The 2001 UAW-GM Quality 500 was the 29th stock car race of the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 42nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, October 7, 2001, in Concord, North Carolina, at Lowe's Motor Speedway, a 1.5 miles (2.4 km) permanent quad-oval. The race took the scheduled 334 laps to complete. At race's end, Sterling Marlin, driving for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, would dominate the late stages of the race to win his eighth career NASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second and final victory of the season.[1][2][3] To fill out the podium, Tony Stewart, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, and Ward Burton, driving for Bill Davis Racing, would finish second and third, respectively. This race marked the official debut of Jimmie Johnson in the Cup Series.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 29 of 36 in the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 2001 UAW-GM Quality 500 program cover, with artwork by NASCAR artist Sam Bass. | |||
| Date | October 7, 2001 | ||
| Official name | 42nd Annual UAW-GM Quality 500 | ||
| Location | Concord, North Carolina, Lowe's Motor Speedway | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.41 km) | ||
| Distance | 334 laps, 501 mi (806.281 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 334 laps, 501 mi (806.281 km) | ||
| Average speed | 139.006 miles per hour (223.708 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Haas-Carter Motorsports | ||
| Time | 29.166 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Sterling Marlin | Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates | |
| Laps | 135 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 40 | Sterling Marlin | Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | TNT (moved from NBC due to the announcement of the United States invasion of Afghanistan) | ||
| Announcers | Allen Bestwick, Benny Parsons, Wally Dallenbach Jr. | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Performance Racing Network | ||
The race was interrupted from its broadcast on NBC due to then-president George W. Bush announcing the United States invasion of Afghanistan, moving the race to TNT.[4]
Background
editLowe'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 NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, 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 Marcus G. Smith (son of Bruton Smith) as track president.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Practice
editOriginally, three practice sessions were planned to be held, with one on Thursday, October 4, and two on Saturday, October 6. However, due to rain, the AM session on Saturday was cancelled.[5]
First practice
editThe first practice session was held on Thursday, October 4, at 3:30 PM EST. The session would last for two hours.[5] Ryan Newman, driving for Penske Racing South, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.472 and an average speed of 183.225 miles per hour (294.872 km/h).[6]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 02 | Ryan Newman | Penske Racing South | Ford | 29.472 | 183.225 |
| 2 | 77 | Robert Pressley | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 29.614 | 182.346 |
| 3 | 1 | Kenny Wallace | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 29.623 | 182.291 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second and final practice
editThe final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, October 6, at 4:00 PM EST. The session would last for one hour.[5] Ken Schrader, driving for MB2 Motorsports, and Tony Stewart, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would both set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.368 and an average speed of 177.819 miles per hour (286.172 km/h).[7]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 36 | Ken Schrader | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 30.368 | 177.819 |
| 2 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 30.368 | 177.819 |
| 3 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30.413 | 177.556 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying was held on Friday, October 4, at 7:00 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.[5] 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.[8]
Jimmy Spencer, driving for Haas-Carter Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 29.166 and an average speed of 185.147 miles per hour (297.965 km/h).[9]
Six drivers would fail to qualify: Kyle Petty, Derrike Cope, Jeff Green, Robby Gordon, Buckshot Jones, and Frank Kimmel.
Full qualifying results
editRace results
editReferences
edit- ^ Poole, David (October 7, 2001). "Marlin takes a race win on a strange day". ThatsRacin. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on November 14, 2001. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
- ^ Fryer, Jenna (October 8, 2001). "Marlin gets second win". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 39. Retrieved July 27, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Smith, Marty (October 7, 2001). "Marlin motors to win in UAW-GM Quality 500". NASCAR. Archived from the original on October 8, 2001. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
- ^ "Sports affected by attack on Afghanistan". Morning Journal. October 8, 2001. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Jayski's Silly Season Site - 2001 Charlotte 2 Race Info Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on February 13, 2002. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
- ^ "Winston Cup practice speeds". ThatsRacin. Archived from the original on December 24, 2001. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
- ^ "Saturday's final practice speeds". ThatsRacin. October 6, 2001. Archived from the original on December 24, 2001. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
- ^ "Jayski's Silly Season Site - 2002 Provisional/Owners Points Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on February 5, 2005. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
- ^ Poole, David (October 5, 2001). "Spencer has pole, something to show for it". ThatsRacin. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on October 6, 2001. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
- ^ "2001 UAW-GM Quality 500 - The Third Turn". The Third Turn. Retrieved July 24, 2022.