2002 Pep Boys presents the Pennsylvania 500
Race details
Race 20 of 36 in the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 2002 Pennsylvania 500 program cover.
The 2002 Pennsylvania 500 program cover.
Date July 28, 2002
Official name 30th Annual Pep Boys presents the Pennsylvania 500
Location Long Pond, Pennsylvania, Pocono Raceway
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.0 km)
Distance 175 laps, 437.5 mi (704.088 km)
Scheduled Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Average speed 125.809 miles per hour (202.470 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Evernham Motorsports
Time 52.765
Most laps led
Driver Sterling Marlin Chip Ganassi Racing
Laps 106
Winner
No. 9 Bill Elliott Evernham Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network TNT
Announcers Allen Bestwick, Benny Parsons, Wally Dallenbach Jr.
Radio in the United States
Radio Motor Racing Network

The 2002 Pep Boys presents the Pennsylvania 500 was the 20th stock car race of the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 30th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 28, 2002, in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, at Pocono Raceway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) triangular permanent course. The race was shortened from its scheduled from its scheduled 200 laps to 175 due to darkness caused by delays during the race.[1] At race's end, Bill Elliott, driving for Evernham Motorsports, would pull away during the late stages of the race to win his 21st career NASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his first of the season.[2][3] To fill out the podium, Kurt Busch of Roush Racing and Sterling Marlin of Chip Ganassi Racing would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

The layout of Pocono Raceway, the venue where the race was held.

The race was held at Pocono Raceway, which is a three-turn superspeedway located in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The track hosts two annual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, as well as one Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series event. Until 2019, the track also hosted an IndyCar Series race.

Pocono Raceway is one of a very few NASCAR tracks not owned by either Speedway Motorsports, Inc. or International Speedway Corporation. It is operated by the Igdalsky siblings Brandon, Nicholas, and sister Ashley, and cousins Joseph IV and Chase Mattioli, all of whom are third-generation members of the family-owned Mattco Inc, started by Joseph II and Rose Mattioli.

Outside of the NASCAR races, the track is used throughout the year by Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and motorcycle clubs as well as racing schools and an IndyCar race. The triangular oval also has three separate infield sections of racetrack – North Course, East Course and South Course. Each of these infield sections use a separate portion of the tri-oval to complete the track. During regular non-race weekends, multiple clubs can use the track by running on different infield sections. Also some of the infield sections can be run in either direction, or multiple infield sections can be put together – such as running the North Course and the South Course and using the tri-oval to connect the two.

Entry list

  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
# Driver Team Make Sponsor
1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet Pennzoil
2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing Ford Miller Lite
4 Mike Skinner Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet Kodak
5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Kellogg's
6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Viagra
7 Casey Atwood Ultra-Evernham Motorsports Dodge Sirius Satellite Radio
8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet Budweiser
9 Bill Elliott Evernham Motorsports Dodge Dodge
10 Johnny Benson Jr. MBV Motorsports Pontiac Valvoline
11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford Hooters
12 Ryan Newman (R) Penske Racing Ford Mobil 1, Speedpass
14 Mike Wallace A. J. Foyt Enterprises Pontiac Conseco
15 Michael Waltrip Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet NAPA Auto Parts
17 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing Ford DeWalt
18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac Interstate Batteries
19 Jeremy Mayfield Evernham Motorsports Dodge Dodge
20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac The Home Depot
21 Elliott Sadler Wood Brothers Racing Ford Motorcraft
22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Dodge Caterpillar
23 Hut Stricklin Bill Davis Racing Dodge Hills Bros. Coffee
24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet DuPont
25 Joe Nemechek Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet UAW, Delphi
26 Geoff Bodine Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford Discover Card
27 Kirk Shelmerdine Kirk Shelmerdine Racing Ford Naturally Fresh Foods
28 Ricky Rudd Robert Yates Racing Ford Texaco, Havoline
29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench
30 Jeff Green Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet America Online
31 Robby Gordon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Cingular Wireless
32 Ricky Craven PPI Motorsports Ford Tide
36 Ken Schrader MB2 Motorsports Pontiac M&M's
37 Derrike Cope Quest Motor Racing Ford Poison Hollyweird World Tour 2002
40 Sterling Marlin Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge Coors Light
41 Jimmy Spencer Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge Target
43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Dodge Cheerios
44 Jerry Nadeau Petty Enterprises Dodge Georgia-Pacific Brawny
45 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge Sprint
48 Jimmie Johnson (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Lowe's
55 Bobby Hamilton Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet Square D
77 Dave Blaney Jasper Motorsports Ford Jasper Engines & Transmissions
79 Carl Long SR Racing Dodge SR Racing
88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford UPS
89 Morgan Shepherd Shepherd Racing Ventures Ford Berlin City Ford, Life X Program
97 Kurt Busch Roush Racing Ford Rubbermaid, Sharpie
99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford Citgo
Official entry list

