Bench Racing 2000 points

This Week	Last Week	Team	Race Number												Total	Diff.
This Week	Last Week	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Total	Diff.
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)

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.