2001 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 with the Looney Tunes

Race details
Race 26 of 36 in the2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 2001 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 program cover, featuring severalLooney Tunes sponsored cars.
Date	September 8, 2001
Official name	44th Annual Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 with The Looney Tunes
Location	Richmond, Virginia,Richmond International Raceway
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	0.75 miles (1.21 km)
Distance	400 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km)
Scheduled distance	400 laps, 300 mi (482.803 km)
Average speed	95.146 miles per hour (153.123 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports
Time	21.617
Most laps led
Driver	Rusty Wallace	Penske Racing South
Laps	276
Winner
No. 28	Ricky Rudd	Robert Yates Racing
Television in the United States
Network	TNT
Announcers	Allen Bestwick,Benny Parsons,Wally Dallenbach Jr.
Radio in the United States
Radio	Motor Racing Network

The2001 Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 with the Looney Tunes was the 28thstock car race of the2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 44th iteration of theevent. The race was held on Saturday, September 8, 2001, inRichmond, Virginia, atRichmond International Raceway, a 0.75 miles (1.21 km) D-shaped oval. The race took the scheduled 400 laps to complete. In a wild finish,Ricky Rudd, driving forRobert Yates Racing, would battle withRichard Childress Racing driverKevin Harvick in the final laps of the race. Harvick would send Rudd up on the track with 17 to go, but Rudd was eventually able to save the car. Rudd would then later payback Harvick with 7 to go, moving Harvick to win his 22nd careerNASCAR Winston Cup Series victory and his second and final victory of the season.^[1][2] The win was also Robert Yates Racing's 50th victory as an organization.^[3] To fill out the podium, Harvick would finish second, andDale Earnhardt, Inc. driverDale Earnhardt Jr. would finish third.

Richmond International Raceway (RIR) is a 3/4-mile (1.2 km),D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outsideRichmond, Virginia inHenrico County. It hosts theMonster Energy NASCAR Cup Series andXfinity Series. Known as "America's premier short track", it formerly hosted a NASCARCamping World Truck Series race, anIndyCar Series race, and twoUSAC sprint car races.

• (R) denotes rookie driver.

The first practice session was held on Friday, September 7, at 11:30 AMEST. The session would last for two hours.^[4]Dale Earnhardt Jr., driving forDale Earnhardt, Inc., would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 21.696 and an average speed of 124.447 miles per hour (200.278 km/h).^[5]

The final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Friday, September 7, at 5:45 PMEST. The session would last for one hour and 30 minutes.^[4]Jeff Green, driving forRichard Childress Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 22.005 and an average speed of 122.699 miles per hour (197.465 km/h).^[6]

Qualifying was held on Friday, September 7, at 3:00 PMEST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap.^[4] 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.^[7]

Jeff Gordon, driving forHendrick Motorsports, would win the pole, setting a time of 21.617 and an average speed of 124.902 miles per hour (201.010 km/h).^[8]

Four drivers would fail to qualify:Andy Houston,Hut Stricklin,Hermie Sadler, andCarl Long.

*Time not available.

• 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
• NASCAR races at Richmond Raceway
• September 2001 sports events in the United States
• 2001 in sports in Virginia

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