2001 Indy Racing League

2001 Indy Racing League season
2001 Indy Racing League season
Indy Racing Northern Light Series
	2001 Indy Racing League
Season
Races	13
Start date	March 18
End date	October 6
Awards
Drivers' champion	Sam Hornish Jr.
Manufacturers' Cup	Oldsmobile
Rookie of the Year	Felipe Giaffone
Indianapolis 500 winner	Hélio Castroneves
	← 2000 2002 →

Sam Hornish Jr. (left) won his first Drivers' Championship while Buddy Lazier (right) finished second in the championship.

The 2001 Indy Racing Northern Light Series saw the addition of five races and loss of one to bring the total to 13. Chip Ganassi Racing returned to the Indy 500 with four cars and were joined on the grid by Penske Racing and Team Kool Green. Sam Hornish Jr. won 3 races on his way to the championship while the less consistent Buddy Lazier won four races on his way to second place in his title defense.

Teams and drivers

All drivers and teams used Firestone Tires.

Team	Chassis	Engine	No.	Drivers	Round(s)
Team Menard	Dallara	Oldsmobile	2	Greg Ray	1–10
Team Menard	Dallara	Oldsmobile	2	Jaques Lazier	11–13
Galles Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	3	Al Unser Jr.	All
			31	Casey Mears R	1–4
			32	Didier André R	All
Panther Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	4	Sam Hornish Jr.	All
Treadway-Hubbard Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	5	Arie Luyendyk	4
		Oldsmobile	5	Rick Treadway R	10, 12–13
		Oldsmobile	21	Felipe Giaffone R	All
Tri-Star Motorsports	Dallara	Oldsmobile	6	Tyce Carlson	1
				Jon Herb R	2–4, 8
				Jeret Schroeder	5, 7
			60	Richie Hearn	4
Dick Simon Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	7	Stéphan Grégoire	1–3
Dick Simon Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	17	Roberto Guerrero	4
Kelley Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	8	Scott Sharp	All
Kelley Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	28	Mark Dismore	All
PDM Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	9	Jeret Schroeder	1–4, 8
PDM Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	18	Jon Herb R	12–13
Cahill Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	10	Robby McGehee	1–5, 8–13
Cahill Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	11	Dr. Jack Miller	3
A. J. Foyt Enterprises	Dallara	Oldsmobile	11	Donnie Beechler	4–12
			11	Greg Ray	13
			14	Eliseo Salazar	All
			41	Robby Gordon	4
Bradley Motorsports	Dallara	Oldsmobile	12	Buzz Calkins	All
Walker Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	15	Sarah Fisher	All
Indy Regency Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	16	Cory Witherill R	3–4
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing	G-Force	Infiniti	24	Robbie Buhl	All
Blueprint Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	27	John Hollansworth Jr.	2
Blueprint Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	27	Jim Guthrie	4
McCormack Motorsports	G-Force	Oldsmobile	30	Brandon Erwin R	1–3, 5
McCormack Motorsports	G-Force	Oldsmobile	30	Jimmy Kite	4
Chip Ganassi Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	33	Tony Stewart	4
			44	Jimmy Vasser	4
			49	Nicolas Minassian	4
			50	Bruno Junqueira	4
Conquest Racing	Dallara	Infiniti	34	Laurent Redon	12–13
Heritage Motorsports	G-Force	Oldsmobile	35	Jeff Ward	1–7, 9–13
Heritage Motorsports	G-Force	Oldsmobile	36	Stéphan Grégoire	4
Brayton Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	37	Steve Knapp	4
Brayton Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	61	Memo Gidley	4
Team Green	Dallara	Oldsmobile	39	Michael Andretti	4
Sam Schmidt Motorsports	Dallara	Oldsmobile	44	Anthony Lazzaro R	11, 13
			99	Davey Hamilton	1–5
				Richie Hearn	6, 12
				Jaques Lazier	7–10
				Alex Barron	11
Team Cheever	Dallara	Infiniti	51	Eddie Cheever	All
Team Cheever	Dallara	Infiniti	52	Scott Goodyear	4
Vertex-Cunningham Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	55	Shigeaki Hattori	All
Team Penske	Dallara	Oldsmobile	66	Gil de Ferran	1, 4
Team Penske	Dallara	Oldsmobile	68	Hélio Castroneves	1, 4
Team Xtreme	G-Force	Oldsmobile	77	Jaques Lazier	4–6
Team Xtreme	G-Force	Oldsmobile	88	Airton Daré	All
Zali Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	81	John Paul Jr.	4
Zali Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile	81	Billy Roe	5–13
Hemelgarn Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile	91	Buddy Lazier	All
			92	Stan Wattles	1–3
			92	Chris Menninga R	11–13
			93	Steve Knapp	4
Curb-Agajanian-Beck Motorsports	Dallara	Oldsmobile	98	Billy Boat	All

