2001 NASCAR Busch Series

The 2001 NASCAR Busch Series began February 17 and ended November 10. Kevin Harvick of Richard Childress Racing was champion.

Teams and drivers

Limited schedule

Notes:

If under "team", the owner's name is listed and in italics, that means the name of the race team that fielded the car is unknown.

Races

NAPA Auto Parts 300

The NAPA Auto Parts 300 was held February 17 at Daytona International Speedway. Joe Nemechek won the pole.
Top ten results

	Driver	#	Make
1	Randy LaJoie	7	Pontiac
2	Kevin Harvick	2	Chevrolet
3	Matt Kenseth	17	Chevrolet
4	Jeff Green	10	Ford
5	Jimmie Johnson	92	Chevrolet
6	Mike McLaughlin	20	Pontiac
7	Jason Keller	57	Ford
8	Kenny Wallace	48	Chevrolet
9	Chad Little	74	Chevrolet
10	Tim Sauter	61	Pontiac

Failed to qualify: Christian Elder, Andy Kirby

Alltel 200

The Alltel 200 was held February 24 at North Carolina Speedway. Greg Biffle won the pole.
Top ten results

	Driver	#	Make
1	Todd Bodine	00	Chevrolet
2	Kevin Harvick	2	Chevrolet
3	Greg Biffle	60	Ford
4	Kenny Wallace	48	Chevrolet
5	Bobby Hamilton Jr.	26	Chevrolet
6	Jeff Purvis	18	Pontiac
7	Rich Bickle	59	Chevrolet
8	Jeff Green	10	Ford
9	Ryan Newman	02	Ford
10	Jason Keller	57	Ford

Failed to qualify: none

Sam's Town 300

The Sam's Town 300 was held March 3 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Matt Kenseth won the pole.
Top ten results

	Driver	#	Make
1	Todd Bodine	00	Chevrolet
2	Greg Biffle	60	Ford
3	Jason Keller	57	Ford
4	Tony Raines	33	Chevrolet
5	Jeff Green	10	Ford
6	Jeff Burton	9	Ford
7	Joe Nemechek	87	Chevrolet
8	Elton Sawyer	98	Ford
9	Mike McLaughlin	20	Pontiac
10	Jay Sauter	43	Chevrolet

Failed to qualify: none

Aaron's 312

The Aaron's 312 was held March 10 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Ryan Newman won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: none

SunCom 200

The SunCom 200 was held March 17 at Darlington Raceway. Ryan Newman won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: none

Cheez-It 250

The Cheez-It 250 was held March 24 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Kevin Harvick won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: none

Jani-King 300

The Jani-King 300 was held March 31 at Texas Motor Speedway. Matt Kenseth won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: Mike Harmon

Pepsi 300

The inaugural Pepsi 300 was held April 14 at Nashville Superspeedway. Kevin Harvick won the pole.
Top ten results

This was Biffle's first of 20 career Busch Series wins.

Failed to qualify: none

Subway 300

The Subway 300 was held April 21 at Talladega Superspeedway. Joe Nemechek won the pole.
Top ten results

The race was marred for a big wreck which wrecked multiple cars.
This would turn out to be McLaughlin's sixth and final Busch Series win. The win was controversial, as McLaughlin was deemed by Spencer to have swerved his car below the yellow line to block other cars; NASCAR instituted track limits on Talladega and Daytona in all top three series following the race.

Failed to qualify: none

Auto Club 300

The Auto Club 300 was held April 28 at California Speedway. Bobby Hamilton Jr. won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: none

This was Hank Parker Jr.’s first of 2 Busch Series wins.

