2000 DieHard 500

The 2000 DieHard 500 was the ninth stock car race of the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 31st iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 16, 2000, before an audience of 185,000 in Lincoln, Alabama at Talladega Superspeedway, a 2.66 miles (4.28 km) permanent triangle-shaped superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 188 laps to complete. In a late race charge, Hendrick Motorsports' Jeff Gordon made a pass for the lead with five laps left in the race, defending the lead to take his 50th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his first victory of the season. To fill out the top three, Mike Skinner and Dale Earnhardt, both drivers from Richard Childress Racing, finished second and third, respectively.

Background
Talladega Superspeedway, originally known as Alabama International Motor Superspeedway (AIMS), is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base in the small city of Lincoln. The track is a tri-oval and was constructed in the 1960s by the International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France family. Talladega is most known for its steep banking and the unique location of the start/finish line that's located just past the exit to pit road. The track currently hosts the NASCAR series such as the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series. Talladega is the longest NASCAR oval with a length of 2.66-mile-long (4.28 km) tri-oval like the Daytona International Speedway, which also is a 2.5-mile-long (4 km) tri-oval.

Entry list

 * (R) denotes rookie driver.

First practice
The first practice session was held on Friday, April 14, at 12:15 PM EST. The session lasted for two hours. Roush Racing's Chad Little set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 50.946 and an average speed of 187.964 mph.

Second practice
The second practice session was held on Saturday, April 15, at 9:15 AM EST. The session lasted for one hour and 15 minutes. Dale Earnhardt, Inc.'s Steve Park set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 49.389 and an average speed of 193.889 mph.

Final practice
The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, April 15, at 2:00 PM EST. The session lasted for one hour. Dale Earnhardt, Inc.'s Steve Park set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 49.231 and an average speed of 194.512 mph.

Qualifying
Qualifying was split into two rounds. The first round was held on Friday, April 14, at 4:00 PM EST. Each driver had two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two counted as their official qualifying lap. During the first round, the top 25 drivers in the round was 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 Saturday, April 15, at 11:45 AM EST. As with the first round, each driver had two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap. Positions 26–36 was decided on time, while positions 37–43 was 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.

Jeremy Mayfield, driving for Penske-Kranefuss Racing, managed to win the pole, setting a time of 51.217 and an average speed of 186.969 mph in the first round.

Five drivers failed to qualify - Brett Bodine, Kevin Lepage, Gary Bradberry, Rick Mast, & Elliott Sadler.

Standings after the race

 * Drivers' Championship standings
 * Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.