A Look At The Nineteen
A record number of winners emerged from
2001. Each had newsworthy seasons within and beyond their wins. A look:
#15 MICHAEL WALTRIP – By far the worst of
the winners of 2001, Mikey’s lone win came because of F1-flavored team orders –
Dales Junior and Senior made no attempt to pass him, instead pushing their
teammate to a "fixed" victory. Such a tactic is wrong, and it was
telling that Mikey could not compete for any other win the rest of the year
aside from a "payback" second at the Firecracker 400 and a bizarre
second at Homestead. His treatment of his crew was so poor – aka so much like
Darrell’s – they began looking for a replacement driver at Charlotte in October,
a sign his days with this team are numbered.
#1 STEVE PARK – he won at Rockingham and
was competitive much of the year, but his season ended in a bizarre and nasty
crash at Darlington and little in the way of solid information has come forth as
to whether he will race again.
#24 JEFF GORDON – GM’s designated champion
finally got the new Monte Carlo consistent enough to win another title, and got
a couple of overdue slaps – at Bristol by Tony Stewart and at New Hampshire by
Robby Gordon and NASCAR officials. His win in The Winston came due to the
sanctioning body ignoring the rulebook. Focusing on the bonus points for most
laps led made for the cushion he needed in points.
#29 KEVIN HARVICK – He played the role of
Dale Earnhardt to a T, winning at Atlanta and Chicago, acting like a jerk,
instigating wrecks, and earning a reputation as one not quite deserving of the
time of day.
#88 DALE JARRETT – In late March and April
he went on a title-bound winning spree and twice bested his teammate for race
wins, but in the final third of the year it all petered out and he fell to
fifth, a surprising fall for Yates Racing. His stroking runs at the plate tracks
bespoke of a lack of fire in this driver rather than of a deficiency in rules.
#21 ELLIOTT SADLER – The sport’s best
finish of the year saw his debut win. Beating John Andretti evoked much-needed
memories of David Pearson vs. Richard Petty. The rest of his year was pretty
inconsistent, but overall he acquitted himself nicely.
#55 BOBBY HAMILTON – His win at Talladega
capped a strong opening third but after that things fell apart. In the next go
at Talladega he may have had the strongest car but wound up fifth, due in part
to being chopped off by Bobby Labonte.
#2 RUSTY WALLACE – His numbers were
surprisingly off – fewer top tens than anyone else in the top ten in points –
but he managed the win at Fontana. The less than stellar numbers are disturbing
for this outfit, as his season ended with a pathetic run at one of his strongest
tracks in Loudon.
#20 TONY STEWART – GM and NASCAR neglect
of Pontiac began to hurt as he managed only three wins. He also clashed with
NASCAR over the Firecracker finish and the mandate for head restraints.
Sometimes his antics were spot-on, other times they were more in keeping with NE
Patriots player Terry Glenn.
#99 JEFF BURTON – While his numbers
weren’t poor – two wins, tenth in points – they showed a stunning drop in
performance from 1999 and 2000.
#28 RICKY RUDD – For most of the year he
was in the thick of the points battle, but at crunch time he fell apart. His
wins at Pocono and Richmond returned him to victory lane after three years.
#8 DALE EARNHARDT JR. – His win in the
Firecracker led to accusations of a sanctioning fix, accusations not softened by
his subsequent Talladega win – where he led half the number of laps, in a longer
race, than he led in the Firecracker. He showed greater grace and humility than
his father ever did.
#18 BOBBY LABONTE – Struggled as a lame duck
defending champ, but managed a stirring win at Pocono and a lucky win at
Atlanta. He got upside down at Talladega.
#40 STERLING MARLIN – Led the Dodge
contingent to victory lane at Michigan and added Charlotte to his season total
en route to third in points. But his whine and confrontation with NASCAR after
Talladega in October deserved a heavy fine for unbecoming conduct.
#22 WARD BURTON – Too many DNFs hurt his
season, but Darlington put him in victory circle after a good season.
#32 RICKY CRAVEN – Left for dead
professionally, Craven signed with Cal Wells and pushed on despite the collapse
of Wells’ second team – a bad sign for the long-term health of Craven’s – and
pounded out a stirring win at Martinsville.
#33 JOE NEMECHEK – In May he was injured
in a bad crash at Dover during testing, and his season suffered for it as he sat
out much of the second quarter of the year. He nonetheless pounded out a
dominant win at Rockingham as he departs for Travis Carter’s Ford.
#9 BILL ELLIOTT – Despite the usual
potholes hit by first-year teams it was clear that Elliott’s career had received
a shot, and at Homestead he cashed in on his first win since the 1994 Southern
500.
#31 ROBBY GORDON – At Daytona he drove for
Morgan-McClure, was involved in the crash where Tony Stewart got on his roof and
nose, and was axed from the team after five races. He replaced Mike Wallace for
one race with Jim Smith and a win was eliminated in a confrontation with Kevin
Harvick’s lapped car. When Mike Skinner was finished off for the year, first in
his crash in the Chicago race and then because of subsequent surgery, Gordon
took over, began to show striking promise, then failed to qualify for two races.
But at New Hampshire he pounded out – literally – his first win.
That the number of winners in the season
was this high is rather striking, and is a good sign for the sport. There is of
course the necessity that such a number be matched or exceeded in 2002.