The 2002 Sharpie 500 was the 24th stock car race of the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 42nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, August 24, 2002, in Bristol, Tennessee at Bristol Motor Speedway, a 0.533 miles (0.858 km) permanent oval-shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. At race's end, Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would complete a bump-and-run with less than three to go on eventual second-place finisher, Penske Racing driver Rusty Wallace, to win his 59th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his first of the season. To fill out the podium, Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. would finish third. But the race became notable for it being a night of tempers were there was 4 different instances where drivers s