| Year: | 2001 |
| Race Name: | EA Sports 500 |
| Details Ref: | [1] |
| Type: | NASWINSTON |
| Race No: | 31 |
| Season No: | 36 |
| Official Name: | EA Sports 500 |
| Location: | Talladega, Alabama, U.S. |
| Course: | Talladega Superspeedway |
| Course Mi: | 2.66 |
| Course Km: | 4.28 |
| Distance Laps: | 188 |
| Distance Mi: | 500.1 |
| Distance Km: | 804.833 |
| Scheduled Laps: | 188 |
| Scheduled Mi: | 500.1 |
| Scheduled Km: | 804.833 |
| Pole Driver: | Stacy Compton |
| Pole Team: | Melling Racing |
| Pole Time: | 50.415 sec (185.24 mph, 298.119 km/h) |
| Most Driver: | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| Most Team: | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. |
| Most Laps: | 67 |
| Car: | 8 |
| First Driver: | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| First Team: | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. |
| Network: | NBC |
| Announcers: | Allen Bestwick, Benny Parsons, Wally Dallenbach Jr. |
The 2001 EA Sports 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on October 21, 2001, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. It was the 31st race of the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series.[2]
The race is known for its wild finish. Coming out of the tri-oval to the white flag, Dale Earnhardt Jr. attempted to pull to the inside of race leader Bobby Labonte. Instead of going with his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Tony Stewart moved down and got behind Dale Jr. and Earnhardt took the lead in turn 1. Bobby Hamilton got a run after a push from Ricky Craven and attempted to pass Labonte but Labonte blocked Hamilton. Out of turn 2, Labonte got hooked by Hamilton in the left rear causing Labonte to spin into Ricky Craven collecting Johnny Benson shooting Labonte back to the right and Labonte went upside down. This would cause the big one on the backstretch collecting as many as 15 cars. In the race back to the line, Dale Earnhardt Jr. would hold off Tony Stewart and Jeff Burton to win the race. This race would be Dale Earnhardt Jr's first of six career wins at Talladega including 4 in a row from this race to the 2003 Aaron's 499.
| Source:[3] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fin | St | Driver | Sponsor | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | ||
| 1 | 6 | 8 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Budweiser | Chevy | 188 | 67 | running | 185 | |
| 2 | 37 | 20 | Tony Stewart | The Home Depot, Coca-Cola | Pontiac | 188 | 0 | running | 170 | |
| 3 | 33 | 99 | Jeff Burton | Citgo Supergard | Ford | 188 | 4 | running | 170 | |
| 4 | 24 | 17 | Matt Kenseth | DeWalt | Ford | 188 | 3 | running | 165 | |
| 5 | 2 | 55 | Bobby Hamilton | Square D | Chevy | 188 | 14 | running | 160 | |
| 6 | 15 | 1 | Kenny Wallace | Pennzoil | Chevy | 188 | 0 | running | 150 | |
| 7 | 11 | 24 | Jeff Gordon | DuPont Automotive | Chevy | 188 | 0 | running | 146 | |
| 8 | 9 | 33 | Joe Nemechek | Oakwood Homes | Chevy | 188 | 0 | running | 142 | |
