 - 3:34 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Just saw this race again on ESPN Classic; here's a few more interesting notes: Todd Bodine scores a 7th place finish even though he pancaked the right side of his #91 late in the race. There was a fire in #60-Geoffrey Bodine's pits during one of the last pit stops, but no one was injured. #4-Bobby Hamilton, pitted behind him, leaves in a rush and carries a burning catch can around the track for a lap before it, too, is extinguished on pit road. 7. Mark O. posted: 01.02.2008 - 11:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DNQ List: 10-Benson, 13-Robby Gordon, 71-Marcis, 90-Berrier, 14-Bliss 8. RaceFanX posted: 01.04.2008 - 10:44 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) There was big news at this race that wasn't on the track, earilier in the week Dodge announced their team lineup and the hiring of Bill Elliott to drive a red #9 for Ray Everham. 9. Jonathan posted: 01.28.2008 - 6:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I woke up this morning and heard the end of this race via NASCAR radio. The Monday after this race I ordered tickets to the fall Atlanta Race. What great racing at Atlanta!! Its a shame they don't have better race dates. Would love to camp out there for a late April or early May Saturday night race. 10. Rob posted: 02.21.2008 - 5:50 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) With this win Dale Earnhardt joins Jeff Gordon and Bobby Labonte as the only ones to win on both Atlanta configurations. 11. RaceFanX posted: 03.01.2008 - 3:45 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Chad Little's last top 10 finish 12. Mr. Big posted: 05.22.2008 - 3:28 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Mike Skinner HAD this race. If his engine could've lasted 20 more laps, he would've had his only (maybe not his only one...) Cup win. Unfortunately, this didn't happen. If it didn't, though, we wouldn't have seen the amazing finish as Skinner would've likely driven away in the final laps. 13. Rad83 posted: 06.06.2008 - 4:40 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Skinner became a very consistent driver. I have magazines from that era, and they all expected him to get that first win. It's a shame he never closed the deal. 14. Ryan posted: 08.19.2008 - 11:08 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) I think Benny Parsons, Bob Jenkins, and Ray Evernham called this race on ESPN 15. Evan posted: 10.23.2008 - 1:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Some first milestones, Matt Kenseth led his first lap of NASCAR competition, Dale Earnhardt Jr. led his first laps but fell out due to brake failures. I remember watching this race a day after my uncle died. He was an Earnhardt fan, and when Dale won it was a fitting tribute to him, my uncle would have been really happy. 16. RLB posted: 10.30.2008 - 4:35 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Earnhardt started 35th, the lowest he ever started for a win, and he also got his record 9th at Atlanta and 75th all-time. 17. just me posted: 02.08.2009 - 4:21 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Evan these weren't Dale Jr's first laps led, he led at Las Vegas the week before 18. just me posted: 02.08.2009 - 4:25 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) he also led a few laps in 1999 19. 18fan posted: 02.13.2009 - 12:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Skinner was leading when his engine blew. I agree with the poster who said the ending would have been boring because Skinner had by far the best car. For a while, it looked like Bobby had nothing for Dale, but Bobby was just saving his tires for the final run at Dale that just came up short. 20. Anonymous posted: 02.16.2009 - 6:09 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Major heartbreak for Skinner, this was HIS race, stupid engine couldn't last another 20 laps. What would really have been cool would be to see the same finish with Earnhardt and Skinner instead. 21. Ryan posted: 03.06.2009 - 12:51 pm Rate this comment: (1) (2) You guys act like it was the engine's fault. Skinner was to hard on his equipment and engine. Dale daved his for the end. That's why he is a better racer than anyone. He knew what he had and how far he could take it. Same engine shop and everything. Skinner was just too hard on his stuff. 