| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 7 of 36 in the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 2002 Samsung/RadioShack 500 program cover, with artwork from
Sam Bass. | |||
| Date | April 8, 2002 | ||
| Official name | 6th Annual Samsung/RadioShack 500 | ||
| Location | Fort Worth, Texas, Texas Motor Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.41 km) | ||
| Distance | 334 laps, 501 mi (806.281 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 334 laps, 501 mi (806.281 km) | ||
| Average speed | 142.453 miles per hour (229.256 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Evernham Motorsports | ||
| Time | 27.802 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | |
| Laps | 134 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 17 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FOX | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Performance Racing Network | ||
| Booth Announcers | Doug Rice, Mark Garrow | ||
| Turn Announcers | Chuck Carland | ||
The 2002 Samsung/RadioShack 500 was the seventh stock car race of the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the sixth iteration of the event. The race originally was scheduled to be held on Sunday, April 7, 2002, but was delayed to Monday, April 8, 2002, due to rain. [1] The race was held in Fort Worth, Texas at Texas Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent tri-oval shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 334 laps to complete. At race's end, Matt Kenseth, driving for Roush Racing, would come from the back to win his third career NASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his first of the season. [2] [3] To fill out the podium, Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports and Mark Martin of Roush Racing would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The track measures 1.5 miles (2.4 km) around and is banked 24 degrees in the turns, and is of the oval design, where the front straightaway juts outward slightly. The track layout is similar to Atlanta Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway (formerly Lowe's Motor Speedway). The track is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., the same company that owns Atlanta and Charlotte Motor Speedway, as well as the short-track Bristol Motor Speedway.
Entry list
(R) denotes rookie driver.
Practice
Originally, three practice sessions were scheduled to be held, with one session on Friday, and two on Saturday. However, rain on Saturday would cancel both Saturday sessions. [4]
The only practice session was held on Friday, April 5, at 11:20 AM CST. Ricky Rudd of Robert Yates Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 27.840 and an average speed of 193.958 miles per hour (312.145 km/h). [5]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 28 | Ricky Rudd | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 27.840 | 193.958 |
| 2 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 27.841 | 193.951 |
| 3 | 19 | Jeremy Mayfield | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 27.906 | 193.507 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Friday, April 5, at 3:05 PM CST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap. [6] 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. [7]
Bill Elliott of Evernham Motorsports would win the pole, setting a time of 27.802 and an average speed of 194.223 miles per hour (312.572 km/h). [8]
Ron Hornaday Jr. was the only driver to fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results
Race results
| Fin [9] | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 31 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Racing | Ford | 334 | 85 | running | 180 | $418,275 |
| 2 | 26 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 334 | 0 | running | 170 | $296,478 |
| 3 | 8 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 334 | 5 | running | 170 | $219,358 |
| 4 | 3 | 28 | Ricky Rudd | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 334 | 29 | running | 165 | $201,717 |
| 5 | 29 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 334 | 15 | running | 160 | $168,053 |
| 6 | 13 | 48 | Jimmie Johnson (R) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 334 | 0 | running | 150 | $105,275 |
| 7 | 20 | 40 | Sterling Marlin | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 334 | 1 | running | 151 | $142,992 |
| 8 | 21 | 41 | Jimmy Spencer | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 334 | 0 | running | 142 | $98,375 |
| 9 | 1 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 334 | 13 | running | 143 | $134,806 |
| 17 | 2 | 21 | Elliott Sadler | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 332 | 4 | running | 117 | $102,425 |
| 10 | 27 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 334 | 0 | running | 134 | $124,833 |
