2001 EA Sports 500

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2001 EA Sports 500
Race details [1]
Race 31 of 36 in the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
2001 EA Sports 500 program cover and logo.png
2001 EA Sports 500 program cover
Date October 21, 2001 (2001-10-21)
Official name EA Sports 500
Location Talladega, Alabama, U.S.
Course Talladega Superspeedway
Course length 2.66 miles (4.28 km)
Distance 188 laps, 500.1 mi (804.833 km)
Scheduled distance 188 laps, 500.1 mi (804.833 km)
Average speed 164.185 miles per hour (264.230 km/h)
Pole position
Driver Melling Racing
Time 50.415 sec (185.24 mph, 298.119 km/h)
Most laps led
Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Laps 67
Winner
No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Television in the United States
Network NBC
Announcers Allen Bestwick, Benny Parsons, Wally Dallenbach Jr.

The 2001 EA Sports 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on October 21, 2001, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. It was the 31st race of the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. [2]

Contents

Race report

The race is known for its wild finish. Coming out of the tri-oval to the white flag, Dale Earnhardt Jr. attempted to pull to the inside of race leader Bobby Labonte. Instead of going with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Tony Stewart moved down and got behind Dale Jr. and Earnhardt took the lead in turn 1. Bobby Hamilton got a run after a push from Ricky Craven and attempted to pass Labonte but Labonte blocked Hamilton. Out of turn 2, Labonte got hooked by Hamilton in the left rear causing Labonte to spin into Ricky Craven collecting Johnny Benson shooting Labonte back to the right and Labonte went upside down. This would cause the big one on the backstretch collecting as many as 15 cars. In the race back to the line, Dale Earnhardt Jr. would hold off Tony Stewart and Jeff Burton to win the race. This race would be Dale Earnhardt Jr's first of six career wins at Talladega including 4 in a row from this race to the 2003 Aaron's 499.

Results

Source: [3]
FinSt#DriverSponsorMakeLapsLedStatusPts
168 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser Chevrolet 18867running185
23720 Tony Stewart The Home Depot / Coca-Cola Pontiac 1880running170
33399 Jeff Burton Citgo Supergard Ford 1884running170
42417 Matt Kenseth DeWalt Ford 1883running165
5255 Bobby Hamilton Square D Chevrolet 18814running160
6151 Kenny Wallace Pennzoil Chevrolet 1880running150
71124 Jeff Gordon DuPont Automotive Chevrolet 1880running146
8933 Joe Nemechek Oakwood Homes Chevrolet 1880running142
9146 Mark Martin Viagra / Pfizer Ford 1880running138
10407 Kevin Lepage NationsRent Ford 1880running134
11192 Stacy Compton Levi Garrett Dodge 1884running135
121611 Brett Bodine Ralphs Ford 1880running127
13205 Terry Labonte Kellogg's Chevrolet 1880running124
14354 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Kodak Chevrolet 1880running121
154101 Jason Leffler Cingular Wireless Dodge 1886running123
16322 Rusty Wallace Miller Lite Ford 1880running115
17340 Sterling Marlin Coors Light Dodge 1884running117
183812 Mike Wallace Mobil 1 Ford 1880running109
193931 Robby Gordon Lowe's Chevrolet 1880running106
2059 Bill Elliott Dodge Dealers / UAW Dodge 1881running108
211822 Ward Burton Caterpillar Dodge 1880running100
223418 Bobby Labonte Interstate Batteries / Coca-Cola Pontiac 18728crash102
23410 Johnny Benson Jr. Zerex Pontiac 1870crash94
241232 Ricky Craven Tide Ford 1870crash91
251088 Dale Jarrett UPS Ford 1871crash93
262328 Ricky Rudd Texaco / Havoline Ford 1870crash85
273677 Robert Pressley Jasper Engines & Transmissions Ford 1872crash87
282244 Buckshot Jones Georgia-Pacific Dodge 1870running79
292797 Kurt Busch Sharpie / Rubbermaid Ford 1870running76
303193 Dave Blaney BP / Amoco Dodge 1870running73
312836 Ken Schrader M&M's Pontiac 1870running70
321929 Kevin Harvick GM Goodwrench Chevrolet 1870running67
33845 Kyle Petty Sprint Dodge 1870running64
34743 John Andretti Cheerios Dodge 1820running61
352925 Jerry Nadeau UAW-Delphi Chevrolet 1750handling58
364390 Hut Stricklin Hills Brothers Coffee Ford 1740engine55
373015 Michael Waltrip NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 16753overheating57
384214 Ron Hornaday Jr. Conseco Chevrolet 1480transmission49
392619 Casey Atwood Dodge Dealers / UAW Dodge 1070crash46
401721 Elliott Sadler Motorcraft Ford 960crash43
412166 Todd Bodine Kmart Blue Light Special Ford 941crash45
421351 Jeff Purvis Phoenix Racing Ford 860rear end37
432526 Jimmy Spencer Kmart Ford 180engine34
Failed to qualify
44 Rick Mast
45 Dave Marcis

References

  1. "2001 EA Sports 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  2. "The Top NASCAR Restrictor Plate Races of the Last 20 Years". www.bleacherreport.com. August 30, 2011. Archived from the original on July 21, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  3. "2001 EA Sports 500 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved May 13, 2021.