After a hard-fought battle with Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the lead in the final five laps of today’s race, Bobby Labonte managed to take the top spot and grab his first win of the 2001 season in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series at Pocono. In the end, Labonte only led four laps in the event thanks to the typical strategy shake-up and late race craziness that happens at the track known as the Tricky Triangle. The race began with Todd Bodine on the pole for the second time in three races, but the race quickly became dominated by a three-time NWCS champion: Jeff Gordon. Gordon took the lead on lap 11 from Ricky Rudd and from there, he controlled the entire event. He led through the first round of green flag pit stops on lap 34 and when Rudd beat him off pit road following the second caution on lap 69, Gordon grabbed the lead back on the restart. He led through another set of green flag pit stops just past halfway and when his crew chief, Robbie Loomis, decided to short pit around lap 133, Gordon managed to catch a lucky break with a caution on lap 143 as he stayed out to inherit the lead. Yet, the complexion of the race quickly began to change with 50 laps to go. Two quick cautions waved on lap 150 and lap 158, both of which involved Dale Jarrett, and pit strategy began to take a greater hold on the race. Following the caution on lap 158, most of the field could make it to the end of the race on fuel if they saved enough, which prompted the entire pack to come down pit road. While almost every driver decided to take fuel only, Gordon and his team took four tires and he came out of the pits in 23rd. For the first time all race, several drivers found themselves at the front of the pack. Johnny Benson stayed on track to take the lead while Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the race off pit road and restarted second. Earnhardt Jr. and Benson battled hard for the lead on the subsequent run and on lap 169, last year’s NWCS Rookie of the Year took the lead. The sixth caution waved on lap 170 for a problem with Kurt Busch and the caution laps allowed the field to save more fuel. When the race restarted for what would be the final time, Earnhardt Jr. ran away from the field and with five laps to go, it looked like the young driver would be heading to victory lane for the second time in 2001. However, Bobby Labonte was gaining on the son of the late Dale Earnhardt. Labonte managed to get within a few car lengths of Earnhardt Jr. and with two laps to go, he made an aggressive move to the outside heading into turn 2 and last year’s NWCS champion took the lead. From there, Labonte drove to the checkered flag to take his first win in his championship defending season. While there were concerns about fuel for drivers late in the race, the battle for the win came down to a competitive fight between two of NASCAR’s best drivers. As these five stages of analysis prove, Pocono Raceway can mix strategy and competitive racing to make a 500-mile race completely unpredictable.
Stage 1:
Clutch Closer: Labonte Goes from Fourth to First on the Final Run to Win at Pocono
Bobby Labonte might be last year’s NWCS champion, but his 2001 season has been a struggle to prove that he is a consistent championship contender. Through the first 19 races of this year, Labonte had yet to visit victory lane and he only had four Top 5’s. Plus, he came into today’s event sitting ninth in the points with little chance to repeat as champion, Yet, the two-time winner at Pocono came into today’s event at the Tricky Triangle with motivation to return to victory lane and gain some momentum heading towards the end of the season. Labonte started the race in eleventh, but he began to drop back because his car wasn’t handling due to his brake bias settings in the opening run. However, Labonte adjusted his brake bias and he was sitting just outside the Top 10 when green flag pit stops began around lap 34. His stop went smoothly and he returned to the track around the same spot. Through the next 60 laps, Labonte gained a few positions and he was sitting just outside the Top 5 when the race passed the halfway mark. Following a second round of green flag pit stops on lap 105, the Texas driver found himself in fifth place with a shot to grab the lead. He maintained his position there until the third caution waved on lap 143. Labonte came down pit road and his stop went smoothly, but he lost a couple of positions because Jeff Gordon and Bill Elliott stayed on track. On the restart, he was unable to gain any positions due to lapped cars surrounding the lead lap drivers. Two quick cautions followed and the caution on lap 158 opened the window for drivers to make it to the end of the race on fuel. Labonte came down pit road with the rest of the field and he took fuel only, which brought him out of the pits in fifth place. On the penultimate restart of the race, Labonte gained a spot from Elliott and when the sixth caution waved on lap 170, he was sitting in fourth place with a shot at the victory. When the race went green for the final time, the reigning NWCS champion began his charge to the front. Labonte shot past his teammate, Tony Stewart, on the restart to take third place and just a couple of laps later, he drove past Johnny Benson to take the second spot. With about twenty laps to go, he began to chase down Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was leading the race. Lap after lap, Labonte began to close on one of NASCAR’s rising stars. With five laps to go, he managed to make it Earnhardt Jr.’s back bumper and the two began to race hard for the lead. However, Labonte seemed unable to make a move for the lead. Finally, he moved to Earnhardt Jr.’s outside heading through turn 3 and he managed to lead lap 198. However, he couldn’t maintain the lead and the two drivers drove into turn 1 with Labonte falling back into second place. Yet, he continued pressuring the leader and he drove into turn 2 on the outside of Earnhardt Jr. with enough power to take the lead with two laps to go. From there, last year’s Cup champion maneuvered through the final lap to take a hard-fought win. In the final run of the race, Labonte ended up moving from fourth to first to take a clutch victory in the closing laps at the Tricky Triangle.
