Round 20: Pepsi 80
32 laps, 1 champion. These words describe the final race of the NR2002 All-Star Cup Series' inaugural season. Four drivers came into this race with hopes of being champion, but at the end of the night, only one driver had claimed the Papyrus Memorial Trophy (named after the company responsible for some of the greatest racing video games ever).
And now...the highlights:
Green flag on the season finale!
Terry Labonte and Dale Earnhardt (two of the four championship contenders) were bogged outside the top 10 early on.
Lap 6: Michael Waltrip goes for a tumble after a tap from Casey Mears. Surprisingly, he continued.
After the restart, the lapped car of Darrell Waltrip causes trouble for others, including Bobby Labonte (another championship contender).
But the 18 would recover from the brief setback and be in contention for victory by the halfway point.
Lap 19: Jimmie Johnson goes for a spin, all because of Bill Elliott.
In the closing stages, the 5 and 3 were forced into "work together" mode for one last run at the championship.
Dale Jarrett (the fourth championship contender) takes the last white flag of the season...
...and proceeds to take the final checkered flag of the season as well, with Bobby Labonte a close second...
...and Dale Earnhardt and Terry Labonte holding on for 9th and 11th, respectively.
But which of the four would claim the championship? We'll find out, but first...
Results:
F S # DRIVER INTERVAL LAPS LED POINTS STATUS
1 4 88 D Jarrett 136.027 32 2 180 Running
2 2 18 B Labonte -0.10 32 5 175 Running
3 15 11 D Hamlin -0.18 32 3 170 Running
4 1 6 M Martin -0.26 32 4 165 Running
5 3 99 J Burton -0.40 32 1 160 Running
6 10 90 K Schrader -0.51 32 0 150 Running
7 8 12 R Newman -0.59 32 7* 156 Running
8 22 17 M Kenseth -0.68 32 0 142 Running
9 14 3 D Earnhardt -0.68 32 0 138 Running
10 9 33 H Gant -0.80 32 0 134 Running
11 12 5 T Labonte -0.83 32 0 130 Running
12 18 20 T Stewart -0.92 32 0 127 Running
13 35 22 W Burton -1.00 32 0 124 Running
14 24 32 R Craven -1.08 32 0 121 Running
15 13 9 B Elliott -1.12 32 5 123 Running
16 16 43 R Petty -1.20 32 0 115 Running
17 6 24 J Gordon -1.35 32 0 112 Running
18 21 38 E Sadler -1.45 32 0 109 Running
19 23 7 A Kulwicki -1.53 32 0 106 Running
20 26 31 M Skinner -1.54 32 0 103 Running
21 11 8 D Earnhardt Jr. -1.97 32 0 100 Running
22 36 21 N Bonnett -2.10 32 0 97 Running
23 20 23 J Spencer -2.12 32 0 94 Running
24 31 41 C Mears -2.22 32 0 91 Running
25 25 01 J Nemechek -2.24 32 0 88 Running
26 28 2 R Wallace -2.30 32 0 85 Running
27 7 48 J Johnson -2.32 32 3 87 Running
28 30 28 D Allison -2.39 32 0 79 Running
29 32 25 J Nadeau -2.41 32 0 76 Running
30 37 55 B Hamilton -2.47 32 0 73 Running
31 27 1 S Park -2.57 32 0 70 Running
32 39 27 C Yarborough -2.74 32 0 67 Running
33 33 10 J Benson -2.86 32 0 64 Running
34 29 40 S Marlin -6.51 32 0 61 Running
35 42 42 K Irwin -6.60 32 0 58 Running
36 5 97 K Busch -6.65 32 2 60 Running
37 17 15 M Waltrip -6.68 32 0 52 Running
38 34 16 G Biffle -6.73 32 0 49 Running
39 41 44 K Petty -6.76 32 0 46 Running
40 38 71 D Marcis -31.77 32 0 43 Running
41 40 66 D Waltrip -1L 31 0 40 Running
42 19 29 K Harvick -11L 21 0 37 Accident
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for: We crown our champion! Drum roll, please! **DRUM ROLL**
BY 11 POINTS OVER HIS BROTHER, TERRY LABONTE IS OUR NR2002 ALL-STAR CUP SERIES CHAMPION!!
