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Halfway Home

By KEVIN KELLY

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 8, 2000

At a glance

BEST RACE

WORST RAC

BIGGEST SURPRIS

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMEN

BEST MOV

WORST MOV

WATCH OUT FO

WHO WILL BE THE NEXT NEW WINNER THIS SEASON

Ricky Rudd: After going winless for the first time in 16 seasons last year, his talent is finally matched with the right equipment at Robert Yates Racing. He has won at least one race at 11 tracks the series visits the second half.

CLOSE, BUT ...

Rusty Wallace: He leads the series with six pole positions, but only has one win, five top-five finishes and two DNF's this season.

MOST INTERESTING STORY

Dale Earnhardt: His son, Dale Jr., has garnered most of the attention, which is fine with Earnhardt for whom a record-breaking eighth Winston Cup title is 17 races away.

BEST UPCOMING STORIES:

• - Will Bobby Labonte win his first Winston Cup championship?

• - Will NASCAR do something about the increasing gap in sponsorship money between teams?

• - Will NASCAR change the format for second-round qualifying?

• - What other teams will switch to Dodge?

• - When will the NASCAR 24-hour channel debut?

• - What does the 2001 schedule hold?

• - Will the unprecedented parity among race winners continue?

• - Will any more open-wheel drivers make the move to stock cars?

BEST QUOT