2002 NASCAR RCA Cup Series (Johnsonverse)

Note: This article uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia.

The 2002 NASCAR RCA Cup Series was the 54th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 31st modern-era Cup Series season. It began on January 27, 2002, at Infineon Raceway, and ended on December 8, 2002, at Ontario Motor Speedway. Tony Stewart, driving for Stacker-Foyt Racing, was declared as the RCA Cup champion. Bill Elliott won the 2002 NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award. He would win it for the 17th and final time in his career. He withdrew from the ballot after receiving the award. The NASCAR Manufacturers' Championship was captured by Dodge.

This was the final season for the non-common template bodies. The following season would require all manufacturers to use the same roofline. The most significant rule change for 2002 was the implementation of the one-engine rule for race weekends. At a race event, cars would now be required to practice, qualify, and race with the same engine. The rule banned separate "qualifying engines" (and "practice engines"). Unapproved engine changes during the weekend would be met with a grid penalty. Before the start of the race, cars that changed engines would be forced to move to the rear of the field before the green flag. The rule was an effort to reduce costs, and potentially save crews valuable time during the course of a race weekend.

Teams, drivers, and manufacturers

Manufacturers

Company	Marquee	Model	Status	Teams
General Motors	Chevrolet	Monte Carlo LS	Full factory support	All full-time teams
		Impala	RETURNING, full factory support	Part-time teams
		Camaro Z28	FINAL YEAR, full factory support	Part-time teams
	Pontiac	Grand Prix	Full factory support	All teams
	Oldsmobile (FINAL YEAR)	Intrigue	FINAL YEAR, full factory support	Morgan-McClure Motorsports
		Alero	FINAL YEAR, full factory support	Andy Petree Racing
Ford Motor Company	Ford-Cosworth	Taurus	Full factory support	Penske Racing, Robert Yates Racing
		Mustang	NEW TRIM, full factory support	PPI Motorsports
		Roush Mustang	In-house variant	Roush Racing
	Mercury (FINAL YEAR)	Sable	Full factory support	All full-time teams
	Lincoln (FINAL YEAR)	Continental	Full factory support	All full-time teams
Chrysler Corporation	Dodge	Intrepid	Full factory support	AK Racing, Bill Davis Racing, Chip Ganassi Racing, Evernham Motorsports, Petty Enterprises
		Stratus	Full factory support	McDuffie Racing, Moroso-Rudd Racing

Manufacturer notes

The Third Aero War escalated in 2002. Chevrolet and Ford went all-in on the Monte Carlo and Taurus, respectively, but still gave support to their remaining muscle cars, and Roush Racing continued finding great success with its in-house variant of the Mustang; Chevrolet also brought back the Impala. Out of a need to focus all of its resources on a single marquee, Ford Motor Company announced that 2002 would be the final year Mercury and Lincoln would be supported; as of 2022, Lincoln has yet to return to NASCAR, while Mercury returned in 2016, now owned by Johnson itself since 2011. 2002 was also the final year for Oldsmobile in NASCAR, as the marquee's sales were rapidly declining; it, too, was acquired by Johnson in 2004, but while it is running in USAC, it has yet to return to NASCAR. With declining support, Pontiac pulled the Firebird from competition, going down to the Grand Prix. Finally, Dodge made no changes, as the Intrepid was an aerodynamic monster.