Final Standings:
Pos +/- Driver ST W T5 T10 AvFP P AvSP PTS BF/BN
1 -- T Labonte 20 2 12 16 8.25 4 9.10 2967 0/0
2 -- B Labonte 20 3 11 13 8.70 3 7.20 2956 11/11
3 -- D Jarrett 20 2 8 15 8.80 4 9.60 2907 60/49
4 -- D Earnhardt 20 1 9 15 9.55 2 8.30 2859 108/48
5 -- J Burton 20 1 9 16 10.25 1 9.70 2783 184/76
6 -- J Johnson 20 2 7 12 12.85 0 7.75 2610 357/173
7 -- B Elliott 20 2 5 13 13.15 1 8.65 2610 357/0
8 +2 D Hamlin 20 0 4 14 12.30 0 9.95 2585 382/25
9 -- J Gordon 20 0 4 11 12.90 0 12.00 2550 417/35
10 -2 K Busch 20 1 8 10 13.65 0 12.25 2547 420/3
11 -- M Martin 20 1 5 10 13.70 2 10.00 2524 443/23
12 -- T Stewart 20 1 5 7 15.50 0 16.25 2406 561/118
13 -- D Earnhardt Jr. 20 2 3 5 15.70 0 12.55 2377 590/29
14 +1 R Newman 20 0 2 7 16.00 0 13.70 2338 629/39
15 -1 H Gant 20 0 2 7 16.35 0 14.60 2323 644/15
16 -- R Petty 20 1 2 6 16.90 0 18.45 2289 678/34
17 -- M Kenseth 20 0 1 5 17.40 1 16.80 2242 725/47
18 -- E Sadler 20 0 0 1 18.85 0 18.30 2132 835/110
19 +1 M Skinner 20 0 2 5 20.85 0 19.60 2035 932/97
20 -1 J Nemechek 20 0 0 0 20.45 0 22.05 2033 934/2
21 +2 K Schrader 20 0 0 3 21.05 1 19.55 2010 957/23
22 -- R Wallace 20 0 0 1 21.95 0 23.25 1947 1020/63
23 -2 K Harvick 20 1 1 2 22.60 1 17.80 1934 1033/13
24 -- A Kulwicki 20 0 0 0 22.15 0 24.90 1931 1036/3
25 +1 R Craven 20 0 0 0 22.15 0 23.80 1931 1036/0
26 -1 J Spencer 20 0 0 1 22.60 0 23.95 1909 1058/22
27 +1 C Mears 20 0 0 0 23.80 0 27.15 1832 1135/77
28 -1 S Park 20 0 0 1 24.15 0 21.15 1813 1154/19
29 -- M Waltrip 20 0 0 1 25.45 0 25.75 1735 1232/78
30 +1 S Marlin 20 0 0 0 27.60 0 25.75 1604 1363/131
31 -1 G Biffle 20 0 0 1 27.80 0 23.35 1594 1373/10
32 +1 W Burton 20 0 0 1 28.30 0 32.75 1564 1403/30
33 -1 N Bonnett 20 0 0 1 28.60 0 31.20 1545 1422/19
34 -- D Allison 20 0 0 0 29.10 0 28.45 1514 1453/31
35 -- J Nadeau 20 0 0 0 29.55 0 32.50 1487 1480/27
36 -- J Benson 20 0 0 0 30.15 0 34.00 1451 1516/36
37 -- C Yarborough 20 0 0 0 31.90 0 34.25 1346 1621/105
38 -- B Hamilton 20 0 0 0 33.60 0 35.50 1244 1723/102
39 -- D Marcis 20 0 0 0 35.60 0 39.40 1124 1843/120
40 -- D Waltrip 20 0 0 0 37.30 0 39.90 1022 1945/102
41 -- K Irwin 20 0 0 0 37.65 0 40.95 1001 1966/21
42 -- K Petty 20 0 0 0 37.85 0 40.90 989 1978/12
And with that, the curtain drops on my first mock season. I would like to thank everyone here at NR2003 Mock Season for giving me the motivation needed to make this possible. It may have been a bit rough around the edges, but hopefully, I'll get better for Season 2. In the meantime, come back tomorrow for the ASCS Awards Ceremony, where I recognize some other great performances this season.
Thank you for viewing and congratulations again to Terry Labonte, the first ever All-Star Cup Series Champion!
)
