|| *Comments on the 2001 Pepsi 400 Presented by Meijer:* View the most recent comment <#28> | Post a comment <#post> Tweet 1. James posted: 07.24.2004 - 12:13 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) First Win for The Dodges since the 1970's 2. Steve posted: 05.14.2005 - 9:50 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) Sterling Marlin gets the first win for Dodge since their return to the sport. Rain shortened race. 3. HomeDepot20TS posted: 06.05.2005 - 1:23 pm Rate this comment: (1) (3) Woulda prefered it if the guy who drove the red Dodge in that race had given Doge their first win since their return, but Sterling's not bad either. 4. Burt Kusch posted: 05.29.2006 - 6:11 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Kurt Busch finished dead last in both 2001 races at Michigan. 5. Steve posted: 08.01.2006 - 1:21 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Aren't you funny. Kevin Harvick suffers his ONLY DNF of his rookie season. 6. Anonymous posted: 10.24.2006 - 12:03 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kenseth was decent thoughout most of this race and I was hoping he could contend for the win, hopefully winning a race in the 2001 season but the rain had to come! 7. Anonymous posted: 11.11.2006 - 1:19 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Yeah Kenseth began to come on strong towards the end and that was realistically are last hope for a win in the 2001 season 8. biffle16 posted: 05.17.2007 - 2:56 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Aren't YOU funny, Steve. Matt Kenseth had the best car on the track at the end of the race. ;) 9. SK posted: 03.24.2008 - 1:15 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) From what I recall, Ricky Craven was catching Marlin and likely would have been able to pass him had the rain not halted the race for good. I was hoping to see Ricky get his first career win, at long last, but fortunately he'd accomplish that in exciting fashion only a few months later. 10. Mr. Big posted: 05.22.2008 - 3:56 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Sterling gets the first win for Dodge since the 70's. If this race had somehow continued green the rest of the way, either Craven or Kenseth would've had him. Sterling didn't have the best car on this day, but he had the most luck. 11. Anonymous posted: 01.04.2009 - 8:13 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) First top 10 for Casey Atwood, and Sterling's first win in over 5 years. 12. TaterRacing posted: 01.19.2009 - 12:17 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I always found it funny that Ricky Craven started on the pole and finished 2nd, but never led a lap. 13. Steve posted: 07.29.2009 - 10:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Chip Ganassi Racing swept the American races that day, as Brazilian CART rookie Bruno Junqueira won the Motorola 220 at Road America (see http://www.racing-reference.info/race?id=2001-13&series=R), a race that was affected by rain, too. Seriously, the first 10 or 12 laps were run with a HUUUUUGE puddle at Turn 11 (the turn between "The Kink" and Canada Corner) that collected Bryan Herta and Marucio Gugelmin among others. 14. steve posted: 06.28.2010 - 1:09 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) craven got robbed of his first victory, would of caught marlin in another lap or so. he was coming fast 15. Jim posted: 03.02.2012 - 3:28 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) First win for Dodge since Neil Bonnett at Ontario 11-20-1977 16. RaceFanX posted: 04.03.2012 - 8:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsors: #9 Bill Elliott- Dodge 'Grab Life by the Horns' / UAW #19 Casey Atwood- Dodge 'Grab Life by the Horns' / UAW #5 Terry Labonte- Kellogg's Honey Frosted Mini-Wheats ('Grab Life by the Horns' was a promotion Dodge was running for its Ram trucks with both cars featuring the Ram's signature grill decalled on the hood. Honey Frosted Mini-Wheats were a new product Kellogg had just put out at the the time but I don't think they lasted very long, the car was painted a goldish-brown version of that color-changing Chromalusion paint) Ricky Craven won the pole for this race, the fourth of his career and only one in 2001, as the last of 45 drivers to make a qualifying attempt. This was the first race where Benny Parsons had his $100 bet with the various pit crews about where he'd paid each member of the crew that amount of money if a team could pull off a sub-13 second four tires plus fuel pit stop. He originally made the challenge with Ryan Newman's crew in the Busch race the previous day but ended up expanding it, no one would "get BP's money" on this day though. 17. RaceFanX posted: 04.03.2012 - 8:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) There was an extended rain delay at lap 101 with Mark Martin as the race leader. It looked like the race might be called there but they dried the track and were able to restart the race, had they called the race it could have been Mark Martin's only win of 2001. I don't believe Martin has ever won a rain-shortened race. The extended delay only to have the race shortened by rain anyway later led some at the time to claim there was a conspiracy for NASCAR to call the race so that a Dodge driver would win, giving the brand its historic first win back in 2001 on its home turf in Michigan. 18. Spen posted: 08.24.2012 - 2:28 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) He won a darkness-shortened Southern 500 in '93. 19. mister83 posted: 07.04.2015 - 4:55 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) #11- actually Atwood had a top ten in 2000 when he was running a limited schedule. but this was his first top ten in 2001. 20. mister83 posted: 07.05.2015 - 2:33 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And also the first top five for "Matt Kinsis" since Pocono of 2000. 21. Windows Millennium Edition posted: 03.14.2016 - 10:19 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Withdrew: WD|Morgan Shepherd|89|Racing for Jesus|Morgan Shepherd|Ford 22. SK posted: 12.30.2016 - 3:27 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Tony Stewart sprained his ankle chasing his dog up the stairs of his house, the week of the race, but aside from soreness while using the clutch, he was OK to race. David Keith missed the show by two hundredths of a second in his 4th and final attempt to make a Winston Cup field. 23. Bad Booking posted: 01.02.2017 - 9:57 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Michael Waltrip should be listed as a "to the back" car due to a huge wreck in happy hour the day before. 24. Anonymous posted: 08.13.2018 - 10:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) If the race had been called on lap 101, the Robert Yates cars of Dale Jarrett and Ricky Rudd would've got decent finishes. Rudd had engine trouble and was running in the top 10 or 15 when the race was stopped, he ended up 42nd. Jarrett was in the top 10 but had a flat tire and ended up 37th. 25. Greg1&9Fan posted: 08.20.2018 - 12:30 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Rusty Wallace was the best car in this race, but like most of his career, engine problems cost him. 26. SweetRich posted: 07.02.2020 - 8:34 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The losing streak is over. After spending four years out of the limelight, Sterling Marlin takes the checkered flag at Michigan. Decent runs here and there as well as strong runs only to come up short competing in the #4 and #40. The move to Dodge became the saving grace for Sterling and would put him back as a contender for race wins once again. After running near or at the front for most of 2001 leading up to Michigan, it was only a matter of time before Sterling went to victory lane again, which happened on this day, albeit the rain, but a win is a win. A fantastic comeback story for one of the all time greats. 27. SweetRich21/43 posted: 07.31.2020 - 4:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The commentators were Allen Bestwick, Benny Parsons and Wally Dallenbach. The pit road reporters were Bill Weber, Matt Yocum, Marty Snider and Dave Burns. 28. CreativeFire posted: 02.06.2021 - 10:59 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I'm watching the race right now. Ricky was in 14th when the rain delay happened. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: