Defending champion Greg Ray took advantage of pole position and won his first Indy Racing League event of the 2000 season in the Midas 500 Classic at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Greg Ray had a dismal start to the 2000 season. While he won the pole for the 2000 Indy 500, a gust of wind pushed him into the wall, and he finished last. However, in July 2000 at Atlanta, he scored the pole and capped off the weekend with a dominating performance, leading 182 of 208 laps around the 1.5-mile quad-oval.