2001 Firestone Firehawk 500

March 2026 February 2025 36 32 01 N 140 13 39 E region:JP_type:landmark title Japan Firestone Firehawk 500 Twin Ring Motegi oval map.svg May 19 2001 CART 2001 Firestone Firehawk 500 5 21 Twin Ring Motegi, Tochigi, Japan Oval 1.549 2.493 201 311.349 501.067 Brazil Hélio Castroneves Team Penske 25.849 Brazil Italy Alex Zanardi Mo Nunn Racing 26.715 184 Italy Sweden Kenny Bräck Team Rahal Sweden Brazil Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Brazil Brazil Tony Kanaan Mo Nunn Racing Brazil The 2001 Firestone Firehawk 500 was a Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) motor race held on May 19, 2001 at Twin Ring Motegi in Tochigi, Japan. It was the 5th round of the 2001 CART FedEx Championship Series season. Team Rahal driver Kenny Bräck scored his first career win in CART despite not starting on the front row for the first time that season. Polesitter Hélio Castroneves finished 2nd and Tony Kanaan took 3rd. Bräck's win moved him five spots into 1st place in the drivers' standings, where he would remain for much of the season. It was Team Rahal's first win of the season and their first since 2000 at Miami-Homestead. Castroneves' podium put him at 2nd place overall in the standings; he and Bräck would continue to battle for 1st place for much of the season. Kanaan's podium was his first since his win at the 1999 U.S. 500 in Michigan and would be his and Mo Nunn Racing's only podium in 2001. The race was a testament to Bräck and Castroneves' blistering race pace, as both were the only ones still on the lead lap at the end of the race; this was partially the result of the long, uninterrupted stretch of green-flag running between Laps 8 and 194. Throughout the race Brack was the last of the leaders to pit during each round of stops. He thus needed less fuel at his final pit stop and saved enough time to leap from third to first place. The race also saw heavy attrition, as almost half of the entrants ultimately retired with a variety of issues. Points leader Cristiano da Matta was taken out on Lap 1 by rookie Bruno Junqueira, who spun coming out of Turn 2. This dropped the points leader into a tie for 3rd in the standings. Qualifying May 18, 2001 - Qualifying Speeds Rank Driver Time Leader Speed (mph) Team1Brazil Hélio Castroneves25.849—215.591Team Penske2Scotland Dario Franchitti25.991 +0.142214.413Team Green3Brazil Gil de Ferran25.993 +0.144214.396Team Penske4Brazil Tony Kanaan26.022 +0.173214.157Mo Nunn Racing5Brazil Bruno Junqueira (R)26.035 +0.186214.050Chip Ganassi Racing6Sweden Kenny Bräck26.044 +0.195213.976Team Rahal7Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr.26.057 +0.208213.870Bettenhausen Racing8Italy Alex Zanardi26.088 +0.239213.615Mo Nunn Racing9Mexico Adrian Fernández26.097 +0.248213.542Fernandez Racing10Canada Patrick Carpentier26.147 +0.298213.132Forsythe Racing11USA Michael Andretti26.215 +0.366212.581Team Motorola12Brazil Cristiano da Matta26.274 +0.425212.103Newman-Haas Racing13Japan Shinji Nakano26.280 +0.431212.055Fernandez Racing14Brazil Christian Fittipaldi26.366 +0.517211.363Newman-Haas Racing15France Nicolas Minassian (R)26.378 +0.529211.267Chip Ganassi Racing16Canada Paul Tracy26.432 +0.583210.835Team Green17Italy Max Papis26.452 +0.603210.676Team Rahal18Spain Oriol Servià26.528 +0.679210.072Sigma Autosport19Canada Alex Tagliani26.530 +0.681210.057Forsythe Racing20New Zealand Scott Dixon (R)26.587 +0.738209.606PacWest Racing21USA Jimmy Vasser26.600 +0.751209.504Patrick Racing22USA Bryan Herta26.786 +0.937208.049Forsythe Racing23Brazil Roberto Moreno26.800 +0.951207.940Patrick Racing24Japan Tora Takagi (R)26.840 +0.991207.630Walker Motorsport25Brazil Maurício Gugelmin26.860 +1.011207.476PacWest RacingSource:2001 Firestone Firehawk 500 Qualifying Results Championship Auto Racing Teams May 18, 2001 http://cart.com:80/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=108 June 1, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20030611220042/http://cart.