22. jr88fan posted: 07.02.2009 - 1:37 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Scott Pruet in a non road course race!!?!!???!! 23. Matt posted: 08.09.2009 - 12:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (1) Anyone remember that jeff burton passed skinner under green after coming through the field and may of had a better car? Only his tire blew about 70 laps in and that took burton out of it. He may of had the better car 24. Spen posted: 12.25.2009 - 11:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Pruett was running the full schedule that year. 25. NASCAR 24/7 posted: 03.08.2010 - 9:54 pm Rate this comment: (1) (1) Ryan, those things HAPPEN!!!!! And how about the Onion, Todd B, getting 7th! He was in a team that didn't have much resources. 26. 18fan posted: 06.18.2010 - 4:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) First race on the Atlanta quad-oval not won by Bobby Labonte or Jeff Gordon, although Bobby came very close to the win. 27. Ryan posted: 11.21.2010 - 1:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah, they happen when you run your equipment too hard 28. james-o-matic posted: 07.29.2011 - 2:42 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) this race marked the first time that joe nemechek was ever in the top 20 in points at any time in a season. and this was his 6th full season. amazing. 29. Benny posted: 09.26.2011 - 8:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) actually this race was on abc. 30. 1995z71 posted: 02.28.2012 - 10:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Lol to post #20, yes Earnhardt win cause he saved his equipment. We all remember that Earnhardt was always easy on his equipment. All jokes aside actually Earnhardt actually finished every race in the 2000 season which is rare. Also no one mentioned really about Johnny Benson's DNQ. He was 11th in points entering this race when he DNQ & even tho he missed this race he would finish 13th in points in 2000. 31. Will posted: 10.28.2012 - 9:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Tough loss for Skinner. It did lead to an exciting finish though. 32. 18fan posted: 11.21.2012 - 8:41 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was a battle between the old master of Atlanta (Earnhardt) and the master of Atlanta at the time (Labonte). 33. sk posted: 03.22.2013 - 3:22 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Jeff Fuller's best Winston Cup finish. 34. Anonymous posted: 04.07.2013 - 11:34 am Rate this comment: (2) (1) Ryan - once again you have demonstrated your biased ignorance on here. How many times have you posted on here.... Dale would have won this race if not for this... Dale should have won but.... I guess Dale never blew a tire or had an engine give up or anything because he knew how to manage his equipment. It just amazes me that when Dale won it was because he was superior to everyone else on the track and that he was just a smarter and better driver than they were, but when he lost it was because he got screwed over. While most people either loved or hated Earnhardt, I neither pulled for him or against him. I did respect and admire his talent and appreciate the things he did for the sport both while we were privileged to have him with us, and after he was taken from us. One thing I could never tolerate though was the attitude of his fans - they are the reason Nascar was for too long considered a red neck sport watched by ignorant people. 35. TTF24 posted: 04.23.2013 - 11:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) Dale Earnhardt and Bobby Lobante battle for the Checker Flag who would it be? I don't actually know but It's Dale Earnhardt OH Yeah! Dale but Nascar misses you :'( 1951-2001 36. TTF24 posted: 06.07.2013 - 3:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (3) They come to the line Who would it be? I don't know but it's actually Dale Earnhardt. 37. Evan posted: 04.24.2014 - 4:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There were several schemes that were ran in Atlanta. Sponsorship corrections #18 Bobby Labonte - Interstate Batteries/MBNA Bobby Labonte raced with MBNA on the hood during this race along with Interstate Batteries. Sources:Jayski.com, NASCAR Thunder 2003(the scheme is unlockable for Bobby Labonte), Personal Accounts, i.e. I saw the race on television. #94 Bill Elliott - McDonalds/"Silver Anniversary" Bill Elliott drove a car painted up like his primary scheme but with silver trim on the decklid and tail sections denoting his silver anniversary in racing. Sources:Jayski.com, Personal Accounts, I saw this race in television. #21 Elliott Sadler - CITGO Retro "1993" Elliott Sadler ran a retro scheme of the 21 car painted up like it was when Morgan Shepherd won the 1993 Purolator 500, the Wood Bros. last win as of 2000. The Woods did this for several races, I will document more when I find out when each scheme ran. Sources:Jayski.com, 5-pack of Racing Champions cars that had all of the schemes was released, personal account, I watched the race. #75 Wally Dallenbach - Redcell Batteries Source:Personal Account watched race, jayski.com 2000 Paint schemes. 