Practice

First practice

The first practice session was held on Friday, July 26, at 11:20 AM EST, and would last for 2 hours.[4] Ricky Rudd of Robert Yates Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 52.859 and an average speed of 170.264 miles per hour (274.013 km/h).[5]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 28 Ricky Rudd Robert Yates Racing Ford 52.859 170.264
2 43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Dodge 53.095 169.508
3 9 Bill Elliott Evernham Motorsports Dodge 53.131 169.393
Full first practice results

Second practice

The second practice session was held on Saturday, July 27, at 9:30 AM EST, and would last for 45 minutes.[4] Ricky Rudd of Robert Yates Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 54.410 and an average speed of 165.411 miles per hour (266.203 km/h).[6]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 28 Ricky Rudd Robert Yates Racing Ford 54.410 165.411
2 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing Ford 54.481 165.195
3 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 54.489 165.171
Full second practice results

Third and final practice

The third and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, July 27, at 11:15 AM EST, and would last for 45 minutes.[4] Kurt Busch of Roush Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 54.747 and an average speed of 164.393 miles per hour (264.565 km/h).[7]

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 97 Kurt Busch Roush Racing Ford 54.747 164.393
2 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing Ford 54.754 164.372
3 48 Jimmie Johnson (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 54.825 164.159
Full Happy Hour practice results

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Friday, July 26, at 3:05 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.[4] Positions 1-36 would be decided on time, while positions 37-43 would be based on provisionals. Six spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The seventh is awarded to a past champion who has not otherwise qualified for the race. If no past champ needs the provisional, the next team in the owner points will be awarded a provisional.[8]

Bill Elliott of Evernham Motorsports would win the pole, setting a time of 52.765 and an average speed of 170.568 miles per hour (274.503 km/h).[9]

Carl Long was the only driver to fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

Pos. # Driver Team Make Time Speed
1 9 Bill Elliott Evernham Motorsports Dodge 52.765 170.568
2 28 Ricky Rudd Robert Yates Racing Ford 52.830 170.358
3 15 Michael Waltrip Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 52.889 170.168
4 19 Jeremy Mayfield Evernham Motorsports Dodge 52.967 169.917
5 43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Dodge 53.009 169.783
6 10 Johnny Benson Jr. MBV Motorsports Pontiac 53.119 169.431
7 48 Jimmie Johnson (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 53.122 169.421
8 12 Ryan Newman (R) Penske Racing Ford 53.128 169.402
9 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing Ford 53.143 169.354
10 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 53.156 169.313
11 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 53.173 169.259
12 44 Jerry Nadeau Petty Enterprises Dodge 53.185 169.221
13 40 Sterling Marlin Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 53.209 169.144
14 1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 53.239 169.049
15 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 53.290 168.887
16 32 Ricky Craven PPI Motorsports Ford 53.333 168.751
17 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 53.338 168.735
18 55 Bobby Hamilton Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 53.343 168.719
19 7 Casey Atwood Ultra-Evernham Motorsports Dodge 53.358 168.672
20 25 Joe Nemechek Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 53.390 168.571
21 77 Dave Blaney Jasper Motorsports Ford 53.420 168.476
22 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing Ford 53.461 168.347
23 97 Kurt Busch Roush Racing Ford 53.488 168.262
24 26 Geoff Bodine Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 53.490 168.256
25 36 Ken Schrader MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 53.496 168.237
26 30 Jeff Green Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 53.499 168.227
27 31 Robby Gordon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 53.614 167.867
28 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 53.644 167.773
29 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 53.645 167.770
30 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 53.667 167.701
31 23 Hut Stricklin Bill Davis Racing Dodge 53.676 167.673
32 21 Elliott Sadler Wood Brothers Racing Ford 53.678 167.667
33 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 53.713 167.557
34 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Dodge 53.732 167.498
35 41 Jimmy Spencer Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 53.739 167.476
36 14 Mike Wallace A. J. Foyt Enterprises Pontiac 53.892 167.001
Provisionals
37 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 53.955 166.806
38 45 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge 54.174 166.131
39 4 Mike Skinner Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 54.124 166.285
40 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 54.392 165.465
41 37 Derrike Cope Quest Motor Racing Ford 54.591 164.862
42 27 Kirk Shelmerdine Kirk Shelmerdine Racing Ford — —
43 89 Morgan Shepherd Shepherd Racing Ventures Ford 55.309 162.722
Failed to qualify
44 79 Carl Long SR Racing Dodge 54.608 164.811
Official qualifying results

