| Race details[1][2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 6 of 36 in the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 Map of the Bristol Motor Speedway | |||
| Date | March 25, 2001 | ||
| Location | Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 0.533 mi (0.858 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 266.5 mi (428.8 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures up to 48.2 °F (9.0 °C); wind speeds up to 23.02 miles per hour (37.05 km/h)[3] | ||
| Average speed | 86.949 mph (139.931 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Roush Racing | ||
| Time | 15.192 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Laps | 137 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 21 | Elliott Sadler | Wood Brothers Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds | ||
| Nielsen Ratings |
| ||
The 2001 Food City 500 was the sixth stock car race of the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. It was held on March 25, 2001 at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. The 500-lap race was won by Elliott Sadler for the Wood Brothers Racing team; it was Sadler's first win in the Winston Cup Series and Wood Brothers Racing first since 1993, and the last until the 2011 Daytona 500 10 years later. John Andretti finished second and Jeremy Mayfield came in third.
Report
Background
The track, Bristol Motor Speedway, is one of five short tracks to hold NASCAR races; the others are Richmond International Raceway, Dover International Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, and Phoenix International Raceway.[5] Its standard track at Bristol Motor Speedway is a four-turn short track oval that is 0.533 miles (0.858 km) long.[6] The track's turns are banked from twenty-four to thirty degrees, while both the front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the back stretch are banked from six to ten degrees.[6]
Before the race Dale Jarrett led the Drivers' Championship with 756 points, with Sterling Marlin and Johnny Benson Jr. tied for second place with 691 points each. Jeff Gordon and Steve Park rounded out the top five, and Ricky Rudd, Rusty Wallace, Michael Waltrip, Bill Elliott and Ken Schrader rounded out the top ten.[7] In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet led with 42 points; Ford was second with 31 points. Pontiac was third with 19 points, with Dodge a close fourth with 17 points.[8] Wallace was the race's defending champion.[9]
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Practice
First practice
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 15.213 | 126.129 |
| 2 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 15.245 | 125.884 |
| 3 | 29 | Kevin Harvick (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 15.300 | 125.412 |
| Official practice results | ||||||
Second practice
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Ford | 15.864 | 120.953 |
| 2 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 15.920 | 120.528 |
| 3 | 19 | Casey Atwood (R) | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 15.936 | 120.407 |
| Official practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Race results
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 38 | 21 | Elliott Sadler | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 500 | 180 |
| 2 | 11 | 43 | John Andretti | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 500 | 175 |
| 3 | 30 | 12 | Jeremy Mayfield | Penske Racing South | Ford | 500 | 165 |
| 4 | 15 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 500 | 165 |
| 5 | 18 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Dodge | 500 | 155 |
| 6 | 25 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 500 | 150 |
| 7 | 4 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Ford | 500 | 146 |
| 8 | 6 | 55 | Bobby Hamilton | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 500 | 142 |
| 9 | 17 | 1 | Steve Park | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 500 | 143 |
| 10 | 14 | 28 | Ricky Rudd | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 500 | 134 |
| 11 | 41 | 92 | Stacy Compton | Melling Racing | Dodge | 500 | 130 |
| 12 | 2 | 40 | Sterling Marlin | Chip Ganassi Racing | Dodge | 500 | 132 |
| 13 | 13 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 500 | 124 |
| 14 | 24 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Racing | Ford | 500 | 126 |
| 15 | 42 | 4 | Kevin Lepage | Morgan-McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 500 | 118 |
| 16 | 19 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 500 | 115 |
| 17 | 12 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 500 | 112 |
| 18 | 33 | 31 | Mike Skinner | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 500 | 109 |
| 19 | 23 | 26 | Jimmy Spencer | Haas-Carter Motorsports | Ford | 500 | 106 |
| 20 | 16 | 19 | Casey Atwood (R) | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 500 | 103 |
| 21 | 40 | 14 | Ron Hornaday Jr. (R) | A.J. Foyt Racing | Pontiac | 500 | 100 |
| 22 | 29 | 15 | Michael Waltrip | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 500 | 97 |
| 23 | 34 | 32 | Ricky Craven | PPI Motorsports | Ford | 500 | 94 |
| 24 | 3 | 29 | Kevin Harvick (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 500 | 101 |
| 25 | 37 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 500 | 88 |
| 26 | 28 | 10 | Johnny Benson Jr. | MBV Motorsports | Pontiac | 499 | 85 |
| 27 | 35 | 11 | Brett Bodine | Brett Bodine Racing | Ford | 493 | 82 |
| 28 | 26 | 77 | Robert Pressley | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 487 | 79 |
| 29 | 8 | 93 | Dave Blaney | Bill Davis Racing | Dodge | 472 | 76 |
| 30 | 22 | 25 | Jerry Nadeau | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 459 | 73 |
| 31 | 9 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 456 | 70 |
| 32 | 5 | 66 | Todd Bodine | Haas-Carter Motorsports | Ford | 437 | 67 |
| 33 | 21 | 44 | Buckshot Jones | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 420 | 64 |
| 34 | 1 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 412 | 66 |
| 35 | 10 | 36 | Ken Schrader | MBV Motorsports | Pontiac | 350 | 58 |
| 36 | 27 | 50 | Rick Mast | Midwest Transit Racing | Chevrolet | 349 | 55 |
| 37 | 43 | 7 | Mike Wallace | Ultra Motorsports | Ford | 345 | 57 |
| 38 | 31 | 27 | Kenny Wallace | Eel River Racing | Pontiac | 307 | 54 |
| 39 | 36 | 96 | Andy Houston (R) | PPI Motorsports | Ford | 265 | 46 |
| 40 | 32 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 245 | 43 |
| 41 | 7 | 45 | Kyle Petty | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 228 | 40 |
| 42 | 39 | 97 | Kurt Busch (R) | Roush Racing | Ford | 118 | 37 |
| 43 | 20 | 33 | Joe Nemechek | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 108 | 34 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Standings after the race
| Pos | Driver | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
1 | Dale Jarrett | 871 |
 2 |
2 | Jeff Gordon | 826 (–45) |
 1 |
3 | Sterling Marlin | 823 (–48) |
| 1 |
4 | Johnny Benson Jr. | 776 (–95) |
|
5 | Steve Park | 758 (–113) |
| 1 |
6 | Rusty Wallace | 752 (–119) |
| 1 |
7 | Ricky Rudd | 743 (–128) |
| 4 |
8 | Bobby Hamilton | 716 (–155) |
| 9 |
9 | Elliott Sadler | 709 (–162) |
| 1 |
10 | Bill Elliott | 701 (–170) |
References
- ↑ "The Race: Food City 500". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN Internet Ventures. Archived from the original on August 4, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
- ↑ "2001 Food City 500". Racing-Reference. USA Today Media Sports Group. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
- ↑ "Weather Information for Bristol, Tennessee". Old Farmer's Almanac. Yankee Publishing. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
- ↑ "TV Ratings 2001". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN Internet Ventures. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
- ↑ "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on August 15, 2010. Retrieved August 17, 2010.
- 1 2 "NASCAR Tracks—The Bristol Motor Speedway". Bristol Motor Speedway. Archived from the original on August 9, 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
- ↑ "2001 Official Driver Standings: Carolina Dodge Dealers 400". NASCAR. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on October 4, 2009. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
- ↑ "2001 Manufacturers Championship". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN Internet Ventures. Archived from the original on February 7, 2005. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
- ↑ "2000 Food City 500". Racing-Reference. USA Today Media Sports Group. Retrieved September 11, 2015.