Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, as well as the UAW-GM Quality 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith (son of Bruton Smith) as track president.
The first practice session was held on Wednesday, October 4, at 3:00 PM EST. The session would last for three hours. Robert Yates Racing's Ricky Rudd set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.292 and an average speed of 184.351 mph (296.684 km/h).[4]
The second practice session was held on Thursday, October 5, at 2:30 PM EST. The session would last for two hours. Team SABCO's Ted Musgrave set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.962 and an average speed of 180.228 mph (290.049 km/h).[4]
The third practice session was held on Saturday, October 7, at 9:00 AM EST. The session would last for one hour. Hendrick Motorsports' Jerry Nadeau set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.697 and an average speed of 181.837 mph (292.638 km/h).[4]
The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, October 7, after the 2000 All Pro Bumper to Bumper 300. The session would last for one hour. Penske-Kranefuss Racing's Jeremy Mayfield set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.093 and an average speed of 179.444 mph (288.787 km/h).[4]
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Wednesday, October 4, at 8:00 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 Thursday, October 5, at 6:00 PM 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.[4] 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.[5]
Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 29.101 and an average speed of 185.561 miles per hour (298.631 km/h) in the first round.[6]
Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.
Notes
^Earnhardt crashed the team's primary car during the second practice session of the race weekend. As a result of the crash, team owner Dave Marcis would replace Earnhardt for second-round qualifying.[3]
