Bench Racing 2000 Standings
(updated 11/20/2000)

      




Jerry Na-who? No longer. Jerry Nadeau achieved the unthinkable (at least in my mind). One, he won a race - period. I don't think many people really thought this was possible. Two, he won it with the 25 Hendrick team which hasn't been the same since Tim Richmond died and has been the distant 3rd Hendrick team ever since Jeff Gordon came onto the scene in 1993. Three, he won it with a lame duck, "dot com" sponsor. Based on the poor stock market performance for the "dot com" sector, this is about the only good news for an internet company in 2000. Four, he easily beat Dale Earnhardt - an Atlanta master - and several other veteran drivers to the line for the win. You gotta wonder if Terry Labonte is all of a sudden saying "Rick? Mr. Hendrick? Remember me? I drive the car with the rooster on it - you know, one of yours? Did I ever tell you about the time I won 2 championships? Did you know I'm related to this year's champ?"

Once the race was announced as a rain out, ESPN aired the 1992 Hooters 500. I was immediately struck by the date of the race and how things have changed since then. I was sitting on the backstretch of the true oval that November day (before it became the front stretch of the current quad-oval).
  • It was The King's last race and Jeff Gordon's first.
  • Earnhardt only had 5 championships, and Gordon had bushy eyebrows and a cheesy mustache.
  • Hooter's restaurants were considered "racy" (not "racey").
  • Who would have guessed that Darrell Waltrip's last win would come at Labor Day weekend at Darlington just a few months before that race?
  • Kyle Petty was actually competitive and finished 5th in the point standings.
  • George Bush was still in the White House (where his son should be by mid-January if there is any justice in this world).
  • Bristol had its first race on concrete in 1992.
  • My son wasn't born until another 2-1/2 years after this race and will never know what it was like to watch Richard Petty, Alan Kulwicki, Davey Allison, or Ernie Irvan behind the wheel. Anyway, enough memories, let's move on...

What a finish to BR2K Season 3!!! Last week, only 39 points separated the top 5. This week turned into a one-lap, Talladega shootout. Scooter held on to the top spot for so many weeks, but he got shuffled out of the lead draft and finished 4th. GoGordon jumped from 3rd to win the championship, and he brought Dixie along with him to finish 2nd. Good finish for Dixie who is losing a favorite from the past (DW) but has latched on to a solid driver for the future (Special K - Matt Kenseth). Honorable mention goes to Rockdoc who pulled a 1326 week to jump +6 spots in the final standings (from 29th to 23rd).

Since Thanksgiving is this Thursday, I'd be remiss if I didn't offer a sincere Thank You to all who played this year. Again, I've enjoyed hosting this little shin dig, and the web site format seems to have been accepted better than the old e-mail format. I hope everyone had fun - from the champions to the last place finishers, from the rookies to the "cagey veterans". In some respects, I'm discouraged by the quality of racing this year and the performance of my favorite teams. However, I always get pumped up when the last race concludes because next year's season is just around the corner. New teams, new tracks, new car make, new sponsors, new TV networks...and of course, new complaints from everyone. I know several of us have our favorite haunts on the web, but just remember the Message Board is always open to anyone who wants to do a little Bench Racing in the off-season. And as always, please let me know if you're interested in firing 'em up again next year & what improvements you'd like to see in the game.

Congratulations to Bobby Labonte and to the entire Joe Gibbs Racing organization as
your 2000 Winston Cup champion. Can't believe I got ZERO guesses on the new background music.
I thought surely I had a few former (or maybe still current) head bangers. Its "I'm 18" by Alice Cooper.





Finally... Thanks to DW for a great career. I never pulled for Darrell when he ran Saturday night late models at Nashville Speedway or when he got into Winston Cup - particularly when he was challenging The King for NASCAR supremacy in the late 70s. But in his prime, he was a fierce competitor, and his hall of fame numbers speak for themselves - 84 wins, 3 championships (plus a 2nd place just -11 behind The King in 1979), Daytona 500 winner, incredible short track prowess at Bristol, Wilkesboro, Nashville, Richmond, and Martinsville. Over time, I began to respect DW for what he had accomplished (although I still never pulled for him! LOL).

