2001 Sam's Town 300 Explained

Type:CUST
Official Name:5th Annual Sam's Town 300
Pole Driver:Matt Kenseth
Announcers:Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, Darrell Waltrip
Radio:Motor Racing Network
Network:FX
First Driver:Todd Bodine
Most Driver:Todd Bodine
Most Team:Buckshot Racing
Most Laps:104
First Team:Buckshot Racing
Car:00
Date:March 3
Race Name:Sam's Town 300
Location:North Las Vegas, Nevada, Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Avg:125.625mph
Scheduled Mi:300
Scheduled Laps:200
Distance Laps:200
Course Km:2.41
Course Mi:1.5
Distance Km:482.803
Scheduled Km:482.803
Description:Race 3 of 33 of the 2001 NASCAR Busch Series
Year:2001
Pole Time:31.880
Distance Mi:300
Pole Team:Reiser Enterprises

The 2001 Sam's Town 300 was the third stock car race of the 2001 NASCAR Busch Series and the fifth iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, March 3, 2001, in North Las Vegas, Nevada at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a 1.5miles permanent D-shaped oval racetrack. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. At race's end, Buckshot Racing driver Todd Bodine came back after a bad pit stop to pull away on the final restart with four to go to win his 13th career NASCAR Busch Series win and his second and final win of the season.[1] To fill out the podium, Greg Biffle of Roush Racing and Jason Keller of ppc Racing would finish second and third, respectively.

Background

Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada outside the Las Vegas city limits and about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a 1,200-acre (490 ha) complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Entry list

DriverTeamMakeSponsor
00Todd BodineBuckshot RacingChevroletShasta
1P. J. JonesPhoenix RacingChevroletYellow Transportation
2Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevroletACDelco
7Randy LaJoieEvans MotorsportsChevroletCottonelle, Kleenex
8Blaise AlexanderHighLine Performance GroupChevroletChannellock
9Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFordGain
10Jeff Greenppc RacingFordNesquik
11Marty HoustonHighLine Performance GroupChevroletChannellock
14Larry FoytA. J. Foyt EnterprisesChevroletHarrah's
16Sammy SandersDay Enterprise RacingPontiac31-W Insulation
17Matt KensethReiser EnterprisesChevroletVisine
18Jeff PurvisJoe Gibbs RacingPontiacMBNA
20Mike McLaughlinJoe Gibbs RacingPontiacJoe Gibbs Racing
21Mike DillonRichard Childress RacingChevroletRockwell Automation
23Scott WimmerBill Davis RacingPontiacJani-King
25Chad ChaffinTeam Rensi MotorsportsChevroletU.S. Marines
26Bobby Hamilton Jr.Carroll RacingChevroletDr Pepper
27Jamie McMurrayBrewco MotorsportsChevroletWilliams Travel Centers
28Brad BakerBrewco MotorsportsChevroletBrewco Motorsports
33Tony RainesBACE MotorsportsChevroletAlka-Seltzer
34David GreenCicci-Welliver RacingChevroletAFG Glass
36Hank Parker Jr.Cicci-Welliver RacingChevroletGNC
37Kevin GrubbBrewco MotorsportsChevroletTimber Wolf
38Christian ElderAkins MotorsportsFordGreat Clips
43Jay SauterCurb Agajanian MotorsportsChevroletQuality Farm Stores
46Ashton Lewis Jr.Lewis MotorsportsChevroletLewis Motorsports
48Kenny WallaceInnovative MotorsportsChevroletGoulds Pumps
49Brian TylerJay Robinson RacingChevroletJay Robinson Racing
52Scott GaylordMeans RacingFordMeans Racing
55Mark GreenST MotorsportsFordST Motorsports
57Jason Kellerppc RacingFordAlbertsons
59Rich BickleST MotorsportsChevroletKingsford
60Greg BiffleRoush RacingFordGrainger
61Tim SauterXpress MotorsportsChevroletStoops Freightliner
63Shane HallHensley MotorsportsFordLance Snacks
66Tim FedewaCicci-Welliver RacingChevroletPhillips 66
71Kevin LepageMatrix MotorsportsFordState Fair Corn Dogs
74Chad LittleBACE MotorsportsChevroletStaff America
77Kelly DentonPRW RacingFordMerck-Medco
87Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsChevroletCellular One
92Jimmie JohnsonHerzog MotorsportsChevroletExcedrin
98Elton SawyerAkins MotorsportsFordHot Tamales
99Michael WaltripMichael Waltrip RacingChevroletAaron's
Official entry list

Practice

Originally, there were two planned practice sessions to occur, with both being held on Friday, March 2, with the first being an hour-long session held at 11:15 AM PST, and the second being held after qualifying. However, both sessions were cancelled due to rain.