Schedule

Rnd	Date	Race Name	Track	Location
1	March 18	Pennzoil Copper World Indy 200	Phoenix International Raceway	Phoenix, Arizona
2	April 8	Infiniti Grand Prix of Miami	Homestead-Miami Speedway	Homestead, Florida
3	April 28	zMax 500	Atlanta Motor Speedway	Hampton, Georgia
4	May 27	85th Indianapolis 500	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana
5	June 9	Casino Magic 500	Texas Motor Speedway	Fort Worth, Texas
6	June 17	Radisson Indy 200	Pikes Peak International Raceway	Fountain, Colorado
7	June 30	SunTrust Indy Challenge	Richmond International Raceway	Richmond, Virginia
8	July 8	Ameristar Casino Indy 200	Kansas Speedway	Kansas City, Kansas
9	July 21	Harrah's 200	Nashville Superspeedway	Lebanon, Tennessee
10	August 12	Belterra Resort Indy 300	Kentucky Speedway	Sparta, Kentucky
11	August 26	Gateway Indy 250	Gateway International Raceway	Madison, Illinois
12	September 2	Delphi Indy 300	Chicagoland Speedway	Joliet, Illinois
13	October 6*	Chevy 500	Texas Motor Speedway	Fort Worth, Texas
Sources:

This race was originally scheduled for September 16 but was postponed in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks.

Results

Rd.	Race	Pole position	Fastest lap	Most laps led	Race winner
Rd.	Race	Pole position	Fastest lap	Most laps led	Winner	Team	Chassis	Engine
1	Phoenix	Greg Ray	Billy Boat	Sam Hornish Jr.	Sam Hornish Jr.	Panther Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile
2	Homestead	Jeff Ward	Sam Hornish Jr.	Sam Hornish Jr.	Sam Hornish Jr.	Panther Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile
3	Atlanta	Greg Ray	Greg Ray	Greg Ray	Greg Ray	Team Menard	Dallara	Oldsmobile
4	Indianapolis	Scott Sharp	Sam Hornish Jr.	Hélio Castroneves	Hélio Castroneves	Team Penske	Dallara	Oldsmobile
5	Texas 1	Mark Dismore	Eddie Cheever	Greg Ray	Scott Sharp	Kelley Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile
6	Pikes Peak	Greg Ray	Billy Boat	Sam Hornish Jr.	Buddy Lazier	Hemelgarn Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile
7	Richmond	Jaques Lazier	Buddy Lazier	Buddy Lazier	Buddy Lazier	Hemelgarn Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile
8	Kansas	Scott Sharp	Mark Dismore	Eddie Cheever	Eddie Cheever	Team Cheever	Dallara	Infiniti
9	Nashville	Greg Ray	Buddy Lazier	Sam Hornish Jr.	Buddy Lazier	Hemelgarn Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile
10	Kentucky	Scott Sharp	Mark Dismore	Scott Sharp	Buddy Lazier	Hemelgarn Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile
11	Gateway	Sam Hornish Jr.	Robbie Buhl	Sam Hornish Jr.	Al Unser Jr.	Galles Racing	G-Force	Oldsmobile
12	Chicagoland	Jaques Lazier	Robbie Buhl	Jaques Lazier	Jaques Lazier	Team Menard	Dallara	Oldsmobile
13	Texas 2	Sam Hornish Jr.	Felipe Giaffone	Sam Hornish Jr.	Sam Hornish Jr.	Panther Racing	Dallara	Oldsmobile

Note: All races running on Oval/Speedway.

Race summaries

Pennzoil Copper World Indy 200

This race was held March 18 at Phoenix International Raceway. Greg Ray won the pole.

Top ten results

Inaugural Infiniti Grand Prix of Miami

This race was held April 8 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Jeff Ward won the pole.

Top ten results

Sarah Fisher's second place was the highest finish in an Indy car race by a female driver at the time.

zMax 500

This race was held April 28 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Greg Ray won the pole.

Top ten results

A huge 11-car pileup occurred on lap 54, sending Dr. Jack Miller to the hospital with a concussion. It would be Miller's final race.
This was the final Indy car race held at Atlanta to-date.
Fifth and final career win for Greg Ray.

85th Indianapolis 500

The 85th running of the Indianapolis 500 was held May 27 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Scott Sharp sat on pole.

