The Winston to remain at Lowe’s
By Marty Smith, Turner Sports Interactive
October 10, 2001
4:41 PM EDT (2041 GMT)
CONCORD, N.C. - Despite rumors to the contrary, The Winston will be run at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in 2002.
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Jeff Gordon won The Winston in 2001.
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The Winston, widely considered NASCAR’s all-star race for the past 17 years, has been run at the Charlotte track in 16 of the past 17 seasons. The only other one, the second edition in 1986, was run at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Despite the long-standing relationship between Lowe’s and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, there was some speculation earlier this year as to whether The Winston would return to Charlotte.
Such speculation ended Tuesday, when RJR announced that Lowe’s will once again host one of the most electric nights in all of NASCAR racing. Since that inaugural event in 85, RJR has forked out more than $14 million. The purse for this season’s event stood at more than $2 million, with winner Jeff Gordon pocketing a cool $515,000.
The field is comprised of drivers who have won races in the preceding and current years, any active driver who has won the NASCAR Winston Cup championship, and the winner of the 30-lap Winston Open and the 16-lap No Bull Sprint.
Once the field is set, The Winston consists of 70 green flag laps in three segments - two 30 lap segments followed by a 10-lap sprint to the checkers.
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