By Zane Miller

First round

(8) #12 Ryan Newman v. (1) #6 Mark Martin

(7) #9 Bill Elliott v. (2) #40 Sterling Marlin

(6) #2 Rusty Wallace v. (3) #48 Jimmie Johnson

(5) #24 Jeff Gordon v. (4) #20 Tony Stewart

The playoffs got underway at Dover, with rookie Jimmie Johnson taming the Monster Mile with a race win after leading 170 laps. Rusty Wallace finished a lap down in 15th, as his teammate in rookie Ryan Newman also fell behind in his series against Mark Martin with an eighth-place run to Martin’s second. Meanwhile, four-time Dover winner Bill Elliott struggled with an 18th-place finish, but was still able to hold off competitor Sterling Marlin, who continued his worst slump of the year in 21st. Speaking of slumps, Jeff Gordon finished outside the top-10 for the third straight race, crashing out in the early laps and ending up 37th, while reigning champ Tony Stewart took fifth.

The first round continued at Kansas, where Gordon bounced back in a big way by leading 116 laps on the way to the race win with Stewart trailing in eighth. Newman also stayed around the top-five throughout the entire event, eventually scoring a runner-up finish while Martin ended the day in 25th after suffering a late blown engine. Marlin’s once-promising shot at a title was over on lap 149, crashing into the outside wall while Elliott avoided trouble to finish fifth and advance to the semifinal round. Wallace kept his championship hopes alive with a third-place result as Johnson finished a lap down in 10th.

In a caution-free race at Talladega, Stewart would get the best of Gordon with a runner-up finish, though both Gordon and Johnson’s fates were sealed before the end of the race as all four Hendrick Motorsports cars suffered terminal engine failures. Gordon’s engine expired on lap 125, while Johnson fell victim with 15 laps to go as the last Hendrick-owned car still in the field. Wallace finished a solid 13th to advance, while Newman pulled off the massive upset over Martin in the seventh spot. Martin had never fully recovered from a bizarre incident on the opening pace laps, as his steering had locked up and sent him careening down the track and into the infield grass. The green flag dropped with Martin’s crew still repairing the car on pit road, and Martin could only muster 30th place. With the top three seeded drivers now out of the picture in a shocking first round, it was anyone’s game starting at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

Semifinal

(8) #12 Ryan Newman v. (4) #20 Tony Stewart

(7) #9 Bill Elliott v. (6) #2 Rusty Wallace

In Charlotte, a topsy-turvy semifinal field would be met with an equally topsy-turvy race, as newcomer Jamie McMurray scored the race win in just his second career Cup start, before his official rookie season had even started. As far as the playoffs were concerned, though, Stewart claimed a strong third-place finish ahead of Newman in eighth, while the battle between the established veterans of Wallace and Elliott saw Wallace come out on top in fifth after Elliott received serious damage from a blown tire before the halfway mark. Elliott was able to return to the track, but was relegated to a 35th-place finish.

Moving on to Martinsville, Newman was ultimately unable to overtake his future team owner, ending up in 15th despite leading 33 laps, as Stewart picked up a solid 11th to go for back-to-back championships. Wallace fared much better than his teammate, as he proved once again why he was still one of the best in the business on short tracks. The St. Louis native led 41 laps on the way to a ninth-place finish, while Elliott, who had been running just outside the top-10 with 75 laps to go, spun off the left side of Joe Nemechek before pounding the inside wall, effectively ending his run at a second championship.

Final

(6) #2 Rusty Wallace v. (4) #20 Tony Stewart

At North Carolina Speedway, otherwise known as The Rock, longtime Cup racer Johnny Benson would score his first and only career victory, distracting from an unremarkable start to the finals for Wallace. The two-time champ took the checkered flag two laps down in 27th, while Stewart and company put together a good enough 14th-place run to put the wily veteran on the ropes at Phoenix.

Needing an excellent run to stay alive for the title, Wallace’s weekend did not get off to a promising start as he would begin the race 29th on the grid. However, Wallace and crew battled back throughout the afternoon, making continued adjustments to begin working their way towards the front. At the end of the day, Wallace finished in the runner-up spot, which was enough to hold off Stewart in eighth and force the championship to be decided at Homestead.

The flat 1.5-mile oval of Homestead-Miami Speedway would see its final Cup Series event before reconfiguration into a high-banked track, though this would work Wallace’s favor. Despite starting the race in sixth, Stewart quickly fell back through the field with the team failing to find speed, even losing a lap at one point. Wallace was unable to do much better, but still stayed ahead of the Rushville Rocket. Stewart eventually got his lap back and finished 18th, but it wouldn’t be enough as Wallace crossed the line in 14th. Despite beginning the playoffs with the #6-seed, Wallace defied the odds to claim his third career championship and first since 1993.

Rusty Wallace’s stats for 2002 were no victories, seven top-fives and 17 top-10s, claiming seventh in the standings to real-life champion Tony Stewart.

2002 Cup Series standings in real life: https://scorum.com/en-us/nascar/@zmiller82/2002-nascar-cup-series-season-recap