To say Dale Earnhardt Sr. was a heck of a driver would be an understatement - to say the least. The driver that brought fans to their feet and fear to drivers' minds always had a trick up his sleeve. One win away from his milestone 75th career victory, the Man In Black pulled out all the stops during the 2000 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway to hold off Bobby Labonte in one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history.

This weekend's Kobalt Tools 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event will mark the 100th NASCAR race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. To honor this historic event, we at HardcoreRaceFans.com have decided to take "a look back" at some of the greatest events held at this fast-paced track in the heart of the South.

At the same point of the season as today's drivers, the stars of the Cup Series entered the weekend with three different winners and - much like this year - none of them were in a Chevrolet. Claiming they were at a disadvantage, the Bowtie Brigade was given a bit of slack by NASCAR. In a move that would be unseen with today's car, the sanctioning body allowed the Chevrolet teams to lower their front air dam to create more downforce.

Leading the standings going into Atlanta, the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing MBNA/Interstate Batteries Pontiac looked to be a serious threat throughout the weekend. With four wins in the previous seven starts at the 1.5-mile high-banked oval, Bobby Labonte brought one of his best rides to one of his favorite circuits, but was only good enough for 22nd on pole day.

Instead, it was Daytona 500 champion Dale Jarrett and rookie sensation Dale Earnhardt Jr. who swept the top-two spots during Friday's qualifying session. Steve Park, Matt Kenseth and Kevin Lepage made up the top-5, while both Labonte and Dale Sr. started in the rear of the field.

Once the green flagged dropped on the 500-mile event, Richard Childress Racing's Mike Skinner took his No. 31 Lowe's Chevrolet to the front and never looked back. Battling with Mark Martin's No. 6 Ford, Skinner took the lead for the first time on Lap 38. While Skinner drove off into the Georgia sunset, Labonte and Earnhardt made their charge to the front.

Better on the long runs, Labonte knew he could contend for the win and stole the lead from Skinner for the first time - on the track and during green flag stops - on Lap 184. Earnhardt stalked the leaders and waited for his time to strike. On Lap 272, the driver of the No. 3 Goodwrench Chevrolet moved past Labonte for the lead, with Skinner lurking behind waiting for his opportunity.

Regaining the lead from his teammate of Lap 285, Skinner looked as though he was driving towards his first Cup Series win. With just twenty laps remaining, Skinner's chances went up in smoke when his motor gave out laying oil down on the backstretch.

With one of the biggest threats gone, Earnhardt restarted the race with a hungry Bobby Labonte in his rearview mirror. Knowing his car was set up for the shorter runs, all the Intimidator had to do was hold off the charge until the checkered flag fell.

As laps wound down, so did Earnhardt's lead. Driving the wheels off his green and black Pontiac, Labonte was able to close in on Earnhardt's famous No. 3. Setting up his move, Labonte worked lap after lap until it was time to go for the win.

Pulling alongside him going through turns three and four on the final lap, Labonte looked to steal the show on the inside. Using the run off the high side and pure intimidation Earnhardt was able to keep his nose ahead of Labonte to take the checkered flag by 0.01 seconds.

"I was just right at holding Bobby off," Earnhardt said sitting in his winning ride. Climbing out of the car to a shower of cheers from the stands, Earnhardt smiled and told ESPN's Dr. Jerry Punch he was not sure if he could hold off Labonte's charge.

"I knew he'd be strong on long runs. We just went out there and went after it as hard as I could. That was the thing," Earnhardt added. "I knew I had to get all the length I could. Then I found me a line out there that seemed to be a little faster than he was. It was just awesome. Bobby raced me really good and it was a good fun race."