38. Nascar Lead Lap Points posted: 05.14.2014 - 9:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Owner of the #10 was Tim Beverley Owner of the #90 was Junie Donlavey 39. Ryan posted: 06.05.2014 - 4:02 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) As of 6-2-14, the last race won from 35th starting position..over 500 races 40. 18fan posted: 05.12.2016 - 2:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Bodine hit the wall to around the same time Dale Jarrett blew an engine and a caution came out. He was then clipped by a spinning Tony Stewart. Atlanta was probably Todd's best Cup track. It was the only track at which he had multiple top 5s and he also had more top 10s and led more laps at Atlanta than any other track. 41. StenhouseFan17 posted: 07.18.2016 - 4:46 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) After a strong start to the season, Johnny Benson suffered the same fate as many before him with an Atlanta DNQ. AMS struck contending drivers countless times in qualifying when it had this early season date and qualifying still mattered. 42. StenhouseFan17 posted: 07.18.2016 - 4:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @40, Bodine also had some good runs at the old Las Vegas before they reconfigured it. 43. Jared DiCarlo posted: 08.20.2016 - 7:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I was born two days later 44. Gabriel posted: 05.15.2018 - 12:14 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Skinner had this one in the bag and then his engine called it quits with 20 to go. That said, we wouldn't be talking about this race today most likely in terms of a photo finish. We'd probably be talking about Mike Skinner's one Cup series points win, but of course that's alternate history. 45. Ryan posted: 05.15.2018 - 1:32 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @30 He did once the aero packages became more important. He could drive the bullet proof Monte Carlo from the mid-80's hard. @34 I just stated the facts. Skinner could have easily toned it down when he got out to a big lead, but he decided to keep running it hard, kind of like Michael Andretti did at Indy in '92. I think you're exaggerating just a tad. I don't get on every race board where he lost and complain. He lost 600 times and won 76 of them in NASCAR. There are some races where I felt he should have won, but had some back luck or misfortunes (many at Daytona). Who cares what other people think. Tell the truth, you were an Earnhardt hater. And btw, it's a free country. 46. Joshua posted: 10.25.2018 - 11:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Todd Bodine always ran well at Atlanta, even back with Butch Mock and Tabasco. In 1998, this Atlanta date sort of momentarily stopped the bleeding as Todd qualified front row for the team's first race of the season and finished 10th. 47. RaceFanX posted: 01.17.2019 - 2:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) This was Dale Earnhardt's ninth and final win at Atlanta. It was his only win at the Georgia oval after the track was reconfigured into a Charlotte/Texas clone in mid-1997. 48. Clint posted: 03.13.2019 - 7:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) All the drivers in this field have eaither Passed away or retired....tells how much the sport has changed and driver turn over. 49. MasonShell24 posted: 03.13.2019 - 8:16 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) #48 Joe Nemechek still races in the truck series, but still pretty incredible how literally everyone in this race is no longer in Cup. 50. GGDC posted: 03.13.2019 - 8:54 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) @48 Elliot Sadler, Ken Schrader Joe Nemechek and Sterling Marlin are all still active Todd Bodine, Jeff Gordon, Darell Waltrip, Micheal Waltrip, Kyle Petty, Dale Jarrett, Dale Earnhardt Jr are all in TV now. 51. Bayne&BowmanFan posted: 03.13.2019 - 9:24 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Well, it was 19 years ago. Someone would've had to just be starting their career then and just ending it now. 52. MasonShell24 posted: 03.13.2019 - 10:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Jr. would probably still be racing if it weren't for his concussions. 53. TeamDCRfan posted: 03.13.2019 - 11:07 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Cope still runs occasionally too. And I think Dave Marcis still does land-speed racing 54. RaceFanX posted: 03.13.2019 - 11:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Robby Gordon DNQed but he is still very active in off-road racing and his Stadium Super Trucks. 