Complete schedule

Manufacturer	Team	No.	Race driver	Crew chief	Model	Primary Sponsor
Chevrolet	Dale Earnhardt, Inc.	8	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Tony Eury	2002 Monte Carlo	ACDelco
		17	Michael Waltrip			NAPA Auto Parts
		38	Kelley Earnhardt			Pennzoil
	Hendrick Motorsports	5	Terry Labonte	Jim Long	2002 Monte Carlo	Kellogg's
		24	Jeff Gordon	Tommy Baldwin Jr.		DuPont
		25	Jack Sprague	Tony Furr Brian Pattie		Lowe's
		52	Casey Atwood (R)	Chad Knaus		M&M's
	Richard Childress Racing *	3	Dale Earnhardt	Kevin Hamlin	2002 Monte Carlo	GM Goodwrench
		29	Steve Park			AOL
		31	Kevin Harvick (R)	Royce McGee		Budweiser
Dodge	AK Racing	7	Alan Kulwicki		2002 Intrepid	Walmart
		11	Ernie Irvan			Burger King
	Bill Davis Racing	22	Bobby Labonte	Robbie Loomis	2002 Intrepid	Caterpillar
		23	Ward Burton	Philippe Lopez		Sprite
	Chip Ganassi Racing	1	Jimmie Johnson	Lee McCall	2002 Intrepid	UAW-Delphi
		41	Emily Senn			Target
	Donlavey Racing	90	Tammy Jo Kirk	Bobby King	2002 Stratus	Hills Brothers Coffee
	Elliott-Evernham Motorsports	9	Bill Elliott		2002 Intrepid	Coors Light
		13	Jerry Nadeau			BellSouth
		94	Casey Elliott			Dodge Dealers
	Moroso-Rudd Racing	82	Rob Moroso		2002 Stratus	Mountain Dew
		83	Ricky Rudd	Billy Ingle		Tide
	Petty Enterprises	43	Adam Petty	Brandon Thomas	2002 Intrepid	STP
		44	Kyle Petty			Georgia-Pacific
	Team SABCO	40	Shawna Robinson		2002 Intrepid	Kmart
		42	Blaise Alexander (R)			Mello Yello
		45	Patty Moise			Barbie
		46	Kenny Irwin Jr.			FujiFilm
Ford-Cosworth	Penske Racing	02	Ryan Newman (R)	Matt Borland	2002 Taurus	Alltel
		2	Rusty Wallace	Bill Wilburn		Miller Lite
		12	Tim Richmond	Peter Sospenzo		Mobil 1
	PPI Motorsports	32	Stacy Compton	Mike Beam	2002 Mustang	Nickelodeon
	Robert Yates Racing	28	Davey Allison	Raymond Fox Jr.	2002 Taurus	Texaco/Havoline
		88	Sterling Marlin	Jimmy Elledge Todd Parrott		UPS
	Roush Racing	6	Mark Martin	Ben Leslie	2002 Roush Mustang	Pfizer/Viagra
		60	Matt Kenseth	Robbie Reiser		DeWalt
		97	Kurt Busch	Jimmy Fennig		Rubbermaid
		99	Jeff Burton	Frank Stoddard Paul Andrews		Citgo Supergard
	Steele-Favre Racing	15	Tim Steele		2002 Taurus	Nike/Sony
Lincoln	Brett Bodine Racing	27	Brett Bodine	Jon Wolfe	2002 Continental	Wells Fargo
	Haas-Carter Motorsports	26	Joe Nemechek	Donnie Wingo	2002 Continental	Kmart
			Frank Kimmel
			Todd Bodine
			Geoff Bodine
	Ultra Motorsports	70	Kenny Wallace	Jim Long	2002 Continental	Sirius Satellite Radio
Mercury	Jasper Motorsports	77	Dave Blaney	Ryan Pemberton	2002 Sable	Jasper Engines & Transmissions
	Orr Motorsports	37	Rodney Orr		2002 Sable	Craftsman
	Wood Brothers Racing	21	Elliott Sadler	Pat Tryson	2002 Sable	Motorcraft
Oldsmobile	Andy Petree Racing	55	Bobby Hamilton	Charley Pressley Jimmy Elledge	2002 Alero	Schneider Electronic
	Morgan-McClure Motorsports	4	Clifford Allison	Chris Carrier	2002 Intrigue	Kodak Film
Pontiac	Joe Gibbs Racing	18	Dale Jarrett	Jimmy Makar	2002 Grand Prix	Interstate Batteries
		19	Kelly Watson	Greg Zipadelli		Home Depot
	MB2 Motorsports	01	Ken Schrader		2002 Grand Prix	U.S. Army
		10	Johnny Benson	James Ince		Valvoline
			Joe Nemechek
			Mike Wallace
	Stacker-Foyt Racing	14	Tony Stewart	Greg Zipadelli	2002 Firebird	Home Depot