Hardee's 250

The Hardee's 250 was held May 4 at Richmond International Raceway. Matt Kenseth won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: none

CVS Pharmacy 200 presented by Bayer

The CVS Pharmacy 200 presented by Bayer was held May 12 at New Hampshire International Speedway. Kevin Harvick won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: none

Nazareth 200

The Nazareth 200 was held May 20 at Nazareth Speedway. Tony Raines won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: none

Carquest Auto Parts 300

The Carquest Auto Parts 300 was held May 26 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Kevin Harvick won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: Dan Pardus, Rich Woodland Jr., Dwayne Leik, Dave Blaney

MBNA Platinum 200

The MBNA Platinum 200 was held June 2 at Dover International Speedway. Jeff Green won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: none

Outback Steakhouse 300

The inaugural Outback Steakhouse 300 was held June 16 at Kentucky Speedway. Jay Sauter won the pole. In his first Busch Series start, Travis Kvapil flipped. Tim Sauter suffered a 60-point penalty after illegal rollcage modifications were found on his car after the race.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: Dan Pardus, Jeff Falk, Mike Harmon

GNC Live Well 250

The GNC Live Well 250 was held July 1 at The Milwaukee Mile. Kevin Harvick won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: none

GNC Live Well 200

The GNC Live Well 200 was held July 8 at Watkins Glen International. Scott Pruett won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: none

Sam's Club presents the Hill Bros. Coffee 300

The inaugural Sam's Club presents the Hill Bros. Coffee 300 was held July 14 at Chicagoland Speedway. Ryan Newman won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: Mike Harmon, Rich Woodland Jr.

This race stands as Jimmie Johnson's lone Busch Series victory.

Carquest Auto Parts 250

The Carquest Auto Parts 250 was held July 21 at Gateway International Raceway. Greg Biffle won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: Mark Voigt

NAPA Autocare 250

The NAPA Autocare 250 was held July 28 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Kenny Wallace won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: Mark Voigt

Kroger 200

The Kroger 200 was held August 4 at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Kenny Wallace won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: Wayman Wittman, Mardy Lindley

NAPAonline.com 250

The NAPAonline.com 250 was held August 18 at Michigan International Speedway. Jimmy Spencer won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: Dwayne Leik

This was Newman's 1st of 7 Busch Series victories as well as the first for Team Penske.

Food City 250

The Food City 250 was held August 24 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mike Skinner won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: Nate Monteith, Randy Ratliff, Ron Young

South Carolina 200

The South Carolina 200 was held September 1 at Darlington Raceway. Ryan Newman won the pole. On lap 19 of this race, Steve Park lost control of his race car under caution and was T-boned by rookie Larry Foyt. Park suffered near-fatal injuries that made him miss the remainder of the 2001 racing season and the 2002 Daytona 500.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: none

Autolite / Fram 250

The Autolite / Fram 250 was held September 7 at Richmond International Raceway. Jeff Green won the pole. During the race, Greg Biffle and Jay Sauter tangled, resulting in Biffle running from his car to punch Sauter. Both drivers were given a 100-point penalty for their actions.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: Steven Christian, Randy Ratliff, Dion Ciccarelli, A. J. Alsup, Ron Young, Robbie Faggart, Chad Chaffin, Jeff Oakley, Eddie Beahr

Larry Foyt qualified the No. 14, but chose not to drive because he still felt sore after his hard crash in the previous week and felt he was in no condition to race, so he was replaced in the race by Mark Green.

MBNA.com 200

The MBNA.com 200 was held September 22 at Dover International Speedway. Ryan Newman won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: none

Mr. Goodcents 300

The inaugural Mr. Goodcents 300 was held September 29 at Kansas Speedway. Kevin Lepage won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: Mike Swaim Jr., Jason Rudd, A. J. Alsup

Little Trees 300

The Little Trees 300 was held October 6 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Jeff Burton won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: Jeff Fultz, Dwayne Leik, Jason Rudd, J. R. Robbs, Josh Richeson

Sam's Town 250

The Sam's Town 250 was held October 13 at Memphis Motorsports Park. Kevin Harvick won the pole. The race was supposed to be tape delayed and shown on TNT after the Cup race, but due to rain that also delayed the Winston Cup race at Martinsville, NBC showed this race live instead.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: Sammy Ragan

This was LaJoie's 15th and final win.

