The 2001 NAPA Auto Parts 300 was the first stock car race of the 2001 NASCAR Busch Series, and the 20th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, February 17, 2001, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, a superspeedway. The race took the scheduled 120 laps to complete. In an action-packed event, Randy LaJoie, driving for Evans Motorsports, would fend off several hard chargers to earn his fourteenth career NASCAR Busch Series win, and his first of the season. To fill out the podium, Kevin Harvick, driving for Richard Childress Racing, and Matt Kenseth, driving for Reiser Enterprises, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

Report Background

Daytona International Speedway is one of three superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Atlanta Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is long. The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.

Entry list

(R) denotes rookie driver.

#DriverTeamMakeSponsor00Todd BodineBuckshot RacingPontiacBuckshot Racing1P. J. JonesPhoenix RacingPontiacYellow Freight2Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevroletAC-Delco6Joe BesseyJoe Bessey MotorsportsPontiacWhelen7Randy LaJoieEvans MotorsportsPontiacKleenex / Winn-Dixie08Bobby HamiltonCarroll RacingChevroletDiet Dr. Pepper8Blaise AlexanderHighLine Performance GroupChevroletChannellock / InvenCom10Jeff Greenppc RacingFordNestle Nesquik11Marty HoustonHighLine Performance GroupChevroletChannellock14Larry Foyt (R)Foyt RacingChevroletHarrah's Casino16David StarrDay Enterprise RacingPontiac31-W Insulation17Matt KensethReiser EnterprisesChevroletVisine18Jeff PurvisJoe Gibbs RacingPontiacMBNA19Mike BlissEmerald Performance GroupChevroletMST Motorsports Safety20Mike McLaughlinJoe Gibbs RacingPontiacWorld Vision21Mike DillonRichard Childress RacingChevroletRockwell Automation23Scott Wimmer (R)Bill Davis RacingPontiacJani-King25Chad ChaffinTeam Rensi MotorsportsChevroletUnited States Marine Corps26Bobby Hamilton Jr.Carroll RacingChevroletDr. Pepper27Jamie McMurray (R)Brewco MotorsportsPontiacWilliams Travel Centers28Brad BakerBrewco MotorsportsChevroletVanderbilt33Tony RainesBACE MotorsportsChevroletBayer34David GreenCicci-Welliver RacingChevroletAFG Glass35Lyndon AmickTeam AmickPontiacTeam Amick36Hank Parker Jr.Cicci-Welliver RacingChevroletGNC Live Well37Kevin GrubbBrewco MotorsportsChevroletTimber Wolf38Christian ElderAkins MotorsportsFordGreat Clips43Jay SauterCurb Agajanian MotorsportsChevroletQuality Farm Stores45Steve GrissomPetty EnterprisesChevroletRichard Petty Driving Experience46Ashton LewisLewis MotorsportsChevroletLewis Motorsports48Kenny WallaceInnovative MotorsportsChevroletGoulds Pumps49Andy KirbyJay Robinson RacingChevroletBob Williams Used Car Factory55Mark GreenDavis & Weight MotorsportsFordMSN57Jason Kellerppc RacingFordAlbertsons59Rich BickleST MotorsportsChevroletKingsford / Glad60Greg Biffle (R)Roush RacingFordGrainger61Tim Sauter (R)Xpress MotorsportsPontiacStoops Freightliner63Shane HallHensley MotorsportsFordLance Inc.66Tim FedewaCicci-Welliver RacingChevroletPhillips 6674Chad LittleBACE MotorsportsChevroletStaff America77Kelly Denton (R)PRW RacingFordMerck-Medco87Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsPontiacCellular One92Jimmie JohnsonHerzog MotorsportsChevroletExcedrin98Elton SawyerAkins MotorsportsFordHot Tamales / Starter99Michael WaltripMichael Waltrip RacingChevroletAaron'sOfficial entry list

Practice First practice The first practice session was held on Tuesday, February 13, at 9:20 am EST, and would last for 100 minutes. Kevin Grubb, driving for Brewco Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 48.944, and a speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed137Kevin GrubbBrewco MotorsportsChevrolet48.944183.884235Lyndon AmickTeam AmickChevrolet48.959183.827326Bobby Hamilton Jr.Carroll RacingChevrolet49.070183.411First practice results