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=108 June 11, 2003 dead Race Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/retired Grid Points18Sweden Kenny BräckTeam Rahal2011:44:48.888178.113 mph62023Brazil Hélio CastronevesTeam Penske201 +3.6501181 1355Brazil Tony KanaanMo Nunn Racing200 +1 Lap414411Brazil Christian FittipaldiNewman-Haas Racing200 +1 Lap1412540USA Jimmy VasserPatrick Racing200 +1 Lap211067Italy Max PapisTeam Rahal200 +1 Lap178766Italy Alex ZanardiMo Nunn Racing199 +2 Laps86852Japan Shinji NakanoFernandez Racing199 +2 Laps135918New Zealand Scott Dixon (R)PacWest Racing198 +3 Laps2041020Brazil Roberto MorenoPatrick Racing198 +3 Laps2331116Mexico Michel Jourdain Jr.Bettenhausen Racing197 +4 Laps721217Brazil Maurício GugelminPacWest Racing197 +4 Laps251131Brazil Gil de FerranTeam Penske194 Oil line3—1422Spain Oriol ServiàSigma Autosport191 +7 Laps18—1512France Nicolas Minassian (R)Chip Ganassi Racing190Contact15—1651Mexico Adrian FernándezFernandez Racing148Electrical9—1727Scotland Dario FranchittiTeam Green126Header2—1826Canada Paul TracyTeam Green77Gearbox16—1932Canada Patrick CarpentierForsythe Racing54Oil tank10—205Japan Tora Takagi (R)Walker Motorsport51Throttle24—2177USA Bryan HertaForsythe Racing50Header22—2233Canada Alex TaglianiForsythe Racing40Gearbox19—2339USA Michael AndrettiTeam Motorola33Gearbox11—244Brazil Bruno Junqueira (R)Chip Ganassi Racing1Contact5—256Brazil Cristiano da MattaNewman-Haas Racing0Contact12—Source:2001 Firestone Firehawk 500 Race Results Championship Auto Racing Teams May 18, 2001 http://cart.com:80/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=110 June 1, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20030611215103/http://cart.com/Results/SessionResults.asp?ID=110 June 11, 2003 dead 1 1– Includes two bonus points for leading the most laps and being the fastest qualifier.http://pdfsr.com/pdf/cart-2001-rule-book-electronic-version-1 CART FedEx Championship Series - 2001 Rule Book Championship Auto Racing Teams March 2001 https://web.archive.org/web/20160528174124/http://pdfsr.com/pdf/cart-2001-rule-book-electronic-version-1 2016-05-28 bot: unknown 2017-05-22 Race statistics Lead changes: 9 among 5 drivers Lap Leaders2001 Firestone Firehawk 500K Racing-Reference.com http://racing-reference.info/race/2001_Firestone_Firehawk_500K/R June 1, 2017 Laps Leader1–50 Helio Castroneves51-54 Kenny Bräck55 Scott Dixon56-84 Helio Castroneves85-96 Kenny Bräck97 Dario Franchitti98-104 Kenny Bräck105-144 Tony Kanaan145-149 Helio Castroneves150-201 Kenny Bräck Total laps led Leader Laps Helio Castroneves 84 Kenny Bräck 75 Tony Kanaan 40 Scott Dixon 1 Dario Franchitti 1 Cautions: 2 for 13 lapsFirestone Firehawk 500 Sunday Press Notes Championship Auto Racing Teams May 19, 2001 http://www.cart.com:80/News/Article.asp?ID=686 June 1, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20030125183909/http://www.cart.com/News/Article.asp?ID=686 January 25, 2003 dead Laps Reason1-8 Junqueira and da Matta crash194-200 Minassian hits the wall in Turn 4 Standings after the race Drivers' standings Standings After Motegi Motorsport.com https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/champcar-cart-standings-after-motegi-2008-03-27/amp/ June 1, 2017December 2023 InternetArchiveBot yes Pos+/-DriverPoints1 10px 5Sweden Kenny Bräck492 10px 3Brazil Hélio Castroneves473 10px 2Brazil Cristiano da Matta40— 10px 1Canada Paul Tracy40— 10pxUSA Jimmy Vasser40 Constructors' standings Pos +/– Constructor Points 1 10px 1UK Lola 77 — 10pxUK Reynard 77 Manufacturer's Standings Pos +/- Manufacturer Points 1 10pxJPN Honda 71 2 10pxJPN Toyota 70 3 10pxUK Ford-Cosworth 52 4 10pxUK Phoenix 0 References Firestone Firehawk 500 2001 2001 Lehigh Valley Grand Prix 2001 Miller Lite 225 2000 Firestone Firehawk 500 2002 Bridgestone Potenza 500 Category:Indy Japan 300 Firestone Firehawk 500, 2001 Firestone Firehawk 500