2001 Indy Racing League

American auto racing season December 2023 February 2025 Indy Racing League 2001 Indy Racing Northern Light Series logo.png 2001 Indy Racing League Indy Racing Northern Light Series 13 March 18 October 6 USA Sam Hornish Jr. USA Oldsmobile BRA Felipe Giaffone BRA Hélio Castroneves 2000 2002 right horizontal 300 Sam Hornish, Jr. 2008 Daytona.jpg Buddy_Lazier_2008_Indy_500_Bump_Day.jpg 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. TeamChassisEngineNo. Car numberDriversRound(s)USA Team MenardDallaraOldsmobile 2USA Greg Ray 1–10USA Jaques Lazier 11–13USA Galles RacingG-ForceOldsmobile 3USA Al Unser Jr. All 31USA Casey Mears orange R silver 1–4 32France Didier André orange R silver AllUSA Panther RacingDallaraOldsmobile 4USA Sam Hornish Jr. AllUSA Treadway-Hubbard RacingG-ForceOldsmobile 5Netherlands Arie Luyendyk 4USA Rick Treadway orange R silver 10, 12–13Oldsmobile 21Brazil Felipe Giaffone orange R silver AllUSA Tri-Star MotorsportsDallaraOldsmobile 6USA Tyce Carlson 1USA Jon Herb orange R silver2–4, 8USA Jeret Schroeder5, 7 60USA Richie Hearn 4USA Dick Simon RacingDallaraOldsmobile 7France Stéphan Grégoire 1–3 17Colombia Roberto Guerrero 4USA Kelley RacingDallaraOldsmobile 8USA Scott Sharp All 28USA Mark Dismore AllUSA PDM RacingG-ForceOldsmobile 9USA Jeret Schroeder1–4, 8 18USA Jon Herb orange R silver 12–13USA Cahill RacingDallaraOldsmobile 10USA Robby McGehee 1–5, 8–13 11USA Dr. Jack Miller 3USA A. J. Foyt EnterprisesDallaraOldsmobile 11 Ran as #84 at Indy 500USA Donnie Beechler 4–12USA Greg Ray 13 14Chile Eliseo Salazar All 41USA Robby Gordon 4USA Bradley MotorsportsDallaraOldsmobile 12USA Buzz Calkins AllUSA Walker RacingDallaraOldsmobile 15USA Sarah Fisher AllUSA Indy Regency RacingG-ForceOldsmobile 16USA Cory Witherill orange R silver 3–4USA Dreyer & Reinbold RacingG-ForceInfiniti 24USA Robbie Buhl AllUSA Blueprint RacingG-ForceOldsmobile 27USA John Hollansworth Jr. 2USA Jim Guthrie 4USA McCormack MotorsportsG-ForceOldsmobile 30USA Brandon Erwin orange R silver 1–3, 5USA Jimmy Kite 4USA Chip Ganassi RacingG-ForceOldsmobile 33USA Tony Stewart 4 44USA Jimmy Vasser 4 49France Nicolas Minassian 4 50Brazil Bruno Junqueira 4USA Conquest RacingDallaraInfiniti 34France Laurent Redon 12–13USA Heritage MotorsportsG-ForceOldsmobile 35USA Jeff Ward 1–7, 9–13 36France Stéphan Grégoire 4USA Brayton RacingDallaraOldsmobile 37USA Steve Knapp 4 61USA Memo Gidley 4USA Team GreenDallaraOldsmobile 39USA Michael Andretti 4USA Sam Schmidt MotorsportsDallaraOldsmobile 44USA Anthony Lazzaro orange R silver 11, 13 99USA Davey Hamilton 1–5USA Richie Hearn 6, 12USA Jaques Lazier 7–10USA Alex Barron 11USA Team CheeverDallaraInfiniti 51USA Eddie Cheever All 52Canada Scott Goodyear 4USA Vertex-Cunningham RacingDallaraOldsmobile 55Japan Shigeaki Hattori AllUSA Team PenskeDallaraOldsmobile 66Brazil Gil de Ferran 1, 4 68Brazil Hélio Castroneves 1, 4USA Team XtremeG-ForceOldsmobile 77USA Jaques Lazier 4–6 88Brazil Airton Daré AllUSA Zali RacingG-ForceOldsmobile 81USA John Paul Jr. 4USA Billy Roe 5–13USA Hemelgarn RacingDallaraOldsmobile 91USA Buddy