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Friday, March 2, at 12:15 PM PST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap.[2] 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.[3]

Matt Kenseth of Reiser Enterprises would win the pole, setting a time of 31.880 and an average speed of 169.385mph.[4]

No drivers would fail to qualify.

Full qualifying results

Pos.DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed
117Matt KensethReiser EnterprisesChevrolet31.880169.385
200Todd BodineBuckshot RacingChevrolet32.050168.487
360Greg BiffleRoush RacingFord32.058168.445
426Bobby Hamilton Jr.Carroll RacingChevrolet32.117168.135
546Ashton Lewis Jr.Lewis MotorsportsChevrolet32.155167.937
627Jamie McMurrayBrewco MotorsportsChevrolet32.183167.790
792Jimmie JohnsonHerzog MotorsportsChevrolet32.226167.567
820Mike McLaughlinJoe Gibbs RacingPontiac32.228167.556
987Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsChevrolet32.245167.468
1048Kenny WallaceInnovative MotorsportsChevrolet32.295167.209
1171Kevin LepageMatrix MotorsportsFord32.321167.074
1274Chad LittleBACE MotorsportsChevrolet32.359166.878
1310Jeff Greenppc RacingFord32.392166.708
1498Elton SawyerAkins MotorsportsFord32.400166.667
1537Kevin GrubbBrewco MotorsportsChevrolet32.421166.559
162Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet32.424166.543
1755Mark GreenST MotorsportsFord32.428166.523
1811Marty HoustonHighLine Performance GroupChevrolet32.432166.502
1914Larry FoytA. J. Foyt EnterprisesChevrolet32.449166.415
2057Jason Kellerppc RacingFord32.495166.179
2161Tim SauterXpress MotorsportsChevrolet32.500166.154
2236Hank Parker Jr.Cicci-Welliver RacingChevrolet32.529166.006
231P. J. JonesPhoenix RacingChevrolet32.532165.990
247Randy LaJoieEvans MotorsportsChevrolet32.535165.975
2525Chad ChaffinTeam Rensi MotorsportsChevrolet32.553165.883
269Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFord32.599165.649
2734David GreenCicci-Welliver RacingChevrolet32.615165.568
2877Kelly DentonPRW RacingFord32.616165.563
2943Jay SauterCurb Agajanian MotorsportsChevrolet32.620165.543
3066Tim FedewaCicci-Welliver RacingChevrolet32.625165.517
3133Tony RainesBACE MotorsportsChevrolet32.798164.644
3238Christian ElderAkins MotorsportsFord32.832164.474
3399Michael WaltripMichael Waltrip RacingChevrolet32.866164.304
3418Jeff PurvisJoe Gibbs RacingPontiac32.882164.224
3523Scott WimmerBill Davis RacingPontiac32.913164.069
368Blaise AlexanderHighLine Performance GroupChevrolet32.969163.790
Provisionals
3759Rich BickleST MotorsportsChevrolet33.002163.626
3821Mike DillonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet33.171162.793
3963Shane HallHensley MotorsportsFord33.028163.498
4028Brad BakerBrewco MotorsportsChevrolet33.512161.136
4116Sammy SandersDay Enterprise RacingPontiac33.841159.570
4249Brian TylerJay Robinson RacingChevrolet35.379152.633
4352Scott GaylordMeans RacingFord34.780155.262
Official qualifying results