Limited schedule

Manufacturer	Team	No.	Race driver	Crew chief	Model
Chevrolet	BACE Motorsports	73	Tony Raines		2001 Monte Carlo
		74	Chad Little
			Tony Raines
			Joe Varde
	Team Bristol	54	Kevin Grubb		2001 Malibu
	BH Motorsports		Ron Hornaday Jr.		2002 Monte Carlo
			David Green
	FitzBradshaw Racing	183	Kerry Earnhardt	Bob Temple	1999 Malibu
			Ron Hornaday Jr.
	Hendrick Motorsports	05	Ricky Hendrick		2002 Monte Carlo
	Marcis Auto Racing	71	Dave Marcis	Bob Marcis	2002 Camaro
			Dick Trickle
			Andy Hillenburg
			Jay Sauter
			Jim Sauter
			Tim Sauter
		72	Dwayne Leik
	Michael Waltrip Racing	00	Jerry Nadeau		2002 Monte Carlo
			Buckshot Jones
		198	Kenny Wallace
	NEMCO Motorsports	87	John Nemechek		2001 Monte Carlo
Dodge	BAM Racing	49	Shawna Robinson	Scott Eggleston	2001 Intrepid
			Ron Hornaday Jr.
			Derrike Cope
			Kevin Lepage
			Stuart Kirby
			Stacy Compton
	Bill Davis Racing	27	Scott Wimmer		2002 Intrepid
	Chip Ganassi Racing	142	Jimmy Spencer		2002 Intrepid
	Donlavey Racing	90	Rick Mast	Bobby King	2002 Stratus
			Hermie Sadler
			Gary Bradberry
			Ed Berrier
			Lance Hooper
			Jason Hedlesky
	Evernham Motorsports	191	Dick Trickle		2002 Intrepid
			Hank Parker Jr.
			Casey Atwood
	Melling Racing	92	Robert Pressley		2001 Intrepid
			Stacy Compton
	Orleans Racing	62	Brendan Gaughan		2000 Avenger
			Austin Cameron
	Price Motorsports	59	Randy Renfrow		2001 Stratus
			Jason Small
			Carl Long (R)
	SR Racing	79	Carl Long (R)		2001 Intrepid
	Ultra Motorsports	07	Ted Musgrave		2001 Stratus
	Ware Racing Enterprises	51	Carl Long (R)		2002 Stratus
			Morgan Shepherd
			Brian Rose
			Jerry Robertson
Ford	CLR Racing	57	Derrike Cope		2001 Taurus
			Ron Hornaday Jr.
			Stuart Kirby
	GIC Motorsports	93	Mike Harmon		2002 Taurus
	Hover Motorsports	180	Kirk Shelmardine		2000 Mustang
	Kirk Shelmardine Racing	72	Kirk Shelmardine		2001 Taurus
		27
	Otto Motorsports	09	Shane Lewis		2000 Crown Victoria
	Roush Racing	60	Greg Biffle	Randy Goss	2002 Roush Mustang
Lincoln	Haas-Carter Motorsports	66	Todd Bodine	Larry Carter	2002 Continental
			Geoff Bodine
			Hideo Fukuyama
			Frank Kimmel
	Hass-CNC Racing	60	Jack Sprague	Dennis Conner	2000 Continental
	Phoenix Racing	09	Geoff Bodine	Marc Reno	2001 Continental
	Shepherd Racing Ventures	89	Morgan Shepherd		2001 Continental
Mercury	Jasper Motorsports	67	Boris Said	Mark Harrah	1999 Grand Marquis
	Mansion Motorsports	180	Carl Long (R)		2000 Sable
	Quest Motor Racing	137	Derrike Cope		2001 Sable
			Kevin Lepage
			Jeff Jefferson
		38	Kevin Lepage
Oldsmobile	Andy Petree Racing	33	Mike Wallace		2002 Alero
			Kenny Wallace
	Norm Benning Racing	184	Norm Benning (R)		2001 Alero
Pontiac	Ash Motorsports	46	Brandon Ash		2001 Grand Prix
			Justin Bell
	A.J. Foyt Racing	50	P.J. Jones		2002 Grand Prix
	Gerhart Racing	59	Bobby Gerhart (R)		2002 Grand PRix