Lazier All 92USA Stan Wattles 1–3USA Chris Menninga orange R silver 11–13 93USA Steve Knapp 4USA Curb-Agajanian-Beck MotorsportsDallaraOldsmobile 98USA 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, TexasSources:NTT IndyCar Series Calendar 2001 https://motorsportstats.com/series/ntt-indycar-series/calendar/2001 Motorsport Stats November 17, 2023Indy Racing League https://www.newspapers.com/article/kenosha-news-2001-indy-racing-league-res/135330704/ Kenosha News B4 October 26, 2001 November 17, 2023 Newspapers.com This race was originally scheduled for September 16 but was postponed in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks.Texas track decides to postpone races https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2001/09/14/texas-track-decides-to-postpone-races/62130931007/ Results Rd.RacePole positionFastest lapMost laps ledRace winner WinnerTeamChassisEngine 1 Phoenix USA Greg Ray USA Billy Boat USA Sam Hornish Jr. USA Sam Hornish Jr.Panther RacingDallaraOldsmobile 2 Homestead USA Jeff Ward USA Sam Hornish Jr. USA Sam Hornish Jr. USA Sam Hornish Jr.Panther RacingDallaraOldsmobile 3 Atlanta USA Greg Ray USA Greg Ray USA Greg Ray USA Greg RayTeam MenardDallaraOldsmobile 4 Indianapolis USA Scott Sharp USA Sam Hornish Jr. BRA Hélio Castroneves BRA Hélio CastronevesTeam PenskeDallaraOldsmobile 5 Texas 1 USA Mark Dismore USA Eddie Cheever USA Greg Ray USA Scott SharpKelley RacingDallaraOldsmobile 6 Pikes Peak USA Greg Ray USA Billy Boat USA Sam Hornish Jr. USA Buddy LazierHemelgarn RacingDallaraOldsmobile 7 Richmond USA Jaques Lazier USA Buddy Lazier USA Buddy Lazier USA Buddy LazierHemelgarn RacingDallaraOldsmobile 8 Kansas USA Scott Sharp USA Mark Dismore USA Eddie Cheever USA Eddie CheeverTeam CheeverDallaraInfiniti 9 Nashville USA Greg Ray USA Buddy Lazier USA Sam Hornish Jr. USA Buddy LazierHemelgarn RacingDallaraOldsmobile 10 Kentucky USA Scott Sharp USA Mark Dismore USA Scott Sharp USA Buddy LazierHemelgarn RacingDallaraOldsmobile 11 Gateway USA Sam Hornish Jr. USA Robbie Buhl USA Sam Hornish Jr. USA Al Unser Jr.Galles RacingG-ForceOldsmobile 12 Chicagoland USA Jaques Lazier USA Robbie Buhl USA Jaques Lazier USA Jaques LazierTeam MenardDallaraOldsmobile 13 Texas 2 USA Sam Hornish Jr. BRA Felipe Giaffone USA Sam Hornish Jr. USA Sam Hornish Jr.Panther RacingDallaraOldsmobile 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 4- Sam Hornish Jr. 14- Eliseo Salazar 91- Buddy Lazier 8- Scott Sharp 98- Billy Boat 21- Felipe Giaffone 35- Jeff Ward 10- Robby McGehee 12- Buzz Calkins 88- Airton Daré Inaugural Infiniti Grand Prix of Miami This race was held April 8 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Jeff Ward won the pole. Top ten results 4- Sam Hornish Jr. 15- Sarah Fisher 14- Eliseo Salazar 21- Felipe Giaffone 35- Jeff Ward 3- Al Unser Jr. 28- Mark Dismore 8- Scott Sharp 51- Eddie Cheever 32- Didier André 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 2- Greg Ray 8- Scott Sharp 12- Buzz Calkins 4- Sam Hornish Jr. 14- Eliseo Salazar 91- Buddy Lazier 35- Jeff Ward 55- Shigeaki Hattori 88- Airton Daré 