Top ten results

Polesitter Sharp crashed on the opening lap, and finished last.
Team Penske returned to Indy after failing to qualify in 1995 and boycotting the race due to the IRL/CART "split" from 1996 to 2000. Penske finished 1st–2nd with Hélio Castroneves and Gil de Ferran, Roger Penske's first-ever 1–2 at Indy as an owner.
Second straight 500 victory for a race rookie.

Casino Magic 500

This race was held June 9 at Texas Motor Speedway. Mark Dismore won the pole.

Top ten results

A serious crash on lap 72 involved Davey Hamilton, who lost control after Jeret Schroeder blew an engine, and Hamilton drove in the oil. Hamilton then crashed hard into the turn 2 wall, causing serious injuries to both legs and feet. The crash effectively ended Hamilton's full-time racing career.
Scott Sharp stole the win after Eddie Cheever and Greg Ray crashed hard on the backstretch while battling for the victory in the final laps. Robby McGehee, who was running many laps down, was also caught up in the mishap; McGehee suffered leg and head injuries and missed several races.

Radisson Indy 200

This race was held June 17 at Pikes Peak International Raceway. Greg Ray won the pole.

Top ten results

Inaugural SunTrust Indy Challenge

This race was held June 30 at Richmond International Raceway. Jaques Lazier won the pole.

Top ten results

Ameristar Casino Indy 200

This race was held July 8 at Kansas Speedway. Scott Sharp won the pole.

Top ten results

Final career win for Eddie Cheever.

Inaugural Harrah's 200

This race was held July 21 at Nashville Superspeedway. Greg Ray won the pole.

Top ten results

On lap 103 of the race, Cheever was attempting to lap the slower car of Greg Ray, when the two made contact in turn 2. The resulting accident also caught up Unser Jr., Beechler, and Dismore, who was struck from behind by a charging Airton Dare. No one was injured in the crash. This was the first caution of the race and lasted 18 laps, with Buddy Lazier in the lead as racing resumed. He would go on to win.
Second and final career top ten finish for Donnie Beechler.

Belterra Resort Indy 300

This race was held August 12 at Kentucky Speedway. Scott Sharp won the pole.

Top ten results

Final career win for Buddy Lazier.
This race was Greg Rays last for Team Menard. He would part ways with the team after finishing 3 laps down to the winner in 13th.

Inaugural Gateway Indy 250

This race was held August 26 at Gateway International Raceway. Sam Hornish Jr. won the pole.

Top ten results

Penultimate career win for Al Unser Jr.

Inaugural Delphi Indy 300

This race was held September 2 at Chicagoland Speedway. Jaques Lazier won the pole.

Top ten results

This was Jaques Laziers only IndyCar win. It was his second start for the Menard team after taking over the car previously driven by Greg Ray.

Chevy 500

This race was originally scheduled for September 16 at Texas Motor Speedway but was postponed in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. The race was eventually held October 6. Sam Hornish Jr. won the pole.

Top ten results

Only career top five finish for Rick Treadway. Also his best finish ever.
Greg Rays first race back after losing his Team Menard ride. He drove for A.J. Foyts team in this race.
Final career start for Buzz Calkins. Also his final top ten finish.
Only career top ten finish for Jon Herb. Also his best ever finish.

