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The 2001 Daytona 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup (now NASCAR Cup) race held on February 18, 2001, at Daytona International Speedway during the 2001 Winston Cup Series. After 462 starts, Michael Waltrip was finally able to capture his first career points-paying Winston Cup win. The race would be marred by tragedy as Waltrip's car owner, Dale Earnhardt, crashed on the last lap and died from the injuries he sustained.
Qualifying notes[]
In his first race in which he drove for someone else besides himself since 1993, Bill Elliott captured the pole for the Daytona 500. Stacy Compton qualified second for his first career front row qualification while defending points champion Bobby Labonte started 37th. Sterling Marlin and Mike Skinner won the Gatorade 125 qualifying races.
The following drivers failed to qualify for the race: Dave Marcis (#71), Todd Bodine (#66), Hut Stricklin (#90), Rick Mast (#50), Derrike Cope (#37), Norm Benning (#84), Carl Long (#85), Morgan Shepherd (#80), Dwayne Leik (#72)
Additional race data[]
- Leaders: 14
- Time of race: 3:05:26
- Average speed: 161.783 mph
- Margin of victory: 0.124 sec
- Most spots improved: Jeremy Mayfield (+29)
- Dodge made its return to Winston Cup for the first since the 1980s in this race.
- Jason Leffler made his Winston Cup debut in this race.
- Jeff Purvis and Phoenix Racing made their returns to Winston Cup in this race. This was the first time they ran a Cup race since the late 90s.
- Dale Earnhardt was blocking a group of cars when he was tapped by Sterling Marlin on the last lap. His car jerked to the right and collected Ken Schrader before crashing head-on into the Turn 4 wall. The two cars slid down the racetrack and onto the infield grass. Earnhardt was pronounced dead within minutes of his arrival at Halifax Medical Center. His death was the advent for several safety modifications in NASCAR, among them the HANS device.
Results[]
| Pos. | Start | No. | Driver | Sponsor | Manufacturer | Laps | Laps led | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 |  |
Michael Waltrip | NAPA | Chevrolet | 200 | 27 | Running |
| 2 | 6 |  |
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | Budweiser | Chevrolet | 200 | 13 | Running |
| 3 | 12 |  |
Rusty Wallace | Miller Lite | Ford | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 4 | 30 | 28 | Ricky Rudd | Texaco Havoline | Ford | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 5 | 1 |  |
Bill Elliott (W) | Dodge Dealers | Dodge | 200 | 1 | Running |
| 6 | 27 | 7 | Mike Wallace | NationsRent | Ford | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 7 | 3 | 40 | Sterling Marlin (W) | Coors Light | Dodge | 200 | 39 | Running |
| 8 | 35 | 55 | Bobby Hamilton | Square D | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 9 | 38 | 12 | Jeremy Mayfield | Mobil 1 | Ford | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 10 | 2 |  |
Stacy Compton | Kodiak | Dodge | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 11 | 32 | 33 | Joe Nemechek | Oakwood Homes | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 12 | 7 |  |
Dale Earnhardt (W) | GM Goodwrench | Chevrolet | 199 | 17 | Crash |