Outback Steakhouse 200

The Outback Steakhouse 200 was held October 27 at Phoenix International Raceway. Jimmy Spencer won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: Lance Hooper, Damon Lusk

Sam's Club 200

The Sam's Club 200 was held November 3 at North Carolina Speedway. Ryan Newman won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: Scott Hansen, Drew White

Harvick's fifth-place finish was good enough to clinch the 2001 NASCAR Busch Series champion by 156 points over Jeff Green.
This was Kenny Wallace's final Busch Series win.

GNC Live Well 300

The GNC Live Well 300 was held November 10 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Jeff Green won the pole.
Top ten results

Failed to qualify: Morgan Shepherd, Tim Fedewa, Martin Truex Jr., Dan Pardus, Jeff Fultz, Ron Young, Tom Carey Jr., Mike Harmon, Michael Dokken, Dion Ciccarelli, Brian Tyler, Danny Bagwell

Results and standings

Drivers' Championship

Bold – Pole position awarded by time. Italics – Pole position set by owner's points. * – Most laps led.

	Driver	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	NSH	TAL	CAL	RCH	NHA	NAZ	CLT	DOV	KEN	MIL	GLN	CHI	GTY	PPR	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MEM	PHO	CAR	HOM
1	Kevin Harvick	2	2	12	8	8	7*	1*	7	40	5	5	2*	2*	26	3*	1*	4*	3	27	1*	3	1	2	1*	14	27	14	38	4	3	3	5	37*	4813
2	Jeff Green	4	8	5	4	1	38	32	8	3	3	6	4	3	1	29	31	9	31	6	5	2	6	36	2	9	22	1	1	10	2*	2	9*	9	4689
3	Jason Keller	7	10	3	7	3	11	24	2	25	15	18	1	4	3	13	14	5	9	5	2	4	5	8	29	6	13	25	5	2	7	6	4	19	4642
4	Greg Biffle '	22	3	2	2	11	30	7	1*	9	6*	37	11	1	6*	9	2	1	2	39	4	5	2*	43	18	15	35	5	3	1	20	1*	12	3	4509
5	Elton Sawyer	43	29	8	35	9	17	21	5	6	12	40	9	11	19	6	4	6	6	8	8	30	4	7	5	2	8	11	16	9	26	38	10	2	4100
6	Tony Raines	36	38	4	10	22	8	20	16	14	8	2	12	6	24	10	3	10	27	11	23	19	12	3	17	10	21	7	7	14	31	16	22	14	3975
7	Mike McLaughlin	6	14	9	11	5	13	37	9	1	10	22	10	17	11	21	25	18	17	25	12	14	23	5	16	3	32	31	10	19	10	31	3	12	3962
8	Jimmie Johnson	5	13	14	9	32	4	8	28	28	16	12	13	9	16	25	30	26	21	1	14	7	15	4	12	16	19	33	6	22	14	21	23	17	3871
9	Chad Little	9	15	16	15	24	12	31	27	11	18	20	14	20	21	11	6	20	16	17	13	16	3	16	9	13	6	4	36	17	16	13	17	27	3846
10	Kenny Wallace	8	4	24	19	4	5	43	36	10	38	8	5	32	30	12	35	16	11	14	6	9	11	22	3	18	23	2	25	32	21	10	1	25	3799
11	Scott Wimmer '	15	31	11	14	12	29	15	3	42	19	7	17	30	35	7	17	30	23	13	10	20	31	23	6	12	15	12	17	11	8	7	13	4	3773
12	Randy LaJoie	1	32	38	21	26	3	13	4	27	30	19	8	13	22	24	7	22	19	19	9	33	13	24	31	19	34	9	21	37	1	18	11	21	3578
13	David Green	23	28	40	18	31	15	6	24	32	13	13	23	16	9	8	23	15	35	15	7	6	18	37	15	22	12	15	13	21	33	15	6	11	3554
14	Kevin Grubb	39	12	19	25	21	35	18	34	8	26	15	20	18	33	33	8	3	13	9	3	8	22	13	13	32	3	20	22	20	28	23	15	29	3533
15	Hank Parker Jr.	14	17	22	38	25	21	29	25	41	1	11	18	39	15	30	11	14	32	35	26	22	25	28	34	17	28	8	2	7	32	8	8	20	3341
16		11	26	20	24	14	25	16	19	29	37	26	31	10	25	19	10	19	14	20	11	12	10	17	42	23	14	17	19	31	11	33	16	42	3308
17	Bobby Hamilton Jr.	33	5	37	36	6	23	19	26	23	14	24	7	7	14	28	12	34	29	41	18	15	19	21	32	5	33	13	34	12	15	36	21	26	3267
18	Matt Kenseth	3		34	30	2*	1	5		21	20	4			2	2		2		30				12	30	7	2	10	4	16*		22	2	5	3167
19	Jay Sauter	25	11	10	13	36	22	3	39	7	28	10	32	15	34	23	9	33	12	38	25	17	14	15	10	30	39	18	14	28	4			22	3084
