| Type: | NASWINSTON |
| Date: | June 24 |
| Network: | FOX |
| Most Driver: | Jeff Gordon |
| Most Laps: | 55 |
| First Driver: | Tony Stewart |
| Most Team: | Hendrick Motorsports |
| First Team: | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| Car: | 20 |
| Pole Team: | Hendrick Motorsports |
| Pole Driver: | Jeff Gordon |
| Pole Time: | 1:16.841 |
| Avg: | 75.889mph |
| Radio: | Performance Racing Network |
| Official Name: | 13th Annual Dodge/Save Mart 350 |
| Location: | Sonoma, California, Sears Point Raceway |
| Distance Laps: | 112 |
| Scheduled Laps: | 112 |
| Race Name: | Dodge/Save Mart 350 |
| Year: | 2001 |
| Season No: | 36 |
| Race No: | 16 |
| Course Km: | 3.2 |
| Course Mi: | 2 |
| Scheduled Mi: | 224 |
| Scheduled Km: | 360.493 |
| Distance Km: | 360.493 |
| Distance Mi: | 224 |
| Announcers: | Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, Darrell Waltrip |
The 2001 Dodge/Save Mart 350 was the 16th stock car race of the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 13th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, June 24, 2001, in Sonoma, California, at the club layout in Sears Point Raceway, a 2miles permanent road course layout. The race took the scheduled 112 laps to complete. In the final stages of the race, Tony Stewart, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would take an advantage of an angry Robby Gordon, who was focused on lapping Kevin Harvick, and slip by to win his 11th career NASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his second of the season.[1] [2] [3] Robby Gordon, who was driving for Ultra Motorsports, would earn a second-place finish. To fill out the podium, Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would finish third.
Infineon Raceway is one of two road courses to hold NASCAR races, the other being Watkins Glen International. The standard road course at Infineon Raceway is a 12-turn course that is 2.52miles long;[4] the track was modified in 1998, adding the Chute, which bypassed turns 5 and 6, shortening the course to 1.95miles. The Chute was only used for NASCAR events such as this race, and was criticized by many drivers, who preferred the full layout.[5] In 2001, it was replaced with a 70-degree turn, 4A, bringing the track to its current dimensions of 1.99miles.[6]
The first practice session was held on Friday, June 22, at 10:30 AM PST. The session would last for two hours and 30 minutes.[7] Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 1:16.648 and an average speed of 93.936mph.[8]
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:16.648 | 93.936 | |
| 2 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Ford | 1:17.066 | 93.426 | |
| 3 | 87 | Ron Fellows | NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:17.081 | 93.408 | |
| Full first practice results | |||||||
The second practice session was held on Saturday, June 23, at 9:30 AM PST. The session would last for one hour and 30 minutes. Ron Fellows, driving for NEMCO Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 1:17.421 and an average speed of 92.998mph.[9]
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 87 | Ron Fellows | NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:17.421 | 92.998 | |
| 2 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:17.665 | 92.706 | |
| 3 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Ultra Motorsports | Ford | 1:17.685 | 92.682 | |
| Full second practice results | |||||||
The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, June 23, after the preliminary NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series race. Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 1:17.124 and an average speed of 93.356mph.[10]
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:17.124 | 93.356 | |
| 2 | 87 | Ron Fellows | NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:17.348 | 93.086 | |
| 3 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Ford | 1:17.609 | 92.773 | |
| Full Happy Hour practice results | |||||||
Qualifying was held on Friday, June 22, at 2:00 PM PST. Drivers would each have one lap to set a lap time. 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.[11]
Jeff Gordon, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 1:16.842 and an average speed of 93.699mph.[12]
Four drivers would fail to qualify: Andy Houston, Kenny Wallace, Anthony Lazzaro, and Jason Leffler.
