The 2001 Tropicana 400 was the 18th stock car race of the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the inaugural running of the event. The race was held on July 15, 2001, in Joliet, Illinois at Chicagoland Speedway, a 1.5 mile (2.41 km) tri-oval speedway. The race took the scheduled 267 laps to complete. Kevin Harvick, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would dominate the late stages of the race to win his second career NASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his second and final win of the season. To fill out the podium, Robert Pressley of Jasper Motorsports and Ricky Rudd of Robert Yates Racing would finish second and third, respectively.
Background
Chicagoland Speedway is a 1.5 miles (2.41 km) tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and currently hosts NASCAR racing. Until 2011, the speedway also hosted the IndyCar Series, recording numerous close finishes including the closest finish in IndyCar history. The speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation and located adjacent to Route 66 Raceway.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver
#DriverTeamMake 1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 01 Jason Leffler (R) Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing Ford 4 Kevin Lepage Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 7 Robby Gordon Ultra Motorsports Ford 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 9 Bill Elliott Evernham Motorsports Dodge 10 Johnny Benson MBV Motorsports Pontiac 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 12 Jeremy Mayfield Penske Racing Ford 14 Ron Hornaday Jr. (R) A. J. Foyt Racing Pontiac 15 Michael Waltrip Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing Ford 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 19 Casey Atwood (R) Evernham Motorsports Dodge 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 21 Elliott Sadler Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Dodge 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 25 Jerry Nadeau Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 27 Mike Bliss Eel River Racing Pontiac 28 Ricky Rudd Robert Yates Racing Ford 29 Kevin Harvick (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30 Jeff Green Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 31 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Ricky Craven PPI Motorsports Ford 33 Joe Nemechek Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 36 Ken Schrader MB2 Motorsports Pontiac 40 Sterling Marlin Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge 43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Dodge 44 Buckshot Jones Petty Enterprises Dodge 45 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge 55 Bobby Hamilton Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 66 Todd Bodine Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 77 Robert Pressley Jasper Motorsports Ford 84 Shawna Robinson Michael Kranefuss Racing Ford 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 90 Hut Stricklin Donlavey Racing Ford 92 Stacy Compton Melling Racing Dodge 93 Dave Blaney Bill Davis Racing Dodge 96 Andy Houston (R) PPI Motorsports Ford 97 Kurt Busch (R) Roush Racing Ford 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing FordOfficial entry list
Practice
First practice The first practice session was held on Thursday, July 12, at 2:00 PM CST, and would last for an hour and 25 minutes. Bill Elliott of Evernham Motorsports would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 31.477 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed 1 9 Bill Elliott Evernham Motorsports Dodge29.574182.593 2 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing Ford29.588182.506 3 26 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford29.633182.402Full first practice results
Second practice The second practice session was held on Thursday, July 12, at 5:05 PM CST, and would last for an hour and 25 minutes. Mark Martin of Roush Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 31.477 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed 1 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford29.369183.867 2 25 Jerry Nadeau Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet29.444183.399 3 26 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford29.471183.231Full second practice results
Third practice The third practice session was held on Friday, July 13, at 11:00 AM CST, and would last for an hour and 55 minutes. Todd Bodine of Haas-Carter Motorsports would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.347 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed 1 66 Todd Bodine Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford29.347183.443 2 25 Jerry Nadeau Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet29.475183.206 3 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac29.504183.026Full third practice results
Fourth practice The fourth practice session was held on Saturday, July 14, at 11:30 AM CST, and would last for 45 minutes. Dale Jarrett of Robert Yates Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.158 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed 1 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford30.158179.057 2 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet30.181178.921 3 29 Kevin Harvick (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet30.195178.838Full fourth practice results
Fifth and final practice The fifth and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, July 14, at 1:00 PM CST, and would last for 45 minutes. Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.142 and an average speed of . Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed 1 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet30.142179.152 2 26 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford30.154179.081 3 1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet30.195178.838Full Happy Hour practice results
Qualifying Qualifying was held on Friday, July 13, at 3:05 PM CST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap. 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.
Todd Bodine of Haas-Carter Motorsports would win the pole, setting a time of 29.393 and an average speed of .
Four drivers would fail to qualify: Kyle Petty, Dave Marcis, Mike Bliss, and Shawna Robinson.
Full qualifying results Pos.#DriverTeamMakeTimeSpeed 1 66 Todd Bodine Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 29.393183.7172 2 26 Jimmy Spencer Haas-Carter Motorsports Ford 29.442183.4115 3 28 Ricky Rudd Robert Yates Racing Ford 29.483183.1564 4 9 Bill Elliott Evernham Motorsports Dodge 29.545182.7720 5 33 Joe Nemechek Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 29.615182.3400 6 29 Kevin Harvick (R) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29.644182.1617 7 31 Mike Skinner Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29.661182.0572 8 25 Jerry Nadeau Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.669182.0082 9 40 Sterling Marlin Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Dodge 29.701181.8121 10 11 Brett Bodine Brett Bodine Racing Ford 29.722181.6836 11 88 Dale Jarrett Robert Yates Racing Ford 29.733181.6164 12 36 Ken Schrader MBV Motorsports Pontiac 29.808181.1594 13 77 Robert Pressley Jasper Motorsports Ford 29.830181.0260 14 96 Andy Houston (R) PPI Motorsports Ford 29.842180.9530 15 01 Jason Leffler (R) Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Dodge 29.846180.9290 16 14 Ron Hornaday Jr. (R) A. J. Foyt Racing Pontiac 29.847180.9227 17 19 Casey Atwood Evernham Motorsports Dodge 29.869180.7894 18 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford 29.887180.6806 19 4 Kevin Lepage Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet 29.898180.6141 20 21 Elliott Sadler Wood Brothers Racing Ford 29.899180.6080 21 2 Rusty Wallace Penske Racing Ford 29.903180.5840 22 55 Bobby Hamilton Andy Petree Racing Chevrolet 29.912180.5296 23 43 John Andretti Petty Enterprises Dodge 29.926180.4450 24 18 Bobby Labonte Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 29.942180.3487 25 92 Stacy Compton Melling Racing Dodge 29.969180.1860 26 22 Ward Burton Bill Davis Racing Dodge 29.987180.0780 27 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac 29.990180.0600 28 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.994180.0360 29 30 Jeff Green Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29.999180.0060 30 1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 30.027179.8380 31 97 Kurt Busch Roush Racing Ford 30.030179.8202 32 99 Jeff Burton Roush Racing Ford 30.044179.7364 33 32 Ricky Craven PPI Motorsports Ford 30.045179.7304 34 10 Johnny Benson MBV Motorsports Pontiac 30.046179.7244 35 93 Dave Blaney Bill Davis Racing Dodge 30.059179.6467 36 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet 30.085179.4914Provisionals 37 17 Matt Kenseth Roush Racing Ford - - 38 12 Jeremy Mayfield Penske Racing Ford - - 39 15 Michael Waltrip Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet - - 40 5 Terry Labonte Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet - - 41 7 Robby Gordon Ultra Motorsports Ford - - 42 90 Hut Stricklin Donlavey Racing Ford - - 43 44 Buckshot Jones Petty Enterprises Dodge - -Failed to Qualify 44 45 Kyle Petty Petty Enterprises Dodge 30.102179.4560 45 71 Dave Marcis Marcis Auto Racing Chevrolet 30.300178.2180 46 27 Mike Bliss Eel River Racing Pontiac 30.495177.0780 47 84 Shawna Robinson Michael Kranefuss Racing Ford 30.807175.2850Official qualifying results
Race results