2001 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500
Race details | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 4 of 36 of in the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | ||||||
Date | March 11, 2001 | |||||
Location | Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Georgia | |||||
Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.54 mi (2.48 km) | |||||
Distance | 325 laps, 500.5 mi (805.4 km) | |||||
Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 68 °F (20 °C); wind speeds up to 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h)[1] | |||||
Average speed | 143.273 mph (230.576 km/h) | |||||
Pole position | ||||||
Driver | Yates Racing | |||||
Time | 28.763 | |||||
Most laps led | ||||||
Driver | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | ||||
Laps | 118 | |||||
Winner | ||||||
No. 29 | Kevin Harvick |
Network |
Fox Broadcasting Network | |||
Announcers |
Nielsen Ratings | 5.7[2] |
The 2001 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500 was the fourth stock car race of the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series. It was held on March 11, 2001 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, in Hampton, Georgia. The 325-lap race was won by Kevin Harvick of the Richard Childress Racing team after starting from fifth position. Jeff Gordon finished second and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jerry Nadeau came in third.
Pole position driver Dale Jarrett maintained his lead for the first six laps of the race, but Harvick, who started fifth, passed him on the seventh lap. Gordon soon became the leader and would lead the race high of 118 laps. Five laps from the finish, Harvick took the lead after a five-car battle. On the final lap, Harvick won his first Winston Cup Series race from Gordon by .006 seconds in his third start.
There were 8
, with thirty-two races remaining in the season.Report
Background
The track, Atlanta Motor Speedway is one of three quad-oval tracks to hold NASCAR races, the others being Charlotte Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway.[3] The standard track at Atlanta Motor Speedway is a four-turn quad-oval that is 1.54 miles (2.48 km) long. The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, while the straightaways are banked at five degrees.[4] Atlanta Motor Speedway can seat up to 99,000 people.
Before the race,
Practice and qualifying
Two practice sessions were held before the Sunday race—one on Friday, and one on Saturday. The first session lasted 120 minutes, and the second 60 minutes.
During Friday afternoon qualifying, forty-six cars were entered, but only forty-three were able to race because of NASCAR's
Race
The race, the fourth out of a total of thirty-six in the
Dale Jarrett made a good start, retaining the first position; Jeff Gordon behind him maintained second position. At the end of the first lap, Kevin Harvick passed Gordon. By lap 3, Jerry Nadeau was clipped by Michael Waltrip with Robert Pressley spinning out and nearly being clipped by Nadeau. During the same lap, the grandstands fell silent and spectators held up a three-finger salute in the memory of Dale Earnhardt—who was killed in an accident during the Daytona 500 three weeks previously; and 7,000 balloons were released into the air.[11]
The heartbreak of the day was for Dave Blaney. Blaney, driving Bill Davis Racing's #93 Dodge, dominated the middle of the race, leading 70 laps. Blaney was about to make a pit stop with less than 90 laps to go, when a caution came out. Blaney chose to not pit and lead to the caution flag to protect his lead. Two laps later, the wheel came flying off, costing him his first Winston Cup win. Once Blaney was out of the race, this would set up the final shootout between 5 cars with those being Jerry Nadeau, Dale Jarrett, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jeff Gordon. With 5 to go, Harvick passed Nadeau and Jarrett to take the lead. With 3 to go, Dale Earnhardt Jr. came down pit road with a flat tire ending his chances of winning. At the same time, Jeff Gordon passed his teammate Jerry Nadeau for second setting up a dramatic final lap between Harvick and Gordon.[11]
On the final lap (325), Gordon attempted a pass on Harvick the straightway but Harvick won his first Winston Cup Series race by .006 seconds, the second closest finish in a NASCAR-sanctioned race. Nadeau followed in third, ahead of Jarrett in fourth and Terry Labonte in fifth.[12]
Post-race
Kevin Harvick appeared in victory lane after his victory lap to start celebrating his first win in the Winston Cup Series. Harvick's victory took place in his third start, breaking the record of the fewest starts to first victory previously held by Dale Earnhardt Jr.[12]
Results
Qualifying
Race
Standings after the race
Pos | Driver | Points | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Jeff Gordon | 613 |
2 | 2 | Dale Jarrett | 576 (–37) |
3 | 3 | Johnny Benson Jr. | 540 (–73) |
3 | 4 | Sterling Marlin | 531 (–82) |
2 | 5 | Michael Waltrip | 509 (–104) |
1 | 6 | Bill Elliott | 495 (–118) |
10 | 7 | Jerry Nadeau | 478 (–135) |
3 | 8 | Rusty Wallace | 472 (–141) |
5 | 9 | Ricky Rudd | 467 (–146) |
6 | 10 | Ken Schrader | 461 (–152) |
References
- The Farmer's Almanac. Archivedfrom the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
- Speedvision. Archived from the originalon June 10, 2001.
- ^ "NASCAR Race Tracks". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on September 12, 2010. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
- ^ "NASCAR Tracks – Atlanta Motor Speedway". Archived from the original on July 21, 2013. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
- ^ "Standings: 2001 Official Driver Standings: UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2009. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
- ^ "2001 Manufacturers Championship". Jayski. Archived from the original on February 7, 2005. Retrieved June 7, 2001.
- ^ "2000 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500". Racing Reference. Yardbreaker. Archived from the original on 3 November 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
- ^ "Event Schedule". Jayski's Silly Season Site. ESPN Internet Ventures. Archived from the original on 4 August 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
- ^ a b c "Race Lineup". NASCAR.com. Archived from the original on May 7, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
- ^ Thomas, Stephen (March 9, 2001). "Jarrett charges to Cracker Barrel 500 pole position". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
- ^ a b c NASCAR on Fox (Television production). Hampton, Georgia: Fox Sports (Fox Broadcasting Company). March 11, 2001.
- ^ a b Thomas, Stephen (March 11, 2001). "Rookie Harvick wins Cracker Barrel 500 at the line". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on October 10, 2008. Retrieved June 7, 2014.