Race results

Fin[5] StDriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatusPtsWinnings
1200Todd BodineBuckshot RacingChevrolet200104running185$94,450
2360Greg BiffleRoush RacingFord20039running175$59,925
32057Jason Kellerppc RacingFord2000running165$53,100
43133Tony RainesBACE MotorsportsChevrolet2008running165$35,500
51310Jeff Greenppc RacingFord2000running155$39,000
6269Jeff BurtonRoush RacingFord2000running150$23,350
7987Joe NemechekNEMCO MotorsportsChevrolet2000running146$22,300
81498Elton SawyerAkins MotorsportsFord2001running147$25,350
9820Mike McLaughlinJoe Gibbs RacingPontiac2000running138$20,300
102943Jay SauterCurb Agajanian MotorsportsChevrolet2000running134$25,550
113523Scott WimmerBill Davis RacingPontiac2000running130$19,100
12162Kevin HarvickRichard Childress RacingChevrolet2000running127$28,150
132161Tim SauterXpress MotorsportsChevrolet2000running124$18,000
14792Jimmie JohnsonHerzog MotorsportsChevrolet19912running126$21,490
153759Rich BickleST MotorsportsChevrolet1990running118$21,880
161274Chad LittleBACE MotorsportsChevrolet1990running115$17,070
173418Jeff PurvisJoe Gibbs RacingPontiac1990running112$20,960
183821Mike DillonRichard Childress RacingChevrolet1990running109$19,850
191537Kevin GrubbBrewco MotorsportsChevrolet1994running111$19,740
20627Jamie McMurrayBrewco MotorsportsChevrolet1990running103$20,430
211171Kevin LepageMatrix MotorsportsFord1990running100$16,520
222236Hank Parker Jr.Cicci-Welliver RacingChevrolet1990running97$24,190
233238Christian ElderAkins MotorsportsFord1990running94$16,275
241048Kenny WallaceInnovative MotorsportsChevrolet1980running91$19,165
252525Chad ChaffinTeam Rensi MotorsportsChevrolet1980running88$18,130
262877Kelly DentonPRW RacingFord1980running85$15,920
27231P. J. JonesPhoenix RacingChevrolet1970running82$23,310
283066Tim FedewaCicci-Welliver RacingChevrolet1960running79$24,200
293963Shane HallHensley MotorsportsFord1940running76$18,590
30546Ashton Lewis Jr.Lewis MotorsportsChevrolet1910crash73$15,580
311914Larry FoytA. J. Foyt EnterprisesChevrolet1900crash70$15,370
321755Mark GreenST MotorsportsFord1870vibration67$16,260
334249Brian TylerJay Robinson RacingChevrolet1850running64$15,150
34117Matt KensethReiser EnterprisesChevrolet18232running66$21,740
354028Brad BakerBrewco MotorsportsChevrolet1810running58$14,930
361811Marty HoustonHighLine Performance GroupChevrolet1520crash55$14,895
37426Bobby Hamilton Jr.Carroll RacingChevrolet1220overheating52$17,860
38247Randy LaJoieEvans MotorsportsChevrolet1030engine49$20,325
393399Michael WaltripMichael Waltrip RacingChevrolet970crash46$14,790
402734David GreenCicci-Welliver RacingChevrolet590engine43$17,755
414116Sammy SandersDay Enterprise RacingPontiac220ignition40$14,720
424352Scott GaylordMeans RacingFord150engine37$14,685
43368Blaise AlexanderHighLine Performance GroupChevrolet50crash34$14,650
Official race results

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2001-03-03. Todd Bodine wins Sam's Town 300. live. 2022-02-10. Las Vegas Sun. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20220210032934/https://lasvegassun.com/news/2001/mar/03/todd-bodine-wins-sams-town-300/ . 2022-02-10 .
  2. Web site: NASCAR - 2001 Rockingham Las Vegas Race Info / Rundown Page. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20010413221402/http://www.nascar.com/DATA/2001/race/busch/3/lineup.html. 2001-04-13. 2022-02-10. NASCAR.com.
  3. Web site: Jayski's Silly Season Site - 2001 Provisional Start Status. https://web.archive.org/web/20020201202621/http://jayski.thatsracin.com/stats/2001/2001prov.htm. 2002-02-01. 2022-01-26. ThatsRacin.
  4. Web site: Kenseth wins Busch pole. 2022-02-10. UPI. en.
  5. Web site: 2001 Sam's Town 300 - The Third Turn. 2022-02-09. www.thethirdturn.com. en.