2002 NAPA Auto Parts 500

2002 NAPA Auto Parts 500 Race details[1]

Race 10 of 36 in the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season

The 2002 NAPA Auto Parts 500 program cover, featuring Rusty Wallace.

Date|  April 28, 2002 (2002-April-28)
Official name|  NAPA Auto Parts 500
Location|  California Speedway, Fontana, California
Course|  Permanent racing facility
Course length|  3.23 km (2.0 miles)
Distance|  250 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Weather|  Temperatures reaching up to 75.9 °F (24.4 °C); wind speeds up to 11.1 miles per hour (17.9 km/h)
Average speed|  150.088 miles per hour (241.543 km/h)
Pole position
Driver|

* Ryan Newman

|  Penske Racing
Most laps led
Driver|  Kurt Busch|  Roush Racing
Laps|  102
Winner
No. 48|  Jimmie Johnson|  Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network|  Fox Broadcasting Company
Announcers|  Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds

Motor car race

The 2002 NAPA Auto Parts 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car race held on April 28, 2002 at California Speedway in Fontana, California. Contested over 250 laps on the 2-mile (3.23 km) asphalt D-shaped oval, it was the tenth race of the 2002 Winston Cup Series season. Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports won the race, his first career Winston Cup Series victory. Kurt Busch finished second and Ricky Rudd finished third.

## Background

[edit]

The layout of California Speedway, the venue where the race was held.

The track, California Speedway, was a four-turn superspeedway that was 2 miles (3.2 km) long.[2] The track's turns were banked from fourteen degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, was banked at eleven degrees. Unlike the front stretch, the back straightaway was banked at three degrees.

## Summary

[edit]

There were ten drivers who failed to finish the race; with five of the drivers forcing to leave the race due to terminal crashes while five other drivers had engine issues.[3] Nearly 10% of the 199-minute race was held under a caution flag and the average green flag run was approximately 38 laps.[4]

Dale Earnhardt Jr. suffered a concussion when Kevin Harvick slowed on the track and veered into Earnhardt Jr.'s path, causing Jr. to hit the outside retaining wall parallel on the driver's side (this was before SAFER barriers were installed). The impact bent the dashboard of Jr.'s car and severely disoriented him; this ultimately forced NASCAR to pass a regulation forcing drivers to take the ambulance ride to the infield care center every time they crashed (he did not admit to have this injury until mid-September, after which NASCAR also passed a new concussion protocol).[5][6]

## Race results

[edit]

Pos  | Grid  | No. | Driver  | Team  | Manufacturer  | Laps | Points

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1  | 4 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 250 | 180
2  | 2 | 97 | Kurt Busch | Roush Racing | Ford | 250 | 180
3  | 37 | 28 | Ricky Rudd | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 250 | 165
4  | 39 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 250 | 165
5  | 26 | 6 | Mark Martin (W) | Roush Racing | Ford | 250 | 155
6  | 3 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 250 | 155
7  | 25 | 40 | Sterling Marlin | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 250 | 146
8  | 10 | 2 | Rusty Wallace (W) | Penske Racing | Ford | 250 | 142
9  | 32 | 77 | Dave Blaney | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 250 | 143
10  | 6 | 15 | Michael Waltrip | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 250 | 139
11  | 16 | 30 | Jeff Green | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 250 | 130
12  | 40 | 31 | Robby Gordon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 249 | 127
13  | 29 | 16 | Greg Biffle | Roush Racing | Ford | 249 | 124
14  | 1 | 12 | Ryan Newman (R) | Penske Racing | Ford | 249 | 126
15  | 11 | 10 | Johnny Benson Jr. | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 249 | 118
16  | 17 | 24 | Jeff Gordon (W) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 249 | 115
17  | 19 | 45 | Kyle Petty | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 249 | 112
18  | 27 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Dodge | 249 | 109
19  | 38 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 249 | 106
20  | 20 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Racing | Ford | 249 | 103
21  | 34 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 249 | 100
22  | 18 | 1 | Steve Park | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 249 | 97
23  | 36 | 11 | Brett Bodine | Brett Bodine | Ford | 249 | 94
24  | 24 | 43 | John Andretti | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 249 | 91
25  | 13 | 26 | Joe Nemechek | Haas-Carter Motorsports | Chevrolet | 249 | 88
26  | 5 | 25 | Jerry Nadeau | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 249 | 85
27  | 22 | 41 | Jimmy Spencer | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 248 | 82
28  | 12 | 7 | Casey Atwood | Ultra Motorsports | Dodge | 248 | 79
29  | 8 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 247 | 76
30  | 30 | 55 | Bobby Hamilton | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 247 | 73
31  | 33 | 4 | Mike Skinner | Morgan-McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 247 | 70
32  | 42 | 90 | Rick Mast | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 246 | 67
33  | 41 | 44 | Steve Grissom | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 244 | 64
34  | 28 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 240 | 61
35  | 21 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 226 | 58
36  | 9 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 225 | 55
37  | 15 | 32 | Ricky Craven | PPI Motorsports | Ford | 193 | 52
38  | 14 | 19 | Jeremy Mayfield (W) | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 189 | 49
39  | 7 | 21 | Elliott Sadler | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 163 | 46
40  | 31 | 23 | Hut Stricklin | Bill Davis Racing | Dodge | 147 | 43
41  | 35 | 14 | Stacy Compton | A. J. Foyt Racing | Pontiac | 104 | 45
42  | 43 | 49 | Shawna Robinson (R) | BAM Racing | Dodge | 18 | 37
43  | 23 | 36 | Ken Schrader | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 4 | 34

## Race Statistics

[edit]

* Time of race: 3:19:53
* Average Speed: 150.088 miles per hour (241.543 km/h)
* Pole Speed: 187.432 miles per hour (301.643 km/h)
* Cautions: 5 for 24 laps
* Margin of Victory: 0.620 sec
* Lead changes: 20
* Percent of race run under caution: 9.6%
* Average green flag run: 37.7 laps

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "2002 NAPA Auto Parts 500 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
2. ^ "Auto Club Speedway Track Facts". Auto Club Speedway. Archived from the original on August 24, 2010. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
3. ^ "2002 NAPA Auto Parts 500 DNF information". Driver Averages. Archived from the original on May 1, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
4. ^ "2002 NAPA Auto Parts 500 caution flag information". Racing Reference. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
5. ^ Jenkins, Chris (September 25, 2002). "Earnhardt Jr. says he hid concussion". USA Today. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
6. ^ 2002 Protection One 400 pre-race telecast – NBC, September 29, 2002

Previous race:
2002 Aaron's 499 | NASCAR Winston Cup Series
2002 season | Next race:
2002 Pontiac Excitement 400

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