2001 EA Sports 500

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]

2001 EA Sports 500
Race details[1]
Race 31 of 36 in the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
2001 EA Sports 500 program cover
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
2.66 mi (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.

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]
Fin St # Driver Sponsor Make Laps Led Status Pts
1 6 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser Chevy 188 67 running 185
2 37 20 Tony Stewart The Home Depot, Coca-Cola Pontiac 188 0 running 170
3 33 99 Jeff Burton Citgo Supergard Ford 188 4 running 170
4 24 17 Matt Kenseth DeWalt Ford 188 3 running 165
5 2 55 Bobby Hamilton Square D Chevy 188 14 running 160
6 15 1 Kenny Wallace Pennzoil Chevy 188 0 running 150
7 11 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Automotive Chevy 188 0 running 146
8 9 33 Joe Nemechek Oakwood Homes Chevy 188 0 running 142
9 14 6 Mark Martin Viagra, Pfizer Ford 188 0 running 138
10 40 7 Kevin Lepage NationsRent Ford 188 0 running 134
11 1 92 Stacy Compton Levi Garrett Dodge 188 4 running 135
12 16 11 Brett Bodine Ralphs Ford 188 0 running 127
13 20 5 Terry Labonte Kellogg's Chevy 188 0 running 124
14 35 4 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Kodak Chevy 188 0 running 121
15 41 01 Jason Leffler Cingular Wireless Dodge 188 6 running 123
16 32 2 Rusty Wallace Miller Lite Ford 188 0 running 115
17 3 40 Sterling Marlin Coors Light Dodge 188 4 running 117
18 38 12 Mike Wallace Mobil 1 Ford 188 0 running 109
19 39 31 Robby Gordon Lowe's Chevy 188 0 running 106
20 5 9 Bill Elliott Dodge Dealers, UAW Dodge 188 1 running 108
21 18 22 Ward Burton Caterpillar Dodge 188 0 running 100
22 34 18 Bobby Labonte Interstate Batteries, Coca-Cola Pontiac 187 28 crash 102
23 4 10 Johnny Benson Jr. Zerex Pontiac 187 0 crash 94
24 12 32 Ricky Craven Tide Ford 187 0 crash 91
25 10 88 Dale Jarrett UPS Ford 187 1 crash 93
26 23 28 Ricky Rudd Texaco, Havoline Ford 187 0 crash 85
27 36 77 Robert Pressley Jasper Engines & Transmissions Ford 187 2 crash 87
28 22 44 Buckshot Jones Georgia-Pacific Dodge 187 0 crash 79
29 27 97 Kurt Busch Sharpie, Rubbermaid Ford 187 0 running 76
30 31 93 Dave Blaney BP, Amoco Dodge 187 0 running 73
31 28 36 Ken Schrader M&M's Pontiac 187 0 running 70
32 19 29 Kevin Harvick GM Goodwrench Chevy 187 0 running 67
33 8 45 Kyle Petty Sprint Dodge 187 0 running 64
34 7 43 John Andretti Cheerios Dodge 182 0 running 61
35 29 25 Jerry Nadeau UAW-Delphi Chevy 175 0 handling 58
36 43 90 Hut Stricklin Hills Brothers Coffee Ford 174 0 engine 55
37 30 15 Michael Waltrip NAPA Auto Parts Chevy 167 53 overheating 57
38 42 14 Ron Hornaday Jr. Conseco Chevy 148 0 transmission 49
39 26 19 Casey Atwood Dodge Dealers, UAW Dodge 107 0 crash 46
40 17 21 Elliott Sadler Motorcraft Ford 96 0 crash 43
41 21 66 Todd Bodine Kmart Blue Light Special Ford 94 1 crash 45
42 13 51 Jeff Purvis Phoenix Racing Ford 86 0 rear end 37
43 25 26 Jimmy Spencer Kmart Ford 18 0 engine 34
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. 2011-08-30. Archived from the original on 2020-07-21. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
  3. "2001 EA Sports 500 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2021-05-13.


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