2001 Virginia 500
Eighth race of the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
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The 2001 Virginia 500 was the eighth stock car race of the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 52nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, April 8, 2001, Ridgeway, Virginia at Martinsville Speedway, a 0.526 miles (0.847 km) permanent oval-shaped short track. The race took the scheduled 500 laps to complete. Within the final laps of the race, Robert Yates Racing driver Dale Jarrett would manage to pass teammate Ricky Rudd to earn his 27th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his third victory of the season.[1][2][3] To fill out the top three, Rudd and Roush Racing driver Jeff Burton would finish second and third, respectively.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 8 of 36 in the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
|
The 2001 Virginia 500 program cover. | |||
| Date | April 8, 2001 | ||
| Official name | 52nd Annual Virginia 500 | ||
| Location | Ridgeway, Virginia, Martinsville Speedway | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 0.526 miles (0.847 km) | ||
| Distance | 500 laps, 263 mi (423.257 km) | ||
| Scheduled distance | 500 laps, 263 mi (423.257 km) | ||
| Average speed | 70.799 miles per hour (113.940 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | 20.126 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Bobby Hamilton | Andy Petree Racing | |
| Laps | 130 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FOX | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, Darrell Waltrip | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Background
Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing track located in Ridgeway, Virginia. At 0.526 miles (0.847 km) in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only remaining race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Practice
First practice
The first practice session was held on Friday, April 6, at 11:15 AM EST. The session would last for one hour and 10 minutes.[4] Robert Pressley, driving for Jasper Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 20.055 and an average speed of 94.420 mph (151.954 km/h).[5]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 77 | Robert Pressley | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 20.055 | 94.420 |
| 2 | 25 | Jerry Nadeau | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.108 | 94.171 |
| 3 | 33 | Joe Nemechek | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 20.119 | 94.120 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Final practice
The final practice session was held on Saturday, April 7, at 11:30 EST. The session would last for one hour and 30 minutes.[4] Jerry Nadeau, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 20.440 and an average speed of 92.642 mph (149.093 km/h).[6]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | Jerry Nadeau | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 20.440 | 92.642 |
| 2 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 20.468 | 92.515 |
| 3 | 26 | Jimmy Spencer | Haas-Carter Motorsports | Ford | 20.469 | 92.511 |
| Full final practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Friday, April 6, at 3:00 PM EST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap.[4] Positions 1-36 would be decided on time, while positions 37-43 would be based on provisionals. Six spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The seventh is awarded to a past champion who has not otherwise qualified for the race. If no past champ needs the provisional, the next team in the owner points will be awarded a provisional.[7]
Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 20.126 and an average speed of 94.087 mph (151.418 km/h).[8]
Three drivers would fail to qualify: Jason Leffler, Hermie Sadler, and Hut Stricklin.
Full qualifying results
Race results
| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 500 | 6 | running | 180 | $170,027 |
| 2 | 4 | 28 | Ricky Rudd | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 500 | 50 | running | 175 | $106,047 |
| 3 | 3 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 500 | 128 | running | 170 | $108,596 |
| 4 | 9 | 55 | Bobby Hamilton | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 500 | 130 | running | 170 | $77,675 |
| 5 | 31 | 40 | Sterling Marlin | Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates | Dodge | 500 | 20 | running | 160 | $67,110 |