Results

Pos Grid Car No. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Laps Led Time/Retired 1 2 7 Randy LaJoie Evans Motorsports Pontiac 120 12 Winner 2 12 2 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 120 0 Lead lap under caution 3 18 17 Matt Kenseth Reiser Enterprises Chevrolet 120 0 Lead lap under caution 4 14 10 Jeff Green ppc Racing Ford 120 1 Lead lap under caution 5 34 92 Jimmie Johnson Herzog Motorsports Chevrolet 120 0 Lead lap under caution 6 16 20 Mike McLaughlin Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 120 0 Lead lap under caution 7 19 57 Jason Keller ppc Racing Ford 120 0 Lead lap under caution 8 20 48 Kenny Wallace Innovative Motorsports Chevrolet 120 0 Lead lap under caution 9 32 74 Chad Little BACE Motorsports Chevrolet 120 0 Lead lap under caution 10 7 61 Tim Sauter Xpress Motorsports Pontiac 120 0 Lead lap under caution 11 6 27 Jamie McMurray Brewco Motorsports Pontiac 120 0 Lead lap under caution 12 41 63 Shane Hall Hensley Motorsports Ford 120 0 Lead lap under caution 13 30 11 Marty Houston Fitz Motorsports Chevrolet 120 0 Lead lap under caution 14 39 36 Hank Parker Jr. Cicci-Welliver Racing Chevrolet 120 0 Lead lap under caution 15 5 23 Scott Wimmer Bill Davis Racing Pontiac 120 24 Lead lap under caution 16 27 59 Rich Bickle ST Motorsports Chevrolet 120 0 Lead lap under caution 17 11 6 Joe Bessey Joe Bessey Motorsports Pontiac 120 0 Lead lap under caution 18 42 77 Kelly Denton PRW Racing Ford 120 0 Lead lap under caution 19 36 44 Larry Foyt A. J. Foyt Racing Chevrolet 120 1 Lead lap under caution 20 31 55 Mark Green HMV Motorsports Ford 120 0 Lead lap under caution 21 10 35 Lyndon Amick Team Amick Pontiac 120 0 Lead lap under caution 22 24 60 Greg Biffle Roush Racing Ford 120 2 Lead lap under caution 23 38 34 David Green Cicci-Welliver Racing Chevrolet 120 0 Lead lap under caution 24 35 66 Tim Fedewa Cicci-Welliver Racing Chevrolet 120 0 Lead lap under caution 25 13 43 Jay Sauter Curb/Agajanian Motorsports Chevrolet 120 0 Lead lap under caution 26 21 45 Steve Grissom Petty Enterprises Chevrolet 120 0 Lead lap under caution 27 3 1 P. J. Jones Phoenix Racing Pontiac 120 0 Lead lap under caution 28 4 18 Jeff Purvis Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 120 65 Lead lap under caution 29 8 21 Mike Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 119 0 +1 lap 30 26 8 Blaise Alexander HighLine Performance Group Chevrolet 119 0 +1 lap 31 29 46 Ashton Lewis Lewis Motorsports Chevrolet 119 0 +1 lap 32 1 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Pontiac 119 15 +1 lap 33 15 26 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Carroll Racing Chevrolet 118 0 +2 laps 34 23 16 David Starr Day Enterprise Racing Pontiac 111 0 +9 laps 35 33 28 Brad Baker Brewco Motorsports Chevrolet 105 0 +15 laps 36 40 33 Tony Raines BACE Motorsports Chevrolet 100 0 Crash 37 28 99 Michael Waltrip Michael Waltrip Racing Chevrolet 100 0 Engine 38 17 00 Todd Bodine Buckshot Racing Pontiac 85 0 Crash 39 9 37 Kevin Grubb Brewco Motorsports Pontiac 83 0 Crash 40 43 19 Mike Bliss Emerald Performance Group Chevrolet 82 0 Engine 41 37 25 Chad Chaffin Team Rensi Motorsports Chevrolet 58 0 Crash 42 22 08 Bobby Hamilton Carroll Racing Chevrolet 56 0 Rear end 43 25 98 Elton Sawyer Akins Motorsports Ford 6 0 Engine 38 Christian Elder Akins Motorsports Ford 49 Andy Kirby Jay Robinson Racing Chevrolet 74 Phil Parsons BACE Motorsports Chevrolet Sources:

Media

Television The NAPA Auto Parts 300 was carried by FOX in the United States. Mike Joy, former Cup Series champion Darrell Waltrip, and former Daytona 500 winner race crew chief Larry McReynolds called the race from the booth, with Steve Byrnes, Jeanne Zelasko, Dick Berggren and Matt Yocum covering pit road. Chris Myers hosted the show and there was also contributions from Jeff Hammond and Ken Squier. It was the first NASCAR Busch Series race broadcast on FOX as part of the new for 2001 TV contracts. +FOXBooth announcersPit reportersLap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Darrell Waltrip

Color-commentator: Larry McReynoldsSteve Byrnes

Jeanne Zelasko

Matt Yocum

Dick Berggren

References