Schedule

No.	Race title	Track	Date	TV
1	Dodge/Save Mart 350	Infineon Raceway, Sonoma	January 27	WBC
	Budweiser Shootout	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach	February 10	WBC
	Gatorade 125s		February 14	WBC
2	Daytona 500		February 17	WBC
3	Subway 400	North Carolina Speedway, Rockingham	February 24	WBC
4	UAW-Dodge 400	Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas	March 3	WBC
5	San Jose 500	San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy	March 10	WBC
6	MBNA America 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton	March 17	ESPN
7	Carolina Dodge Dealers 400	Darlington Raceway, Darlington	March 24	ESPN
8	Food City 500	Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol	March 31	TNN
9	Texas 400	Texas World Speedway, College Station	April 8	WBC
10	Virginia 500	Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway	April 14	TNN
11	Aaron's 499	Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln	April 21	WBC
12	NAPA Auto Parts 500	California Speedway, Fontana	April 28	WBC
13	Pontiac Excitement 400	Richmond International Raceway, Richmond	May 4-5	TNN
14	Diet Coke 500	Denver International Speedway, Denver	May 12	WBC
	RCA Sprint	Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown, Kent, United Kingdom	May 18	TNN
	RCA Open			TNN
	RCA All-Star Challenge XVIII			TNN
15	Coca-Cola Racing Family 600	Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord	May 26	WBC
16	MBNA Platinum 400	Dover International Speedway, Dover	June 2	TNN
17	Pabst Blue Ribbon 400	The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis	June 9	ESPN
18	Dodge Neon 400	Nazareth Speedway, Nazareth	June 16	WBC
19	Budweiser 400	Riverside International Raceway, Riverside	June 23	WBC
20	Music City USA 420	Music City Motorplex, Nashville	June 29	TNN
21	Pepsi 400	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach	July 6	WBC
22	Tropicana 400	Chicago Motor Speedway, Cicero	July 14	ESPN
23	New England 300	New Hampshire International Speedway, Loudon	July 21	WBC
24	Pennsylvania 500	Pocono Raceway, Long Pond	July 28	ESPN
25	Brickyard 400	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway	August 4	WBC
26	Sirius Satellite Radio at The Glen	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen	August 11	ESPN
27	Pepsi 400 presented by Meijer	Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn	August 18	TNN
28	Sharpie 500	Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol	August 24	TNN
29	Southern 500	Darlington Raceway, Darlington	September 1	ESPN
30	Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400	Richmond International Raceway, Richmond	September 7	TNN
31	Tyson Holly Farms 400	North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro	September 15	WBC
32	MBNA All-American 400	Dover International Speedway, Dover	September 22	TNN
33	Protection One 400	Kansas Speedway, Kansas City	September 29	WBC
34	EA Sports 500	Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln	October 6	WBC
35	UAW-GM Quality 500	Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord	October 13	WBC
36	Old Dominion 500	Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway	October 20	TNN
37	NAPA 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton	October 27	ESPN
38	Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400	North Carolina Speedway, Rockingham	November 3	TNN
39	Checker Auto Parts 500 Presented by Pennzoil	Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale	November 10	TNN
40	Ford 400	Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead	November 17	WBC
41	Google 500	San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy	November 24	WBC
42	Sprite 500	Denver International Speedway, Denver	November 30	WBC
43	Los Angeles Times 500	Ontario Motor Speedway, Ontario	December 8	WBC