Darrell was always full of himself. But several years ago, he became filled with something else - the Holy Spirit. Just as he changed the way the media viewed racing as a legitimate sport, he also made an immeasurable positive impact on so many lives - drivers, crews, and fans - with his testimony about how he tries to live his life as best he can accordingly to the example set by our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

 



This
Week		 Last
Week		 Team Race Number Total Diff.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
1 3 GoGordon 1,081 1,078 956 1,206 1,309 1,065 1,092 1,116 1,336 1,065 1,167 1,120 13,591 -
2 5 Dixie 1,129 1,012 1,037 1,219 1,161 1,097 1,256 1,068 1,120 1,165 1,187 1,107 13,558 (33)
3 2 Jamie 1,272 1,203 1,127 979 1,231 1,059 1,162 1,090 1,117 1,073 1,164 1,062 13,539 (52)
4 1 Scooter 1,240 1,081 977 1,151 1,333 1,080 1,274 1,006 1,181 1,005 1,162 1,034 13,524 (67)
5 3 BobbyLFan 1,158 996 925 1,081 1,389 1,069 1,263 1,057 1,201 1,073 1,259 1,012 13,483 (108)
6 9 Daffi 1,130 1,080 987 1,230 1,019 1,084 1,149 1,069 1,065 1,139 1,223 1,204 13,379 (212)
7 7 Petty Cash 1,150 1,063 988 1,075 1,178 1,105 1,051 1,019 1,217 1,122 1,276 1,111 13,355 (236)
8 6 Dirttracker38 1,085 1,042 989 1,117 1,237 1,090 1,155 1,146 1,041 1,092 1,303 1,046 13,343 (248)
9 8 Eric 1,104 1,025 900 1,168 1,201 1,048 1,077 1,054 1,366 1,109 1,165 1,102 13,319 (272)
10 11 Scott A 1,059 968 1,051 1,200 1,268 974 1,246 1,090 1,053 1,052 1,157 1,126 13,244 (347)
11 10 Carl 1,110 1,012 918 1,125 1,296 987 1,077 1,124 1,244 1,079 1,200 1,023 13,195 (396)
12 16 Slagle 1,077 899 859 1,091 1,176 1,084 1,106 1,199 1,209 1,163 1,092 1,203 13,158 (433)
13 12 Michael 1,199 967 966 1,178 1,309 1,043 1,246 1,019 1,030 1,028 1,119 1,042 13,146 (445)
14 15 CPADog 1,080 884 822 1,271 1,249 1,079 1,258 1,062 1,150 1,049 1,087 1,070 13,061 (530)
15 13 Grogster 1,199 993 1,054 1,059 1,281 1,032 1,113 1,096 1,134 1,015 1,083 978 13,037 (554)
16 17 Bettye Sue 1,110 1,008 937 1,156 1,083 1,130 1,094 1,162 1,084 1,056 1,103 1,091 13,014 (577)
17 18 Kenny 992 971 951 1,120 1,265 991 1,074 1,148 1,178 969 1,229 1,122 13,010 (581)
18 19 GAPettyFan 1,128 1,020 966 1,093 1,160 1,075 1,080 949 1,198 1,036 1,157 1,126 12,988 (603)
19 14 Sandy 1,149 1,020 977 1,037 1,125 987 1,252 953 1,096 1,232 1,169 975 12,972 (619)
20 20 Woody 1,104 951 1,042 1,243 1,162 1,000 1,173 993 1,131 1,034 1,009 1,094 12,936 (655)
21 21 LadyDive 1,030 931 863 1,138 1,262 1,010 1,137 1,068 1,142 994 1,262 1,011 12,848 (743)
22 22 Iggy 62 1,118 1,117 942 1,107 1,042 1,097 1,086 969 1,223 1,009 1,118 1,012 12,840 (751)
23 29 Rockdoc 1,002 847 966 1,108 1,149 877 1,120 1,099 1,097 1,138 1,022 1,326 12,751 (840)
24 28 Rat 1,079 985 1,004 1,188 1,066 978 1,030 973 1,283 975 965 1,126 12,652 (939)
25 27 Chris 1,123 1,014 858 1,098 1,175 1,077 1,157 935 1,120 907 1,121 1,066 12,651 (940)
26 23 Vonda (R) 1,129 1,077 939 1,006 1,158 1,009 1,029 1,101 1,041 1,006 1,192 926 12,613 (978)
27 26 Yeagermeister 1,226 1,056 994 939 1,072 831 1,119 977 941 1,262 1,218 932 12,567 (1,024)
28 25 Dudereed 1,133 886 958 1,063 1,235 902 1,248 981 949 1,152 1,130 925 12,562 (1,029)
29 24 Jack 1,153 905 918 1,214 1,149 1,028 1,033 1,133 1,081 1,011 1,024 876 12,525 (1,066)
30 30 Hillbilly 1,159 877 920 1,071 1,103 1,032 957 1,150 1,008 1,065 1,050 1,039 12,431 (1,160)
31 31 J.D. 1,143 919 1,027 902 1,105 906 1,023 900 1,054 1,163 1,133 1,069 12,344 (1,247)
32 32 Justin D 992 906 850 1,164 944 962 860 1,038 1,184 899 1,121 1,084 12,004 (1,587)


Last Updated on 11/13/2000
Email: pettycash@mindspring.com