20	Ashton Lewis	31	33	30	39	19	27	11	42	31	22	32	29	14	13	40	5	32	37	43	Wth	11	16	20	19	26	37	16	20	5	9	24	27	16	2904
21	Jeff Purvis	28*	6	17	6	10	24	12	14	24	2	17	19	12	10	14	29	7			15	1*	21								5	17	14		2863
22	Larry Foyt '	19	24	31	22	30	33	22	29	12	21	27	28	26	28	41	19	23	30	22	32	34	27	18	33	39	QL	23	30	24	17	34	29	24	2673
23	Shane Hall	12	25	29	28	23	36	38	30	34	33	30	24	21	41	27	22	24	26	31	22	31	24	35	25	28	26	29	29	34	19	19	34	31	2624
24	Rich Bickle	16	7	15	29	15	39	23	12	13	29	16	21	8	17	26	27	12	22	28			9	29	20	25	16	24							2595
25	Tim Fedewa	24	30	28	31	18	2	26	18	18	11	21	25	5	27	31	36	31			40	10	7	9	41					27	6	26		DNQ	2403
26	Jimmy Spencer					13	26	30		2*	7	1*			8	1				18				31	7	8	1*	3	18	6		35		36	2329
27	Mike Skinner							9	6	5	23	3	3		5	4		11		2				6	11	24		19							1999
28	Ryan Newman		9		32	17	6	14				14	15							26*				1*	8	4	7	21*					7	8	1978
29	Todd Bodine	38	1*	1*	5	34	19	35	10	4	17	35			4															15		5	24	15	1915
30	Kelly Denton	18	27	26	37	33	18	28			34	41		24	42	16	13	13	25	40	21	25		38	37	27	42	30					28		1863
31	Kevin Lepage			21	40	27		10	15		4	28	35		12	15				10				42	28			6	12*			14			1687
32	Tim Sauter '	10	21	13	34	29	9	34	17	15	25	23	16	22	23	22	43																26	40	1611
33	Jeff Burton			6				2							7					3				10		1*	9		31	3		9		13	1600
34	Geoff Bodine																41	17	20	23	19	18	8	40	14	34	4	22	26	33	35	30	18		1582
35	Joe Nemechek	32		7	1*			4		39	9									4							17	37	35	26		12		1	1541
36	Ron Hornaday Jr.																	8	10	16				14	27	11	11	36	24			4	20	30	1346
37	Marty Houston '	13	42	36	33	20	14	25	23	37	32	38	30	25	32	17	21																		1294
38	Brad Baker	35	34	35	23	Wth	28		13	20		25			36		18	27				26	37		23		43				23				1270
39	Christian Elder	DNQ		23	26		20			26	24			28	37	20	24			29	30				35				27	40		28		43	1228
40	Mark Green	20	20	32	41	16	40	41	21	17			38				16			24							36		9	29					1198
41	Michael Waltrip	37		39	3		10								43					12					40		18		15	18		20		6	1195
42	Chad Chaffin	41	22	25	16	37	34	27													28	38	20		38		DNQ		33		22		41		967
43	David Donohue '								32	33	27	36	33	27	20	32	32	21	15	34															935
44	Andy Santerre		23				31		33				27						18		16	13	17						32			42		38	928
45	Randy Tolsma																					23	33	33	22	29	38	26	40	25	18	25	32		924
46	Steve Park					7						9	6			5				42					4	38									840
47	Brad Teague				43	40	32							34	40	35	40	39	38		37		38		36	40		41			43		42		754
48	Buckshot Jones															18				7									8	13			19	18	736
49	Clay Rogers		18						37				37	23			39				34	35	30		QL						12				677
50	Mike Wallace										31				31					32				27			10		23	Wth		37		23	663
51	Mike Harmon							DNQ	40	35				38		38	DNQ			DNQ	33	40	28	41		35		42		43	40	41	38	DNQ	660
52	Robbie Faggart		35					42			35		34	31	38			28		33	36	37					DNQ			38					632
53	Steadman Marlin								22						39		26			21				19	26				39		42				602
54	Blaise Alexander	30	16	43	12																			11				28							558
55	Johnny Sauter																										5				13	11	30	35	545
56	Mike Dillon	29	19	18	20	28	37																												525
57	Lyndon Amick	21									30		43						7							21	41								493
58	Ken Alexander																								43		30	32	37	41	30	32	36		461
59	Andy Kirby	DNQ								16														30		33			41		41			32	399
60	Robby Gordon																		5										11	23					389
61	Dan Pardus								35						DNQ		DNQ			36						31				36		29	31	DNQ	384
