Daytona 500
Twin 125-mile Qualifying race
Photos
Daytona 500
Everything seemed to be going according to plan
for Jeff Gordon in the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
He was in the lead draft, had taken the lead of the race on a few occasions,
and looked to be in a prime position to battle it out for the victory.
And then things changed in a hurry on lap 174 when Robby Gordon
got loose coming off the second turn. He hit Ward Burton who collected
Tony Stewart. From there, the melee was on. A total of 21 cars were involved.
An off-season of work by the DuPont team went down the drain in an instant.
Starting Strong
After The First Pit Stop
Charging To The Front
Back and Forth
The Melee
The Finish
Gordon started in 13th position and drafted with his Hendrick Motorsports
teammate Jerry Nadeau in the opening laps. By lap 5, the pair was running
fourth and fifth. In the 35-car draft, positions are gained and lost
at a rapid rate. Gordon was shuffled back to ninth but made his
way up to third position by lap 20. On lap 26, he drafted
past race leader Sterling Marlin by tucking onto the back bumper
of Dale Earnhardt. Another shuffle in the draft sent Gordon back to 13th position by lap 36
but he rebounded up to sixth by lap 40.
Jeff Purvis cut a tire and hit the turn four wall to bring out the day's
first caution on lap 47. Gordon came onto pit road in seventh position
and left in fifth- another fine stop by the Rainbow Warriors.
The restart on lap 52 saw Gordon draft with Earnhardt up to 4th position.
The draft shuffled the cars up and Gordon slipped to 19th by lap 65.
He gained five spots over the next 15 laps as green flag pit stops neared.
Lap 101 saw Gordon and a host of other leaders dive onto pit road.
When the field had completed their pit stops, Gordon was running
in fourth. On lap 106 the DuPont Chevrolet burst into the lead
with drafting help from Ricky Rudd. Earnhardt and Steve Park
would draft by a few laps later to send Gordon back to third.
A draft from Mike Wallace thrust Gordon back into the lead on lap 114.
The shuffle began soonafter and Gordon slipped to fifth.
On lap 123, Gordon hooked up in a draft with Dale Earnahardt Jr.
With help from Rudd, he drafted past Mike Skinner to take the lead
on lap 130. Ward Burton made his way to the top spot a few laps
later and Gordon fell to fifth. Green flag pit stops on lap 151
saw Gordon make a minor error. He overshot his pit box and had
to back up about a foot. The slip cost him a few spots on the racetrack
and he fell to seventh. On lap 166 he drafted up to third with help
from eventual race winner Michael Waltrip. A few laps later he was shuffled
to ninth. As he came off of turn two on lap 174, trouble began.
Robby Gordon clipped the left rear of Ward Burton's Pontiac.
Burton let off the gas and collected Tony Stewart. From that point on, everyone
following was just a passenger in a 190 mile per hour torture chamber.
Stewart's car flipped wildly on the backstretch a half dozen times before coming
to rest on the hood of Bobby Labonte's car. Meanwhile, Mark Martin swung wide
to avoid the wreck but wound up getting hit and spun across the track.
Jeff Gordon dived low on the track but was hit in the front and rear multiple
times. In all, 21 cars were involved. "It's great racing, it's exciting, there's a lot of passing, a lot of lead changes,"
Gordon said. "But one little mistake and something like that is going to happen. It's inevitable."
Gordon made his way to the garage area and pulled behind the wall while
the race was red flagged for 20 minutes. The DuPont crew made a few
repairs and Gordon limped around the track for a few laps after racing resumed.
He pulled behind the wall shortly thereafter with a 30th place effort and a DNF to start
the 2001 season. When racing resumed, Michael Waltrip was thrust into the lead
with drafting help from Earnhardt Jr. Waltrip held his line
and wouldn't allow Earnhardt Jr. to get a run on his Napa Chevrolet.
Entering turn three of the final lap, Waltrip led Earnhardt Jr. by three
car lengths. The battle for third was between the elder Earnhardt,
Rusty Wallace, Ken Schrader, and Sterling Marlin. At the exit to turn four,
Marlin appeared to touch the left rear of Earnhardt's car. The GM Goodwrech Chevrolet
swung low and then across the track going head-on into the wall.
Schrader's Pontiac was also collected in the wreck.
Waltrip held off Earnhardt Jr. to win his first career race. Meanwhile,
back in turn four, the greatest driver in the history of stock car racing
had suffered fatal injuries in the wreck. The story ends here.
Jeff Gordon rolled the dice early and often in the first Twin 125-mile
Qualifying race at Daytona International Speedway. Gordon started third and took the lead from
Bill Elliott heading into turn three on the ninth lap of the
50 lap event. He held the top spot until Dale Earnhardt
passed on lap 20. Gordon was shuffled as far back as
13th position by the halfway point of the event on lap 25,
but soon made his way up to 7th with drafting help from
Sterling Marlin and Dale Jarrett. A caution on lap 35 for
Johnny Benson's contact with the wall brought the field
onto pit road for tires. Gordon left pit road in fifth position
and took the low line in turn two to bolt into the lead
with drafting help from his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jerry Nadeau. Earnhardt regained the lead on
lap 42 and Gordon was shuffled back to 8th. A daring move off of turn four put Gordon back into contention
with seven laps remaining. He took the high line off the
corner and used the draft from Andy Houston and Jason
Leffler to swing down to the inside. Drafting help from
Nadeau on the low side of the track thrust the DuPont Chevrolet up to second position with five laps remaining. On lap 46, Ron Hornaday spun and
collected Dale Jarrett to bring out the second caution of the event. The
restart with one lap remaining saw Earnhardt leading Gordon. Marlin got a
head of steam built up heading onto the backstretch and with drafting help
from Nadeau, the Coors Light Dodge took the lead. Nadeau was unable to
mount a challenge coming off turn four and Marlin put Dodge in victory lane.
Following Nadeau was Earnhardt, Houston, and Jimmy Spencer. Gordon
was shuffled back to sixth at the finish and will start Sunday's Daytona 500
from the 13th position.
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Following the legend onto pit road... one last
time
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