21- Felipe Giaffone 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 68- Hélio Castroneves 66- Gil de Ferran 39- Michael Andretti 44- Jimmy Vasser 50- Bruno Junqueira 33- Tony Stewart 14- Eliseo Salazar 88- Airton Daré 98- Billy Boat 21- Felipe Giaffone 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 8- Scott Sharp 21- Felipe Giaffone 4- Sam Hornish Jr. 91- Buddy Lazier 98- Billy Boat 11- Donnie Beechler 14- Eliseo Salazar 3- Al Unser Jr. 77- Jaques Lazier 55- Shigeaki Hattori 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 91- Buddy Lazier 4- Sam Hornish Jr. 24- Robbie Buhl 98- Billy Boat 88- Airton Daré 51- Eddie Cheever 21- Felipe Giaffone 8- Scott Sharp 99- Richie Hearn 15- Sarah Fisher Inaugural SunTrust Indy Challenge This race was held June 30 at Richmond International Raceway. Jaques Lazier won the pole. Top ten results 91- Buddy Lazier 4- Sam Hornish Jr. 3- Al Unser Jr. 32- Didier André 8- Scott Sharp 28- Mark Dismore 11- Donnie Beechler 35- Jeff Ward 24- Robbie Buhl 12- Buzz Calkins Ameristar Casino Indy 200 This race was held July 8 at Kansas Speedway. Scott Sharp won the pole. Top ten results 51- Eddie Cheever* 4- Sam Hornish Jr. 11- Donnie Beechler 21- Felipe Giaffone 91- Buddy Lazier 88- Airton Daré 14- Eliseo Salazar 55- Shigeaki Hattori 98- Billy Boat 10- Robby McGehee 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 91- Buddy Lazier 98- Billy Boat 99- Jaques Lazier 10- Robby McGehee 8- Scott Sharp 4- Sam Hornish Jr. 55- Shigeaki Hattori 21- Felipe Giaffone 12- Buzz Calkins 11- Donnie Beechler* 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 91- Buddy Lazier 8- Scott Sharp 4- Sam Hornish Jr. 3- Al Unser Jr. 11- Donnie Beechler 98- Billy Boat 55- Shigeaki Hattori 21- Felipe Giaffone 24- Robbie Buhl 35- Jeff Ward 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 3- Al Unser Jr. 28- Mark Dismore 4- Sam Hornish Jr. 51- Eddie Cheever 24- Robbie Buhl 98- Billy Boat 35- Jeff Ward 8- Scott Sharp 88- Airton Daré 10- Robby McGehee 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 2- Jaques Lazier 4- Sam Hornish Jr. 51- Eddie Cheever 35- Jeff Ward 11- Donnie Beechler 99- Richie Hearn 34- Laurent Redon 3- Al Unser Jr. 12- Buzz Calkins 21- Felipe Giaffone 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.Texas track decides to postpone races https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2001/09/14/texas-track-decides-to-postpone-races/62130931007/ The race was eventually held October 6. Sam Hornish Jr. won the pole. Top ten results 4- Sam Hornish Jr. 8- Scott Sharp 24- Robbie Buhl 14- Eliseo Salazar 5- Rick Treadway 3- Al Unser Jr. 88- Airton Daré 11- Greg Ray 18- Jon Herb 12- Buzz Calkins 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 List of American Championship car racing point scoring systems Pos Driver PHX HOM ATL INDY TMS1 PPR RIC KAN NSS KEN GTW CHI TMS2 Pts 1USA Sam Hornish Jr. 1* 1* 4 14 3 2* 2 2 6* 3 3* 2 1* 503 2USA Buddy Lazier 3 20 6 18 4 1 1* 5 1 1 13 11 17 398 3USA Scott Sharp 4 8 2 33 1 8 5 17 5 2* 8 25 2 355 4USA Billy Boat 5 13 14 9 5 4 18 9 2 6 6 12 12 313 5CHL Eliseo Salazar 