62	Bill Hoff		41											37		39	Wth	35	33		42		40					43					43		374
63	Brian Tyler			33																			26	39							24		35	DNQ	344
64	Jason Rudd		40									34				34											31	40	DNQ	DNQ			33		342
65	P. J. Jones	27	37	27	17																														328
66	Drew White													40					36		38	39	42			37					39		DNQ		328
67	Jeff Falk											31		29			DNQ								24		25								325
68	David Starr	34			27			17		38																									304
69	Bobby Gerhart							40		22			26	33																					289
70	Ward Burton																													8				7	288
71	Derrike Cope																Wth			37	31			34	21										283
72	Brian Vickers																	37					32				29							25	283
73	Kerry Earnhardt																20					24		26											279
74	Stanton Barrett										39															20		27	28	39	38				277
75	Ricky Hendrick														18		15																	41	267
76	A. J. Alsup													41			42					29		32			DNQ		DNQ					33	244
77	Joe Bessey	17								43			22																						243
78	Joe Ruttman																33	38				21													213
79	Joe Bush											33						29				32													207
80	Kertus Davis													35		42		40										34							199
81	Mike Swaim Jr.																				20			25					DNQ						191
82	Shawna Robinson							39	43	19																									186
83	Joe Cooksey																				29		43								29				186
84	Ron Fellows																		1*																185
85	Philip Morris																													30			40	34	177
86	Ron Young					38	42																		DNQ		DNQ				25			DNQ	174
87	Stevie Hodgson						16						36																						170
88	Jeff Streeter								41		36					37							29												168
89	Mike Chase										43										27	28													161
90	Boris Said																		4																160
91	Mark Voigt																				DNQ	DNQ				36					34	43			150
92	Scott Pruett																		8																147
93	Bobby Hamilton	42							20																										140
94	Frank Kimmel								11																										135
95	Sammy Sanders		36	41			41																												135
96	Stacy Compton																																	10	134
97	Eddie Beahr											42									24						DNQ								128
98	Mark Day							36	31																										125
99	Nate Monteith													36									34		DNQ										116
100	Michael Dokken																					41				42				42				DNQ	114
101	Andy Houston																				17														112
102	Ted Christopher													19																					106
103	Mark McFarland																										20								103
104	Jason Schuler																				41	36													95
105	Josh Richeson																										40			DNQ			37		95
106	A. J. Frank					39			38																										95
107	John Finger																		24																91
108	Shane Huffman																										24								91
109	Billy Parker																	25					35												88
110	Rick Markle																											39	42						83
111	Jerry Robertson																					27													82
112	Clay Dale																														27				82
113	Bobby Dotter																															27			82
114	Tom Hubert																		28											35					79
115	Travis Kvapil																28																		79
116	Casey Mears																																	28	79
117	Sean Studer		39									29																							76
