The 2001 Daytona 500, the 43rd running of the event, was the first race of the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series schedule. It was held on February 18, 2001, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, consisting of 200laps and 500 miles on the 2.5-mile (4km) asphalt tri-oval.
Bill Elliott won the pole and Michael Waltrip, in his first race in the No. 15 car for Dale Earnhardt, Inc., won the race. This was the first points-paying victory of his Winston Cup career, coming in his 463rd start, the longest wait for a first win. His teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 2nd and Rusty Wallace finished 3rd.
On the final lap, a fatal accident occurred involving Dale Earnhardt Sr., Ken Schrader, and Sterling Marlin. Earnhardt's car crashed head-on into the retaining wall, killing him. The race was also marred by an 18-car pile-up on lap 173 that began when Ward Burton made contact with Robby Gordon, sending Tony Stewart flipping twice down the backstretch. After Earnhardt's death—as well as other notable deaths of other drivers in other NASCAR national touring series in previous seasons—NASCAR implemented rigorous safety improvements in later seasons. The 2001 Daytona 500 is the last NASCAR Cup Series race to involve a fatal accident.
Entry list DriverTeamManufacturer01Jason Leffler (R)Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix SabatesDodge1Steve ParkDale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet2Rusty WallacePenske RacingFord3Dale Earnhardt (W)Richard Childress RacingChevrolet4Robby GordonMorgan–McClure MotorsportsChevrolet5Terry LabonteHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet6Mark MartinRoush RacingFord7Mike WallaceUltra MotorsportsFord8Dale Earnhardt Jr.Dale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet9Bill Elliott (W)Evernham MotorsportsDodge10Johnny Benson Jr.MBV MotorsportsPontiac11Brett BodineBrett Bodine RacingFord12Jeremy MayfieldPenske RacingFord14Ron Hornaday Jr. (R)A. J. Foyt RacingPontiac15Michael WaltripDale Earnhardt, Inc.Chevrolet17Matt KensethRoush RacingFord18Bobby LabonteJoe Gibbs RacingPontiac19Casey Atwood (R)Evernham MotorsportsDodge20Tony StewartJoe Gibbs RacingPontiac21Elliott SadlerWood Brothers RacingFord22Ward BurtonBill Davis RacingDodge24Jeff Gordon (W)Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet25Jerry NadeauHendrick MotorsportsChevrolet26Jimmy SpencerHaas-Carter MotorsportsFord27Kenny WallaceEel River RacingPontiac28Ricky RuddRobert Yates RacingFord31Mike SkinnerRichard Childress RacingChevrolet32Ricky CravenPPI MotorsportsFord33Joe NemechekAndy Petree RacingChevrolet36Ken SchraderMBV MotorsportsPontiac37Derrike Cope (W)Qwest Motor RacingPontiac40Sterling Marlin (W)Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix SabatesDodge43John AndrettiPetty EnterprisesDodge44Buckshot JonesPetty EnterprisesDodge45Kyle PettyPetty EnterprisesDodge50Rick MastMidwest Transit RacingChevrolet51Jeff PurvisPhoenix RacingFord55Bobby HamiltonAndy Petree RacingChevrolet66Todd BodineHaas-Carter MotorsportsFord71Dave MarcisMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet72Dwayne LeikMarcis Auto RacingChevrolet77Robert PressleyJasper MotorsportsFord80Morgan ShepherdHover MotorsportsFord84Norm BenningNorm Benning RacingChevrolet85Carl LongMansion MotorsportsFord88Dale Jarrett (W)Robert Yates RacingFord90Hut StricklinDonlavey RacingFord92Stacy ComptonMelling RacingDodge93Dave BlaneyBill Davis RacingDodge96Andy Houston (R)PPI MotorsportsFord97Kurt Busch (R)Roush RacingFord99Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFord
Qualifying Qualifying to determine positions 1-2 for the Daytona 500 and the lineup for the Gatorade Duels happened on February 10, 2001. Originally, Bill Elliott and Jerry Nadeau were slated to start first and second, respectively. However, during post qualifying inspection, NASCAR determined that Nadeau had an unapproved shock absorber and spring shackle, and his time was disqualified. Stacy Compton, who was originally third, moved up to second.