Race

Lap 1 crash

On the first lap, outside pole sitter Ricky Rudd took the lead from pole sitter Bill Elliott in turn 1. Behind the leaders where a whole pack of cars were racing side by side, Rusty Wallace, who started 9th, was running in 10th when Steve Park, who started 11th, began to peak to Wallace's outside. Wallace went up to block Park but instead Wallace went across Park's nose and Wallace hit the wall. Park turned left to avoid Wallace but instead ran into his Dale Earnhardt Inc. teammate in Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Park spun across Jr's right front. Both Park and Jr. began to spin and slide through the wet infield grass that was slippery due to the rain that fell. Park's car tipped towards the passenger side of the car and Jr. ended up bulldozing Park's car into the inside of an old-fashioned highway guardrail barrier head-on and then with the passenger side and ended up breaking the barrier. Park's car ramped up over Jr's hood and Park flipped over about 2 times before coming to a rest on the driver's side door. Jr. got out of his car in a big hurry and ran over to check on his teammate to see if he was ok. The caution flew and Ricky Rudd led the cars back to the line and the red flag was shown shortly after as rescue crews attempted to get Park out of his car. About 2 minutes after the crash, the rescue crews with the help of Dale Earnhardt Jr. were able to get Park out of his car. Park was uninjured and he and Jr. walked together to a waiting ambulance to take them to the infield care center. The race was red-flagged for a total of 65 minutes due to the crews attempting to repair the broken barrier.[10]

Rest of race

After the barrier was repaired, the red flag was lifted. The race restarted on lap 9 with Ricky Rudd leading the race. On the next lap, Bill Elliott took the lead from Rudd. On lap 24, the race was red-flagged again due to rain. The race was red-flagged for 2 hours and 2 minutes due to the rainy weather. Once the rain cleared and the track was dried, the race got back underway on lap 33 with Joe Nemechek as the race leader. On lap 39, Nemechek lost the lead to Sterling Marlin. Green flag pitstops began on lap 62 with Ricky Rudd, Elliott Sadler, and Robby Gordon taking the leads before they made their pit stops. Once everything cycled through, Marlin got his lead back. On lap 98, another cycle of green flag pit stops began again with Kurt Busch and Dave Blaney taking the leads before they made their pit stops. Marlin got his lead back after everything cycled through. The third caution flew on lap 105 when Mike Skinner's car stalled in turn 3. The race restarted on lap 110 with Marlin as the leader. During that green flag period, NASCAR decided to shorten the race from 200 laps to 175 laps due to darkness since the racetrack does not have lights. Green flag pitstops began again on lap 136 with Jeff Burton, Kurt Busch, and Jimmie Johnson switching the lead. With 37 laps to go, the 4th caution flew when Jeremy Mayfield crashed in turn 2. Sterling Marlin led the field to the restart with 30 to go. On the next lap, the 5th and final caution flew when Jerry Nadeau crashed in turn 2. With 24 to go, Marlin led the field to the restart. With 19 to go, Bill Elliott passed Sterling Marlin to take the lead and his first win of 2002. Kurt Busch, Sterling Marlin, Dale Jarrett, and Ryan Newman rounded out the top 5 while Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Terry Labonte, and Ricky Rudd rounded out the top 10.[11]

