2001 Talladega 500

The 2001 Talladega 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on April 22, 2001, at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. A total prize purse of $3,233,740 ($5,879,804 when adjusted for inflation); with $173,855 to the winner ($316,115 when adjusted for inflation).

Kenny Wallace, Kyle Petty, Rick Mast, Hut Stricklin and Andy Hillenburg would fail to qualify for this race.^[3][4]

Stacy Compton would be credited with a last-place finish due to engine failure on lap 116 of the 188-lap race.^[3][4]Bobby Hamilton would defeat Tony Stewart by 2/10ths of a second after racing a completely caution-free race for almost three hours.^[3][4] The last-place finisher, Compton, qualified for the pole position with a speed of 184.861 mph (297.505 km/h).^[3][4]

Sterling Marlin had the best car in the race but finished in 23rd place; leading 51 laps and overtaking competitors like Michael Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jeff Burton, and Stacy Compton.^[3][4] While Marlin was the class of the field, late in the race he got shuffled back.^[3][4]

This was the only time Andy Houston led a lap in a Cup race.^[3][4] Mike Skinner, who finished 29th, crossed the finish line less than 4 seconds behind winner Bobby Hamilton.^[3][4] Hamilton, who qualified with a speed of 182.99 mph, was like most of the field which ran the 500 miles faster than their 1-lap qualification.

Despite the lack of a big crash in the crucial moments of the race, there were still some exciting parts in the race for NASCAR fans in the form of lead changes and drivers leading multiple laps. The last event to end without any caution periods was in 1999. It would be Hamilton's last win. He died 6 years later from head and neck cancer.

• (R) denotes rookie driver.