| 13 | 14 | 36 | Ken Schrader | M&M's | Pontiac | 199 | 7 | Crash |
| 14 | 39 | 77 | Robert Pressley | Jasper Engines | Ford | 199 | 0 | Running |
| 15 | 43 | 11 | Brett Bodine | Ralph's Supermarkets | Ford | 199 | 1 | Running |
| 16 | 28 | 45 | Kyle Petty | Sprint | Dodge | 199 | 0 | Running |
| 17 | 42 | 14 | Ron Hornaday (R) | Conseco | Pontiac | 199 | 0 | Running |
| 18 | 40 | 21 | Elliott Sadler | Motorcraft | Ford | 199 | 0 | Running |
| 19 | 8 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Citgo Supergard | Ford | 199 | 0 | Running |
| 20 | 21 | 19 | Casey Atwood (R) | Dodge Dealers | Dodge | 198 | 0 | Running |
| 21 | 16 |  |
Matt Kenseth | DeWalt Tools | Ford | 196 | 0 | Running |
| 22 | 31 | 88 | Dale Jarrett (W) | UPS | Ford | 186 | 1 | Crash |
| 23 | 18 | 32 | Ricky Craven | Tide | Ford | 185 | 0 | Running |
| 24 | 34 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Kellogg's | Chevrolet | 184 | 0 | Running |
| 25 | 23 | 27 | Kenny Wallace | Hill Brothers Coffee | Pontiac | 184 | 0 | Crash |
| 26 | 4 | 31 | Mike Skinner | Lowe's | Chevrolet | 183 | 24 | Running |
| 27 | 11 | 26 | Jimmy Spencer | Kmart | Ford | 183 | 0 | Running |
| 28 | 33 |  |
Johnny Benson | Valvoline | Pontiac | 181 | 0 | Engine |
| 29 | 29 | 44 | Buckshot Jones | Georgia Pacific | Dodge | 181 | 0 | Crash |
| 30 | 13 |  |
Jeff Gordon (W) | DuPont Automotive | Chevrolet | 178 | 11 | Crash |
| 31 | 25 | 1 | Steve Park | Pennzoil | Chevrolet | 177 | 2 | Running |
| 32 | 5 | 25 | Jerry Nadeau | UAW-Delphi | Chevrolet | 176 | 0 | Crash |
| 33 | 22 | 6 | Mark Martin | Viagra/Pfizer | Ford | 175 | 1 | Crash |
| 34 | 15 | 01 | Jason Leffler (R) | Cingular Wireless | Dodge | 174 | 0 | Crash |
| 35 | 10 | 22 | Ward Burton | Caterpillar | Dodge | 173 | 53 | Crash |
| 36 | 24 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Home Depot | Chevrolet | 173 | 0 | Crash |
| 37 | 41 | 4 | Robby Gordon | Kodak | Chevrolet | 173 | 0 | Crash |
| 38 | 9 | 96 | Andy Houston (R) | McDonald's | Ford | 173 | 0 | Crash |
| 39 | 36 |  |
John Andretti | Cheerios | Dodge | 173 | 0 | Crash |
| 40 | 37 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Interstate Batteries | Pontiac | 173 | 3 | Crash |
| 41 | 26 | 97 | Kurt Busch (R) | Team Ford Racing | Ford | 169 | 0 | Running |
| 42 | 20 | 93 | Dave Blaney | Amoco | Pontiac | 135 | 0 | Engine |
| 43 | 17 | 51 | Jeff Purvis | Phoenix Construction | Ford | 47 | 0 | Crash |
- (R) - Denotes rookie drivers
- (W) - Denotes past winner of the race
Points[]
| Pos. | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Waltrip | 180 |
| 2 | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | 175 (-5) |
| 3 | Rusty Wallace | 165 (-15) |
| 4 | Ricky Rudd | 160 (-20) |
| 4 | Bill Elliott | 160 (-20) |
| 6 | Sterling Marlin | 151 (-29) |
| 7 | Mike Wallace | 150 (-30) |
| 8 | Bobby Hamilton | 142 (-38) |
| 9 | Jeremy Mayfield | 138 (-42) |
| 10 | Stacy Compton | 134 (-46) |
| 11 | Dale Earnhardt | 132 (-48) |
| 12 | Joe Nemechek | 130 (-50) |
| 13 | Ken Schrader | 129 (-51) |
| 14 | Brett Bodine | 123 (-57) |
| 15 | Robert Pressley | 121 (-59) |
| 16 | Kyle Petty | 115 (-65) |
| 17 | Ron Hornaday, Jr. | 112 (-68) |
| 18 | Elliott Sadler | 109 (-71) |
| 19 | Jeff Burton | 106 (-74) |
| 20 | Casey Atwood | 103 (-77) |