| 11 | 28 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing | Ford | 334 | 37 | running | 135 | $130,200 |
| 12 | 41 | 4 | Mike Skinner | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 334 | 1 | running | 132 | $106,250 |
| 13 | 33 | 10 | Johnny Benson Jr. | MBV Motorsports | Pontiac | 333 | 0 | running | 124 | $112,900 |
| 14 | 10 | 32 | Ricky Craven | PPI Motorsports | Ford | 333 | 0 | running | 121 | $92,050 |
| 15 | 39 | 77 | Dave Blaney | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 333 | 0 | running | 118 | $107,975 |
| 16 | 17 | 30 | Jeff Green | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 333 | 0 | running | 115 | $77,725 |
| 18 | 7 | 19 | Jeremy Mayfield | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 332 | 0 | running | 109 | $87,225 |
| 19 | 6 | 14 | Stacy Compton | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Pontiac | 332 | 0 | running | 106 | $78,000 |
| 20 | 11 | 1 | Steve Park | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 332 | 0 | running | 103 | $110,025 |
| 21 | 14 | 45 | Kyle Petty | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 332 | 0 | running | 100 | $72,700 |
| 22 | 18 | 43 | John Andretti | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 332 | 0 | running | 97 | $101,583 |
| 23 | 19 | 97 | Kurt Busch | Roush Racing | Ford | 332 | 1 | running | 99 | $80,900 |
| 24 | 5 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 331 | 134 | running | 101 | $115,878 |
| 25 | 25 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 331 | 2 | running | 93 | $112,528 |
| 26 | 42 | 44 | Buckshot Jones | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 331 | 0 | running | 85 | $75,600 |
| 27 | 30 | 23 | Hut Stricklin | Bill Davis Racing | Dodge | 331 | 4 | running | 87 | $74,300 |
| 28 | 4 | 15 | Michael Waltrip | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 331 | 0 | running | 79 | $72,200 |
| 29 | 34 | 90 | Rick Mast | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 331 | 0 | running | 76 | $62,600 |
| 30 | 15 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 330 | 0 | running | 73 | $104,628 |
| 31 | 40 | 55 | Bobby Hamilton | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 330 | 0 | running | 70 | $75,839 |
| 32 | 38 | 25 | Jerry Nadeau | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 330 | 0 | running | 67 | $65,875 |
| 33 | 32 | 26 | Frank Kimmel | Haas-Carter Motorsports | Ford | 330 | 0 | running | 64 | $79,537 |
| 34 | 12 | 36 | Ken Schrader | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 329 | 0 | running | 61 | $61,325 |
| 35 | 23 | 7 | Casey Atwood | Ultra-Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 326 | 0 | running | 58 | $52,300 |
| 36 | 16 | 49 | Shawna Robinson (R) | BAM Racing | Dodge | 322 | 0 | running | 55 | $51,250 |
| 37 | 35 | 71 | Jay Sauter | Marcis Auto Racing | Chevrolet | 313 | 0 | running | 52 | $50,200 |
| 38 | 43 | 11 | Brett Bodine | Brett Bodine Racing | Ford | 282 | 0 | running | 49 | $49,125 |
| 39 | 37 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 255 | 0 | crash | 46 | $93,742 |
| 40 | 36 | 12 | Ryan Newman (R) | Penske Racing | Ford | 252 | 2 | engine | 48 | $57,025 |
| 41 | 24 | 31 | Robby Gordon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 236 | 0 | crash | 40 | $75,036 |
| 42 | 9 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 192 | 1 | crash | 42 | $85,722 |
| 43 | 22 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Dodge | 169 | 0 | crash | 34 | $92,124 |
| Failed to qualify | ||||||||||
| 44 | 57 | Ron Hornaday Jr. | Team CLR | Ford | ||||||
| Official race results | ||||||||||
References
- ^ "PLUS: AUTO RACING; Texas Nascar Race Postponed by Rain". The New York Times. Associated Press. 2002-04-08. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
- ^ "NASCAR.com - Kenseth cruises to second win of year - April 9, 2002". 2002-10-01. Archived from the original on 1 October 2002. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
-
^ Pedley, Jim (2002-04-09).
"Texas: Kenseth wins race". The Kansas City Star. p. 23. Retrieved 2022-03-03 – via
Newspapers.com.
- ^ "BUSCH: Rain in Texas delays Saturday events (Update)". us.motorsport.com. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
- ^ "NASCAR.com - Races - 2003 Texas Practice 1 Results". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on 2002-10-01. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
- ^ "Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site - 2003 Texas Race Info & Rundown". Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on 2017-07-03. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "ELLIOTT TAKES FAST TRACK TO POLE AT HARROWING TEXAS". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
- ^ "2002 Samsung/RadioShack 500 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2022-03-03.