Stage 2:
Move of the Race: Benson Stays Out Late and Saves Enough Fuel to Finish Fifth
Johnny Benson has become a very successful NASCAR driver since he ran his first season in the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series in 1994. Benson grabbed the 1995 championship in the NBGNS and since then, he has been a full-time driver in the NWCS. However, there have been problems and struggles along the way. After a tumultuous year in 1999, Benson lost his ride at Roush Racing and he was signed just before the 2000 Daytona 500 by Tyler Jet Motorsports, which was owned by Tim Beverley. However, the team’s car was unsponsored before the race weekend and the team needed to make the event. Benson made the race and Lycos came on as a sponsor just before the race. With a plain white car and simple Lycos logos for the 500, the Michigan driver almost won the Great American Race and his success in the event led to a sponsorship deal with Lycos. However, Beverley sold the team in the middle of the season to Nelson Bowers and his MB2 Motorsports organization. The team finished out 2000 with consistency and Benson returned as the driver to start this season with Valvoline as a sponsor. Coming into today’s race, the team was sitting tenth in points with several strong runs throughout the year. Benson started today’s race in the ninth position and the team was hopeful to grab its first win with the Michigan driver behind the wheel. However, the team’s Pontiac wasn’t handling well and he began to drop back in the early runs of the race. Plus, Benson was not getting good fuel mileage and on the three rounds of green flag pit stops in the race, he was the first driver to come down pit road. When he pitted for his third green flag pit stop around lap 137, he was sitting in the 21st spot with only sixty laps to advance to the front. To try and gain some track position, his team began to employ some important strategy moves. When the third caution waved on lap 143, Benson came back down pit road to add some more fuel to his Pontiac. Just a few laps later, when the fourth caution waved on lap 150, James Ince, Benson’s crew chief, brought him down pit road for more fuel with hopes of more cautions. The fifth caution waved on lap 158 and the team was presented with the strategy break they needed. Benson stayed out and inherited the lead, but he would need some more caution laps to make it 45 laps without running out of fuel. On the restart, he held onto the lead until Dale Earnhardt Jr. began to battle him for it on lap 167. Earnhardt Jr. took the lead from Benson on lap 169 in turn 2, but a caution waved on the next lap. The caution laps allowed Benson to save some fuel and remain in second place with hopes of stealing an excellent finish. When the race restarted, he managed to maintain his spot in the Top 5, but he was overtaken by Bobby Labonte with twenty laps to go in the race and Tony Stewart with fifteen laps to go. Yet, Benson held onto the fourth position as the laps clicked by. Finally, he took the white flag in fourth, but Bill Elliott was right behind him. The two battled for the position on the last lap and in a photo finish, Elliott beat Benson to the line to take the fourth spot. However, a fifth-place finish was not disappointing for the 1995 NBGNS champion after he lasted 45 laps on fuel to make it to the checkered flag. After fighting for track position all day, a bold strategy move by Benson and his team gave MB2 Motorsports a Top 5 finish at Pocono Raceway.
