A big race, big rigs and big bucks combined to bring fans out to the Atlanta Motor Speedway Saturday, Nov. 17, as competitors tackled the final obstacle on the road to cold hard cash and a place in history as the first "International Truck Challenge" champion. Barry Sheppard, driver for Elliot Sadler's #21 car for Wood Brothers Racing team, put up an impressive time of 141.5 seconds in this third event to claim the $1,000 prize money given to the winner of each individual event.

That money, however, doesn't compare to the excitement of winning the oversized $25,000 check and the "2001 International Truck Challenge champion," title. After a surprising victory over the series point leader Kelly Stewart, the heavily favored driver for Ricky Rudd's #48 car for Robert Yates racing Racing team, and Ricky Simmons, rig driver for Jimmy Spencer's #26 car for Haas/Carter Motorsports, Sheppard was crowned the first ever "International Truck Challenge" champion.
In a tough, competitive series that found the leader board of Stewart, Sheppard and Simmons separated by only a couple of points, it's fitting that the championship title came down to one obstacle.
Driving to maintain the lead, Stewart made his only mistake of the series and knocked down a cone in the final stretch, costing him ten seconds and five points, enough to take him out of the lead. Much like the Winston Cup races, on-lookers watched as the title slipped from one driver to another.
"This was a great event and a great series," said Steve Keate, president of International’s Truck Group. "International is proud to be the first Truck manufacturer to sponsor NASCAR, and develop programs like the International Truck Challenge."
International Truck and Engine Corporation teamed up with NASCAR earlier this year to give Winston Cup's behind-the-scenes drivers a chance to demonstrate their capabilities on the racetrack driving a top-of-the-line International 9400i tractor-trailer. Together, International and NASCAR came up with the three-event, timed obstacle course, part of a four-year sponsorship agreement between the two companies.