Points standings

Pos	Driver	PHX	HOM	ATL	INDY	TMS1	PPR	RIC	KAN	NSS	KEN	GTW	CHI	TMS2	Pts
1	Sam Hornish Jr.	1*	1*	4	14	3	2*	2	2	6*	3	3*	2	1*	503
2	Buddy Lazier	3	20	6	18	4	1	1*	5	1	1	13	11	17	398
3	Scott Sharp	4	8	2	33	1	8	5	17	5	2*	8	25	2	355
4	Billy Boat	5	13	14	9	5	4	18	9	2	6	6	12	12	313
5	Eliseo Salazar	2	3	5	7	7	14	12	7	11	15	17	18	4	308
6	Felipe Giaffone RY	6	4	10	10	2	7	11	4	8	8	20	10	21	304
7	Al Unser Jr.	23	6	17	30	8	11	3	20	14	4	1	8	6	287
8	Eddie Cheever	19	9	24	26	12	6	13	1*	15	21	4	3	18	261
9	Buzz Calkins	9	16	3	12	15	15	10	13	9	16	22	9	10	242
10	Airton Daré	10	23	9	8	19	5	15	6	17	20	9	19	7	239
11	Jeff Ward	7	5	7	24	16	12	8		20	10	7	4	24	238
12	Robbie Buhl	11	24	20	15	21	3	9	21	13	9	5	22	3	237
13	Shigeaki Hattori	13	15	8	DNQ	10	DNS	14	8	7	7	15	21	16	215
14	Mark Dismore	25	7	26	16	20	13	6	11	16	22	2	17	23	205
15	Donnie Beechler				25	6	16	7	3	10	5	14	5		204
16	Robby McGehee	8	12	21	11	14			10	4	18	10	20	14	196
17	Jaques Lazier				22	9	17	19	18	3	12	16	1*	20	195
18	Greg Ray	22	21	1*	17	11*	18	Wth	14	18	13			8	193
19	Sarah Fisher	17	2	11	31	18	10	17	12	19	19	11	24	25	188
20	Didier André R	27	10	13	DNQ	17	19	4	16	21	11	12	13	15	188
21	Billy Roe					13	20	20	22	12	14	23	23	22	101
22	Jeret Schroeder	26	14	19	20	23		16	15						77
23	Jon Herb R		25	16	27				19				15	9	70
24	Hélio Castroneves	18			1*										64
25	Rick Treadway R										17		14	5	59
26	Davey Hamilton	12	19	18	23	24									54
27	Richie Hearn				DNQ		9						6		50
28	Gil de Ferran	24			2										46
29	Laurent Redon R												7	11	45
30	Brandon Erwin R	14	17	27	Wth	22									40
31	Casey Mears R	20	11	23	DNQ										36
32	Stan Wattles	16	26	12	Wth										36
33	Chris Menninga R											19	16	19	36
34	Michael Andretti				3										35
35	Stéphan Grégoire	21	22	15	28										34
36	Jimmy Vasser				4										32
37	Bruno Junqueira				5										30
38	Anthony Lazzaro R											18		13	29
39	Tony Stewart				6										28
40	Cory Witherill R			22	19										19
41	Arie Luyendyk				13										17
42	Tyce Carlson	15			Wth										15
43	John Hollansworth Jr.		18												12
44	Alex Barron											21			9
45	Robby Gordon				21										9
46	Dr. Jack Miller			25											5
47	Nicolas Minassian				29										1
48	Scott Goodyear				32										1
–	Raul Boesel				Wth										0
–	Memo Gidley				DNQ										0
–	Roberto Guerrero				DNQ										0
–	Jim Guthrie				DNQ										0
–	Jimmy Kite				DNQ										0
–	Steve Knapp				DNQ										0
–	John Paul Jr.				DNQ										0
Pos	Driver	PHX	HOM	ATL	INDY	TMS1	PPR	RIC	KAN	NSS	KEN	GTW	CHI	TMS2	Pts

Color	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	2nd place
Bronze	3rd place
Green	4th & 5th place
Light Blue	6th–10th place
Dark Blue	Finished (Outside Top 10)
Purple	Did not finish (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Brown	Withdrawn (Wth)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
Blank	Did not participate (DNP)
Blank	Not competing

In-line notation
Bold	Pole position (2 points)
Italics	Ran fastest race lap
*	Led most race laps (1 point)
DNS	Any driver who qualifies but does not start (DNS), earns all the points had they taken part.
RY	Rookie of the Year
R	Rookie

Ties in points broken by number of wins, followed by number of 2nds, 3rds, etc., and then by number of pole positions, followed by number of times qualified 2nd, etc.

References

↑ "NTT IndyCar Series Calendar 2001". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
↑ "Indy Racing League". Kenosha News. October 26, 2001. p. B4. Retrieved November 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
↑ "Texas track decides to postpone races".
↑ "Texas track decides to postpone races".

Bibliography

Johnson, Paul, ed. (2002). Indy Review 2001, Volume 11: Complete Coverage of the 2001 Indy Racing League Season. St. Paul, MN: Motorbooks International / MBI Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7603-1320-6.

[1] "NTT IndyCar Series Calendar 2001". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved November 17, 2023.

[2] "Indy Racing League". Kenosha News. October 26, 2001. p. B4. Retrieved November 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .

[3] "Texas track decides to postpone races".

[4] "Texas track decides to postpone races".

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Years marked in italics are not official championship years or upcoming seasons.

2001 Indy Racing League

Teams and drivers

Schedule

Results

Race summaries

Pennzoil Copper World Indy 200

Inaugural Infiniti Grand Prix of Miami

zMax 500

85th Indianapolis 500

Casino Magic 500

Radisson Indy 200

Inaugural SunTrust Indy Challenge

Ameristar Casino Indy 200

Inaugural Harrah's 200

Belterra Resort Indy 300

Inaugural Gateway Indy 250

Inaugural Delphi Indy 300

Chevy 500

Points standings

See also

References

Bibliography