Stage 3:
Driver of the Day: Gordon Leads 121 Laps, But Misses Strategy Call and Struggles to Top 10 Finish
The 2001 NWCS season has been a year of redemption for Jeff Gordon. Gordon, who already has three championships in NASCAR’s highest series, struggled throughout last season. Even though he won three races last year, he only managed to lead 425 laps and he ended the year in ninth in the points standings. Yet, he didn’t let a tough year ruin his desire to be a championship caliber driver. In the nineteen events prior to today’s race at Pocono, Gordon had three victories and he had led over 1,400 laps. Plus, he came into today’s event tied for the points lead with a legitimate shot at winning the NWCS championship. Because of his strong season and his momentum, Gordon came into Pocono with a desire to add to his win total and grab the outright lead in the points. From the start, the Indiana raised driver was on a mission to make it to the front. He started eighth, but by lap 11, he was in the lead after passing Ricky Rudd on the straightaway between turns 1 and 2. From there, Gordon led through a set of green flag pit stops on lap 34 and he was leading when the second caution waved on lap 69. When the field pitted under the caution, Gordon lost the lead to Rudd in the race off pit road, but he wouldn’t stay in second long. On the restart, Gordon shot to the outside of Rudd exiting turn 1 and powered to the lead. He continued to hold the top spot as the race moved past halfway and through another round of green flag pit stops around lap 105. However, Gordon’s dominance began to change on lap 133. Throughout the day, his fuel pressure gauge had been filling with fuel and it was unreliable for knowing when his car was running low on gas. Because of that, Loomis decided to short pit on lap 133 while most of the field could stay out longer. Gordon returned to the race after his four tire stop and the rest of the field continued to stay on track. Fortunately for Gordon, the third caution waved on lap 143 and none of the other lead lap drivers had pitted. That allowed him to stay on track during the caution and he inherited the lead with Bill Elliott in second, who had also pitted before the caution. Yet, Gordon’s issues with strategy weren’t over. He held the lead on the restart, but another caution waved on lap 150. Again, he maintained his advantage on the field on the next restart, but the fifth caution waved on lap 158. The caution prompted pit stops for the field to make it to the end of the race and Loomis made the call to take four tires. However, the move was completely off strategy as the rest of the pack took fuel only. Because of that, Gordon came off pit road in 23rd with only 40 laps left. Still, he had a fast car and a desire to move to the front to grab another win. When the race restarted, Gordon was unable to gain many positions because being in traffic caused his car to be tight. As the laps began to click by, he gained a few spots, but he wasn’t close to returning to his dominance at the beginning of the event. With about five laps to go, Gordon managed to move into the Top 10, but when he took the checkered flag, he had only moved up to eighth after leading 121 of the 200 laps. While not winning today’s race after a dominating performance was disappointing for the entire team, Gordon managed to grab the outright points lead and continue his excellent year in the NWCS.
Stage 4:
Memorable Moment: Jarrett Crashes Twice and Lose Points Lead Thanks to Terrible Finish
Coming into today’s race at Pocono, the points battle was surprisingly close 19 events into the year. At the top of the standings, Dale Jarrett and Jeff Gordon were both tied for the points lead while Jarrett’s teammate, Ricky Rudd, was sitting just 28 points back. Yet, the championship picture would completely change today for Jarrett thanks to the unpredictability of the Tricky Triangle. The 1999 NWCS champion started from the 37th spot after taking a provisional due to a problem on his qualifying run. Within a couple of laps, it looked like his starting spot deep in the field would hamper his ability to maintain his position at the top of the standings. As Elliott Sadler drove into turn 3 on lap 2, his car immediately slowed and Michael Waltrip bumped him. Sadler went spinning up the track right in front of the field, including Jarrett. Jarrett slammed on the brakes to avoid and Jerry Nadeau slammed into his back bumper. The two drivers were able to avoid Sadler’s spinning car and they continued. Jarrett came down pit road under the caution and his team repaired his slightly damaged rear bumper, but he returned to the back of the field with the threat of another incident to damage his championship hopes. Yet, this attempt at moving from the back to the front started much cleaner. He charged towards the front of the field and when the first round of green flag pit stops of the race began on lap 34, he was sitting in the 23rd spot. After the stops cycled through, Jarrett had worked his way up to 17th. From there, he moved his way towards the Top 10 and at the halfway point of the race, he was in eighth position. Through another round of green flag pit stops on lap 105, Jarrett’s team worked smoothly and he remained in the Top 10. Another set of green flag pit stops neared for the field, but the third caution waved on lap 143 and