 DOVER DOWNS
MBNA Cal Ripken Jr. 400
Sunday, September 23, 2001 - Race In Brief
While thoughts and prayers were, and continue to be, with
the victims and selfless rescue workers involved in the numbing and tragic attacks that
briefly paralyzed our nation on September 11, NASCAR racing resumed on Sunday in front of
patriotic crowd of 140,000 fans waving flags. Among a field of 43 competitors, Dale
Earnhardt Jr. won an emotionally charged MBNA 400 at Dover Downs International Speedway. 
Earnhardt Jr. dominated the 400 lap event early on and was
in prime position to take over the front again with 39 laps remaining after Ricky Rudd,
the race leader, and Rusty Wallace, who was a lap down, were involved in an altercation.
That incident cost Rudd the lead and allowed Earnhardt, Jr. to capture his second win of
the 2001 Winston Cup season.
Rudd managed to finish third and Wallace climbed back on
the lead lap to finish 11th. Rudd is now 212 points behind Jeff Gordon for the Winston Cup
championship, Wallace is eighth and Earnhardt, Jr. is sixth.
RACE STATS
Time of race: 3 hours, 56 minutes, 19 seconds.
Margin of victory: 1.576 seconds.
Caution flags: 11 for 71 laps.
Lead changes: 13 among 7 drivers.
Lap leaders: D.Jarrett 0; B.Labonte 1; D.Jarrett 2; D.Earnhardt Jr 3-26; R.Craven 27-41;
D.Earnhardt Jr 42-56; R.Rudd 57-64; D.Earnhardt Jr 65-168; E.Sadler 169; T.Stewart
170-172; D.Earnhardt Jr 173-183; R.Rudd 184-344; D.Jarrett 345-361; D.Earnhardt Jr
362-400.
TODD BODINE
66 KMART BLUE LIGHT SPECIAL FORD
Todd Bodine captures his 11th top-10 start and his seventh
top-15th finish of the season this Sunday at the MBNA 400 in Dover,Delaware.
Bodine and his team struggled at the beginning of the
season, going through the growing pains and learning curve of any new team. The second
half of the season, Bodine and his Blue Light crew are coming together.
Bodine, despite poor handling which forced him back in the
pack early, was able to navigate the Blue Light car back up towards the front, compensate
for the changing track conditions and work his way through traffic to finish 15th.
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