"The 2001 Mountain Dew Southern 500 was a Winston Cup (now Nextel Cup) event held at Darlington Speedway on September 2, 2001. Ward Burton won his only race of the year, holding off a dominant Jeff Gordon for the win. Gordon, in the meantime, continued to expand his points lead, now 342 markers on Ricky Rudd (7th). Stats"@en . . . . . "2001 Mountain Dew Southern 500"@en . "The 2001 Mountain Dew Southern 500 was a Winston Cup (now Nextel Cup) event held at Darlington Speedway on September 2, 2001. Ward Burton won his only race of the year, holding off a dominant Jeff Gordon for the win. Gordon, in the meantime, continued to expand his points lead, now 342 markers on Ricky Rudd (7th). Stats"@en .