allowed the pack to pit under caution. Jarrett pitted for four tires and fuel and he came off pit road in the eighth spot, but he restarted tenth after two drivers stayed out in front of him. While he appeared to be in a safe position near the front, several drivers stayed out and restarted in front of the leaders on the tail end of the lead lap. Because of that, many drivers were surrounding Jarrett and he would need a clean restart to preserve his great run. When the race did go back green, he was in the middle of a tight pack with drivers passing and bumping all around him. As the field came off turn 3 on lap 149, Ward Burton got stacked up behind Stacy Compton and when he slowed down, his brother, Jeff, slammed into his rear bumper. The two drivers went spinning into the outside wall right in front of the entire field. Kevin Lepage and Jarrett attempted to slam on their brakes and avoid the two brothers, but they slammed into the frontstretch chaos. All four drivers continued to spin and crash as the rest of the field raced by to gain some positions. When the smoke had settled, each driver involved had a destroyed racecar and they would need to go to the garage. With Gordon leading the race, the trip to the garage meant Jarrett would lose a ton of points and his position at the top of the standings. However, his team quickly repaired his car and he only lost five laps when he returned to the track just in time for the restart, which would prevent him from losing more spots and points. Yet, the repairs were all for naught. When he drove into turn 3 with his modified racecar on the same lap as the restart, his right front tire blew out and he shot up the track. Jarrett slammed into the outside wall hard and added even more damage to his UPS Ford. He immediately went to the garage and his team retired the car after an excellent race moving from the back to the Top 10. Jarrett ended up finishing in 41st and he now sits 116 points out of the championship lead after a disappointing result. When the NWCS crowns a champion at Atlanta later this year, this race will be a memorable turning point in the season if Jarrett barely comes up short in winning his second title in NASCAR’s highest series.
Stage 5:
Terrible Luck: Burton Brothers Crash Hard Together After Excellent Runs
Since 1994, Ward and Jeff Burton have been full-time competitors in the NWCS. The brothers from South Boston, Virginia, are two of the familiar faces in NASCAR racing today. While they are close off the track and race cleanly on the track, the nature of stock car racing makes avoiding contact impossible even for two drivers who are related like the Burtons. With 50 laps to go in today’s race, Ward and Jeff crossed paths on the race track and through no fault of their own, their fantastic runs turned into terrible finishes with wrecked racecars. To make it to the end of the race together, the two brothers had radically different races. Ward started the event in 34th, but as soon as the green flag waved, he began his charge towards the front of the field. The elder Burton was very methodical and quick as he passed drivers around him with a very fast Dodge. By lap 60, Ward was sitting in tenth with many laps left to chase down the leaders and contend for the win. Through the next 80 laps, he worked his way up to the sixth position and a couple of times, he found himself in the Top 5. When the third caution waved on lap 143, Ward and his crew chief, Tommy Baldwin Jr., decided to take four tires and fuel and he came off pit road in second. For the restart, he would line up fourth with a shot at the lead. Jeff, on the other hand, started the race in 18th and he spent most of the day battling in the Top 20 for positions, but it seemed like his Ford was lacking on speed. When lap 143 came around, his crew chief, Frank Stoddard, brought him down pit road just as the caution waved for Kyle Petty slowing on track. Instead of taking four tires and losing a lap, Jeff’s team only put on two fresh tires and sent him back on track to maintain his spot on the lead lap. When pit road opened during the caution, he came back down and the team replaced his other two tires and he would be prepared to restart in about 13th place. When the race went back green on lap 148, Ward began to drop back from fourth and Jeff began to move up from just outside the Top 10. As they drove through turn 3 just a lap later, they were riding on the outside line together. Suddenly, their fantastic runs in the Top 10 turned into destroyed racecars. Stacy Compton, who was several laps down, broke loose in front of Ward while exiting turn 3. Ward checked up, but Jeff was unable to slow down in time and he slammed into his brother’s rear bumper. The two drivers spun right in front of the field where Kevin Lepage and Dale Jarrett had nowhere to go. Lepage and Jarrett slammed into the pile-up and all four drivers were left with heavily damaged racecars. Both Burton brothers managed to drive back to pit road and their teams executed repairs on their racecars. While they did return to the track, Ward only mustered a 38th place finish while Jeff came home in 36th with a beat-up Ford Taurus. After a promising day where it looked like both Burton brothers would have great runs, the two drivers were struck with bad luck in an unfortunate accident that resulted in two finishes outside the Top 35.
