The 2001 edition of The Winston was held on May 19, 2001, at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. This was the 17th running of the event. The race is mostly remembered for the start, when rain progressed onto the track, causing cars to get loose and crash into the wall. One of the first ones to crash was Kevin Harvick, in his first appearance at the speedway. Then Jeff Gordon got sideways and wrecked after tapping Jeff Burton from behind, then Michael Waltrip wrecked Gordon, destroying his car, at which point the race was stopped. All of the drivers returned with back-up cars. At the end, Gordon came across the line and won his third All-Star race, tying Dale Earnhardt. Drivers Johnny Benson and Todd Bodine advanced from The Winston Open, with Benson winning the Open and Bodine winning the No Bull 5 Sprint race. This was the first Winston event without Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt. Waltrip retired at the end of 2000 and called the 2001 race from the booth, and Earnhardt was killed earlier in the season at the Daytona 500. Both drivers competed in the first 16 events. 2001 The Winston drivers and eligibility 1-Steve Park (2 wins from 2000 and 2001) 2-Rusty Wallace (5 wins from 2000 and 2001) 5-Terry Labonte (2 NASCAR Winston Cup Series titles in 1984 and 1996) 6-Mark Martin (1 win in 2000) 8-Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2 wins in 2000) 9-Bill Elliott (1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion) 12-Jeremy Mayfield (2 wins in 2000) 15-Michael Waltrip (2001 Daytona 500 winner) 17-Matt Kenseth (1 win in 2000) 18-Bobby Labonte (2000 NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion) 20-Tony Stewart (7 wins from 2000 and 2001) 21-Elliott Sadler (Food City 500 winner) 22-Ward Burton (1 win in 2000) 24-Jeff Gordon (4 wins from 2000 and 2001) 25-Jerry Nadeau (1 win in 2000) 29-Kevin Harvick (Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500 winner) 55-Bobby Hamilton (Talladega 500 winner) 88-Dale Jarrett (5 wins from 2000 and 2001) 99-Jeff Burton (4 wins in 2000) The Winston Open/No Bull 5 Sprint Johnny Benson started on the pole and led the first 7 laps of the 30 lap Winston Open. After a caution for a single car accident by Stacy Compton on lap 3, part-time driver and second-place starter Ryan Newman passed Benson for the lead. Newman led most of the race until his engine blew with 2 laps