2001 Florida 500

The **2001 Florida 500** was the 1st race of the 2001 Piston Cup Season.

## Race Summary

Polesitter Bill Racelott led the field to the green flag, but he only led one lap before Buck Schooner passed him for the lead. On lap 29, Rusty Cornfuel drove into his pit after his right front tire had suddenly gone flat. the Piston Cup determined that he had exceeded the pit road speed limit on his way in and he was consequently issued a 15-second penalty. As a result, he went a lap down and attempted to make up for it by skipping the first scheduled pit stop. The first caution came out on lap 48 when Lee Revkins bounced off the wall between turns 3 & 4. The race restarted and stayed under a long green-flag run that lasted 105 laps, in which Darren Leadfoot led the most. On lap 87, Dale Earnhardt and Ernie Gearson made door-to-door contact coming out of turn 4 while battling for fifth place.

The second caution came out on lap 157 when Gearson, trying to pass Winford Bradford Rutherford, hit the front stretch wall and slid across the track right through the infield and onto pit road. On lap 167, Misti Motorkrass took the lead, only to be passed by her friend Dan Sheldon on the next lap.

On lap 173, a huge crash eliminated 18 cars in a spectacular fashion. This began when Kevin Racingtire, coming onto the back straightaway, turned Darren Leadfoot in the outside lane. Blamer then hit Greg Candyman, who turned back across the middle of the racetrack, collecting most of the field behind him. Candyman took the worst ride of any racer in that crash, as he turned against the wall after being hit by Blamer, caught a pocket of air, got pushed airborne over Kevin Racingtire and flipped over twice, and then landed on top of Johnny Blamer before coasting to a stop in the infield. Darrel Draggered's hood broke off and got attached to Candyman, causing his engine to catch fire. Dirkson D'Agostino collided first with the outside wall and then got hit by at least two other cars, destroying the rear end of him. Agostino managed to limp back to pit road and retire. Also involved in this crash were Klint Shiftright, Jarrett Towerwheel, Crusty Rotor, Ruby Oaks, Claude Scruggs (the defending Florida 500 winner), Ryan Shields, Bertie Fast, Eugene Carbureski, Brush Curber, and rookie Ralph Carlow. Only a few racers, including Earnhardt; Racelott; Chuck Armstrong; and Ken Schroeder, were able to avoid the crash with intact cars. The race was red-flagged for extensive cleanup. When the red flag was over, the race restarted on lap 180, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the lead. Schooner led the next three laps before Sheldon took over again.

## Transcript

### Dale's death

Bob Cutlass: Big trouble! Big wreck behind them!

Darrell Cartrip: Lead them back come on!

Bob Cutlass: To the flag!

## Results

1. Dan Sheldon - 500 laps - 175 points
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 500 laps - 170 points
3. Chick Hicks - 500 laps - 500 laps - 165 points
4. Strip Weathers - 500 laps - 160 points
5. Bill Racelott - 500 laps - 155 points
6. Larry Smith - 500 laps - 150 points
7. Andrew Axler - 500 laps - 146 points
8. Buck Schooner - 500 laps - 142 points
9. Haul Inngas - 500 laps - 138 points
10. Ponchy Wipeout - 500 laps - 134 points
11. Winford Bradford Rutherford - 500 laps - 130 points
12. Dale Earnhardt † - 499 laps - 127 points (fatal crash)
13. Ken Schroeder - 499 laps - 124 points (crash)
14. Billy Oilchanger - 499 laps - 121 points (+1 lap)
15. James Cleanair - 499 laps - 118 points
16. Slider Petrolski - 499 laps - 115 points
17. Chuck Armstrong - 499 laps - 112 points (+1 lap)
18. Bertie Fast - 499 laps - 109 points (+1 lap)
19. Ryan Shields - 499 laps - 106 points (+1 lap)
20. Mac iCar - 498 laps - 103 points (+2 laps)
21. Rusty Cornfuel - 496 laps - 100 points (+4 laps)
22. Murray Clutchburn - 485 laps - 97 points (+15 laps)
23. Misti Motorkrass - 477 laps - 94 points (+23 laps)
24. Ernie Gearson - 469 laps - 91 points (+31 laps)
25. Claude Scruggs - 186 laps - 88 points (crash)
26. Jarrett Towerwheel - 184 laps - 85 points (crash)
27. Eugene Carbureski - 184 laps - 82 points (crash)
28. Davey Apex - 181 laps - 79 points (engine)
29. Ruby Oaks - 181 laps - 76 points (crash)
30. Klint Shiftright - 178 laps - 73 points (crash)
31. Ralph Carlow - 176 laps - 70 points (crash)
32. Dirkson D'Agostino - 175 laps - 67 points (crash)
33. Johnny Blamer - 174 laps - 64 points (crash)
34. Darren Leadfoot - 173 laps - 61 points (crash)
35. Kevin Racingtire - 173 laps - 58 points (crash)
36. Greg Candyman - 173 laps - 55 points (cras)
37. Crusty Rotor - 173 laps - 52 points (crash)
38. Brush Curber - 173 laps - 49 points (crash)
39. Darrel Draggered - 173 laps - 46 points (crash)
40. Billy Ford - 135 laps - 43 points (engine)
41. Lee Revkins - 47 laps - 40 points (crash)

## Standings after the race

1. Dan Sheldon - 175 points
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 170 points
3. Chick Hicks - 500 laps - 165 points
4. Strip Weathers - 160 points
5. Bill Racelott - 155 points
6. Larry Smith - 150 points
7. Andrew Axler - 146 points
8. Buck Schooner - 142 points
9. Haul Inngas - 138 points
10. Ponchy Wipeout - 134 points
11. Winford Bradford Rutherford - 130 points
12. Dale Earnhardt - 127 points
13. Ken Schroeder - 124 points
14. Billy Oilchanger - 121 points
15. James Cleanair - 118 points
16. Slider Petrolski - 115 points
17. Chuck Armstrong - 112 points
18. Bertie Fast - 109 points
19. Ryan Shields - 106 points
20. Mac iCar - 103 points
21. Rusty Cornfuel - 100 points
22. Murray Clutchburn - 97 points
23. Misti Motorkrass - 96 points
24. Ernie Gearson - 91 points
25. Claude Scruggs - 88 points
26. Jarrett Towerwheel - 85 points
27. Eugene Carbureski - 82 points
28. Davey Apex - 79 points
29. Ruby Oaks - 76 points
30. Klint Shiftright - 73 points
31. Ralph Carlow - 70 points
32. Dirkson D'Agostino - 67 points
33. Johnny Blamer - 64 points
34. Darren Leadfoot - 61 points
35. Kevin Racingtire - 58 points
36. Greg Candyman - 55 points
37. Crusty Rotor - 52 points
38. Brush Curber - 49 points
39. Darrel Draggered - 46 points
40. Billy Ford - 43 points
41. Lee Revkins - 40 points