2002 MBNA Platinum 400

2002 MBNA Platinum 400

Race details
Race 13 of 36 in the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season
Layout of Dover International Speedway
Date	June 2, 2002 (2002-June-02)
Location	Dover International Speedway (Dover, Delaware)
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.000 mi (1.609 km)
Distance	400 laps, 400.0 mi (804.6 km)
Weather	Temperatures reaching up to 86 °F (30 °C); wind speeds up to 19 miles per hour (31 km/h)[1]
Average speed	117.551 miles per hour (189.180 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Matt Kenseth	Roush Racing
Most laps led
Driver	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports
Laps	188
Winner
No. 48	Jimmie Johnson	Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	FX
Announcers	Mike Joy Darrell Waltrip Larry McReynolds

The 2002 MBNA Platinum 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that was held on June 2, 2002, at Dover International Speedway in the American community of Dover, Delaware.

Tony Raines would start his NASCAR Cup Series career during this event while Dick Trickle and Chad Little would end theirs after this race.

Summary

There were 43 drivers on the starting grid; all of them were born in the United States of America. Derrike Cope, Hermie Sadler, and Randy Renfrow failed to qualify for this race. Joe Nemechek was credited as the last-place finisher due to a crash on lap 42. This racing event lasted for 400 laps and Jimmie Johnson defeated Bill Elliott by almost half a second. Matt Kenseth would clinch his first ever pole position start by driving up to 154.939 miles per hour (249.350 km/h) during his solo qualifying run.^[2][3]

The race itself would last approximately three hours and twenty-four minutes; the green flag was officially waved at 1:00 PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time while the checkered flag came at approximately 4:24 PM EDT.^[4] Jimmie Johnson's average speed during his winning run was 117.551 miles per hour (189.180 km/h). Any yellow flags in this race were caused by accidents, debris, and an oil spill on lap 373. About 40 laps of this race were done under caution with each green flag session lasting an average of 45 laps. Ricky Rudd, Bill Elliott, John Andretti, and Mark Martin would jointly lead the first 100 laps while the last 100 laps saw the first-place position of the race split between Ricky Rudd and eventual race winner Jimmie Johnson. Sterling Marlin kept his championship lead after this racing event.^[2]

Winnings for this racing event varied from $56,712 ($74,360.4 when adjusted for inflation) to $152,400 ($199,825.86 when adjusted for inflation).^[5] The overall racing purse for this event added up to $3,450,082 ($4,523,724.54 when adjusted for inflation).^[6]

Top ten finishers

1. Jimmie Johnson – #48
2. Bill Elliott – #9
3. Jeff Burton – #99
4. Ryan Newman – #12
5. Dale Jarrett – #88
6. Jeff Gordon – #24
7. Ricky Craven – #32
8. Robby Gordon – #31
9. Bobby Hamilton – #55
10. Elliott Sadler – #21

Timeline

• Start of race: Matt Kenseth started the race with the pole position but quickly lost it to Ricky Rudd
• Lap 19: Caution due to debris; ended on lap 22
• Lap 42: Joe Nemechek had a terminal crash; forcing him to become the last-place finisher
• Lap 44: Caution due to 2-car accident; ended on lap 50
• Lap 126: Caution due to 3-car accident; ended on lap 136
• Lap 170: A fuel pump issue forced Dick Trickle out of the race for the day
• Lap 216: Caution due to 1-car accident; ended on lap 220
• Lap 283: Mark Martin had a terminal crash; ending his day on the track
• Lap 292: Caution due to 1-car accident; ended on lap 297
• Lap 307: Caution due to debris; ended on lap 311
• Lap 370: Ken Schrader had a terminal crash; bringing his NASCAR race weekend to an early end
• Lap 373: Caution due to oil on track; ended on lap 378
• End of race: Jimmie Johnson won the race

Standings after the race

References