2 3 5 7 7 14 12 7 11 15 17 18 4 308 6BRA Felipe Giaffone yellow RY silver 6 4 10 10 2 7 11 4 8 8 20 10 21 304 7USA Al Unser Jr. 23 6 17 30 8 11 3 20 14 4 1 8 6 287 8USA Eddie Cheever 19 9 24 26 12 6 13 1* 15 21 4 3 18 261 9USA Buzz Calkins 9 16 3 12 15 15 10 13 9 16 22 9 10 242 10BRA Airton Daré 10 23 9 8 19 5 15 6 17 20 9 19 7 239 11USA Jeff Ward 7 5 7 24 16 12 8 20 10 7 4 24 238 12USA Robbie Buhl 11 24 20 15 21 3 9 21 13 9 5 22 3 237 13JPN Shigeaki Hattori 13 15 8 DNQ 10 DNS 14 8 7 7 15 21 16 215 14USA Mark Dismore 25 7 26 16 20 13 6 11 16 22 2 17 23 205 15USA Donnie Beechler 25 6 16 7 3 10 5 14 5 204 16USA Robby McGehee 8 12 21 11 14 10 4 18 10 20 14 196 17USA Jaques Lazier 22 9 17 19 18 3 12 16 1* 20 195 18USA Greg Ray 22 21 1* 17 11* 18 Wth 14 18 13 8 193 19USA Sarah Fisher 17 2 11 31 18 10 17 12 19 19 11 24 25 188 20FRA Didier André orange R silver 27 10 13 DNQ 17 19 4 16 21 11 12 13 15 188 21USA Billy Roe 13 20 20 22 12 14 23 23 22 101 22USA Jeret Schroeder 26 14 19 20 23 16 15 77 23USA Jon Herb orange R silver 25 16 27 19 15 9 70 24BRA Hélio Castroneves 18 1* 64 25USA Rick Treadway orange R silver 17 14 5 59 26USA Davey Hamilton 12 19 18 23 24 54 27USA Richie Hearn DNQ 9 6 50 28BRA Gil de Ferran 24 2 46 29FRA Laurent Redon orange R silver 7 11 45 30USA Brandon Erwin orange R silver 14 17 27 Wth 22 40 31USA Casey Mears orange R silver 20 11 23 DNQ 36 32USA Stan Wattles 16 26 12 Wth 36 33USA Chris Menninga orange R silver 19 16 19 36 34USA Michael Andretti 3 35 35FRA Stéphan Grégoire 21 22 15 28 34 36USA Jimmy Vasser 4 32 37BRA Bruno Junqueira 5 30 38USA Anthony Lazzaro orange R silver 18 13 29 39USA Tony Stewart 6 28 40USA Cory Witherill orange R silver 22 19 19 41NLD Arie Luyendyk 13 17 42USA Tyce Carlson 15 Wth 15 43USA John Hollansworth Jr. 18 12 44USA Alex Barron 21 9 45USA Robby Gordon 21 9 46USA Dr. Jack Miller 25 5 47FRA Nicolas Minassian 29 1 48CAN Scott Goodyear 32 1 –BRA Raul Boesel Wth 0 –USA Memo Gidley DNQ 0 –COL Roberto Guerrero DNQ 0 –USA Jim Guthrie DNQ 0 –USA Jimmy Kite DNQ 0 –USA Steve Knapp DNQ 0 –USA 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 notparticipate(DNP) Not competing In-line notationBoldPole position(2 points)ItalicsRan fastest race lap*Led most race laps(1 point)DNSAny driver who qualifiesbut does not start (DNS),earns all the pointshad they taken part.yellow RY silver Rookie of the Yearorange R silver 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. See also 2001 Indianapolis 500 2001 Indy Lights season 2001 CART season 2001 Toyota Atlantic Championship season http://www.champcarstats.com/year/2001i.htm http://media.indycar.com/pdf/2011/IICS_2011_Historical_Record_Book_INT6.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053905/http://media.indycar.com/pdf/2011/IICS_2011_Historical_Record_Book_INT6.pdf 2016-03-04 (p. 125–126) References Bibliography Johnson Paul Indy Review 2001, Volume 11: Complete Coverage of the 2001 Indy Racing League Season 2002 Motorbooks International / MBI Publishing St. Paul, MN en 978-0-7603-1320-6 Indy Racing League Category:IndyCar Series seasons Indy Racing League