| Fin[13] | St | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | Winnings | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 20 | Tony Stewart | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 112 | 11 | running | 180 | $139,875 | |
| 2 | 7 | 7 | Robby Gordon | Ultra Motorsports | Ford | 112 | 20 | running | 175 | $114,035 | |
| 3 | 1 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 112 | 55 | running | 175 | $129,277 | |
| 4 | 22 | 28 | Ricky Rudd | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 112 | 0 | running | 160 | $98,847 | |
| 5 | 2 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Penske Racing South | Ford | 112 | 0 | running | 155 | $94,780 | |
| 6 | 5 | 22 | Ward Burton | Bill Davis Racing | Dodge | 112 | 0 | running | 150 | $88,975 | |
| 7 | 4 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Joe Gibbs Racing | Pontiac | 112 | 0 | running | 146 | $106,267 | |
| 8 | 26 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Roush Racing | Ford | 112 | 0 | running | 142 | $93,186 | |
| 9 | 18 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 112 | 0 | running | 138 | $74,713 | |
| 10 | 38 | 6 | Mark Martin | Roush Racing | Ford | 112 | 0 | running | 134 | $96,036 | |
| 11 | 42 | 77 | Boris Said | Jasper Motorsports | Ford | 112 | 0 | running | 130 | $64,695 | |
| 12 | 11 | 33 | Scott Pruett | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 112 | 0 | running | 127 | $77,020 | |
| 13 | 25 | 11 | Brett Bodine | Brett Bodine Racing | Ford | 112 | 1 | running | 129 | $53,811 | |
| 14 | 12 | 29 | Kevin Harvick (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 112 | 0 | running | 121 | $89,877 | |
| 15 | 10 | 55 | Bobby Hamilton | Andy Petree Racing | Chevrolet | 112 | 0 | running | 118 | $56,850 | |
| 16 | 9 | 32 | Ricky Craven | PPI Motorsports | Ford | 112 | 0 | running | 115 | $46,300 | |
| 17 | 27 | 21 | Elliott Sadler | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 112 | 3 | running | 117 | $67,865 | |
| 18 | 43 | 14 | Ron Hornaday Jr. (R) | A. J. Foyt Enterprises | Pontiac | 112 | 0 | running | 109 | $44,850 | |
| 19 | 37 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 112 | 0 | running | 106 | $75,718 | |
| 20 | 19 | 15 | Michael Waltrip | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 112 | 1 | running | 108 | $54,560 | |
| 21 | 20 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | Roush Racing | Ford | 112 | 0 | running | 100 | $53,200 | |
| 22 | 33 | 45 | Kyle Petty | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 112 | 0 | running | 97 | $40,840 | |
| 23 | 41 | 97 | Kurt Busch (R) | Roush Racing | Ford | 112 | 0 | running | 94 | $52,205 | |
| 24 | 30 | 92 | Stacy Compton | Melling Racing | Dodge | 112 | 0 | running | 91 | $47,100 | |
| 25 | 36 | 01 | Dorsey Schroeder | Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates | Dodge | 112 | 0 | running | 88 | $52,805 | |
| 26 | 35 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | Robert Yates Racing | Ford | 112 | 0 | running | 85 | $85,702 | |
| 27 | 39 | 26 | Jimmy Spencer | Haas-Carter Motorsports | Ford | 112 | 1 | running | 87 | $51,740 | |
| 28 | 16 | 40 | Sterling Marlin | Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates | Dodge | 112 | 0 | running | 79 | $51,555 | |
| 29 | 14 | 10 | Johnny Benson Jr. | MBV Motorsports | Pontiac | 112 | 0 | running | 76 | $51,535 | |
| 30 | 21 | 43 | John Andretti | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 111 | 0 | crash | 73 | $78,522 | |
| 31 | 6 | 25 | Jerry Nadeau | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 111 | 0 | running | 70 | $48,425 | |
| 32 | 17 | 93 | Dave Blaney | Bill Davis Racing | Dodge | 111 | 0 | running | 67 | $40,365 | |
| 33 | 23 | 66 | Todd Bodine | Haas-Carter Motorsports | Ford | 111 | 0 | running | 64 | $40,340 | |
| 34 | 24 | 31 | Mike Skinner | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 111 | 0 | running | 61 | $72,624 | |
| 35 | 29 | 44 | Buckshot Jones | Petty Enterprises | Dodge | 111 | 0 | running | 58 | 78,280 | |
| 36 | 8 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 110 | 0 | crash | 55 | $72,990 | |
| 37 | 32 | 36 | Ken Schrader | MB2 Motorsports | Pontiac | 104 | 0 | running | 52 | $48,240 | |
| 38 | 13 | 87 | Ron Fellows | NEMCO Motorsports | Chevrolet | 101 | 20 | crash | 54 | $40,195 | |
| 39 | 40 | 12 | Jeremy Mayfield | Penske Racing South | Ford | 97 | 0 | running | 46 | $79,459 | |
| 40 | 34 | 1 | Steve Park | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Chevrolet | 93 | 0 | running | 43 | $66,373 | |
| 41 | 28 | 19 | Casey Atwood (R) | Evernham Motorsports | Dodge | 41 | 0 | engine | 40 | $40,110 | |
| 42 | 15 | 90 | Brian Simo | Donlavey Racing | Ford | 30 | 0 | transmission | 37 | $40,090 | |
| 43 | 31 | 4 | Kevin Lepage | Morgan–McClure Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 | 0 | engine | 34 | $40,317 | |
| Failed to qualify | |||||||||||
| 44 | 27 | Kenny Wallace | Eel River Racing | Pontiac | |||||||
| 45 | 96 | Andy Houston (R) | PPI Motorsports | Ford | |||||||
| 46 | 68 | Anthony Lazzaro | TWC Motorsports | Chevrolet | |||||||
| 47 | 04 | Jason Leffler (R) | Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates | Dodge | |||||||
| Official race results | |||||||||||