| 9 | 14 | 6 | Mark Martin | Viagra, Pfizer | Ford | 188 | 0 | running | 138 | |
| 10 | 40 | 7 | Kevin Lepage | NationsRent | Ford | 188 | 0 | running | 134 | |
| 11 | 1 | 92 | Stacy Compton | Levi Garrett | Dodge | 188 | 4 | running | 135 | |
| 12 | 16 | 11 | Brett Bodine | Ralphs | Ford | 188 | 0 | running | 127 | |
| 13 | 20 | 5 | Terry Labonte | Kellogg's | Chevy | 188 | 0 | running | 124 | |
| 14 | 35 | 4 | Bobby Hamilton Jr. | Kodak | Chevy | 188 | 0 | running | 121 | |
| 15 | 41 | 01 | Jason Leffler | Cingular Wireless | Dodge | 188 | 6 | running | 123 | |
| 16 | 32 | 2 | Rusty Wallace | Miller Lite | Ford | 188 | 0 | running | 115 | |
| 17 | 3 | 40 | Sterling Marlin | Coors Light | Dodge | 188 | 4 | running | 117 | |
| 18 | 38 | 12 | Mike Wallace | Mobil 1 | Ford | 188 | 0 | running | 109 | |
| 19 | 39 | 31 | Robby Gordon | Lowe's | Chevy | 188 | 0 | running | 106 | |
| 20 | 5 | 9 | Bill Elliott | Dodge Dealers, UAW | Dodge | 188 | 1 | running | 108 | |
| 21 | 18 | 22 | Ward Burton | Caterpillar | Dodge | 188 | 0 | running | 100 | |
| 22 | 34 | 18 | Bobby Labonte | Interstate Batteries, Coca-Cola | Pontiac | 187 | 28 | crash | 102 | |
| 23 | 4 | 10 | Johnny Benson Jr. | Zerex | Pontiac | 187 | 0 | crash | 94 | |
| 24 | 12 | 32 | Ricky Craven | Tide | Ford | 187 | 0 | crash | 91 | |
| 25 | 10 | 88 | Dale Jarrett | UPS | Ford | 187 | 1 | crash | 93 | |
| 26 | 23 | 28 | Ricky Rudd | Texaco, Havoline | Ford | 187 | 0 | crash | 85 | |
| 27 | 36 | 77 | Robert Pressley | Jasper Engines & Transmissions | Ford | 187 | 2 | crash | 87 | |
| 28 | 22 | 44 | Buckshot Jones | Georgia-Pacific | Dodge | 187 | 0 | running | 79 | |
| 29 | 27 | 97 | Kurt Busch | Sharpie, Rubbermaid | Ford | 187 | 0 | running | 76 | |
| 30 | 31 | 93 | Dave Blaney | BP, Amoco | Dodge | 187 | 0 | running | 73 | |
| 31 | 28 | 36 | Ken Schrader | M&M's | Pontiac | 187 | 0 | running | 70 | |
| 32 | 19 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | GM Goodwrench | Chevy | 187 | 0 | running | 67 | |
| 33 | 8 | 45 | Kyle Petty | Sprint | Dodge | 187 | 0 | running | 64 | |
| 34 | 7 | 43 | John Andretti | Cheerios | Dodge | 182 | 0 | running | 61 | |
| 35 | 29 | 25 | Jerry Nadeau | UAW-Delphi | Chevy | 175 | 0 | handling | 58 | |
| 36 | 43 | 90 | Hut Stricklin | Hills Brothers Coffee | Ford | 174 | 0 | engine | 55 | |
| 37 | 30 | 15 | Michael Waltrip | NAPA Auto Parts | Chevy | 167 | 53 | overheating | 57 | |
| 38 | 42 | 14 | Ron Hornaday Jr. | Conseco | Chevy | 148 | 0 | transmission | 49 | |
| 39 | 26 | 19 | Casey Atwood | Dodge Dealers, UAW | Dodge | 107 | 0 | crash | 46 | |
| 40 | 17 | 21 | Elliott Sadler | Motorcraft | Ford | 96 | 0 | crash | 43 | |
| 41 | 21 | 66 | Todd Bodine | Kmart Blue Light Special | Ford | 94 | 1 | crash | 45 | |
| 42 | 13 | 51 | Jeff Purvis | Phoenix Racing | Ford | 86 | 0 | rear end | 37 | |
| 43 | 25 | 26 | Jimmy Spencer | Kmart | Ford | 18 | 0 | engine | 34 | |
| Failed to qualify | ||||||||||
| 44 | Rick Mast | |||||||||
| 45 | Dave Marcis | |||||||||