Results

No.	Race	Pole	Most Laps Led	Winner	Make/Model
1	Dodge/Save Mart 350	Ron Fellows	Mark Martin	Kyle Petty	Dodge Intrepid
	Budweiser Shootout	Kurt Busch	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Pontiac Grand Prix
	Gatorade 125 #1	Jimmie Johnson	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
	Gatorade 125 #2	Kevin Harvick	Michael Waltrip	Michael Waltrip	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
2	Daytona 500	Jimmie Johnson	Sterling Marlin	Ward Burton	Dodge Intrepid
3	Subway 400	Ricky Craven	Matt Kenseth	Matt Kenseth	Roush Mustang
4	UAW-Dodge 400	Todd Bodine	Tony Stewart	Sterling Marlin	Dodge Intrepid
5	San Jose 500	Kevin Harvick	Adam Petty	Adam Petty	Dodge Intrepid
6	MBNA America 500	Bill Elliott	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Pontiac Grand Prix
7	Carolina Dodge Dealers 400	Ricky Craven	Jeff Gordon	Sterling Marlin	Dodge Intrepid
8	Food City 500	Jeff Gordon	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Kurt Busch	Roush Mustang
9	Texas 400	Bill Elliott	Dale Jarrett	Matt Kenseth	Roush Mustang
10	Virginia 500	Jeff Gordon	Tony Stewart	Bobby Labonte	Dodge Intrepid
11	Aaron's 499	Jimmie Johnson	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
12	NAPA Auto Parts 500	Ryan Newman	Kurt Busch	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
13	Pontiac Excitement 400	Ward Burton	Ward Burton	Tony Stewart	Pontiac Grand Prix
14	Diet Coke 500	Bill Elliott	Kevin Harvick	Dale Earnhardt	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
	RCA Open	Jeremy Mayfield	Jeremy Mayfield	Jeremy Mayfield	Dodge Intrepid
	RCA Sprint	Ken Schrader	Ryan Newman	Ryan Newman	Ford Taurus
	RCA All-Star Challenge XVIII	Matt Kenseth	Jimmie Johnson	Ryan Newman	Ford Taurus
15	Coca-Cola Racing Family 600	Jimmie Johnson	Jimmie Johnson	Mark Martin	Roush Mustang
16	MBNA Platinum 400	Matt Kenseth	Jimmie Johnson	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
17	Pabst Blue Ribbon 400	Sterling Marlin	Ricky Rudd	Davey Allison	Ford Taurus
18	Dodge Neon 400	Dale Jarrett	Dale Jarrett	Matt Kenseth	Roush Mustang
19	Budweiser 400	Tony Stewart	Jeff Gordon	Ricky Rudd	Dodge Stratus
20	Music City USA 420	Dale Earnhardt	Sterling Marlin	Adam Petty	Dodge Intrepid
21	Pepsi 400	Kevin Harvick	Michael Waltrip	Michael Waltrip	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
22	Tropicana 400	Ryan Newman	Ryan Newman	Dale Earnhardt	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
23	New England 300	Bill Elliott	Matt Kenseth	Ward Burton	Dodge Intrepid
24	Pennsylvania 500	Bill Elliott	Sterling Marlin	Bill Elliott	Dodge Intrepid
25	Brickyard 400	Tony Stewart	Bill Elliott	Bill Elliott	Dodge Intrepid
26	Sirius Satellite Radio at The Glen	Ricky Rudd	Tony Stewart	Tony Stewart	Pontiac Grand Prix
27	Pepsi 400 presented by Meijer	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Kevin Harvick	Ernie Irvan	Ford Taurus
28	Sharpie 500	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
29	Southern 500	Sterling Marlin	Jeff Gordon	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
30	Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400	Jimmie Johnson	Ryan Newman	Matt Kenseth	Roush Mustang
31	Tyson Holly Farms 400	Ryan Newman	Ryan Newman	Ryan Newman	Ford Taurus
32	MBNA All-American 400	Rusty Wallace	Jimmie Johnson	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
33	Protection One 400	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Jeff Gordon	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
34	EA Sports 500	Jimmie Johnson	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet Monte Carlo
35	UAW-GM Quality 500	Tony Stewart	Jamie McMurray	Jamie McMurray	Dodge Intrepid
36	Old Dominion 500	Ryan Newman	Ward Burton	Kurt Busch	Roush Mustang
37	NAPA 500	Tony Stewart	Kurt Busch	Kurt Busch	Roush Mustang
38	Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400	Ryan Newman	Mark Martin	Johnny Benson	Pontiac Grand Prix
39	Checker Auto Parts 500 presented by Pennzoil	Ryan Newman	Kurt Busch	Matt Kenseth	Roush Mustang
40	Ford 400	Kurt Busch	Joe Nemechek	Kurt Busch	Roush Mustang
41	Google 500	Adam Petty	Adam Petty	Adam Petty	Dodge Intrepid
42	Sprite 500	Michael Waltrip	Adam Petty	Adam Petty	Dodge Intrepid
43	Los Angeles Times 500	Mark Martin	Jeff Gordon	Dale Earnhardt	Chevrolet Monte Carlo

Cars Used in 2002 (incomplete)

Chevrolet Monte Carlo

Ford Taurus

Dodge Intrepid

Pontiac Grand Prix

Lincoln Continental (final year)

Mercury Sable (final year)