Dwayne Leik would be the only driver to not set a time. Pos.No.DriverMakeTimeSpeed19Bill ElliottDodge49.029183.565292Stacy ComptonDodge49.266182.682388Dale JarrettFord49.282182.622420Tony StewartPontiac49.306182.534524Jeff GordonChevrolet49.322182.474622Ward BurtonDodge49.337182.419740Sterling MarlinDodge49.412182.142833Joe NemechekChevrolet49.419182.116931Mike SkinnerChevrolet49.419182.1161032Ricky CravenFord49.430182.0761110Johnny BensonPontiac49.453181.991125Terry LabonteChevrolet49.502181.8111315Michael WaltripChevrolet49.534181.6931493Dave BlaneyDodge49.543181.6601555Bobby HamiltonChevrolet49.543181.6601643John AndrettiDodge49.566181.5761796Andy HoustonFord49.569181.565188Dale Earnhardt JrChevrolet49.586181.503194Robby GordonChevrolet49.632181.3352028Ricky RuddFord49.670181.1962118Bobby LabontePontiac49.745180.923222Rusty WallaceFord49.763180.857231Steve ParkChevrolet49.769180.8352499Jeff BurtonFord49.792180.7522519Casey AtwoodDodge49.798180.730266Mark MartinFord49.805180.705273Dale EarnhardtChevrolet49.808180.6942836Ken SchraderPontiac49.822180.6432911Brett BodineFord49.824180.6363044Buckshot JonesPontiac49.836180.5923145Kyle PettyDodge49.839180.5813214Ron HornadayPontiac49.853180.5313371Dave MarcisChevrolet49.893180.3863421Elliott SadlerFord49.899180.3643526Jimmy SpencerFord49.928180.2603601Jason LefflerDodge49.967180.1193766Todd BodineFord50.003179.9893827Kenny WallacePontiac50.033179.8813951Jeff PurvisFord50.062179.7774017Matt KensethFord50.124179.554417Mike WallaceFord50.151179.4584277Robert PressleyFord50.187179.3294390Hut StricklinFord50.282178.9904450Rick MastChevrolet50.396178.5864597Kurt BuschFord50.417178.5114612Jeremy MayfieldFord50.529178.1164737Derrike CopePontiac50.764177.2914884Norm BenningFord51.049176.3014985Carl LongFord51.053176.2875080Morgan ShepherdFord51.526174.6695172Dwayne LeikChevroletDid not startDSQ25Jerry Nadeau*Chevrolet49.224182.838
Gatorade 125's The Gatorade 125s are a pair of NASCAR Winston Cup series held in conjunction with the Daytona 500 annually in February at Daytona International Speedway. They consist of two 50 laps and 125 miles in length, which serve as heat races that set up the lineup for the Daytona 500. Both races set the lineup for positions 3–30. The first race sets the lineup for cars that qualified in odd–numbered positions on pole qualifying day. The second race sets the lineup for cars that qualified in even–numbered positions. After qualifying races, the next six positions are determined by fastest times in qualifying who have not yet made the field. The final seven positions go to provisional starters based on last year's car owner points standings.
Race 1 results Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps1 4 40 Sterling Marlin Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 502 26 25 Jerry Nadeau Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 503 14 3 Dale Earnhardt Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 504 9 96 Andy Houston (R) PPI Motorsports Ford 505 17 26 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 506 3 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 507 24 01 Jason Leffler (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 508 25 51 Jeff Purvis Phoenix Racing Ford 509 7 15 Michael Waltrip Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 5010 13 19 Casey Atwood (R) Evernham Motorsports Dodge 5011 18 27 Kenny Wallace Eel River Racing Pontiac 5012 12 1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 5013 19 7 Mike Wallace Ultra Motorsports Ford 5014 15 44 Buckshot Jones (R) Petty Enterprises Dodge 5015 20 50 Rick Mast Midwest Transit Racing Chevrolet 5016 5 33 Joe Nemechek Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 5017 8 55 Bobby Hamilton Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 5018 21 37 Derrike Cope Quest Motor Racing Pontiac 5019 11 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 5020 1 9 Bill Elliott Evernham Motorsports Dodge 5021 16 14 Ron Hornaday Jr. (R) A. J. Foyt Racing Pontiac 4922 23 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 4823 10 4 Robby Gordon Morgan–McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 4724 2 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 4625 6 10 Johnny Benson Jr. MBV Motorsports Pontiac 4526 22 85 Carl Long (R) Mansion Motorsports Ford 12
Race 2 results Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps1 4 31 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 502 9 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 503 12 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 504 3 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Dodge 505 11 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing Ford 506 14 36 Ken Schrader MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 507 18 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing Ford 508 5 32 Ricky Craven PPI Motorsports Ford 509 7 93 Dave Blaney Bill Davis Racing Dodge 5010 13 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 5011 2 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 5012 20 97 Kurt Busch Roush Racing Ford 5013 15 45 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge 5014 10 28 Ricky Rudd Robert Yates Racing Ford 5015 6 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 5016 25 12 Jeremy Mayfield Penske Racing Ford 5017 17 66 Todd Bodine Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 5018 8 43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Dodge 5019 24 77 Robert Pressley Jasper Motorsports Ford 5020 22 80 Morgan Shepherd Hover Motorsports Ford 5021 23 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 5022 19 90 Hut Stricklin Donlavey Racing Ford 5023 1 92 Stacy Compton Melling Racing Dodge 5024 21 84 Norm Benning (R) Norm Benning Racing Chevrolet 4825 16 21 Elliott Sadler Wood Brothers Racing Ford 3526 26 72 Dwayne Leik (R) Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 20
Starting lineup