55. Harvickfan1 posted: 03.13.2019 - 11:53 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ken Schrader,Sterling Marlin are only active on the dirt tracks and short tracks. Sadler only running 2 races Joe is more active of them all. You might as well say Jr is active as well since he still running a race this yr if you count Sadler. 56. TeamDCRfan posted: 03.13.2019 - 12:04 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And don't forget, Rick Mast said he'd come back for one final race if The Rock gets a cup event again 57. LJTolitoYouTuber posted: 03.13.2019 - 12:42 pm Rate this comment: (0) (2) All the drivers retired and/or died which is amazing considering all the talent in this race 58. GoPM21 posted: 03.13.2019 - 2:34 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) @57 Thank you for your amazing insight which was posted less than FIVE HOURS before your comment. 59. Ultimate_Warrior_#18 posted: 03.13.2019 - 5:17 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Look at the parity in this race amongst the teams this is what modern day nascar is missing the most parity people. Earnhardt starts 35th drive through the field and wins in a legendary photo finish Todd Bodine In Joe Faulk's car finishes 7th on a part time deal. Rudd, Marlin, Sadler, Hamilton and Terry Labonte all start 31st or worst climb through the field to finish 11-15. Most importantly 9 different teams representing the top 10 finishers only Roush had two cars in the top 10. This was the nascar i loved growing up the parity and the different variety of teams and drivers that had the ability to win or run top 10. 60. Scott25 posted: 03.13.2019 - 5:33 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) @59 that's why it was the golden age, and that's also the first thing that strikes me when I watch races from the early 00's/late 90's (even back to the late 80's), how competitive it was. Sure there were dominant teams and drivers, but underdogs and smaller teams were able to compete much more often for top 10s and top 5s and it was much harder to predict the winner every week. I think the increase of necessary technology and the rising costs are what ended that rather than anything NASCAR did themselves (and now the charter system has made it even worse). You can't just show up and compete with mechanical genius or raw driving ability anymore. 61. KentuckyWildcat posted: 03.13.2019 - 8:29 pm Rate this comment: (2) (0) I enjoy reading all these posts about how great & competitive NASCAR used to be. It's hard to find anyone with the same knowledge and insists of the sport. Go look at the beginning of the 2001 season, 23 drivers had a top 10 finish by the 3rd race of the season (which is over half the field) & by 4th race of the season, 28 drivers had a top 10 finish according to my count. Remarkable considering it takes nearly the entire season now for this many drivers to score a top 10 62. guac_is_extra_ posted: 03.14.2019 - 1:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The things that made some teams good at Atlanta, and others at Phoenix, and so on, will probably never come back. It's really too bad. 63. RaceFanX posted: 03.18.2020 - 10:44 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. had an on-board system in his car for displaying his telemetry during the ABC broadcast but it bit him when a wheel sensor on his #8 came loose, cut a brake line, and caused his early crash. His car owner Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was none too pleased with that and ban that type of sensor from his team's cars afterward. 64. Bodyblower posted: 05.31.2020 - 12:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ricky Craven was going to enter this race but the team withdrew. 65. Bodyblower posted: 05.31.2020 - 12:44 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) David Keith was also going to enter but withdrew. 66. YAHBOI posted: 06.03.2020 - 12:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) First DNF For Dale Jarrett since 1999 Daytona 500. To put that in perspective, and to show how consistent he was around that time, he went 36 straight races without a DNF. I know that's nothing compared to some streaks, but that would have been equivalent to a full season from 2001 to present, ironically the year after this. 2000 was the last time we had a season not 36 races long. Also hello again everybody! 67. Mile501 posted: 01.22.2021 - 3:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kevin Lepage and Jerry Nadeau both ran strong and were inside the top 5 or 10 during the first half of the race, but each encountered separate mechanical problems around lap 150. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: