Daytona 500

Date
Sun 18th February 2001 (UTC)
Sun 18th February 2001 (Local)

Timestamp
2001-02-18T00:00:00

Time

00:00:00 UTC

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League
NASCAR Cup Series

Season
2001

Round
1

Status

Location
Daytona International Speedway

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Description

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 200 laps and 500 miles on the 2.5-mile (4 km) 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.