The 2001 New England 300 was the 19th stock car race of the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the ninth iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 22, 2001, in Loudon, New Hampshire, at New Hampshire International Speedway, a 1.058-mile (1.703 km) permanent, oval-shaped, low-banked racetrack. The race took the scheduled 300 laps to complete. On the final restart with five to go, Dale Jarrett, driving for Robert Yates Racing, would perform a bump-and-run on teammate Ricky Rudd to pull away and win his 29th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his fourth and final win of the season. Rudd was credited with a third-place finish.[1][2][3] To fill out the podium, Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would finish second.
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 19 of 36 in the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series | |||
 The 2001 New England 300 program cover. | |||
| Date | July 22, 2001 | ||
| Official name | 9th Annual New England 300 | ||
| Location | Loudon, New Hampshire, New Hampshire International Speedway | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.058 mi (1.704 km) | ||
| Distance | 300 laps, 317.4 mi (510.805 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 300 laps, 317.4 mi (510.805 km) | ||
| Average speed | 102.131 miles per hour (164.364 km/h) | ||
| Attendance | 101,000 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | 28.905 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 126 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | TNT | ||
| Announcers | Allen Bestwick, Benny Parsons, Wally Dallenbach Jr. | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | Motor Racing Network | ||
Background edit
New Hampshire International Speedway is a 1.058-mile (1.703 km) oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since the early 1990s, as well as an IndyCar weekend and the oldest motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic. Nicknamed "The Magic Mile", the speedway is often converted into a 1.6-mile (2.6 km) road course, which includes much of the oval. The track was originally the site of Bryar Motorsports Park before being purchased and redeveloped by Bob Bahre. The track is currently one of eight major NASCAR tracks owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports.
Entry list edit
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
Practice edit
First practice edit
The first practice session was held on Friday, July 20, at 10:55 AM EST. The session would last for two hours.[4] Ken Schrader, driving for MB2 Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 28.918 and an average speed of 131.710 miles per hour (211.967 km/h).[5]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 36 | Ken Schrader | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 28.918 | 131.710 |
| 2 | 10 | Johnny Benson Jr. | MBV Motorsports | Pontiac | 28.935 | 131.633 |
| 3 | 28 | Ricky Rudd | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 28.937 | 131.624 |
| Full first practice results | ||||||
Second practice edit
The second practice session was held on Saturday, July 21, at 9:45 AM EST. The session would last for 45 minutes.[4] Johnny Benson Jr., driving for MBV Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.416 and an average speed of 129.481 miles per hour (208.379 km/h).[6]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Johnny Benson Jr. | MBV Motorsports | Pontiac | 29.416 | 129.481 |
| 2 | 29 | Kevin Harvick (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 29.540 | 128.937 |
| 3 | 36 | Ken Schrader | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 29.596 | 128.693 |
| Full second practice results | ||||||
Third and final practice edit
The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, July 21, at 11:00 AM EST. The session would last for 45 minutes.[4] Johnny Benson Jr., driving for MBV Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.362 and an average speed of 129.719 miles per hour (208.762 km/h).[7]
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Johnny Benson Jr. | MBV Motorsports | Pontiac | 29.362 | 129.719 |
| 2 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 29.460 | 129.287 |
| 3 | 29 | Kevin Harvick (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 29.483 | 129.186 |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | ||||||
Qualifying edit
Qualifying was held on Friday, July 20, at 2:15 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.[4] 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]
Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 28.905 and an average speed of 131.770 miles per hour (212.063 km/h).[9]
Mike Bliss was the only driver to fail to qualify.
Full qualifying results edit
Race results edit
References edit
- ^ Poole, David (July 22, 2001). "Tight race ends with points chase tied". ThatsRacin. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on August 4, 2001. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- ^ Shaughnessy, Dan (July 22, 2001). "Thoughts of tragedies not totally exhausted". The Boston Globe. p. 46. Retrieved July 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Rodman, Dave (July 25, 2001). "Jarrett gets around Rudd, wins at Loudon". NASCAR. Turner Sports Interactive. Archived from the original on February 7, 2002. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Jayski's Silly Season Site - 2001 New Hampshire 1 Race Info Page". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on April 5, 2002. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- ^ "Friday's Winston Cup practice speeds". ThatsRacin. July 20, 2001. Archived from the original on December 19, 2001. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- ^ "Saturday's early practice speeds". ThatsRacin. July 21, 2001. Archived from the original on October 8, 2001. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- ^ "Saturday's final practice speeds". ThatsRacin. July 21, 2001. Archived from the original on August 5, 2001. Retrieved July 4, 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 (July 20, 2001). "Gordon rebounds with a pole-winning run". ThatsRacin. The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on December 19, 2001. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
- ^ "2001 New England 300 - The Third Turn". www.thethirdturn.com. Retrieved 2022-07-04.