118	Dale Earnhardt Jr.														29																				76
119	Scott Gaylord			42																		42													74
120	Andy Hillenburg							33																											64
121	Phil Parsons	QL															34																		61
122	Joe Varde																		34																61
123	Gus Wasson					35																													58
124	Dwayne Leik														DNQ		Wth				35			DNQ						DNQ					58
125	Dion Ciccarelli																										DNQ	35						DNQ	58
126	C. W. Smith									36																									55
127	Phil Bonifield															36																			55
128	Jeff Oakley																						36				DNQ								55
129	Mario Hernandez																														36				55
130	Ronnie Hornaday																	37																	52
131	Scott Hansen																														37		DNQ		52
132	Dick Trickle																38																		49
133	Martin Truex Jr.																											38						DNQ	49
134	Lance Hooper																	41							39							DNQ			46
135	Rodney Sawyers																				43		39												46
136	Hal Goodson											39																							46
137	Brian Weber																		39																46
138	Eric Jones																				39														46
139	Ken Schrader																															39			46
140	Jeff Fultz																													DNQ			39	DNQ	46
141	Christian Fittipaldi																																	39	46
142	Mike Bliss	40																																	43
143	Ross Thompson																															40			43
144	Mike Potter																						41												40
145	Ricky Sanders																									41									40
146	Carl Long				42																														37
147	Jeff Fuller										42						Wth																		37
148	Jerry McCart						43																												34
149	Tom Carey Jr.																					43												DNQ	34
150	Ed Berrier																					QL							43						34
151	Steve Grissom	26
152	Sean Woodside										40
153	Brendan Gaughan										41
154	Dave Blaney														DNQ	43
155	Tina Gordon																									43
156	Rich Woodland Jr.														DNQ					DNQ
157	Wayman Wittman																						DNQ				Wth
158	Mardy Lindley																						DNQ
159	Randy Ratliff																								DNQ		DNQ
160	Steven Christian																										DNQ
161	J. R. Robbs																													DNQ
162	Sammy Ragan																														DNQ
163	Damon Lusk																															DNQ
164	Morgan Shepherd																																	DNQ
165	Danny Bagwell																																	DNQ
166	Richard Jarvis Jr.																																Wth
	Driver	DAY	CAR	LVS	ATL	DAR	BRI	TEX	NSH	TAL	CAL	RCH	NHA	NAZ	CLT	DOV	KEN	MIL	GLN	CHI	GTY	PPR	IRP	MCH	BRI	DAR	RCH	DOV	KAN	CLT	MEM	PHO	CAR	HOM

Rookie of the Year

Greg Biffle of Roush Racing won the Rookie of the Year title in 2001, winning a record five races and finishing fourth in points, in addition to leading the championship standings at one point in the season. Runner-up was Scott Wimmer, who finished twenty-six points out of tenth in final standings. Jamie McMurray and Larry Foyt finished 3rd and 4th respectively, while Kelly Denton and Christian Elder signed to run limited schedules with their teams. Marty Houston, Tim Sauter, and David Donohue were either released during the season or had their team shut down due to sponsor issues.