The 2002 Subway 400 was the second stock car race of the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 37th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, February 24, 2002, in Rockingham, North Carolina, at North Carolina Speedway, a 1.017 miles (1.637 km) permanent high-banked racetrack. The race took the scheduled 393 laps to complete. At race's end, Matt Kenseth, driving for Roush Racing, would dominate the late stages of the race and win under caution when NASCAR determined oil and debris had made racing conditions unsafe with five to go.[1] The win was Kenseth's second career NASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his first win of the season. To fill out the podium, Sterling Marlin of Chip Ganassi Racing and Bobby Labonte of Joe Gibbs Racing would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 2 of 36 in the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 2002 Subway 400 program cover. | |||
| Date | February 24, 2002 | ||
| Official name | 37th Annual Subway 400 | ||
| Location | Rockingham, North Carolina, North Carolina Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.017 mi (1.637 km) | ||
| Distance | 393 laps, 399.681 mi (643.224 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 393 laps, 399.681 mi (643.224 km) | ||
| Average speed | 115.478 miles per hour (185.844 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | PPI Motorsports | ||
| Time | 23.468 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Matt Kenseth | Roush Racing | |
| Laps | 152 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 17 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FOX | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, Darrell Waltrip | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
| Booth Announcers | Barney Hall, Joe Moore | ||
| Turn Announcers | Kurt Becker, Dave Moody | ||
The win came under controversy after it was found that Kenseth's car was determined to be lower than minimum height requirements. Penalties were announced on Tuesday, February 26. Kenseth's crew chief, Robbie Reiser, was fined $30,000, but the win for Kenseth would stand. In a radio interview with, "Fast Talk with Benny Parsons", Kenseth stated that a dent in the roof, possibly from victory lane celebrations, had caused the car to fail minimum height requirements.[2]
Background
edit
North Carolina Speedway was opened as a flat, one-mile oval on October 31, 1965. In 1969, the track was extensively reconfigured to a high-banked, D-shaped oval just over one mile in length. In 1997, North Carolina Motor Speedway merged with Penske Motorsports, and was renamed North Carolina Speedway. Shortly thereafter, the infield was reconfigured, and competition on the infield road course, mostly by the SCCA, was discontinued. Currently, the track is home to the Fast Track High Performance Driving School.[3]
Entry list
editPractice
editFirst practice
editThe first practice session was held on Friday, February 22, at 11:20 AM EST, and would last for two hours.[4] Kyle Petty of Petty Enterprises would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.816 and an average speed of 153.729 miles per hour (247.403 km/h).[5]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 45 | Kyle Petty | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 23.816 | 153.729 |
| 2 | 41 | Jimmy Spencer | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 23.819 | 153.708 |
| 3 | 7 | Casey Atwood | Ultra-Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 23.825 | 153.671 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second practice
editThe second practice session was held on Saturday, February 23, at 9:30 AM EST, and would last for 45 minutes.[4] Rusty Wallace of Penske Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 24.311 and an average speed of 150.598 miles per hour (242.364 km/h).[6]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing | Ford | 24.311 | 150.598 |
| 2 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 24.322 | 150.529 |
| 3 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 24.329 | 150.486 |
| Full second practice results | ||||||
Third and final practice
editThe third and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, February 23, at 11:15 AM EST, and would last for 45 minutes.[4] John Andretti of Petty Enterprises would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 24.249 and an average speed of 150.983 miles per hour (242.984 km/h).[7]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 43 | John Andretti | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 24.249 | 150.983 |
| 2 | 31 | Robby Gordon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 24.257 | 150.927 |
| 3 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 24.264 | 150.884 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying was held on Friday, February 22, 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]
Ricky Craven of PPI Motorsports would win the pole, setting a time of 23.468 and an average speed of 156.008 miles per hour (251.071 km/h).[9]
Three drivers would fail to qualify: Dick Trickle, Randy Renfrow, and Carl Long.
Full qualifying results
editRace results
editReferences
edit- ^ Poole, David (2002-02-24). "Kenseth wins, but car fails post-race". ThatsRacin. Archived from the original on 2005-03-06. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- ^ Poole, David (2002-02-26). "Kenseth: Dent in roof caused violation". ThatsRacin. Archived from the original on 2004-12-16. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- ^ "Fast Track High Performance Driving School, Inc". Fasttrackracing.com. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
- ^ a b c d "Jayski's Silly Season Site – 2002 Rockingham 1 Race Info Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on 2005-02-06. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- ^ "NASCAR.com – Races – 2002 Rockingham 1 Practice 1 Results". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on 2002-06-03. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- ^ "NASCAR.com – Races – 2002 Rockingham 1 Practice 2 Results". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on 2002-06-03. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- ^ "NASCAR.com – Races – 2002 Rockingham 1 Practice 3 Results". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on 2002-06-03. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- ^ "Jayski's Silly Season Site – 2002 Provisional/Owners Points Page – 1st four races". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on 2005-02-04. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- ^ "Craven continues form with Rockingham pole". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
- ^ "2002 Subway 400 – The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2022-02-23.