2001 Coca-Cola 600

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.

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 (2001-05-27)
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

Background
Lowe's Motor Speedway, the track where the race was held.

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

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
Pos Grid No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points
1 1899Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFord400185
2 629Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet400175
3 1220Tony StewartJoe Gibbs RacingPontiac400165
4 106Mark MartinRoush RacingFord400165
5 2418Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingPontiac400160
6 526Jimmy SpencerHaas-Carter MotorsportsFord400155
7 2128Ricky RuddRobert Yates RacingFord400146
8 3788Dale JarrettRobert Yates RacingFord400142
9 922Ward BurtonJoe Gibbs RacingDodge400143
10 3412Jeremy MayfieldPenske RacingFord400134

Race statistics
  • 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
  1. "Weather information for the 2001 Coca-Cola 600". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2015-11-03.
  2. Jensen, Tom (May 23, 2015). "Stewart remembers Dale Earnhardt's act of kindness at Coke 600". Fox Sports. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
Previous race:
2001 Pontiac Excitement 400		 Winston Cup Series
2001 season		 Next race:
2001 MBNA Platinum 400
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