After 200 laps of competitive racing in the Pocono mountains, the NWCS heads to one of the most famous speedways in the world: Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Next Sunday’s race will be the eighth running of the Brickyard 400 and race fans will pack the stands to see stock cars battle for the victory and the opportunity to kiss the yard of bricks on the front straightaway. To make it to victory lane, though, NASCAR’s finest will have to take on the challenges of the Brickyard. IMS has four distinct, high-speed corners and to go to victory lane, each team and driver needs a racecar that can handle through each difficult turn. Plus, IMS only has one groove for drivers to run through the turns and to move to the front, 43 NWCS competitors will have to be aggressive and race hard to take the checkered flag. Finally, strategy can become a factor late in the race due to the long green flag runs at the 2.5-mile speedway. In addition to the large amount of track storylines heading into next weekend’s race, several drivers have storylines following them into the hallowed grounds of IMS. Jeff Gordon might have come up short in Pocono today after dominating most of the event, but the three-time NWCS champion heads to his home track where he will look to win his third Brickyard 400 and continue his pursuit of a fourth title. Dale Jarrett was left with a terrible finish today and he is now third in the championship battle, but he won the Brickyard 400 two years ago and took the victory to his first NWCS championship, which could be a good omen if he takes his Robert Yates Racing Ford to victory lane at the Brickyard next Sunday. Bobby Labonte won both the Brickyard 400 and the NWCS title last year and he will head to Speedway, Indiana, next weekend to grab his second consecutive victory of the season along with his second straight Brickyard 400 win. Today’s race at Pocono was filled with incredible racing for position, late fuel concerns for most of the leaders, unlucky wrecks for drivers with excellent days, a runaway tire from Kurt Busch’s car, and a much-needed victory for the reigning NWCS champion.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 3- Michael Waltrip bumped Elliott Sadler in turn 3 as Sadler began to slow down on track. The contact sent Sadler spinning up the turn in front of the field. Buckshot Jones slammed into the left side of Sadler’s car as both drivers piled into the outside wall.
2nd Caution: Lap 69- Oil was spotted on the track just as Terry Labonte ran out of fuel on track and pulled into the infield.
3nd Caution: Lap 143- Kyle Petty ran out of fuel and stopped on the race track.
4th Caution: Lap 150- Jeff Burton bumped his brother, Ward, after the two drivers stacked up behind Stacy Compton, who broke loose in front of them. Both Burtons spun in front of the field and Kevin Lepage and Dale Jarrett had nowhere to go and they slammed into the two spinning drivers, which destroyed the cars of all four drivers involved.
5th Caution: Lap 158- Dale Jarrett, who had just returned to the track after his team repaired his damage from the previous caution, had a right front tire blow out in turn 3, which caused him to slam the outside wall hard and end his race.
6th Caution: Lap 170- Kurt Busch made slight contact with the outside wall in turn 3 and his right front tire popped off his racecar. It rolled down the frontstretch and led to NASCAR throwing a caution to retrieve it.
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Bobby Labonte
2nd: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
3rd: Tony Stewart
4th: Bill Elliott
5th: Johnny Benson
Notables Not in Top 5:
6th: Rusty Wallace
7th: Mark Martin
8th: Jeff Gordon
11th: Ricky Rudd
14th: Matt Kenseth
16th: Sterling Marlin
18th: Jeremy Mayfield
19th: Michael Waltrip
20th: Kevin Harvick
21st: Jason Leffler
26th: Elliott Sadler
31st: Kyle Petty
34th: Terry Labonte
36th: Jeff Burton
37th: Kurt Busch
41st: Dale Jarrett
Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://racing-reference.info/race/2001_Pennsylvania_500_Presented_by_Pep_Boys/W
-Image:
https://www.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/photo/main-gallery/race-winner-bobby-1/
-Full Race:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouUwy2kelMQ
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