| 6 | 25 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Racing | Ford | 500 | 11 | running | 155 | $57,750 |
| 7 | 16 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 500 | 0 | running | 146 | $59,200 |
| 8 | 24 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 500 | 0 | running | 142 | $90,402 |
| 9 | 21 | 26 | Jimmy Spencer | Haas-Carter Motorsports | Ford | 500 | 0 | running | 138 | $57,695 |
| 10 | 7 | 25 | Jerry Nadeau | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 500 | 0 | running | 134 | $55,625 |
| 11 | 10 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 500 | 0 | running | 130 | $71,233 |
| 12 | 1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 500 | 6 | running | 132 | $87,427 |
| 13 | 2 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Ford | 500 | 58 | running | 129 | $82,415 |
| 14 | 17 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 500 | 0 | running | 121 | $63,898 |
| 15 | 22 | 92 | Stacy Compton | Melling Racing | Dodge | 500 | 0 | running | 118 | $47,586 |
| 16 | 8 | 33 | Joe Nemechek | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 500 | 0 | running | 115 | $67,245 |
| 17 | 30 | 96 | Andy Houston (R) | PPI Motorsports | Ford | 500 | 0 | running | 112 | $35,475 |
| 18 | 42 | 4 | Kevin Lepage | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 499 | 0 | running | 109 | $42,140 |
| 19 | 29 | 1 | Steve Park | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 499 | 0 | running | 106 | $63,493 |
| 20 | 26 | 10 | Johnny Benson Jr. | MBV Motorsports | Pontiac | 499 | 0 | running | 103 | $49,350 |
| 21 | 37 | 21 | Elliott Sadler | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 499 | 0 | running | 100 | $57,725 |
| 22 | 38 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Dodge | 499 | 0 | running | 97 | $69,485 |
| 23 | 39 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 499 | 0 | running | 94 | $68,780 |
| 24 | 35 | 15 | Michael Waltrip | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 497 | 0 | running | 91 | $42,650 |
| 25 | 32 | 36 | Ken Schrader | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 497 | 0 | running | 88 | $44,450 |
| 26 | 14 | 19 | Casey Atwood (R) | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 496 | 0 | running | 85 | $32,200 |
| 27 | 43 | 14 | Ron Hornaday Jr. (R) | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Pontiac | 495 | 24 | running | 87 | $35,000 |
| 28 | 18 | 32 | Ricky Craven | PPI Motorsports | Ford | 494 | 25 | running | 84 | $31,800 |
| 29 | 34 | 93 | Dave Blaney | Bill Davis Racing | Dodge | 494 | 0 | running | 76 | $34,600 |
| 30 | 6 | 12 | Jeremy Mayfield | Penske Racing South | Ford | 490 | 0 | running | 73 | $73,184 |
| 31 | 20 | 7 | Mike Wallace | Ultra Motorsports | Ford | 489 | 0 | running | 70 | $39,200 |
| 32 | 19 | 31 | Mike Skinner | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 488 | 0 | running | 67 | $63,824 |
| 33 | 41 | 97 | Kurt Busch (R) | Roush Racing | Ford | 466 | 0 | running | 64 | $38,800 |
| 34 | 15 | 29 | Kevin Harvick (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 454 | 0 | running | 61 | $76,627 |
| 35 | 40 | 43 | John Andretti | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 451 | 0 | running | 58 | $65,502 |
| 36 | 23 | 11 | Brett Bodine | Brett Bodine Racing | Ford | 432 | 0 | running | 55 | $30,400 |
| 37 | 28 | 27 | Kenny Wallace | Eel River Racing | Pontiac | 370 | 0 | running | 52 | $30,275 |
| 38 | 27 | 44 | Buckshot Jones | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 350 | 0 | running | 49 | $38,150 |
| 39 | 36 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 268 | 42 | accident | 51 | $74,376 |
| 40 | 5 | 77 | Robert Pressley | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 250 | 0 | overheating | 43 | $38,175 |
| 41 | 11 | 50 | Rick Mast | Midwest Transit Racing | Chevrolet | 232 | 0 | rear end | 40 | $29,850 |
| 42 | 33 | 45 | Kyle Petty | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 155 | 0 | overheating | 37 | $29,625 |
| 43 | 12 | 66 | Todd Bodine | Haas-Carter Motorsports | Ford | 12 | 0 | engine | 34 | $29,756 |
| Official race results | ||||||||||
Standings after the race
| Pos | Driver | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
1 | Dale Jarrett | 1,236 |
|
2 | Jeff Gordon | 1,113 (–123) |
|
3 | Johnny Benson Jr. | 1,049 (–187) |
 1 |
4 | Sterling Marlin | 1,049 (–187) |
 1 |
5 | Steve Park | 1,039 (–197) |
|
6 | Rusty Wallace | 1,008 (–228) |
|
7 | Bobby Hamilton | 995 (–241) |
| 3 |
8 | Ricky Rudd | 970 (–266) |
|
9 | Bill Elliott | 943 (–293) |
| 2 |
10 | Elliott Sadler | 924 (–312) |
