DirecTV 500
At one time, two different NASCAR races were known as the DirecTV 500:
STP 500
The STP 500 is an annual 500-lap NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held at the 0.526-mile (0.847 km) Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. It had no name from 1950 to 1955, before taking the name Virginia 500 in 1956, the other one being the Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500 in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Longtime sponsor GlaxoSmithKline returned as race sponsor for the 2007 spring race with their new orange-flavored brand with the race title being Goody's Cool Orange 500; the Goody's 500 was originally the name of the fall race, which since 2008 has also been sponsored by the British pharmaceutical conglomerate, as the TUMS QuikPak 500.
The race on April 1, 2007, was the second race for NASCAR's car design, the Car of Tomorrow. This event is currently the sixth race of the season, the first race where current points standings (instead of the previous year, as in the first five races) determine exemptions. Denny Hamlin is the most recent winner of the race, having won it in 2015.
Duck Commander 500
The Duck Commander 500 is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. Even though it is advertised as a "500 mile" race, because TMS is a track that is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) in length, the actual race distance is 501 miles (806.3 km).
Race history
The first two runnings of the race were controversial, crash-strewn affairs, with universal criticism that the track's design was one groove; Kenny Wallace argued, "They're so busy building condos they don't have time to fix the racetrack."
There were 10 different winners in the first ten races, the longest such streak for any NASCAR track in the Sprint Cup Series. This list includes Texas Native Terry Labonte, who won in 1999, and Dale Earnhardt Jr winning his first race in 2000. Jeff Burton, the winner of the inaugural race, broke that streak by getting his second Texas win in a last lap pass in 2007. In 2011, the race became a Saturday night event, whereas before it was always a Sunday afternoon race. This was done since the night race at Phoenix was moved to February and became a day race. The 2011 race was run on April 9, 2011 and was the first scheduled night race of the season, and in Texas Motor Speedway history for the Cup Series.
2000 DirecTV 500
The 2000 DirecTV 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series stock car race held on April 2, 2000 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Contested over 334 laps on the 1.5-mile (2.414 km) asphalt Quad oval. Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. won the race, his first career Winston Cup Series victory. Jeff Burton finished second and Bobby Labonte finished third.
Background
Texas Motor Speedway is a four-turn quad-oval track that is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long. The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is five degrees. The back stretch, opposite of the front, also has a five degree banking. The track layout is similar to Atlanta Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway, tracks also owned by Speedway Motorsports.
Failed to qualify: Robby Gordon (#13), Dave Marcis (#71), Wally Dallenbach, Jr. (#75), Kyle Petty (#44), Todd Bodine (#91)
Top 10 results
Post-race standings
References
Podcasts:
