2000 The Winston
The 2000 edition of The Winston was held on May 20, 2000, at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. This was the 16th running of the event. The race is remembered for Dale Earnhardt Jr. becoming the first rookie to win The Winston. Drivers Steve Park and Jerry Nadeau advanced to the main lineup, with Park winning the Winston Open and Nadeau winning the No Bull Sprint race. This was the last All-Star Race of Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt; Waltrip retired at the end of 2000 and called the 2001 race from the booth for Fox Sports, and Earnhardt was killed at the season-opening Daytona 500. This was Kenny Irwin Jr.'s only appearance in The Winston, as he was killed in a crash during practice at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 7. In addition, this was TNN's final broadcast of The Winston.
| Race details | |
| Date | May 20, 2000 |
| Location | Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina |
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.4 km) |
| Distance | Winston Open: 30 laps, 45 mi (72 km) No Bull Sprint: 16 laps, 24 mi (39 km) The Winston: 70 laps, 105 mi (169 km) |
| Avg Speed | The Winston: 167.035 mph (268.817 km/h) |
| Winston Open | |
| Pole position | Jerry Nadeau (Hendrick Motorsports) |
| Winner | Steve Park (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.) |
| No Bull Sprint | |
| Pole position | Mike Skinner (Richard Childress Racing) |
| Winner | Jerry Nadeau (Hendrick Motorsports) |
| The Winston | |
| Pole position | Bill Elliott (Bill Elliott Racing) 105.932 seconds |
| Showdown transfers | Steve Park (Open winner) Jerry Nadeau (No Bull Sprint winner) |
| Most laps led | Bill Elliott (Bill Elliott Racing) 36 laps |
| Winner | Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.) |
| Television | |
| Network | TNN |
| Announcers | Eli Gold, Buddy Baker, and Dick Berggren |
The event is also remembered for one of the biggest disasters in NASCAR history: the post-race collapse of a pedestrian walkway that injured 107 people.