Race results

Fin[12] St # Driver Team Make Laps Led Status Pts Winnings
1 1 9 Bill Elliott Evernham Motorsports Dodge 175 35 running 180 $193,401
2 23 97 Kurt Busch Roush Racing Ford 175 3 running 175 $113,570
3 13 40 Sterling Marlin Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 175 106 running 175 $136,487
4 15 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 175 0 running 160 $109,355
5 8 12 Ryan Newman (R) Penske Racing Ford 175 0 running 155 $85,975
6 29 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 175 0 running 150 $98,943
7 10 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 175 0 running 146 $96,043
8 22 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing Ford 175 0 running 142 $64,765
9 30 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 175 0 running 138 $78,498
10 2 28 Ricky Rudd Robert Yates Racing Ford 175 10 running 139 $93,182
11 37 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 175 0 running 130 $93,743
12 28 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 175 0 running 127 $93,903
13 17 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 175 0 running 124 $78,298
14 34 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Dodge 175 0 running 121 $82,865
15 7 48 Jimmie Johnson (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 175 2 running 123 $46,515
16 33 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 175 1 running 120 $84,032
17 16 32 Ricky Craven PPI Motorsports Ford 175 0 running 112 $51,265
18 3 15 Michael Waltrip Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 175 0 running 109 $50,965
19 18 55 Bobby Hamilton Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 175 0 running 106 $63,515
20 25 36 Ken Schrader MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 175 0 running 103 $64,140
21 32 21 Elliott Sadler Wood Brothers Racing Ford 175 2 running 105 $58,254
22 21 77 Dave Blaney Jasper Motorsports Ford 175 2 running 102 $49,565
23 5 43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Dodge 175 0 running 94 $68,323
24 20 25 Joe Nemechek Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 175 9 running 96 $48,990
25 27 31 Robby Gordon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 175 1 running 93 $67,171
26 26 30 Jeff Green Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 175 0 running 85 $40,465
27 38 45 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge 174 0 running 82 $40,215
28 19 7 Casey Atwood Ultra-Evernham Motorsports Dodge 174 0 running 79 $40,065
29 39 4 Mike Skinner Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 173 0 running 76 $39,390
30 6 10 Johnny Benson Jr. MBV Motorsports Pontiac 173 0 running 73 $63,990
31 31 23 Hut Stricklin Bill Davis Racing Dodge 168 0 transmission 70 $36,590
32 35 41 Jimmy Spencer Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 162 0 engine 67 $36,440
33 40 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 157 0 running 64 $36,240
34 24 26 Geoff Bodine Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 154 0 engine 61 $61,227
35 41 37 Derrike Cope Quest Motor Racing Ford 154 0 engine 58 $35,865
36 12 44 Jerry Nadeau Petty Enterprises Dodge 146 0 crash 55 $35,665
37 11 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 144 0 running 52 $55,100
38 4 19 Jeremy Mayfield Evernham Motorsports Dodge 136 0 crash 49 $43,375
39 36 14 Mike Wallace A. J. Foyt Enterprises Pontiac 114 0 engine 46 $35,250
40 9 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing Ford 83 0 crash 43 $79,350
41 42 27 Kirk Shelmerdine Kirk Shelmerdine Racing Ford 81 0 brakes 40 $34,965
42 43 89 Morgan Shepherd Shepherd Racing Ventures Ford 52 4 overheating 42 $34,875
43 14 1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 0 0 crash 34 $64,944
Failed to qualify
44 79 Carl Long SR Racing Dodge
Official race results

References

  1. ↑ "NASCAR: Elliott prevails in sloppy race passing Marlin to win Pennsylvania 500". old.post-gazette.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  2. ↑ Rodman, Dave (2002-07-29). "Elliott endures to capture fifth Pocono victory". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on 2002-12-03. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  3. ↑ "Bill Elliott sets Pocono record with Pennsylvania 500 victory". The Tribune. 2002-07-29. p. 12. Retrieved 2022-03-27 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site - 2002 Pocono 2 Race Info & Rundown". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on 2019-01-29. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  5. ↑ "NASCAR.com - Races - 2002 Pocono 2 Practice 1 Results". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on 2002-12-02. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  6. ↑ "NASCAR.com - Races - 2002 Pocono 2 Practice 2 Results". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on 2002-12-02. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  7. ↑ "NASCAR.com - Races - 2002 Pocono 2 Practice 3 Results". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on 2002-12-14. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  8. ↑ "Jayski's Silly Season Site - 2002 Provisional/Owners Points Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on 2005-02-05. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  9. ↑ "Nascar Winston Cup: Elliott snares record-tying pole". LJWorld.com. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  10. ↑ Caldwell, Dave (July 29, 2002). "AUTO RACING; Crash Overshadows Elliott's Triumph". The New York Times.
  11. ↑ "NASCAR: Elliott prevails in sloppy race passing Marlin to win Pennsylvania 500". Retrieved July 29, 2002.
  12. ↑ "2002 Pennsylvania 500 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
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