| Race details[1][2][3] | |
| Date | May 19, 2001 |
| Location | Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina |
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.5 mi (2.4 km) |
| Distance | Winston Open: 30 laps, 45 mi (72 km) No Bull Sprint: 16 laps, 24 mi (39 km) The Winston: 70 laps, 105 mi (169 km) |
| Avg Speed | All-Star Race: 185.022 mph (297.764 km/h) |
| Winston Open | |
| Pole position | Johnny Benson Jr. (MBV Motorsports) |
| Winner | Johnny Benson Jr. (MBV Motorsports) |
| No Bull 5 Sprint | |
| Pole position | Mike Wallace (Ultra Motorsports) |
| Winner | Todd Bodine (Travis Carter Motorsports) |
| Winston All Star Race | |
| Pole position | Rusty Wallace (Penske Racing) 119.112 seconds |
| Winston Open Transfers | Johnny Benson Jr. (Open winner) Todd Bodine (No Bull Sprint winner) |
| Most laps led | Ward Burton (Bill Davis Racing)/Johnny Benson Jr. (MBV Motorsports) 20 laps |
| Winner | Jeff Gordon (Hendrick Motorsports) |
| Television | |
| Network | FX |
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds |
The 2001 edition of The Winston was held on May 19, 2001, at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. This was the 17th running of the event. The race is mostly remembered for the start, when rain progressed onto the track, causing cars to get loose and crash into the wall. One of the first ones to crash was Kevin Harvick, in his first appearance at the speedway. Then Jeff Gordon got sideways and wrecked after tapping Jeff Burton from behind, then Michael Waltrip wrecked Gordon, destroying his car, at which point the race was stopped. All of the drivers returned with back-up cars. At the end, Gordon came across the line and won his third All-Star race, tying Dale Earnhardt. Drivers Johnny Benson and Todd Bodine advanced from The Winston Open, with Benson winning the Open and Bodine winning the No Bull 5 Sprint race. This was the first Winston event without Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt. Waltrip retired at the end of 2000 and called the 2001 race from the booth, and Earnhardt was killed earlier in the season at the Daytona 500. Both drivers competed in the first 16 events.