2001 Coca-Cola 600
| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 12 of 36 in the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 Layout of Lowe's Motor Speedway | |||
| Date | May 27, 2001 | ||
| Location | Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord, North Carolina | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.4 km) | ||
| Distance | 400 laps, 600 mi (965.606 km) | ||
| Weather | Temperatures ranging from 51.1 °F (10.6 °C) and 67.4 °F (19.7 °C); wind speeds approaching 12.7 miles per hour (20.4 km/h) | ||
| Average speed | 138.107 mph (222.262 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Penske Racing | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | |
| Laps | 125 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds | ||
The 2001 Coca-Cola 600, the 42nd running of the event, was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race held on May 27, 2001, at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. Contested at 400 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.4 km) speedway, it was the twelfth race of the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Jeff Burton of Roush Racing won the race.
Background
[edit]
Lowe's Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and The Winston, as well as the UAW-GM Quality 500. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams located in the Charlotte area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) with Humpy Wheeler as track president.
Summary
[edit]Tony Stewart successfully performed the "Double Duty", also running the Indianapolis 500 the same day; Joe Gibbs Racing had Mike McLaughlin on standby if he did not arrive on time. After finishing sixth at Indy, Stewart arrived less than half an hour before the start of the race. If Stewart did not arrive for the start of the Coca-Cola 600, McLaughlin would have been given credit for the start under NASCAR rules. He had to start at the end of the field (43rd place) due to missing the mandatory drivers' meeting that is held two hours before any race. Stewart eventually finished this race in third. This was his second Double Duty after 1999, where he finished ninth at Indy and fourth at Charlotte.[2]
Jeff Burton won the race driving for Roush Racing as the team became the first to win three races in a row.
Failed to qualify: John Andretti (No. 43), Kyle Petty (No. 45), Derrike Cope (No. 37), Mike Wallace (No. 7), Jeff Fultz (No. 54), Carl Long (No. 85)
Top 10 results
[edit]| Pos | Grid | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 400 | 185 |
| 2 | 6 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 400 | 175 |
| 3 | 12 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 400 | 165 |
| 4 | 10 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 400 | 165 |
| 5 | 24 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 400 | 160 |
| 6 | 5 | 26 | Jimmy Spencer | Haas-Carter Motorsports | Ford | 400 | 155 |
| 7 | 21 | 28 | Ricky Rudd | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 400 | 146 |
| 8 | 37 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 400 | 142 |
| 9 | 9 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Dodge | 400 | 143 |
| 10 | 34 | 12 | Jeremy Mayfield | Penske Racing | Ford | 400 | 134 |
Race statistics
[edit]- Time of race: 4:20:40
- Average Speed: 138.107 miles per hour (222.262 km/h)
- Pole Speed: 185.217
- Cautions: 6 for 45 laps
- Margin of Victory: 3.19 sec
- Lead changes: 28
- Percent of race run under caution: 11.2%
- Average green flag run: 50.7 laps
References
[edit]- ^ "Weather information for the 2001 Coca-Cola 600". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
- ^ Jensen, Tom (May 23, 2015). "Stewart remembers Dale Earnhardt's act of kindness at Coke 600". Fox Sports. Retrieved October 15, 2018.