2002 Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400

Race details
Race 34 of 36 in the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 2002 Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 program cover.
Date	November 3, 2002
Official name	38th Annual Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400
Location	Rockingham, North Carolina, North Carolina Speedway
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.017 mi (1.636 km)
Distance	393 laps, 399.681 mi (643.224 km)
Scheduled Distance	393 laps, 399.681 mi (643.224 km)
Average speed	128.526 miles per hour (206.843 km/h)
Attendance	50,000
Pole position
Driver	Ryan Newman	Penske Racing South
Time	23.494
Most laps led
Driver	Mark Martin	Roush Racing
Laps	144
Winner
No. 10	Johnny Benson Jr.	MBV Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	TNT
Announcers	Allen Bestwick, Benny Parsons, Wally Dallenbach Jr.
Radio in the United States
Radio	Motor Racing Network

The 2002 Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 was the 34th stock car race of the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 38th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, November 3, 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. In the final laps of the race, MBV Motorsports driver Johnny Benson Jr. would manage to defend for the lead within the last 26 laps of the race to take his first and only NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his only victory of the season.^[1][2][3] To fill out the top three, Mark Martin and Kurt Busch, both drivers for Roush Racing, would finish second and third, respectively.

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.^[4]

• (R) denotes rookie driver.

The first practice session was held on Friday, November 1, at 11:20 am EST. The session would last for two hours.^[5] Ryan Newman, driving for Penske Racing South, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 23.744 and an average speed of 154.195 miles per hour (248.153 km/h).^[6]

The second practice session was held on Saturday, November 2, at 9:30 am EST. The session would last for 45 minutes.^[5] Rusty Wallace, driving for Penske Racing South, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 24.201 and an average speed of 151.283 miles per hour (243.466 km/h).^[7]

The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, November 2, at 11:15 am EST. The session would last for 45 minutes.^[5] Todd Bodine, driving for Haas-Carter Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 24.280 and an average speed of 150.791 miles per hour (242.675 km/h).^[8]

Qualifying was held on Friday, November 1, 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.^[5] 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.^[9]

Ryan Newman, driving for Penske Racing South, would win the pole, setting a time of 23.494 and an average speed of 155.835 miles per hour (250.792 km/h).^[10]

Five drivers would fail to qualify.